was a Japanese music variety show, broadcast weekly from October 15, 1996 until March 23, 2010 on TBS. The name of the show is an abbreviation of , meaning "music program". A special version of the show, running for two hours, was occasionally aired under the name , an abbreviation of , meaning "special program". The show's theme song, played during the opening sequence and closing credits, was " These Boots Are Made for Walkin'" by Nancy Sinatra.

History

The show was first broadcast on October 16, 1996. Originally supposed to be called "J-Pop Hour", it was hosted by Takaaki Ishibashi, of comedy duo Tunnels, and Masahiro Nakai, leader of boy band

SMAP SMAP was a Japanese boy band, composed of Masahiro Nakai, Takuya Kimura, Goro Inagaki, Tsuyoshi Kusanagi, and Shingo Katori. The group was created in 1988 by music producer Johnny Kitagawa, founder of Johnny & Associates, originally as a ...

. Hello! Project idol group Morning Musume were frequent guests on the show, at one point appearing almost weekly. Nakai was briefly replaced by TBS announcer Shin'ichirō Azumi in late June 2006, due to

conjunctivitis Conjunctivitis, also known as pink eye, is inflammation of the outermost layer of the white part of the eye and the inner surface of the eyelid. It makes the eye appear pink or reddish. Pain, burning, scratchiness, or itchiness may occur. The ...

. After 13 and a half years on air, the show made its final broadcast on March 23, 2010. It was reformatted into a new show called , also hosted by Ishibashi and Nakai, which aired on TBS from April 20 to September 14, 2010.

Performers

Moderators (MC)

* Takaaki Ishibashi * Masahiro Nakai

Others

* * *

References

External links

Official Site
(Japanese) Japanese variety television shows Japanese music television series TBS Television (Japan) original programming 1996 Japanese television series debuts 2010 Japanese television series endings {{Japan-tv-prog-stub