Wed, March 18, 2009 (2:44am EDT)
Popular Fuji TV announcers Aya Takashima and Minako Nakano, who both appear on the morning show "Mezamashi TV," are set to make their CD debut next month. The duo will appropriately be named Early Morning.
Their debut song is composed by Kenji Fukui, a veteran announcer at Fuji TV, and the three of them together wrote the lyrics. The technopop tune is titled "Oitekebori no Thirty," and it is now being used as the ending theme of the late-night variety show "Announcer Bang!"
Their debut song is composed by Kenji Fukui, a veteran announcer at Fuji TV, and the three of them together wrote the lyrics. The technopop tune is titled "Oitekebori no Thirty," and it is now being used as the ending theme of the late-night variety show "Announcer Bang!"
Wed, March 18, 2009 (2:31am EDT)
Online music site JapanFiles.com has just announced an expansion of their partnership with Hello! Project and Up-Front Works. In addition to the debut mini-album of Hangry & Angry and the newest album by Morning Musume, JapanFiles will now offer over 150 albums and singles from several past and present artists, available in DRM-free 320kbps downloads.
The newly added artists include Aya Matsuura, Berryz Koubou, °C-ute, Country Musume, GAM, Melon Kinenbi, Natsumi Abe, Ongaku Gatas, Pucchi Moni, and Yuko Nakazawa. JapanFiles also mentioned that more Hello! Project artists will be made available in the future.
More information is available in the complete press release.
The newly added artists include Aya Matsuura, Berryz Koubou, °C-ute, Country Musume, GAM, Melon Kinenbi, Natsumi Abe, Ongaku Gatas, Pucchi Moni, and Yuko Nakazawa. JapanFiles also mentioned that more Hello! Project artists will be made available in the future.
More information is available in the complete press release.
Wed, March 18, 2009 (2:10am EDT)
Last month, KAT-TUN sold their 9th consecutive #1 single with "ONE DROP." This week, they extended that streak to 10 with "RESCUE," selling 323,000 copies. They are now tied with NEWS for the second-longest streak starting with a debut single, but they are both still far behind KinKi Kids, who have 28 consecutive chart-toppers.
Popular male idol Yusuke Kamiji also had a strong showing on the charts, taking #2 with 219,000 copies of his first solo single, "Himawari." TVXQ came in at #3, followed by GReeeeN. VAMPS, Berryz Koubou, and Ryu Si-won also made the top ten.
Meanwhile, Remioromen's "Remio Best" topped the album charts at 281,000 in sales, forcing RADWIMPS to settle for second place despite selling 213,000 copies of their new album.
Hikaru Utada's "This Is The One" ranked in at #3, one spot ahead of Aqua Timez. The Gospellers and CHEMISTRY both made the bottom half of the top ten with their latest albums.
Popular male idol Yusuke Kamiji also had a strong showing on the charts, taking #2 with 219,000 copies of his first solo single, "Himawari." TVXQ came in at #3, followed by GReeeeN. VAMPS, Berryz Koubou, and Ryu Si-won also made the top ten.
Meanwhile, Remioromen's "Remio Best" topped the album charts at 281,000 in sales, forcing RADWIMPS to settle for second place despite selling 213,000 copies of their new album.
Hikaru Utada's "This Is The One" ranked in at #3, one spot ahead of Aqua Timez. The Gospellers and CHEMISTRY both made the bottom half of the top ten with their latest albums.
Wed, March 18, 2009 (1:38am EDT)
Rock band GLAY has written the theme song for the Hong Kong-France collaborative live-action film "Blood: The Last Vampire" (titled "Last Blood" in Japan), which is based on the well-known animated film of the same name. The band was appointed to the task by producer Bill Kong.
The title of the song is "I am xxx." It will be used in the Asian releases of the film, which will start with 11 countries on May 29, including Japan, China, and Taiwan. GLAY hopes to also have their music used in the film's European and American releases.
GLAY leader TAKURO (37) commented, "Different from the past GLAY music, the song has a heavy and dark sound. We created it to match the image of the cries from the heart of the movie's heroine, who possesses a sad fate." The film features Korean actress Jun Ji-hyun ("My Sassy Girl," "Windstruck") and Japanese actress Koyuki.
GLAY's single will be released on May 25.
The title of the song is "I am xxx." It will be used in the Asian releases of the film, which will start with 11 countries on May 29, including Japan, China, and Taiwan. GLAY hopes to also have their music used in the film's European and American releases.
GLAY leader TAKURO (37) commented, "Different from the past GLAY music, the song has a heavy and dark sound. We created it to match the image of the cries from the heart of the movie's heroine, who possesses a sad fate." The film features Korean actress Jun Ji-hyun ("My Sassy Girl," "Windstruck") and Japanese actress Koyuki.
GLAY's single will be released on May 25.
Wed, March 18, 2009 (1:07am EDT)
Popular fashion model Rina Sakurai (25) has landed her first role in a movie, and in fact she has been chosen to play the lead. She will star in "Butterfly," directed by Yukichi Otsuka.
In the film, Sakurai plays a young woman who moves from Osaka to Tokyo and begins working as a bar hostess while she pursues her dreams. Her rival is played by gravure idol Atsumi Ishihara.
The movie is scheduled to open in theaters this fall.
In the film, Sakurai plays a young woman who moves from Osaka to Tokyo and begins working as a bar hostess while she pursues her dreams. Her rival is played by gravure idol Atsumi Ishihara.
The movie is scheduled to open in theaters this fall.
