Yaen

Yaen (野猿, lit. "Wild Monkey") was a Japanese pop group composed of Takaaki Ishibashi and Noritake Kinashi of the comedy duo The Tunnels, and nine staff members from their television variety show The Tunnels' Thanks to Everyone. From 1998 to 2001, Yaen released three studio albums, eleven singles, and four concert videos, all of which reached the top ten on the Oricon charts.

For the 1970 film, see Yaen?
Yaen
OriginJapan
GenresJ-pop
Years activeApril 29, 1998 (1998-04-29)–May 13, 2001 (2001-05-13)[1]
LabelsAvex Trax
Members
Past members
  • Takashi Kanbara
  • Kazuya Ota

History

Yaen was created by music producers Akimoto Yasushi and Tsugutoshi Gotō, who wrote parody songs for The Tunnels beginning in the 1980s. The group was originally formed for the purpose of performing a parody version of a KinKi Kids song on the music variety show Utaban,[2] but subsequently signed with the record label Avex Trax and made their debut as a legitimate pop group on April 29, 1998.[1][3] The group's name is derived from Hotel Yaen, a famous love hotel located in Tokyo.[2]

Despite their novel origins, Yaen achieved considerable mainstream success: the group released three studio albums, eleven singles, and four concert videos, all of which reached the top ten on the Oricon charts.[4] The group sold three million albums,[2] and performed at Kōhaku Uta Gassen in two consecutive years.[3] Several of the group's singles were choreographed by the band TRF.[3] Yaen announced on February 8, 2001 that they would disband, citing a desire by its members to return to their original jobs.[2][4] The group formally disbanded on May 13, 2001, following their final concert at Yoyogi National Gymnasium.[1] Several of the group's members continued to work at The Tunnels' Thanks to Everyone in their original roles, and made occasional appearances on the series.[2]

In 2009, Yaen reunited to mark the 21st anniversary of The Tunnels, where they participated in a one-off televised performance in which they attempted to replicate the choreography to their singles from memory.[3] On March 9, 2011, in commemoration of the tenth anniversary of the group's disbandment, Yaen's songs were released on the digital streaming platform Recochoku.[2] On September 17, 2019, Ishibashi announced the formation of B Pressure, a pop group composed of himself, Hirayama, and Kannami.[5]

Members

Original roles on The Tunnels' Thanks to Everyone are noted in parentheses.[3]

  • Takaaki Ishibashi, vocals (host)
  • Noritake Kinashi, vocals (host)
  • Teruchika Hirayama, vocals (acrylic decorations)
  • Norihito Kannami, vocals (costumes)
  • Kazuhiro Narui, dancer (large props)
  • Ikuomi Iizuka, dancer (special effects)
  • Takasho Ohara, dancer (large props)
  • Takahisa Amino, dancer (props)
  • Michiaki Hoshino, dancer (driver)
  • Kazumichi Handa, dancer (photographer)
  • Seiji Takaku, dancer (camera crane)

Directors Takashi Kanbara and Kazuya Ota appear on the group's first single "Get Down", but did not return for subsequent projects with Yaen.[6]

Discography

Studio albums
  • Staff Roll (March 10, 1999)[7]
  • Evolution (March 1, 2000)[8]
  • Tesshū (March 14, 2001)[9]

Singles
  • "Get Down" (April 29, 1998)[2]
  • "Sakebi" (September 17, 1998)[10]
  • "Snow Blind" (December 16, 1998)[11]
  • "Be Cool!" (February 24, 1999)[12]
  • "Selfish" (August 4, 1999)[13]
  • "Yozora wo Machinagara" (November 10, 1999)[14]
  • "First Impression" (February 2, 2000)[15]
  • "Chicken Guys" (May 31, 2000)[16]
  • "Taiyo no Kaseki" (October 12, 2000)[17]
  • "Star" (January 24, 2001)[18]
  • "Fish Fight!" (February 28, 2001)[19]

Tour and concert recordings
  • Yaen Concert In Yokohama Arena 1999 (July 7, 1999)[20]
  • Yaen 2000GTR Budokan Limited Inter Cooler Daihappyokai (July 19, 2000)[21]
  • Yaen Video Clips and History: The Greatest Hits (May 3, 2001)[22]
  • Kanzen Tesshu 4-jikan Densetsu (July 25, 2001)[23]

References
  1. ""撤収"から10年、野猿の全50曲が着うた＆フル配信解禁". Natalie (in Japanese). 9 March 2011. Retrieved 3 October 2020.
  2. "野猿、撤収から10年、全50曲の配信が決定！とんねるず＆素人で300万枚CDセールスを記録した伝説のユニット". Cinema Today (in Japanese). 9 March 2011. Retrieved 29 September 2020.
  3. "YAEN: A Music Group of Comedians and Staff Members". Kawaii Kakkoi Sugoi. 20 June 2015. Retrieved 29 September 2020.
  4. "野猿が今夜「とんねるずのみなさんのおかげでした」出演". Natalie (in Japanese). 8 February 2018. Retrieved 29 September 2020.
  5. "石橋貴明、元野猿2人と新ユニット「B Pressure」結成 シングル発売&ライブ決定". Oricon (in Japanese). 17 September 2019. Retrieved 29 September 2020.
  6. "フジテレビ「全力脱力タイムズ」チーフプロデューサーと対談". Ameba. 19 August 2019. Retrieved 29 September 2020.
  7. "Staff Roll". Oricon. Retrieved 29 September 2020.
  8. "Evolution". Oricon. Retrieved 29 September 2020.
  9. "撤収". Oricon. Retrieved 29 September 2020.
  10. "叫び". Oricon. Retrieved 29 September 2020.
  11. "SNOW BLIND". Oricon. Retrieved 29 September 2020.
  12. "Be cool!". Oricon. Retrieved 29 September 2020.
  13. "Selfish". Oricon. Retrieved 29 September 2020.
  14. "夜空を待ちながら". Oricon. Retrieved 29 September 2020.
  15. "First Impression". Oricon. Retrieved 29 September 2020.
  16. "Chicken Guys". Oricon. Retrieved 29 September 2020.
  17. "太陽の化石". Oricon. Retrieved 29 September 2020.
  18. "Star". Oricon. Retrieved 29 September 2020.
  19. "Fish Fight!". Oricon. Retrieved 29 September 2020.
  20. "YAEN CONCERT IN YOKOHAMA ARENA 1999". Suruga-ya. Retrieved 29 September 2020.
  21. "YAEN 2000GTR Budokan Inter Cooler Daihappyokai". Oricon. Retrieved 29 September 2020.
  22. "Yaen Video Clips and History: The Greatest Hits". Oricon. Retrieved 29 September 2020.
  23. "完全撤収 四時間伝説". Oricon. Retrieved 29 September 2020.
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