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The results from the 13th Junon boys contest,
which is held by Junon magazine annually in Japan, have produced the group FLAME. The winner from the contest
was Izaki Yusuke and he was given the choice to start either a solo career or to form a group. Yusuke's choice was to
form a group...and I'm so glad for it. The 3 remaining group members were chosen from the finalists. Along with
Yusuke are his twin brother, Hisato, Kyohei Kaneko, and Yu Kitamura.
On October 3, 2001, FLAME released their first single, "Mune no kodou." The music video to follow was filmed in New
York City, USA. This was made possible by Yusuke, who (it is said) had used his winnings to fly the group to New York
City to film their video. FLAME also traveled to Thaiwan to promote their first CD, Boys' Quest. I continue to enjoy listening to it very much! And FLAME Style, too! This CD is the second and is compiled of some songs from the first CD and
new songs.
The guys went on to pursue acting careers for a short time.
Yusuke and Hisato starred in the movie "Devilman," which probably wasn't a huge success, but I enjoy watching it every now
and then. Kyohei starred in "Boutaoshi", which Yu was also in, but he had a small role. Yu's first starring role
was in the TV drama "Deep Love, Host."
In late 2004, Kyohei announced that
he was leaving FLAME in order to pursue his career on a different path. He now has a solo career in which he goes by
the name KYOHEI. This was a hard situation, not only for FLAME fans, but for the guys themselves. However, FLAME
would continue. Immediately after Kyohei left, a new face joined the group. His name is Seigo Noguchi.
I like Seigo very much (he's a libra, like me, lol), although fans have mixed feelings. These days, I believe that fans
are more comfortable with Seigo now. Yu and Seigo get along great, so I'm figuring. They shared an apartment
even. How nice. ^_^
On February 16, 2005, the "Nu" FLAME released
their single, "Shake You Down". This is a really good song,
using the reggaeton/hip-hop style that the guys were into at the time.
The guys went on to start radio shows. Yusuke and Seigo had their radio show, while Yu and Hisato had "FLAME no Radio
Soldier at Bay-FM." I miss listening to this show a lot. Though I don't know very much Japanese, it was entertaining
to listen to them. To date, the guys have been on many radio shows, either to promote their songs or just to have some
fun.
For around a year and a half, FLAME had been silent with releasing
new singles. Yu went on to take a role in the movie "Chanko", a movie about a sumo wrestler group at a universtiy.
He then joined with Seigo to act in the TV drama/comedy "Starlight". I absolutely love Yu and Seigo in this one!
Finally,
on November 15, 2006, FLAME released their newest, and currently thier latest, single. It's called "Hanashitekuwanai."
Their sound now is more pop/rock, with a little bit of hip-hop left in one song. There are 4 new songs on the single,
all of which are fun! If you're a fan of J-pop and have never heard of FLAME, listen to their music if you can...I'm
sure you'll like their sound. If you're already a fan, please continue to support them! And don't forget to share the
love!
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