Smap were a hugely popular J-pop band formed in 1986 by record producer Johnny Kitagawa of Johnny & Associates. The lineup featured singers Masahiro Nakai, Takuya Kimura, Goro Inagaki, Tsuyoshi Kusanagi, Shingo Katori and Katsuyuki Mori, who left in 1996. They had a long line of hit singles and their numbered albums earned several Japan Gold Disc Awards until they disbanded in 2016. They made many television and radio appearances and toured Japan on a regular basis.
Over their many years in the music business, they released 55 tracks and 24 albums, with nearly all of them landing in the top ten on Japan's Oricon charts. Their weekly television show 'SmapxSmap' remained a hit throughout their career. Hit singles included 'Not Alone (Shiawase Ni Narouyo)' and 'Original Smile', both of which peaked at number eight on the Billboard Japan Hot 100 in 2011. 'Boku No Hanbun', 'Sakasama No Sora' and 'Moment' topped the chart in 2012 as did 'Yes We Are' and 'Top of the World' in 2014. 'Sekai ni hitotsu dake no hana' (2016) reached number two, 'Stay' (2016) went to number 33 and 'Best Friend' (2017) peaked at number 52. A compilation release 'SMAP 25 Years' came out in 2016.
