So much has been said and written about the performance of Arashi at FNS last week. If this happened in Chinese history, it will be referred to as The FNS Incident.
And since so much has been said, I won’t add anymore to the ongoing discourse of what idols should be capable of doing, how a live performance should go etc etc.
Here’s the performance that has made everyone an expert on live performances (including me, I guess):
So here’s what happened according to reports: the staff misplaced the ear pieces and the sound mixing was bad. In short, it was a colossal technical failure.
(The photo above is not the controversial performance.)
My first thought when I first read about what happened on Twitter was: sabotage? Misplaced ear pieces… microphones that are bad… are you kidding me?!
Yes, this is a live show but the production staff should be used to the demands of shows like this already there is no room for stupid, idiotic mistakes like that. Unless it was a newbie staff or an intern assigned to handle the Arashi number. Which I doubt of course considering that it was a major production number and Arashi is a major franchise. That is why I can’t understand that such an accident could happen.
My only hope is, heads should have rolled by now in Fuji TV. Arashi should not be the only ones to suffer the public backlash and if I were Johnny-san, I would demand full accountability of the matter. The boys are his top milking cows earners for the company for crying out loud!
Now, on the performance: yes, it was bad. But I expected worst after reading all the reactions. However, it wasn’t as bad as a SMAP performance, whether live or otherwise, true or not. In this instance, it was obvious that there was no syncing between the orchestra and the boys, which makes me wonder if they even rehearsed together. Plus the absence of the ear pieces made things worse.
Yet, despite all that, the boys finished the performance with smiles on their faces. If for anything, they have to be commended for being professional. Arashi’s been through so much worse but they always stand up and brush themselves off, and move on, including from this incident.
And that is why they are Arashi.
Now move on and stop picking on the boys. And don’t get me started on how worse your own idols will fare given the same situation.
Copyright © 2011. theasianpopculturist. All rights reserved.
orange jasmine purple yam 
bless this post ^_^ to be honest, when i first saw their MLS perf in FNS, i got the 2nd had embarrassment but it didn’t make me love Arashi any less~ and I admire how professional they are.. they continued their show. I’m so proud to be their fan
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same here, I never would give up supporting and cheering them on just because of an incident like this. and it’s amusing to read other people’s comments. I’ve seen worse performances. of course there’s no excuse for what happened but Arashi is not even making excuses. it’s Fuji TV that made excuses.
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THANK YOU!!!!!!
You said everything on my mind. Mute the vid, you won’t see any difference with their performance, any other artist would have freak out. One incident and suddenly everyone ridicule them. I’ve watched most of their performance since 1999. Let me testify that this sort of mess never occured.
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“Let me testify that this sort of mess never occured.”
and if it was some other group, they would have started griping and pinning the blame on somebody.
well, let me do it for them: who was the idiot in Fuji TV who was in charge of this number?! I want him to sing without an ear monitor at Arashi’s next concert. lols
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There are a lot of live performances that are way “worse” than this.
It’s not that I’m saying they suck or anything, it’s just that when you compare this to other performances, you’ll really see the difference. I know a female singer (not saying the name) who you can’t really hear when she sings live because she uses autotune when she records songs. So when she sings live, all you can hear is mumbling and bad singing.
But I think they’re good because it’s really hard to keep up with the other singers without the ear pierces. You can hardly tell if you’re in tune or not. And considering that there are five of them on the stage, my statement does make sense, right?
And yep, I really commend Arashi for being professional. I still admire them with all my heart. Bless them for being such a good role model to others who have chickened out and totally messed up on stage.
Long live, Arashi!
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Reading this again…am wondering what do you think Fuji compesate for Arashi or Je?? Hmm…. All around Fuku+Hana Arashi??
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Fuji can’t do without an Arashi show. That’s the reality of the business.
And FNS cannot exclude Arashi from the show and Arashi cannot skip FNS coz they are the top artists. It would even be more controversial if they’re not there. Both parties know this.
But at the same time, Arashi won’t risk their reputation again. So the compromise maybe is to pre-record their number with nothing new to the arrangement etc. like just some token appearance to avoid media fallout. At least they won’t have to waste almost four hours of their precious time sitting there in the audience and watching bad performances like what we had to endure tonight. Arashi has better things to do lol
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I was actually expecting worst. I mean when I read your comment saying “the FNS accident”, “Aiba’s shriek” and all that, I was cringing even before I pressed play. But I thought the performance went well. Maybe I’m tone deaf, maybe I’m arasho-bias. I dont know (………..)
But good job boys for keeping it together. (Aiba’s face in the end tho, you poor boy. Dont be sad)
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I also felt the same way… I thought it was worst.
but props to them for finishing the performance despite what happened.
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I watched their performance on Meikyuu Love Song for like how many times and I even played it in slow motion , I noticed that Matsumoto Jun-san is the only one who’s wearing an in-ear monitor. When they are singing in chorus, I didn’t hear Ohno’s voice which makes me realized that their mics are not functioning well. You can notice it just by seeing that Nino’s mic was turned off at the beginning. All in all, it’s not that bad. Arashi carried it right through the end of the song. They are still the best for me. Love them so much ❤
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yes, it wasn’t as bad as I expected when I first heard of what happened. and I have renewed respect for them for carrying through till the end despite the technical problems.
besides, one performance that sucked won’t diminish my love for these five dorks. they’re more than an FNS number lol
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HI! I was wondering if you’d allow me to share this video on my personal blog on LJ. Of course, I’ll credit you.
I made such a big fuss over this accident on LJ years ago that I want to rewrite my thoughts now years later. Of course, that is that this accident wasn’t that bad after all. I actually like that we get to hear them sing live, except that they would’ve done so much better if there hadn’t been any technical failure. I love Arashi even more after this. I just wished more people knew they weren’t to blame and that haters realized how professional they were.
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sure!!! and it would help clarify the incident because without watching the video and just hearing about it, you’d think it was that bad.
I mean yes, for a live performance, it was not something to hark about. but I admired Arashi even more for going through the production professionally.
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oh hey that wasn’t even that bad! Gee wonder what those haters are on about. I love how professional they are and how none of them showed it on their faces during the performance. I’m really proud to be their fans >:)
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deshou? when I first heard about what happened, I was expecting the worst. but like you said, it wasn’t that bad. of course it’s nothing to be proud of either. but I love how Arashi went through it professionally. I’m sure they’ve learned their lessons from it that’s why now they are more OC when it comes to technical aspects in live shows.
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Is there a video for the smap performance ?
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I got to know about Arashi in December 2012. I don’t quite remember when I heard about this, but I remember having read about the odd performance when I was looking for live performances of Meikyū Love Song, because I read somewhere that, seeing the guys kneeling, was very romantic and キャー-y! So I saw a bit of blabbing, but, since I didn’t know well the boys yet, and was still surfing above all the deep stuff, I let it go.
Now, I was reading an old JunToshi fanfic that mentioned this fact and I decided look for this performance.
I read your article and all the comments first and was so afraid to watch the video!!!!
The sing was off as expected when a group sings without in-ear monitors! But Arashi wouldn’t be Arashi if they didn’t know how to behave in these situations.But what makes me horrified is the bad backlash they got for this! So unfair!
And now, because of the impending hiatus, they made so many performances singing live and they were just beautiful!!! I will treasure those voices forever!
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