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. (more…)