is the first mini album and seventh original album by

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

ese

boy band A boy band is loosely defined as a vocal group consisting of young male singers, usually in their teenage years or in their twenties at the time of formation. Generally, boy bands perform Love song, love songs marketed towards girls and young ...

KAT-TUN is a Japanese boy band formed under Johnny & Associates (Johnny's) in 2001. The group's name was originally an acronym based on the first letter of each member's family name: Kazuya Kamenashi, Jin Akanishi, Junnosuke Taguchi, Koki Tanaka, ...

, released in Japan on November 27, 2013, under the label

J-One Records is a Japanese music and film company owned by Johnny & Associates. It was established on November 12, 2001, initially as a label for the Johnny's group, Arashi, after which it was named. Aside from producing and releasing CDs and DVDs, the co ...

. The title track "Kusabi" was used as the theme song for the drama ''Henshin Interviewer no Yūutsu'' starring KAT-TUN member

Yuichi Nakamaru , is a Japanese singer-songwriter, actor, television personality, radio host, and a member of KAT-TUN. He joined the talent agency Johnny & Associates in 1998 and then officially debuted as part of KAT-TUN in 2006. Individually, he has acted i ...

and actress

Fumino Kimura is a Japanese actress. Filmography Film * ''Kaze no Dadu'' (2006), Ayumi Asano * ''Adan'' (2006), Adan * ''Paradise Kiss'' (2011) * ''Run60'' (2011), Maki * ''Sukiyaki'' (2011), Shiori Mizushima * ''Ramo Trip'' (2012), Mari Ijichi * ''Chips'' ...

, while "Gimme Luv" was used in a Suzuki Solio Bandit television commercial. ''Kusabi'' debuted at the number one spot top the

Oricon , established in 1999, is the holding company at the head of a Japanese corporate group that supplies statistics and information on music and the music industry in Japan and Western music. It started as, which was founded by Sōkō Koike in Nov ...

weekly album chart, selling over 168,209 copies in its first week of release. The album is KAT-TUN's seventh consecutive album to achieve number one, putting them in a tie with singer

Hikaru Utada , who is also known by the mononym Utada, is a Japanese-American pop singer, songwriter and producer. By 2010, Utada had become one of the most influential, and best-selling, musical artists in Japan. Born in the United States to Japanese parent ...

for most consecutive album number ones in Oricon chart history. Kusabi sold 10,917 copies in its second week, 3,442 copies in its third week and 1,832 copies in its fourth week. The album has sold 189,338 copies so far.

Album information

''Kusabi'' is the first mini album release from KAT-TUN, released approximately one year and nine months after their previous studio album ''Chain''. All of the tracks included on the album are new, with none having been released in singles. The release comes in three versions - Regular Edition, Limited Edition 1, and Limited Edition 2. All versions of the album include "Kusabi", "Gimme Luv", "On & On", and "Fire and Ice". The Regular Edition contains seven tracks, with "Bless", "4U" and "Phoenix" included. The Limited Edition 1 has a total of six tracks, with "Boku Nari no Koi" and "Monster Night", a solo by KAT-TUN member

Tatsuya Ueda , is a Japanese idol, singer, and actor from the Japanese idol group KAT-TUN. Born in Kanagawa in Japan, he joined the Japanese talent agency, Johnny & Associates in 1998. In March 2006 he debuted as a member of the Japanese boy band KAT-TUN and ...

, and a DVD containing the music video and making for "Kusabi", and the music video for "Monster Night". Limited Edition 2 contains five tracks, with "Fantastic Planet" as the only additional track, and a DVD containing the music video for "Gimme Luv".

Promotion

As the first release after former member Koki Tanaka's departure, the album was marketed as the group's first work as four members. This included KAT-TUN performing the title track "Kusabi" on television music programs ''Live Monster'', ''Shonen Club Premium'', ''Best Artist 2013'', and ''

Music Station is a Japanese music television program. Broadcasting live weekly on TV Asahi since October 24, 1986, it currently airs from 9PM-10PM on Fridays. The program is also colloquially known as , , and . The show is currently syndicated throughout th ...

'' which they were guests on. Special campaigns were held to promote the album. Each copy of the album contains a unique user code. From its release date until 1 December, people could use the code to sign up to receive a KAT-TUN New Year Greetings card in 2014, and together with it were given an option to ballot for invitations to an event, KAT-TUN 2014 The First Meeting. In addition, a B2-size poster is given free when purchasing the bundled set of all three versions. In conjunction with the release of ''Kusabi'', the group is also set to perform their first concert in almost two years, at

Kyocera Dome The (official name: ) is a baseball stadium located in Osaka, Osaka, Japan. Opened in 1997, the stadium was the home field of the Osaka Kintetsu Buffaloes. In 2005, the stadium became one of the homes of the Orix Buffaloes, a result of the merg ...

on 30 and 31 December.

Track listing

Charts

References

External links

Kusabi product information
{{authority control KAT-TUN albums 2013 EPs Japanese-language EPs