WaT

Wat are one of the several vehicles for Eiji Wentz and Koike Teppei, both successful actors, singers/songwriters, and all-around favorites of many a young Japanese female. The folk-pop duo was formed in 2002 — Wentz, a half-German-American, had worked before as a model and theater actor and was a TV personality; Teppei, an Osaka native, had no serious prior showbiz experience. Meeting in Tokyo, the two men clicked as a duo and began playing acoustic concerts in a local park under the moniker WaT — an abbreviation of "Wentz and Teppei." By the end of 2003, their shows gathered as much as 1,000 people, which became too much for a street gig, but was sufficient to begin working in the studio. Wat debuted in 2004 with the indie single Sotsugyou Time, and the first promo show in support of the release gathered a crowd of 5,000 on a weekday. By 2005 they had several TV and movie gigs under their belt; their acting career went separate ways, but they stuck together for Wat, and the duo was snatched up by Universal in 2005. Their first major release was the single Boku No Kimochi, which hit number two on the charts and sold 170,000 copies in 2005, propelling the band to debut on Kohaku Uta Gassen — the top Japanese New Year show, on which Wat have become a regular feature since. In 2006 Wat strengthened their position on the J-pop scene — within a year they released four singles, including two number ones (Ready Go! and Bokura No Love Story), and their first full-length, Sotsugyou Time Bokura No Hajimari, which charted at number two and sold over 170,000 units. The two men took a break from the band in 2007, focusing on acting and solo releases — both recorded several singles, and Teppei put out the full-length Pieces — but they returned in 2008 with three more Top Five singles. In 2009, Teppei released his second solo album, Jack in the Box.