Kasai Tomomi 河西智美 (AKB48) graduation date from AKB48

Kasai Tomomi 河西智美 (AKB48) graduation date from AKB48 revealed

It was announced on AKB48 official blog that Kasai Tomomi’s graduation from the group will be on May 3rd, after the Shinoda team A performance at AKB48 theater.

Kasai previously announced her graduation on the stage of “the 2nd AKB48 Kohaku Taikou Uta Gassen” held on December 17th of last year. Additionally, her last appearance for a handshake event will be on April 20th which will be held at Makuhari Messe.

On May 8th, right after her graduation, she is set to release her 2nd single (currently untitled) that has been chosen as the ending theme for upcoming drama “Meshibana Deka Tachibana“, in which she will appear as the heroine.

Source: TokyoHive

YUI Ends Hiatus with A New Band

After almost five months from YUI's break, it was announced that the singer/songwriter will already return to the music industry as a vocalist of the new band Flower Flower. The band was said to be already performing live around Japan and has been doing studio sessions earlier this year which obviously explains that YUI's time from the hiatus was actually used and given for the preparation of the band's debut.

Flower Flower is a four-member group which consists of other musicians YUI admires and respects. The band will be making their debut on May 4 at the Japan Jam event in Tokyo - Shin-Kiba STUDIO COAST. Following their formal debut, they will also be participating at the Tokyo Metropolitan Rock Festival 2013 on May 26.

About the band's name "Flower Flower" YUI said, "I wanted to pick a name that wasn't flashy, but was natural. There were probably a lot of cool names that I could've picked, but purposely, instead of doing that, I wanted to pick a name that seemed effortless and relaxing, and had a natural feeling injected into it. I want to express powerful and interesting ideas freely."

 

Source : JpopAsia

BREAKERZ’s AKIHIDE to release first solo album in June + live tour

Last month, BREAKERZ announced that the members would each be starting their solo activities in April. Among them, AKIHIDE (G) will be releasing his first solo album, “Amber“, on June 5th.

All songs on “Amber” will be written, composed, and sung by AKIHIDE himself. He will even be in charge of the album’s artwork. It will contain a total of 11 tracks including “Itoshi no Valkyria“, “Kuroneko no Tango“, and “Kumo no Ito“.

The limited edition will come with a DVD including the video clip for “Hoshi no Kyousoukyoku” and a documentary. Meanwhile, the regular edition will come with bonus tracks.

To coincide this album’s release, AKIHIDE will be holding a live tour. It will kick off on June 15th at amHALL in Osaka, and will wrap up on July 7th at Nagoya Electric Lady Land. The tour dates can be seen below.

===

<AKIHIDE 1st Live Tour 2013 “Amber”>

Saturday, June 15th – amHALL (Osaka)
Sunday, June 16th – Sendai HooK (Miyagi)
Friday, June 28th – Sapporo KRAPS HALL (Hokkaido)
Sunday, June 30th – Fukuoka Ims Hall (Fukuoka)
Friday, July 5th – Akasaka BLITZ (Tokyo)
Sunday, July 7th – Nagoya Electric Lady Land (Aichi)

===

Source & Image: Tokyohive

the GazettE Announces New Album, Release and DVD

Great news for Gazette fans! The band just announced at their tour final that they will release a new single, new album and new live dvd in 2013!

The Live DVD features their tour final MELT that was held today at Saitama Super Arena. The live was sold out and marks the 11th anniversary of the band. The DVD is scheduled to be released on June 23th.
But there's more! Gazette’s new single is titled “FADELES” and will drop in August - two months before their new album “BEAUTIFUL DEFORMITY” will hit the stores.
Moreover they will kick off their nationwide tour “MAGNIFICENT MALFORMED BOX” on November 2nd. It will end in Sendai on December 28th.

Source : Jpopasia.com

Akimoto Yasushi becomes the most commercially successful lyricist in Japan

It was announced that the total number of sales for singles which were written by lyricist Akimoto Yasushi has reached a whopping 68,591,000 copies, which made him the most commercially successful lyricist in Japan.

After including the sales from the latest Oricon weekly ranking, Akimoto surpassed late lyricist Aku Yu’s record of 68,319,000 copies by 272,000 copies.

Akimoto has written the lyrics for many artists such as Onyanko Club, Tunnels, the late Misora Hibari, and in recent years, he’s known for contributing lyrics for AKB48, SKE48, NMB48 and more. Reportedly, Akimoto wrote the lyrics for 506 singles so far, and among all the singles he wrote, the best selling single was AKB48’s 26th single “Manatsu no Sounds good!” (released in May 2012) which sold 1,822,000 copies in total. Moreover, about 30% (19,987,000 copies) of his total sales have come from songs he wrote for AKB48.

Akimoto left the comment, “Thank you. Even after getting No.1 in sales, I still can’t hold a candle to other great senior lyricists, but taking this (record) is very encouraging, I would like to continue to devote myself.”

Akimoto made his debut as a lyricist with “Kotoba ni Shitakunai Tenki” (The coupling track for THE ALFEE’s single ‘Toori Ame‘) in October of 1981. His first chart topping single was Kikuchi Momoko’s “Sotsugyou” (released in February 1985), and a total of 87 singles which Akimoto contributed the lyrics, have topped the chart ever since. 87 chart topping singles is also a record for lyricists, number 2 is Inaba Koshi with 52 singles.

Below is the list of TOP 5 lyricists with their total number of single sales (the parentheses show the best selling singles from the lyricist).

1. Akimoto Yasushi…68,591,000 copies (AKB48 ‘Manatsu no Sounds good!’ 1,822,000 copies)

2. Aku Yu…68,319,000 copies (Pink Lady ‘UFO’ 1,554,000 copies)
3. Matsumoto Takashi…49,838,000 copies (KinKi Kids ‘Glass no Shounen’ 1,792,000 copies)
4. Komuro Tetsuya…42,224,000 copies (Amuro Namie ‘CAN YOU CELEBRATE?’ 2,296,000 copies)
5. Inaba Koshi…37,594,000 copies (B’z ‘Ai no Mama ni Wagamama ni Boku wa Kimi dake wo Kizutsukenai’ 2,021,000 copies)

Source : TokyoHive

AKB48’s 30th single ‘So long!’ sells over a million copies

Popular idol group AKB48’s 30th single “So long!” (released on February 20th) sold 1,036,000 copies in its first week, and topped the Oricon weekly single ranking for the week of March 4th.

This marked AKB48’s 17 consecutive chart topping single since “RIVER” (released in October 2009), and they have extended their own records for “the number of consecutive chart topping singles” and “total number of chart topping singles”. Moreover, this is their 11 consecutive single (and 12th single overall) to sell over a million copies since “Sakura no Ki ni Narou” (released in February 2011). Among those singles that sold over a million copies, 10 of them achieved the million mark during just the first week.

This accomplishment of 10 singles selling over one million copies in the first week is even more impressive considering that since Oricon’s single ranking started back in 1968, there has only been three singles besides AKB48 that sold over a million copies during the first week. These are, “Namonaki Uta” (Mr.Children in 1996),  ”Dango 3 Kyoudai” (Hayami Kentaro, Shigemori Ayumi, and more in 1999), and “Addicted To You” (Utada Hikaru in 1999). Additionally, there has been no artist other than AKB48 who has achieved it with more than one single.

Watanabe Mayu commented, “I was informed that ‘So long!’ that I served as the center for the first time reached a million copies, and we were the only one to accomplish the record of ‘having 10 consecutive single that sold over a million copies in the first week.’ I am happy from the bottom of my heart, and I’m full of gratitude toward the fans who have always been cheering for us, and the staff members who always support us.”

Source & Image: TokyoHive

T.M.Revolution Berkolaborasi Dengan the GazettE di Album UNDER:COVER 2!

Belakangan ini memang banyak artis yang membawakan kembali versi terbaru lagu-lagu klasik mereka seperti DIR EN GREY, LUNA SEA dan lain-lain Penyanyi solo dengan roots visual kei yang kentalT.M.Revolutionpun akan kembali merilis album self-cover untuk kedua kalinya tanggal 27 Februari. 

Album self-cover tersebut berjudul UNDER:COVER 2, album ini akan berisi 15 versi baru dari lagu-laguT.M.Revolution yang divoting oleh penggemar nya, dan melibatkan artis tamu seperti the GazettE, JESSEdari RIZE, Tomoyasu Hotei dan May J.. 

Album ini akan tersedia dalam 5 edisi berbeda. Edisi regular akan berupa CD audio, edisi cetakan pertama akan mendapat poster. Edisi limited akan berupa DVD dengan digest footage penampilan T.M.Revolution  saat tampil di Inazuma Rock Fest 2012.

Edisi  3 CD+Goods  akan dikeluarkan dalam sebuah LP box deluxe dan mendapat bonus CD berisi track laguMeteor , dan sepasang pakaian dalam wanita berukuran L. Desain dari pakaian dalam tersebut bervariasi yaitu tipe A, B dan C.

Souce : Jame-world

Superfly merilis documentary Blu-Ray & DVD pertamanya

Superfly akan merilis documentary Blu-Ray & DVD pertamanya yang menampilkan proses pembuatan album ke 4 “Force” , tour terbatas untuk fans yg digelar sebelum perilisan album "Force" dan live footage dari “Superfly Tour 2012-13 “Live Force”" di Tokyo.
Documentary ini akan dirilis pada tanggal 3 April.

Dan kini preview dari documentary ini telah dirilis oleh Warner Music di official youtube channel mereka .

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=CLUAbrTNZd0



source : Tokyo Girls Update

Vocaloid digunakan sebagai theme song film layar lebar "Mememe no Kurage"

Artis pop Jepang Takashi Murakami menawari Hatsune Miku kesempatan untuk menyanyikan opening theme untuk film pertamanya, seperti yang dilaporkan oleh Nari nari. Ini adalah pertama kalinya lagu dari Vocaloid digunakan sebagai theme song dari sebuah film layar lebar.

Film tersebut berjudul Mememe no Kurage, dan akan menggunakan lagu berjudul Last Night, Good Night yang diambil dari proyek solo kz yaitu livetune. Lagu tersebut diaransemen untuk digunakan dalam film tersebut, dan kita dapat mendengarkan sebagian dari versi eksklusif ini di trailer film tersebut, yang baru saja dirilis hari Jumat kemarin ~>>>

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=wJnA9FaR5V4

dan berikut Versi asli dari Last Night, Good Night.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=LiQC9WCgmIA

Lagu Last Night, Good Night pertama kali dirilis pada tahun 2008 silam dan telah dilihat secara online lebih dari 1.600.000 kali.

Sutradara Murakami secara langsung meminta Miku untuk mengisi theme song filmnya ini. Film itu sendiri menceritakan suatu persahabatan antara seorang bocah laki-laki dengan suatu mahluk yang mengambil tempat di Jepang saat pasca-gempa.

Sementara para fans Miku senang mendengar kabar ini, sebagian dari mereka menyatakan kekhawatirannya bahwa menampilkan Miku dalam skala yang lebih besar (artinya, menampilkan Miku kepada orang-orang yang bukan otaku) akan menimbulkan banyak kritik.


Mememe no Kurage akan diputar perdana di bioskop Jepang pada tanggal 26 April.


source : Crunchyroll via Japanese Station

DIR EN GREY to Air "UROBOROS" Movie Version on USTREAM!

It has been revealed that DIR EN GREY will be airing ther ""Movie DIR EN GREY -UROBOROS- on USTREAM.

The footage that has been created during their two-days Nippon Budokan performance on January 9th and 10th in 2010 had been aired in theaters in summer 2011 and gained great popularity.

However, due to the strong request of fans from inside and outside Japan, the airing on USTREAM has now been decided. An official announcement on the date and time of the showing will be made on May 21st.

Moreover, on June 20th, DIR EN GREY will also be releasing their "TOUR2011 AGE QUOD AGIS Vol.1 [Europe & Japan]" before on July 18th, "TOUR2011 AGE QUOD AGIS Vol.1 [U.S. & Japan]" will be dropping in stores on DVD and Blu-ray disc.

USTREAM URL: http://www.ustream.tv/channel/direngrey-the-movie

Source : http://www.musicjapanplus.jp/news/1/15379/dir-en-grey-to-air-uroboros-movie-version-on-ustream/

Girl-Group Not yet to Release New Single in May!

It has just been revealed that AKB48 sub-unit Not Yet will be releasing their new single "SUIKA BABY" on May 30th this year. The single is the story of a boy returning home to his family's home after a long time and it is the first time that the girls actually sing from the perspective of said boy.

The track is a summer songs and a love song portraying the summer heat and the cool and refreshing aspects of a sweet relationship. The track can be found as a preview on the official homepage.

Single "SUIKA BABY"
Release Date: 2012/05/30

[Type-A] (CD+DVD)
Price: 1,600 Yen (tax in)
OZA-653/4

[Type-B] (CD+DVD)
Price: 1,600 Yen (tax in)
OZA-655/6

[Type-C] (CD+DVD)
Price: 1,600 Yen (tax in)
OZA-657/8

[Type-D] (CD+DVD)」
Price: 1,000 Yen (tax in)
COCA-16616

Source : http://www.musicjapanplus.jp/news/1/15320/girl-group-not-yet-to-release-new-single-in-may/

SCANDAL Announce Third Copy-Band Contest!

Girls-rock band SCANDAL, which has been the one group to stand on the stage of Nippon Budokan fastest in this category, has created somewhat of a girl-band boom. The tickets for their Budokan show had sold out in 15 minutes and find a great following among school girls with ambition.

For this reason it has now been announced that SCANDAL will be holding their copy-band contest for the third time. Last year, nearly 500 girl-bands had participated in the happening, showing girls-power and band-spirit.

This time the final band battle will be held at SHIBUYA-AX and it is expected that even mot groups will be participating. It is a great chance to try one's luck on standing on stage with SCANDAL. Interested bands can hand in their applications between June 1st and August 31st.

Source : http://www.musicjapanplus.jp/news/1/15343/scandal-announce-third-copy-band-contest/

SCANDAL Announces New Single "Taiyo Scandalous"

Four-member band, SCANDAL, have announced on their official website that they'll be releasing a new single this July 11th. Their 13th single is titled "Taiyo Scandalous" (Scandalous Sun); the said single will be produced by NAOTO of Orange Range. NAOTO commented that he wanted the song to be as exciting as possible; a perfect summer song to lift everyone's spirits.

"Taiyo Scandalous" will be available in limited [A&B] and regular edition. Each edition will also contained an additional track, but titles is yet to be determined.

"Taiyo Scandalous" will be released on July 11th.

MARK YOUR CALENDARS!

Source : J-Pop Asia

SCANDAL's “Taiyou Scandalous” Single Pre-Orders Available

SCANDAL's “Taiyou Scandalous” Single Pre-Orders Available

It's been a while since we got news from SCANDAL. Now, the most powerful Japanese girl band will be releasing their 13th Major Single “Taiyou Scandalous.” It will be a collaboration between SCANDAL and ORANGE RANGE.

SCANDAL's “Taiyou Scandalous” features a party rock type of music and was written by Naoto of ORANGE RANGE. Apparently, three B-Side songs will be sung by three different units made up of members from both groups.

SCANDAL's “Taiyou Scandalous” will be released in three different versions, Limited Edition Type A and Type B, called “Special Unit Edition,” and a Regular Edition, called “Special Band Edition,” for 971 yen each. Pre-order your copies now at CDJapan and get exclusive bonuses!

Source : Here

the GazettE - DIVISION Release Date Revealed + Tours

Some news from the GazettE! Before, we had announced the release of their 6th studio album "DIVISION" in January. 4 months later, the band has revealed the album's official release date.
"DIVISION" will be released on August 29th, but nothing else is known about the album as of yet.
Before releasing the album, they will be holding a nationwide tour titled "STANDING LIVE TOUR12 -HERESY PRESENTS- HETERODOXY" in July. Afterward, the band will embark on another tour titled "LIVE TOUR12 -DIVISION- GROAN OF DIPLOSOMIA 01" in October.


Tour Dates:


STANDING LIVE TOUR12-HERESY PRESENTS-HETERODOXY Schedule:

• July 4th at Sendai Rensa
• July 5th at Sendai Rensa
• July 7th at Zepp Sapporo
• July 11th at Shinkiba STUDIO COAST
• July 12th at Shinkiba STUDIO COAST
• July 17th at Akasaka BLITZ
• July 18th at Akasaka BLITZ
• July 24th at Zepp Namba (Osaka)
• July 25th at Zepp Namba (Osaka)
• July 27th at Zepp Fukuoka
• July 30th at Zepp Nagoya
• July 31st at Zepp Nagoya
• August 8th at Zepp DiverCity (Tokyo)
• August 9th at Zepp DiverCity (Tokyo)The GazettE's second tour for the year is titled

"LIVE TOUR12-DIVISION-GROAN OF DIPLOSOMIA 01". This tour will begin in October and tickets go on sale on September 8th. See the schedule below.


LIVE TOUR12-DIVISION-GROAN OF DIPLOSOMIA 01 Schedule:

• October 8th at Yokosuka Art Theater
• October 10th at Orix Theater (Formerly Osaka Pension Hall)
• October 11th at Orix Theater (Formerly Osaka Pension Hall)
• October 13th at Nara 100-Year Assembly Hall Great Hall
• October 14th at Shiga Prefectural Theater, Lake Biwa Hall Great Hall
• October 16th at Kobe Culture Hall, Great Hall
• October 18th at Matsuyama Community Center, Camellia Hall
• October 22nd at Kurashiki Art Hall
• October 23rd at Hiroshima Aster Plaza Great Hall
• November 1st at Kanagawa Culture Hall
• November 2nd at Nagano Hokuto Culture Hall Middle Hall
• November 6th at Omiya Sonic City Great Hall
• November 7th at Omiya Sonic City Great Hall
• November 9th at Tochigi Art and Culture Center
• November 12th at Fuchuu Forest Art Theater (Dream Hall)
• November 14th at Mie Prefecture Culture Hall Great Hall
• November 17th at Fukuoka City Hall Great Hall
• November 19th at Kumamoto Prefectural Theater Performance Hall
• November 21st at Misato Culture Hall Great Hall
• November 22nd at Ichikawa Culture Hall Great Hall
• November 24th at Niigata Prefectural Assembly HallNovember 26th at Aomori Civic Hall
• November 28th at NHK Hall (Tokyo)November 29th at NHK Hall (Tokyo)

Source : http://toshivk.blogspot.com/2012/05/gazette-division-release-date-revealed.html?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

SCANDAL - 12th Single Harukaze OP Bleach

it has been announced that SCANDAL will be coming back to BLEACH! they are providing the new opening for BLEACH according to this picture http://photozou.jp/photo/show/1830951/99004076

the name of the song will be Harukaze. it will start showing the opening october 11. HARUKAZE will be a nice emotional rock song according to a recent tweet made by @scandal_band




Soure : SCANDAL-HEAVEN

YUI announces nationwide tour

Singer-songwriter YUI has announced that she will be holding a nationwide tour, titled “YUI 5th Tour 2011“, starting in November.


The tour will kick off on November 13th at Omiya Sonic City in Saitama, and will wrap up on January 25th at Okinawa Convention Center Gekijou, with a total of 21 performances. Before the final show in Okinawa, YUI will perform for two days at Nippon Budokan.


Applications for pre-order tickets will be available starting September 15th on YUI’s official website.


Check out the tour dates below!


-


<YUI 5th Tour 2011>


November 13th – Omiya Sonic City (Saitama)

November 16th – Shiga Kenritsu Geijutsu Gekijou Biwako Hall Dai Hall (Shiga)

November 17th – Nara 100 Nen Kaikan Dai Hall (Nara)

November 23rd – Iwake Kenmin Kaikan (Iwate)

November 24th – Sendai Sun Plaza Hall (Miyagi)

November 29th – Kanagawa Kenmin Hall (Kanagawa)

December 1st – Fukui Phoenix Plaza (Fukui)

December 2nd – Osaka Kokusai Kaigijou Main Hall (Osaka)

December 7th – Fuji-shi Bunka Kaikan Rose Theatre Dai Hall (Shizuoka)

December 9th – Mie-ken Bunka Kaikan Dai Hall (Mie)

December 13th – Nagoya Kokusai Kaigijou Century Hall (Aichi)

December 16th – Nagasaki Brick Hall (Nagasaki)

December 18th – Fukuoka Sun Palace (Fukuoka)

December 20th – Kagoshima Shimin Bunka Hall Dai-chi Hall (Kagoshima)

December 25th – Torigin Bunka Kaikan Rika Hall (Tottori)

December 27th – Matsuyama Shimin Kaikan (Ehime)

January 5th – Asahikawa Shimin Bunka Kaikan (Hokkaido)

January 7th – Chitose Shimin Bunka Center (Hokkaido)

January 18th – Nippon Budokan (Tokyo)

January 19th – Nippon Budokan (Tokyo)

January 25th – Okinawa Convention Center Gekijou (Okinawa)






Source : TOKYOHIVE

L’Arc-en-Ciel Will Be Release Their New 2nd Single With Title X X X

Finally L'Arc-en-Ciel are going to be Releasing their new single with title X X X ( Kiss Kiss Kiss ) on October 12.

X X X is their second single for his or her twentieth anniversary once smart LUCK MY method that was released back in June. Hyde will be in charge of creating the lyrics and composing the song. Also, the arranged version, “L’Acoustic 

version” of the song, “I’m so happy” will be included as a coupling song.


This is Tracklist from their New Single


01. X X X


02. I’m so happy -L’Acoustic version-


03. X X X (hydeless version)


04. I’m so happy -L’Acoustic version- (hydeless version)






And This Is a CD Cover X X X

GIRL NEXT DOOR changes their name!

GIRL NEXT DOOR has officially changed their name from all capital letters to all lowercase!

Making their debut on September 3 in 2008 with their 1st single “Guuzen no Kakuritsu“, they have just met their 3rd anniversary a couple days ago. With this slight but significant change, they’ll be resuming on with their fruitful musical career.

Just to start things off with their new activities as “girl next door“, they will be releasing a new single (Dadapara!!) on September 7, as part 1 out of their 3 consecutive release project (Agaru 3busaku).

Source : TOKYOFEVER

NIGHTMARE Tour 2011「ZEPPELIN.」会場限定 超激レアポストカードプレゼント

2011.09.05

NIGHTMARE Tour 2011「ZEPPELIN.」会場にて9/7発売「SLEEPER」を購入いただいた方に、
NIGHTMARE メンバーの超激レアポストカードプレゼント致します！
※ポストカード絵柄は選べません、ランダムでプレゼントいたします。
【対象商品】
2011年9月7日発売 「SLEEPER」
[Type A] CD+DVD　YICQ-10084/B　￥1,890-(tax in)
[Type B] CD+DVD　YICQ-10085/B　￥1,890-(tax in)
[Type C] CD only　YICQ-10086　￥1,260-(tax in)

Source