J-Friends

J-FRIENDS was a special unit made up of Johnny's Entertainment groups Tokio, V6, and KinKi Kids. It was formed to raise funds for the education of children involved in the Great Hanshin earthquake of 1995. Until their disbandment in 2003 they were able to release 6 singles and held some charity concerts and events. In the end they were able to donate 874.278.322 Yen.

J-FRIENDS
OriginJapan
GenresJ-pop
Years active1998–2003
LabelsJohnny's Entertainment
Associated actsTokio, V6, Kinki Kids
Past membersShigeru Joshima
Tomoya Nagase
Masahiro Matsuoka
Taichi Kokubun
Tatsuya Yamaguchi
Masayuki Sakamoto
Hiroshi Nagano
Yoshihiko Inohara
Go Morita
Ken Miyake
Junichi Okada
Koichi Domoto
Tsuyoshi Domoto

History

In 1995, there was a big earthquake in Hanshin and Awaji in Japan. About 6,500 people died and 513,000 houses broke. To help such people, in 1998, KinKi Kids, along with fellow Johnny's groups V6 and Tokio, came together to form a special charity-oriented group called J-FRIENDS, they sang songs to raise the money for Hanshin and Awaji earthquake victims especially for children, in which all the songs are created and being produced by many famous international musicians such as Michael Jackson, Maurice White, Diane Warren, Elton John, Jon Bon Jovi, and Koshi Inaba.[1][2][3] J-Friends's first single "Ashita ga Kikoeru/Children's Holiday" (明日が聴こえる/Children's Holiday, "Can You Hear Tomorrow/Children's Holiday"), released on January 21, 1998, went on to sell over a million copies and ranked 12th on the annual Oricon charts by the end of the year.

Discography

Singles

  • [1998.01.21] Ashita ga Kikoeru / Children's Holiday (明日が聴こえる)
  • [1999.01.13] People Of The World
  • [1999.12.22] Next 100 Years
  • [2000.11.29] I WILL GET THERE
  • [2001.12.19] ALWAYS (A SONG FOR LOVE)
  • [2002.12.18] Love Me All Over

DVD / VHS

  • [1999.06.16] People Of The World
  • [2003.04.09] J-FRIENDS Never Ending Spirit 1997-2003

References
  1. "Next 100 Years" (in Japanese). Johnny's net. Archived from the original on April 21, 2009. Retrieved October 23, 2009.
  2. "Love Me All Over" (in Japanese). Johnny's net. Archived from the original on October 6, 2009. Retrieved October 23, 2009.
  3. "People of the World" (in Japanese). Johnny's net. Archived from the original on April 21, 2009. Retrieved October 23, 2009.
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