On the last stop of his tour, Yellow Gold Tour 3010, 
I had the opportunity to sit down and chat with Jin Akanishi. 
We talked about the tour, the time in the US 
and his role in the movie, BANDAGE, released earlier this year.

Nippon Project: First off, welcome back. 
Let’s start with a small introduction of yourself 
and a fact that fans may not know about you.

Jin: Uh. Hi, I’m Jin Akanishi (laughs), nice to meet you. 
I’m a Japanese singer and I’m on tour right now. 
I am trying to go across America. I went to Houston, San Francisco, um where? 
Chicago, L.A. and now I’m in New York to have the last show.

And the fact that fans don’t know?

Jin: (After a pause of thought.) I…. Have to… Know… about myself more, sorry (laughs). 
You guys know about me better! That’s a fact.

This is your second time to perform in the US, right?

Jin: Yes

What are some main difference between this time and the last time?

Jin: I have 3 new songs for this tour and this time I’m traveling so it’s a little harder. 
Yeah, but I’m having fun. I’m very excited to see different people in different cities. Yeah, it’s fun.

Let’s talk about the name of your tour.

Jin: Yellow Gold Tour 3010

Yes, why did you choose to say 3010 instead of 2010?

Jin: Because, the composition of my concert is a sort of Futuristic. 
When I thought about it, I was like ‘Yellow Gold Tour 2010’. 
That was the first draft. Then, I was like,” Why don’t we make it like 3010. 
It’s more futuristic.” It’s not a mistake. People thought it was a mistake (laughs).

Are there any of times you’ve been in the US? if yes, for what reasons?

Jin: A lot of my friends live in the US, 
so sometimes I visit here to see them and I used to live in L.A. for 6 months to study.

Are there any places you’d like to travel that you haven’t been yet?

Jin: Well, I’ve been in Boston before. I like the city and atmosphere, so I want to go back.

How about other countries?

Jin: I want to go to Italy, France, the Europe area. Because, I have only been to Spain.

Who are some of your favorite American artists or performers?

Jin: There’s a lot.

Name a few?

Jin: Keri Hilson, Kanye and Lil Wayne. Yeah! There’s a lot, 
but I love to listen to music. Like, what’s good is good. You know?

Any American artists that you’d like to collaborate with in the future?

Jin: If I have a chance, anybody. I just want to have fun, 
so I want to see different styles and the chemistry of the people who collaborate with me.

What other job do you think you would have if you weren’t in this industry?

Jin: That’s a hard question. Maybe, professional soccer player.

You like soccer?

Jin: Yeah. Well, I used to play Soccer when I was little. 
I would love to be a professional soccer player right now. I mean, if it were possible I would.

Let’s talk about the Movie, BANDAGE, that was released earlier this year. 
How did you enjoy filming the movie?

Jin: It was really fun. It was the first time for me to shoot a movie. 
It was just amazing, the staff and the director and all the cast. Yeah.

Tell me you feelings about the movie in general.

Jin: The first time I watched myself on the big screen, I was kind of embarrassed. 
I am in a couple TV drama, and those are way different than movies. 
Like, the way you shoot and the scheduling, they are more chill.

The movies?

Jin: Yes, the Movies.

Can you see yourself in your character ,Natsu, from the movie?

Jin: Hm… I don’t think so. I’m a different person.

Well, what are some main differences?

Jin: Comparing my character and myself? Well, personality is completely different. 
Maybe the way he talks is a little similar.

But, what in the personality would you say is different though?

Jin: He is a Rock singer.

So, he thinks Rock and Roll.

Jin: Right. Yeah, I’m not a Rockstar (laughs). The lifestyle is sort of different.

Did any weird or funny things happen to you on set of the movie?

Jin shakes his head

No?

Jin: Oh! There was a kiss scene with Kii Kitano, 
She’s a great actress and also she was like 18, I think, at the time. 
In the scene she has to cry right after I kiss her. 
When we were done the kiss scene she was going to cry. 
Well, I saw when she was crying and I felt so bad (laughs). 
The reason why she’s crying is because I kissed her. I was just thinking, like, ‘Dammit!’

So, New York is the last stop on the tour do you have anything special planned 
since it is the last show of the tour?

Jin: Like you said, this is the last one. I, every time am going all out, 
but I am going make sure I leave this show and the tour with no regrets.

Lastly, A message to the fans

Jin: Thank you all for your support up until now. 
I am working on an album and a single right now, so when it’s out please check it out.

Nippon project would like to thank Jin Akanishi and UTB for making this interview possible

This interview was conducted by Syreeta Turner

What do you do when you’re a member 
of a phenomenally successful Japanese boyband? 
If you’re Jin Akanishi, you go solo and tour the United States.

For the past nine years, Akanishi was one-sixth of KAT-TUN, 
a relatively new song-and-dance group conceived 
and managed by the institutional idol agency Johnny & Associates, Inc., 
which has produced some of Japan’s perennial male entertainers, 
such as SMAP and Arashi. The boyband was so popular 
it sold out concerts years before officially debuting in 2006. 
Their singles, sometimes written by industry legends such as 
Takahiro Matsumoto and Kyosuke Himuro, 
hit the top of the Oricon charts and made KAT-TUN a household name. 
Akanishi himself, widely adored for his impeccable looks, 
was one of two lead singers and an occasional songwriter for the group.

Not long after KAT-TUN legitimately launched, 
Akanishi began to assert himself as a soloist. 
He went on hiatus from October 2006 until April 2007 
to study English in Los Angeles; during this time, 
KAT-TUN released records without him. 
In 2009, he starred in the movie Bandage and sang its titular theme song. 
This year, he played solo shows in Japan and the United States 
and subsequently announced his departure from KAT-TUN in July. 
His first major venture as a solo Johnny’s singer was the 
Yellow Gold Tour 3010, a brief American outing from Nov. 7 to Nov. 21.

“Everything’s going well,” Akanishi says of the tour on the day 
prior to his final concert at New York City’s Best Buy Theater. 
“I already been to San Fran…,” 
he blanks out and turns to the poster on his left. 
“Chicago, San Francisco, Houston, Los Angeles, 
and I’m about to have last show in here.”

Akanishi certainly didn’t slack off when he studied English four years ago. 
Though his accent and grammatical quirks are heavily Japanese, 
and his body language—palms on his chin, 
hands brushing across the back of his hair—reveals he’s thinking hard, 
he speaks readily and with largely correct syntax and pronunciation.

He says living in America did not particularly change him. 
“ I think I already knew American culture,” he explains. 
“There is no culture shock.” Nonetheless, 
he speaks of himself in individualist terms, 
so it’s not hard to imagine why he’s clicked with America. 
“I’m just like doing what I want and enjoying what I’m doing,” he says. 
“I’m just living the moment so I end up in this position.”

The tour’s name derives from one of Akanishi’s song titles. 
“The composition of my concert is futuristic,” he elaborates. 
“So like, not 2010—why don’t we say, 3010. 
People think it’s mistake, but it’s not.”

“I just want share my music with bigger audience,” 
Akanishi says of his goals for the U.S. tour. 
“I just want people to know what my music is and who’s Jin Akanishi.”

In multiple interviews before, Akanishi has cited wanting to 
share his own musical compositions as the reason for going solo. 
He explains that being solo doesn’t necessarily provide 
better opportunities to showcase said music than writing for KAT-TUN did, 
but live performances carry new pressure. “If I’m gonna make a mistake, 
there’s nobody to cover it up,” he says. 
“I have to take all the responsibility myself.”

Does he still talk with the remaining KAT-TUN members? 
“Yeah, if I have a chance,” Akanishi says. 
“Originally, we don’t talk that much, like just being friends. 
They’re like co-workers. They’re from same agency. If I see them, 
I’m like hi, and have conversation a little bit.” He adds, 
“I went to dinner with one of KAT-TUN member, 
[Yuichi] Nakamaru. He’s chill.”

Akanishi’s working on an album tentatively set for release late next year. 
“When I’m composing music, I just make whatever I want,” he says. 
“I don’t have specific genre or something, 
but now I already have a lot of hip-hop style, 
so I try to make more brighter, happier song.”

“I listen to a lot of music,” he says. “There is a lot of singers I like, 
like Keri Hilson, Lil Wayne, Kanye. I listen to…” struggling for the name, 
he snaps his fingers frantically. “What’s her name! I mean, 
not only hip-hop. I listen to rock. I listen to pop.”

Being a good-looking star, Akanishi is frequently chased by fans. 
But one incident particularly freaked him out. 
“A really long time ago, I used to live with my parents, 
and a fan put natto in my mailbox,” he recalls. 
“And when I open it there’s natto and onions in my mailbox, separately. 
What does that mean like, should I cook it?”

“If you do that, then cook it, and put it in!” he laughs.

NEWS Official Calender 2011.4~2012.3[単行本]


単行本: 64ページ
出版社: 小学館 
発売日：2011/2/28

・好きな写真やメモなどを貼り付けられるノート型のダイアリーカレンダー（2週めくり）。
・本体巻末には、メンバーの自然な姿を写したプライベート風のフォトカードが32枚付。
・特製マスキングテープを使って、自分の写真やコンサートの半券を貼れば、あなただけのオリジナルカレンダーにカスタマイズできます！


KAT-TUN 2011.4-2012.3 official calendar [カレンダー]


カレンダー: 80ページ
出版社: 講談社
発売日：2011/3/10

・新作カレンダーは、写真集仕立て（A5サイズ）！
・月ごとにロケ場所が変わる撮り下ろしショットで構成された80ページ！
・カレンダーを保護するカバーが付録となります！
・特製カレンダーカバーは、A5ノートのカバーとしても使えます！


資料來源::: AMAZON.JP

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