J-pop

Kyary Pamyu Pamyu 5th Anniversary Plans Detailed

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Kyary Pamyu 5th Anniversary

Details for Kyary Pamyu Pamyu’s 5th anniversary have been revealed.

According to a recent video of her being taken to a hospital there will be 5 surprises for fans:

  1. A new Best Of album being released May 25, featuring songs from PONPONPON it will feature a limited edition with her face as the packaging and will have a worldwide release
  2. A 3rd world tour starting May in Singapore, UK, Australia, the US, Taiwan and more ending at the Nippon Budokan on August 19/20.
  3. Collaborations with several international and Japanese artists
  4. Kyary’s 1st Artwork exhibition
  5. A ride of her own at Universal Studios Japan titled Kyary Pamyu Pamyu XR Ride

A special site features more details in English so everyone who is interested in finding out more can check it out there. Of course, the site is what you would expect from her with colors and weird monsters flying across the screen after the opening video plays.

Kyary Pamyu Pamyu Site

It’s hard to believe that 5 years have already passed since it seems like only yesterday when I first remember seeing one of her videos. The colors, the shapes, and the weird but catchy music just laid the foundation for many other Japanese artists to show off what makes Japan unique.

We have until May before the big plans start coming out but it’s certainly shaping up to be one of her most monumental times!

Kyary Pamyu Pamyu Site

AKB48’s Iwasa Misaki To Graduate

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AKB48 Iwasa Misaki

AKB48’s Iwasa Misaki has announced her graduation from the group.

This was announced during her solo live where she mentioned her desire to focus on enka, with quitting AKB48 being the starting line for this dream. Her graduation date hasn’t been decided at the moment.

As you might remember, Misaki has always been the go to singer for enka, something we saw with her releasing an MV for her enka song Gomenne Tokyo a while ago. She does have the talent, and she seemed right at home with the music so naturally her reason for graduating seems to fit in line with that.

She has big goals in mind, and it makes sense for her to leave the group to achieve them. Sure, she is very talented and the group will change, but I’m glad to see that she seems determined to follow her dreams.

Best of luck as you follow your dreams Iwasa Misaki!

Natalie.mu

Bitter & Sweet “Hallelujah” MV Released

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Bitter Sweet Hallelujah MV

Bitter & Sweet have released the MV for their song titled Hallelujah.

Released December 23rd and part of their album titled #bitasui, this single didn’t get much love since the group is not that well known yet. Having just formed back in 2013 as part of Up Front, this duo has been quite active with a solid mix of songs for fans to enjoy.

Regardless of their popularity, they do have some solid releases and this one is the highlight. With an upbeat sound mixed in with scenes of Asahi and Moemi walking around town with some bright, sunny scenes it results in a visually impressive MV.

Will it re imagine the very existence of J-pop? Will this song cause peace on earth? No, but it’s still a solid song that fans should check out with a beat perfect to listen and begin your day.

Bitter & Sweet “#bitasui” CDJapan

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SUPER☆GiRLS “Karei Naru V!CTORY” MV Released

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Super Girls Karei Naru Victory MV

The SUPER☆GiRLS have released the MV for their track Karei Naru V!CTORY.

The track is part of their 4th album titled SUPER★CASTLE, which will be released on March 9.

The main thing I noticed from this MV, apart from the overuse of punctuation in the title, was the amazing setting. Castles are an idols best friend and I’m loving the colors of the lights in the background, a perfect touch to add some variety in the video.

The song itself is the highlight with an upbeat sound but with a ballad style to it that is sure to have fans happy. The only weird part of the song would be the bridge of the song since it gets strangely quiet, but the moves that are busted by the members make up for that.

Well worth a look for fans of upbeat songs and for fans of strangely ominous “victory” whispers at the end of videos!

SUPER GIRLS OHP | SUPER GIRLS CDJapan

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Cheeky Parade “SKY GATE” MV Released

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Cheeky Parade Sky Gate MV

The MV for Cheeky Parade’s SKY GATE has been released.

Out February 24th, this interestingly titled single is sure to have you curious about the theme. Available in three versions: an exclusive version for the mu-mo site, one for HMV with a bonus exclusive track, and a CD/Blu-ray version containing the MV.

CD/Blu-ray
HMV
mu-mo

There doesn’t seem to be a Regular version available to everyone so it will be quite the interesting release since we’re skipping to the good stuff with exclusive tracks and Blu-rays.

Regardless, the song itself has a nice happy beat to it alongside a compilation of the members spending time together in a house. If seeing idols eat curry and sleeping alongside each other is your definition of fun then you’re in for a treat.

The song itself is EDM heavy but in a way it lacked a bit of depth at times. I liked this method though since it let the vocals shine so we could enjoy each member’s talented voice well.

Overall a laid back idol song, but regardless it is a nice release for those who are looking forward to summer since we get to see plenty of sun alongside cute idols on the beach.

Well worth a look for fans of slower songs!

Cheeky Parade OHP | Cheeky Parade CDJapan

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Wagakki Band To Perform In The US

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Wagakki Band

Wagakki Band has announced that they will be performing in the US this year.

Specifically, they will be performing in New York at the Irving Plaza on March 14, as well as the famous South by Southwest 2016 event that will take place sometime this year.

Wagakki Band are the perfect group to showcase what Japan has to offer the world. The sound of Japan mixed in with a modern twist is catchy, so I’m happy to see that more people will get to enjoy their energetic performances in person.

They have grown quite a bit from their roots as cover artists so it’s expected that they will be among the most noteworthy groups to come out of Japan.

Definitely check it out since it’s one of the best opportunities for fans to enjoy them in the US!

Wagakki Band OHP

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BABYMETAL World Tour 2016 US TOUR Dates Announced

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BABYMETAL World Tour US 2016

BABYMETAL have released the dates for their World Tour 2016 US TOUR.

As you might remember, the World Tour will kick off in April in London and will end in the Tokyo Dome in Tokyo so it seems like we have quite the tour planned out for this group. Of course, what about those dates in between?

Thankfully they have released some new dates so everyone who will be going can start planning out where they will be going. It’s good to note that we are still around 2 months away from the start of the tour so more dates will probably be added.

Full schedule in non-image form is available from their website so if you’re going to be rocking out with BABYMETAL definitely check it out since Fox Day is turning out to be an amazing start for this trio!

BABYMETAL OHP

Juice=Juice’s Kanazawa Tomoko Has Endometriosis

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Juice=Juice Kanazawa Tomoko

It has been confirmed that Juice=Juice’s Kanazawa Tomoko has been diagnosed with endometriosis.

This condition where tissue that should be growing in the inside of the uterus grows on the outside instead. This usually results in pelvic pain and sometimes infertility.

As a result, events will be adapted to her condition and her healthy will be held at priority before anything else. She did release a statement about it on her blog:

I, Kanazawa Tomoko, have been going to the hospital since the end of last year to be checked-up by the doctors、 but the result of the latest medical examination was that I have been diagnosed with 「endometriosis」。

I apologize for causing you concern with this sudden announcement。

When I first found out about this illness、 I felt extremely uneasy。 But currently、 I strongly feel that I don’t want to give up halfway on our dreams, with the group in the midst of our nationwide 220 performance tour which will lead up to our group’s goal of having our own performance at the Nippon Budokan、 so as I go face-to-face with my illness from now on、 I intend to be positive and continue on with activities。

If this condition sounds somewhat familiar it might be due to Matsuura Aya announcing the same condition back in 2011. One thing to note is that this affects everyone differently. Some women get more symptoms and others do not, but it’s good to see that they are treating her condition with the utmost care.

For now it’s hard to see just how this will affect her work as an idol, but please keep supporting her as she works to adapt around this condition.

Hello! Project Announcement

PassCode “from here” MV Released

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PassCode from here MV

PassCode have released the MV for their track from here.

The song is featured on their upcoming second album titled VIRTUAL which will be released soon. No release date has been set but it seems like we might be seeing it along Fall or Summer since it was barely announced earlier this month.

The song is a bit more laid back than we are used to from the group since it has a ballad feel to it. Despite that it features guitars and a nice sound to it that is sure to have you enjoying it.

The setting is unique since we get to see the members in a variety of scenes, including a skate park and an equally thrilling set, a job interview. Alongside that we get to see some painting as well. It’s a compilation of working hard leading to success so that in itself is something I love.

Definitely a quality release worthy of the group!

It’s somewhat disappointing that we haven’t seen the tracks appear on iTunes or other services since it would be an amazing treat having the songs on our devices. Despite that, it’s nice to see that the members are working hard to ensure that fans will get a quality album.

Definitely an MV worth checking out!

PassCode OHP

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