"KAT-TUN" is a Japanese pop group composed of four members. They are managed by Johnny & Associates and signed to their exclusive label J-One Records. Initially, they were a six-member group however Akanishi Jin left the group to pursue his solo career in 2010. Johnny terminated member Tanaka Koki's exclusive contract in October 2013, citing "bad behavior and repeated violation of rules," thus leaving both the company and the group. The group n ... See more [+] ame came from the first letter of each of the six members names and the boys often sat themselves accordingly during interviews. The pronunciation is supposedly close to the English word "cartoon" (or kah-toon). The group was formed in 2001 by KinKi Kids member Domoto Koichi and they worked as his backup dancers before moving on to singing and performing on their own. For five years they performed during concerts and on TV, gaining many fans, yet strangely did not have an official debut. However, in February 2006 it was announced that the group would debut on March 22nd with their single Real Face and album Best of KAT-TUN. Real Face sold 754,234 copies in its first week, surpassing the record held by ARASHI for most copies of a debut single sold in the first week and giving it the #1 position in the yearly charts. When the single stopped charting, it had sold over a million copies. Dead Or Alive, the 23rd single was released on January 21, 2015 and it debuted at the number one spot top the Oricon weekly single chart, selling over 192,000 copies in its first week of release. With this, KAT-TUN achieved their 23nd consecutive No.1 with their 23nd single.
