Tackey & Tsubasa

Before becoming Tackey & Tsubasa, Takizawa "Tackey" Hideaki and Imai Tsubasa were a part of Johnny's Junior, a division of younger boys in the agency that usually begin their careers as backup dancers. The successful Juniors are then given the chance to work up to their own group debut. Tackey & Tsubasa were originally part of the backup dancer line-up for the KinKi Kids and over the years, the two boys became very good friends.

After Arashi debuted in 1999, Tackey became the 'leader' of the Johnny's Juniors. In 1999, at the Johnny's Junior FIRST Concert in Tokyo, Tackey asked Tsubasa to join him in a duet—their first—and again a year later at the Johnny's Junior Spring Concert 2000. During their Junior days they also hosted a number of variety shows including “Gakibara Teikoku” in 2000 and appeared in the drama “Genroku Ryoran,” which brought them even closer together.

In mid-2001, Johnny announced that the two boys would debut in 2002 as solo singers. This was a surprise, as it came after the success of their first tour, Takki and Tsubasa 21st Century Showdown with all Johnny's Juniors, which had led many to believe they would debut as a duo. This tour was a JE first in that two individual boys were named in the tour title. Neither boy wanted to be separated, and their now-substantial following was equally opposed.

Tackey announced his desire to debut in a group at the 2002 Johnny's Junior Concert, leading to a year-long battle and a campaign where fans sent letters to Johnny asking him to let the boys debut as a duo. It was a tiring endeavour but on August 1, 2002, it was announced that they would debut as Tackey & Tsubasa.

The following month, the boys released their debut album Hatachi—which means "20 years old”, a reference to their ages at the time. It begun a trend of naming subsequent albums, somehow, after their ages. For example, 2wenty 2wo in 2004 and then Two You Four You in 2006. Hatachi was a huge success and claimed the number two spot on the Oricon charts after its release.

The next single, To be, to be, ten made to be, released in February of the following year also performed well, selling in excess of 100,000 copies. Each subsequent release from Tackey & Tsubasa would reliably make it into one of the top two slots on the Oricon charts, if not the number one slot itself. In late 2003, Yume Monogatari was released, and it went on to be a smash hit.

However, the duo went quiet for almost a year afterwards, concentrating instead on acting in dramas. Tackey, in particular, became deeply involved in the Taiga drama “Yoshitsune.” Perhaps this brief hiatus caused their popularity to slip a bit as in September 2004 their Serenade single was less well received selling under 100 000 copies. Whatever caused the slip in popularity vanished with the release of the hit single Venus, which is still their best known and highest-selling single to date.

2007 marked the duo's fifth anniversary. They celebrated with the release of their first greatest hits album, TakkiTsuba BEST. They also released two singles, including x~dame/Crazy Rainbow which was used as a theme song for the popular anime “One Piece.” Both that single and SAMURAI, released in August, reached number one on the Oricon weekly charts, although neither managed to outstrip the success of Venus.

The duo’s activities stalled once again in 2009 when both members began to focus on solo careers. Tackey made his solo debut in January 2009 with the single Ai Kakumei. It was quickly followed by a second, Sha.la.la / Mugen no Hane, in May.

Tsubasa, on the other hand, focused mainly on live performances. He released a tour DVD, TSUBASA IMAI ☆Dance and Rock★ Tour’09, which included a CD with four new songs.

The year 2010 brought Tsubasa’s first solo single, BACKBORN, which was also notable because it featured lyrics he had written himself. He also performed in Shounentai’s annual musical PLAYZONE.

In a welcome surprise for their fans, Tackey & Tsubasa returned as a duo near the end of 2010. They released the single Ai wa Takaramono, which quickly shot up to number one. Their subsequent releases, while not quite as successful, have all ranked within the top ten, showing that the duo remain a force to be reckoned with.

The year 2012 marked the tenth anniversary of Tackey & Tsubasa, and one can only hope there will be many more to come.