Japanese pop sensation arrives in town for debut series of concerts
JAPANESE BOY BAND Coming Century made their Hong Kong debut last week at Queen Elizabeth Stadium.
The trio - Ken Miyake, Go Morita and Junichi Okada (all members of another boy band, V6) - have become hot property in Japan's music industry, thanks to their good looks, charm and funky dance steps.
Hong Kong marked the final leg of the band's Asian tour, which kicked off on October 20 in Fukuoka, Japan. After 15 shows in Japan, the next stop was Taipei. The group's five shows in Taiwan attracted more than 100,000 fans.
On November 5, the band arrived in Hong Kong for their three concerts.
Earlier, Miyake and Okada were in Hong Kong to promote their concerts and meet local fans.
'We feel especially attached to our fans in Taiwan and Hong Kong. We consider them as part of one big family,' says Morita.
He says fans in Taipei went wild and almost pulled him off the stage.
The group have decided that Hong Kong and Taiwan, like Tokyo and Osaka, will become regular stops on their annual tour.
Currently, the group's late night television show, Viva Viva V6 (also being broadcast in Hong Kong), has become a smash hit in Japan. 'We are glad to hear that our show is on air here every week. It is a music and game show, and has different guests appearing every episode. Viewer response has been good and we will continue to do it,' says Okada.
Prior to the Hong Kong concerts, Miyake and Okada visited Wong Tai Sin Temple to pray for success for their tour.
Back in February, V6 held their first concert outside Japan - in Taipei. It turned out to be an enormous success and paved the way for their current Asian tour.
Coming Century were the fifth Japanese band to perform in Hong Kong this year following Luna Sea, Tokio, Dragon Ash and KinKi Kids.
V6 brought out their debut album in 1995. The group have become one of the fastest growing pop sensations in Japan. So far, they have 20 singles and six albums under their belt.
In October last year, the group were a smash hit across the region with their single, Change The World.
Their latest single, A Letter That Wasn't Mailed, topped the Oricon chart shortly after it was released in August.
Soon after V6 were formed, Miyake, Morita and Okada formed Coming Century in the spring of 1996. The other three members of the band - Masayuki Sakamoto, Yoshihiko Inohara and Hiroshi Nagano - formed another group called 20th Century.
The three groups have co-existed ever since and appear on TV, radio, stage and movies frequently.
Of the six, Morita is perhaps the best known outside Japan, having played a starring role in the popular TV series Under The Same Roof 2 in 1998.
