For years one of Japan’s most popular idol boy bands has been a group of five guys called SMAP, an acronym for Sports Music Assemble People. Over the years the group has released twenty albums and forty singles. On a recent SMAP television special one of the numbers was performed by a group called Showa Jidai (Older Generation) and headed by SMAP’s Masahiro Nakai. The performance was a parody of the song “Gee” by Korean girl pop group SNSD or Sonyeo Shidae, done by a group of older former male singers successful in the twentieth century but now unable to follow the new trends and looked down upon by today’s younger generation. The aim was to be funny, and they are that, but since they were all performers at one time, their dancing skills are still obvious. At 39, SMAP’s Masahiro Nakai is some years younger than the other eight in Showa Jidai, and has maintained huge stardom since his debut in 1987.
SMAP’s Masahiro Nakai and leader of the Showa Jidai parody group
Okay. Let's see if I can come up with a pithy comment. Sort of a gay Japanese version of the Village People (except with simpler costumes). Just the visual is funny without even appreciating the song parody itself.
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