This year’s Johnny’s Countdown was held in Tokyo Dome and the hosts were the adorkable Arashi. Hey!Say!JUMP and V6 had a concert and Kouhaku commitments respectively so they were filmed separately. Nevertheless, this year was really interesting as fans could choose what they want to see and hear.
Segments and notable moments from the show are summarized below:
- Songs you want to hear from each group(Fan Request)
Kanjani8 had a very nice song chosen for them, “Osaka Romanesque”. - Collaboration special
Noriyuki Higashiyama sings Kondo Masahiko’s “Andalucia Ni Akogarete” with the Johnny’s Dancing Kings.
Ex-NEWS & Kanjani8 member Uchi Hiroki also makes a brief appearance back-dancing. - Song exchange medley
Kanjani8 sings Sexy Zone’s “Cha Cha Cha Champion” in hilarious cosplay.
Kis-my-ft2 Yokoo breaks a note while singing Chinen Yuri’s solo in Hey!Say!JUMP’s “Ultra Music Power”.
Arashi performs NEWS debut song “NEWS Nippon”. Unlike Yokoo, Ohno sings Tegoshi’s high note flawlessly. - KAT-TUN 10th year anniversary
In celebration of their 10th anniversary, they started off with “Bokura no Machi de” from 2006. This was the only song i like out of their 3 songs. They also sang “In Fact” and “Kiss Kiss Kiss” from these years. This is also the last countdown for 4-member KAT-TUN. - Kinki Kids 20th year anniversary
This pair stopped dancing many years ago but this time they danced to “Yamedaide, Pure” from 1999. This is a rare song in Kinki’s playlist so it’s a must-watch! - Dream units you want to see, Top 5 (Fan Request)
No.5: Sakurai Sho & Kikuchi Fuma
Song: Arashi
Sakurai Sho is Fuma’s senior from Keio University and apparently Fuma’s father wrote the lyrics to Arashi’s debut song. Fuma looks so enthusiastic next to Sho but i heard he’s actually a Akanishi shipper?
No.4: Noriyuki Higashiyama & Ohno Satoshi
Song: Nihon Yoitoko Makafushigi
Higashiyama took great care of Ohno before his debut. The song they performed is covered in Arashi’s latest album “Japonism”. Ohno shows some fear before attempting a dangerous backflip which 50-year old Higashiyama did without hesitating.
[Surprise: Yamashita Tomohisa & Kamenashi Kazuya]
[Song: Seishun Amigo]
According to a GirlsChannel report, Yamapi was originally not scheduled for Johnny’s Countdown as he had MV filming overseas. Fans had no option to nominate the duo but they still insisted on sending in requests. The overwhelming response must have resulted in Yamapi’s appearance. Aside from it being the biggest surprise of the night, it was also Kame and Yamapi’s reunion after 6 years so the fans in Tokyo Dome exploded in joy. Kame thanked the fans in the end by giving us a flashback of the Shuji-Akira bromance 10 years ago – a backhug for Yamapi.
Those smiles…I think it would not be exaggerating to say that this scene is worth watching 100 times over!
No.3:Matsumoto Jun & Kawai Fumito
Song: Wish
Kawai is well-known for his dance impersonations of Matsujun and despite Matsujun’s resistance, his impersonations delight everyone.
No.2: Kitayama Hiromitsu & Okura Tadayoshi
Song: (Each other’s songs)
They are apparently good friends!
No.1: Shibutani Subaru & Takizawa Hideaki
Song: Ashita ni Mukatte
These 2 were known as “Takizawa of the East” and “Subaru of the West” during Johnny’s Junior’s Golden Age. I do not know much about this era as it was 17 years ago, but judging from the fan votes here, this pair was huge and still is! “Ashita ni Mukatte” is actually an Arashi song which they often performed in their junior days.
If you want to watch the whole show:
To conclude, this year’s Johnny’s Countdown is a memory worth keeping! Wishing all a Happy New Year!
AllThingsJpop 