Arashi's debut was on September 15th in tropical Hawaii. An appearance in Hawaii became a tradition for several years, until it was forgotten for unknown reasons.
The first song A.RA.SHI, released as a single November 3rd, was used as a theme song for a volleyball world cup.
In the June the next year, their first video Suppin Arashi was released. According to fans, and even the idols themselves, as an early work it is more a general Johnny's live than anything else. But more importantly, it was a start for the band.
With a promising beginning, the group released several singles, all of which were later compiled on one CD. The album, called ARASHI No.1 ICHIGOU - ARASHI wa Arashi o Yobu, was a huge hit, selling over 267,220 copies. That spring, the group held their first tour, Arashi Spring Concert 2001.
Before the next release, however, the group moved to another label, leaving Pony Canyon behind. It was the year 2002, and Arashi's new record company was called J-Storm, which is directly related to Johnny's Entertainment and had the time and energy to concentrate solely on Arashi.Their first ever release with the new company was a best-of compilation named ARASHI Single Collection 1999-2001.
It was only a couple of months before the highly anticipated next album was introduced. Here We Go! continued the torrent of hit singles and was a respectful way to continue their career. The next video, also released in DVD format, was ALL or NOTHING, a tour documentary containing only clips of the songs performed at concerts and five full-length solo numbers.
The album Iza, NOW! celebrated Arashi's five year anniversary in 2004. To commemorate, they released ARASHI 5x5 and delivered bonus songs on the CD that were originally scheduled to appear on their next release, One.
January of the following year saw the debut of a new live DVD, and the band toured throughout the spring before One was released in August. It was the very first Arashi CD to include studio recorded solo songs - they had only performed solos in concerts prior to this. It was also during 2005 that Matsumoto held a leading role in "Hana Yori Dango," a role which would later gain Arashi even more attention.
2006 marked a big year for Arashi, debuting Arashic not only in Japan but overseas, with copies being sold in record stores in Korea, Thailand, China and Taiwan. Overseas fans were able to see the group perform when they held their first overseas tour, Jet Storm.
Over the next two years, Arashi's focus was on Japan - both musically and in acting. In April, they played Arashi Around Asia in Dome and dropped their seventh album, Time. Their 2008 single Step and Go brought them more fame, selling over 300,000 copies in the first week, breaking their previous record. On television the appearances were numerous, with Ninomiya in Ryuusei no Kizuna," Matsumoto in "Bambino!" and "Hana Yori Dango 2," Sakurai in "Yamada Taro Monogatari" and Ohno in "Maou." Aiba was the only member not cast in a drama during that time.
2009 marked the band's 10th anniversary, and for the event they celebrated in style. Their special double single release topped the Oricon charts and broke a national record for having two consecutive singles sell over 500,000 copies during the first week of sales. In June, Arashi celebrated their anniversary with the Arashi Anniversary Tour 5x10 tour, and by summer they debuted a best-of album.
The following year was another busy yet successful one for Arashi. Performing the theme song for the 2010 Winter Olympics, they won the "Artist of the Year" award in February at the 24th Japan Gold Disc Awards. Throughout spring, the group had a series of single releases and held a number of performances at Tokyo's National Stadium after the release of Boku no miteiru fukei, their first album in two years. By August, they embarked on the 2010~2011 tour Scene, with its final show on January 15, 2011 at Fukuoka Yahoo! Japan Dome.
Arashi's next move for the new year will be a live DVD of the final show during the Scene tour. In the meantime, no other plans have been announced. Fans should keep an eye out, because Arashi is not slowing down any time soon.
