Johnny Kitagawa
At the same time, male idols gained popularity, with acts from Johnny &amp; Associates normalizing idols singing and dancing at the same time. However, fewer male idol acts from other companies achieved the same success as Johnny's idols due to the company's CEO, Johnny Kitagawa, controlling the media and pressuring certain programs not to invite male idols from competing agencies, an act that would remain until his death in 2019.