When a wrecking ball fell on and destroyed a car, I was hooked on a 72-hour live stream starring three former members of pop group SMAP.
Airing last weekend on the online streaming site AbemaTV, this program found Goro Inagaki, Tsuyoshi Kusanagi and Shingo Katori engaging in a hodge-podge of activities over the course of three days. They sang karaoke, worked at a McDonald's, played games — and caused vehicular damage the likes the pop music world hasn't seen since the extended version of Michael Jackson's music video for "Black or White."
Besides stretching AbemaTV's budget to the max, the live stream served as a re-introduction to the trio about a year after SMAP's dramatic breakup (the J-pop equivalent of dropping a steel beam through a limo). The three used the spectacle as a way to re-invent themselves as idols for the digital age — appearing to have a blast in the process — and hint at new paths that Japanese entertainment could take in the future.