3 ex-members of SMAP jointly launch fan club, fan site

I agreed...And this is why J-Pop should be entering the global market in the first place! 1) It's an Upbeat, but uptempo and energetic genre and 2) They recorded English versions before!

Atarashii Chizu, eh? Shin-MAP? SMAP? brilliant.

nakanoguy01: "if you're the only guy in the group that can actually sing, then you can be a bit of a diva."

You're kidding, right? He has a horrible voice. You are right that the other guys also happen to suck, but even if he's slightly better, that's still bad. And he's not allowed to be the diva he is and not have what happened happen (and he was the one who tried desperately to keep them together at the end when he saw his bluff called).

Now, this new website/fan club idea? nearly as bad as the egos the band generated. Shingo and Nakai are the only decent people among the former five-member band, so it's disappointing to hear the former is involved in this. Not surprised the other two are grasping at straws to stay relevant.

According to Japanese news sources, Kimura's diva behavior was a main cause of the breakup.

if you're the only guy in the group that can actually sing, then you can be a bit of a diva. it's his voice that sells records, not the off-pitch warbling of his mates. those other guys couldn't hold a tune if their lives depended on it.

I'm finding a new found respect for Kimura Takuya for not doing this.

According to Japanese news sources, Kimura's diva behavior was a main cause of the breakup.

He would demand half of the entire sum of payment for all five members for tv appearances, refuse to rehearse with the other members, and would constantly verbally berate the other members and staff.

If i had to descibe to someone why JPop isn't popular internationally i would just let them listen/watch SMAP.

Having said that there are some fantastic artists in Japan that don't the recognition/money they deserve. Rubbish bands like SMAP get all the glory.

"Let's cash in on our fans"

I'm finding a new found respect for Kimura Takuya for not doing this.

He's always been the slightly different one of the bunch.