It was revealed earlier that Matsushita Yuya’s upcoming single, “Naturally“, is the official song for the ‘NATURAL BEAUTY BASIC‘ CM, and fans were able to hear a snippet of it through the commercial.
The single will officially be released on May 4th, but fans can now hear the song in it’s entirety, as Yuya has just released the official music video.
At the beginning of the month, Morning Musume revealed the track list for their upcoming single, “Maji Desu Ka Ska!“, which they later followed up with releases of its covers, PV making-of, and PV teaser.
Today though, Morning Musume finally unveiled the PV for “Maji Desu Ka Ska!”, which you can watch below!
Morning Musume made an appearance on TV Tokyo’s monthly music program, “Gekkan MelodiX!“, which was aired on March 26th, and performed their upcoming single, “Maji Desu Ka Ska!” (scheduled to be released on April 6th).
On the show, there was also a talk segment in which the 9th generation members introduced themselves and the senior members gave them a quiz about Morning Musume.
More information has just been revealed for Berryz Koubou’s appearance at the huge American anime convention, “Sakura-Con 2011″!
According to the convention’s official website, the group will be holding an exclusive autograph session following a special Q&A segment on April 22nd; it will be followed by a second session on the 24th. No official time has been confirmed for their live concert, but the event has been scheduled for April 23rd.
For those of you who are unable to make it to either of the autograph sessions, the girls will make a very brief appearance at the guest reception of the Red Lion Hotel, which takes place on April 22nd at 6:00 PM. Entrance fees are $45 per person. Five lucky members in the crowd will get the chance to meet the members of Berryz Koubou after their live concert on the 23rd.
A second party hosted by Hello! Ranking will be held at the Washington State Convention Center, where fans of Berryz Koubou can watch a fun karaoke contest. Participants are to upload their cover of a Berryz Koubou song onto YouTube; if chosen, they will move onto the finals, which will take place during the party.
Check out Hello Store USA’s official website for more information about merchandise and Berryz Koubou’s schedule!
Pop trio BABYDOLLS, who are managed under UNIVERSAL MUSIC JAPAN, have released a full version of their PV for “I Love U“. The single, which made its physical CD debut a month ago on February 23rd, reached a peak of #2 on the Recochoku chart.
The song is described as being pop with a cute twist, and is as straightforward as its title. Check out the full PV below!
The ladies of Morning Musume are back with a super colorful PV for their latest single, “Maji Desu ka Ska“!
As always, they delivered perfect choreography to match the highly energetic feel of the song. We can’t get enough of the video, and we’re sure that you guys will enjoy just as much!
As many of you already know, Yazawa Ai’s popular manga “Paradise Kiss” will be released as live-action movie on June 4th. Recently, a new poster with all its main cast members has been revealed, and fans were jubilant over the gorgeous art.
In the new poster, Kitagawa Keiko, Mukai Osamu, Yamamoto Yusuke, Igarashi Shunji, Ohmasa Aya, Kaku Kento, and Kato Natsuki pose at their “atelier”, which was designed with various ideas in order to catch the essence of the original manga set.
Before the official release, there will be advance tickets on sale starting on the 26th; those who purchase the advance tickets will receive a special clear file, which has limited quantities.
Idol unit AKB48 recently revealed a YouTube video titled, “Todoke! Minna no Genkidama ~ AKB48xWeekly Playboy vol.1“, to send encouragement to disaster victims.
“Genkidama” or “Spirit Bomb” is one of Goku’s strongest attacks in the anime/manga “Dragon Ball“. It’s a huge blast of energy created by power that is collected from multiple people. AKB48’s video is a sequel to the original “Spirit Bomb” video by mangaka Akira Toriyama.
Both videos were uploaded through an account owned by Shueisha, which publishes both ‘Weekly Shonen Jump’ and ‘Weekly Playboy’.
Twelve members of AKB48, including Maeda Atsuko, Takahashi Minami, and Itano Tomomi, are shown in the video, saying “Do your best, Japan!”
We previously reported that the American hip-hop group Far East Movement would be collaborating with pop diva Koda Kumi, and their collaboration track has just been revealed!
“Make It Bump feat. Koda Kumi” is a sexy club number, and the transitions between the English lines and Kuu’s Japanese lines are nearly seamless. The song will be included as a bonus track on the Japanese edition of “Free Wired”, which is scheduled to hit stores soon.
A new version of Not yet’s debut single, “Shuumatsu Not Yet“, has just been revealed, but check it out fast because the video will only be online for this weekend!
The version we showed you earlier was directed by Nakamura Taiko and included with the TYPE-A version of the single. The new PV is from the TYPE-B single, and directed by film director, Irie Yu.
Check out the second version of “Shuumatsu Not Yet”, which features the members dancing in a park, on stage, and during dance practice, below!
SDN48’s Undergirls A have just revealed the PV for their song “Tengoku no Door wa 3 Kaime no Bell de Aku”. This is the coupling song to their latest single, “Ai, Juseyo”.
The Undergirls A members are as follows: Ohori Megumi, Noro Kayo, KONAN, Urano Kazumi, Akita Kazue, Chen Qu, Tezuka Machiko, Hatakeyama Chisaki, Ito Mana, Kimoto Yuuki, Ninomiya Yuka and Matsushima Rumi.
[starttext] With the large number of Hallyu debuts announced in Japan, including that of Korean pop group MBLAQ, pop fans all over the world are bracing themselves for impact. B2ST is about to make their much-anticipated Japanese debut, and why not with an appropriately titled debut single? ”SHOCK“, a remake of the title track from their second Korean mini-album, is set to hit shelves on March 23rd, paving the way for their Japanese career.
B2ST will be joining the likes of fellow boy bands Choshinsei and Tohoshinki, and they’re expected to charm a large number of Japanese fans with their impressive dance routines, good looks, and catchy melodies.
The debut single will come in four versions, three of which are of limited edition:
> ‘Limited Edition A’
- Box, T-Shirt, Sticker
> ‘Limited Edition B’ - +DVD (“SHOCK” PV Japanese Ver.)
> ‘Limited Edition C’ - +DVD (Live performances)
> ‘Normal Edition D’ - Trading Card
B2ST will also be releasing a 2-disc DVD, “Genesis of BEAST“, to be released on March 2nd. It will contain music videos and rare footage of the boys; meanwhile, the ‘limited edition’ will contain a special 8-page postcard set and a trading card.
A special preview of Aoyama Thelma’s upcoming song, “Zutto”, has been uploaded onto YouTube, and it features an interview with Kinoshita Yukina!
Aoyama wrote the song specifically for her best friend’s wedding, and the track will be released as a single on March 2nd. The video is a short interview with Kinoshita Yukina, in which she talks about how she feels about the song, her friend Aoyama Thelma, and thanks her for her loyal friendship. About two minutes of the song can be heard during this interview.
It seems that the video was a surprise to Aoyama, who claimed that she had no idea that the video had been created. “I’m so happy. I’m glad I met you too,” she blogged in response to her friend.
Last week, tokyohive reported on the first half of “DANSO Koshien” for “AKBINGO!“, in which the AKB48 members transformed into hot guys. The second half of “DANSO Koshien” was broadcasted today (February 16th), and this time, Takahashi Minami, Yokoyama Yui, Sashihara Rino, and Kojima Haruna stepped up to show off their charms as men.
Check out the videos below, and let us know which ‘guy’ was your favorite!
[starttext] The upcoming horror movie “Tomie Unlimited” which is the 8th in the Tomie series has recently released its first teaser. The Tomie series is based on the mystery horror manga written by Ito Junji, and the series have resulted many previously unknown actresses to become popular.
For the latest series, Arai Moe will play the main character, Tsukiko, while Nakamura Miu will take the role of Tomie. AKB48 member, Ohta Aika will also make appearance as a friend of Tsukiko.
The Tomie series has a different story setting for each movie, and for this latest series, Tomie and Tsukiko are set as sisters. The story will revolve around Tomie as she keeps reviving from death.
Although the movie itself is released with an age restriction of 15 or older to view, the trailer can be watched without any restriction. ”Tomie Unlimited” is scheduled to be released on May 14th.
R&B singer AZU just released her 11th single, “Broken Heart“, on February 2nd, and is releasing a new album called “AZyoU” on February 23rd.
The album will contain thirteen songs, including three collaborations with artists Hinouchi Emi, KG, and Yunhak from Choshinsei.
The song “Promise in a kiss feat. Yunhak from Choshinsei” was released on Chaku-Uta on the 9th (JST). They’ve also released a teaser of the song, which you can check out below.
Yunhak said that this was his first time feeling nervous because it’s only him in the collaboration, and he talked about when he first met AZU, “I was very surprised, she spoke to me in Korean the first time we met and it was very good.” He also expressed that, “She’s also a great singer, it was fun singing with her.”
He went to point out that the song is a love song with a feelings that don’t change for the one you love. Yunhak said that people who are single and listen to the song will want love, and those in a relationship will want to hear the song as they can relate to it.
The album will come in two versions: limited edition with DVD and normal edition. The limited edition will include a DVD that has the “Broken Heart” PV and making-of video, “AZU X’mas Special Party Live 2010 Backstage”, and special movie, “AZU and celeb lunch”.
First press of the normal edition will come with an alternative jacket and autograph print.
Tracklist 1. crazy, wise ‘nd sexy 2. Broken Heart 3. To You… 4. IN MY LIFE 5. Tsuyoku Tsuyoki 6. Promise in a kiss feat. Yunhak from Choshinsei 7. Tasika na koto (Album Version) 8. Candy Boy feat. Hinouchi Emi 9. LOVE HUG 10. AKS99 feat. SEAMO & KG 11. to the top 12. Angel 13. Donna ni Hanaretemo duet with AZU (Rearrange Version) / KG
On the latest episode of NHK’s music program Music Japan (broadcasted on february 6th), they welcomed 5 groups of artists, jealkb, SCANDAL, S/mileage, Tohoshinki, and Yuzu. Below are the performances. Check it out!
Back in December, actress/singer Kitano Kii announced that she’d be releasing her 3rd single, “Kizuna“, on February 23rd.
avex has recently unveiled the PV for “Kizuza”, and it’s a very charming video. Remember that “Kizuna” is an answer song to her debut single, “Sakura Saku“, so keep an eye out for that blooming cherry tree cameo!
As tokyohive reported last week, NTV’s music show, Music Lovers, had an episode titled, “Arashi Premium“, for January 30th, and of course, it starred none other than the Johnny’s Entertainment group, Arashi.
Check out the videos below along with explanations of the content and translations!
- Arashi Meikyoku Live Collection : It shows many of Arashi’s live performances from the previous episodes on Music Lovers.
- Arashi’s First “Male Limited Live” : This was also from the previous episode in which Arashi held their first “Male Limited Live” on Music Lovers. As the guest lover, Yashima Tomohito also made appearance. Furthermore, there was also a never-released talk part during the show in which they asked the audience (who were male fans), “Which member do you want as your boss?” The winner of the poll question was Ohno Satoshi.
- Arashi members were then asked what kind of live they wanted to hold on Music Lovers?
• Sakurai Sho said he wanted a “Kids Limited Live”. • Ohno Satoshi said he wanted a “Foreigners Limited Live”. • Aiba Masaki said he wanted to “surprise a random person at their house and sing there”.
- For the never-released talk segment, there were quite a few highlights.
1. “Who is Arashi’s troublemaker?” (Asked To The Other Guests) 2. “Matsumoto Jun’s drinking friend is Oguri Shun.” 3. “Staffs have trouble dealing with Ohno Satoshi’s suntan.” 4. “Ninomiya Kazunari complains about a yakiniku dinner with Aiba.” 5. “Sakurai got confused by a mail from Ohno.” 6. “Who is the biggest sugar boy towards women?” (Asked To 100 Arashi Fans)
- The “Android au“ Guinness World Record CM Challenge
- At the end, the members were asked what kind of year they want to make 2011?
• Aiba Masaki – “I want to appear on Music Lovers this year as well.”
• Ninomiya Kazunari – “We have been able to do everything ‘Arashi-like’, so I want to thank people around us. Also, I think it’s best if we continue being just as Arashi, and enjoy all the work we do.”
Ninomiya actually apologized for saying stuff as if he was the leader of Arashi, as other members jokingly told him that it’s as if he was like the real leader of the group, which led to Ohno Satoshi’s answer…
• Ohno Satoshi – “I will try to be accepted as a leader.”
It was revealed earlier that Matsushita Yuya’s upcoming single, “Naturally“, is the official song for the ‘NATURAL BEAUTY BASIC‘ CM, and fans were able to hear a snippet of it through the commercial.
Pop trio BABYDOLLS, who are managed under UNIVERSAL MUSIC JAPAN, have released a full version of their PV for “I Love U“. The single, which made its physical CD debut a month ago on February 23rd, reached a peak of #2 on the Recochoku chart.
The upcoming horror movie “Tomie Unlimited” which is the 8th in the Tomie series has recently released its first teaser. The Tomie series is based on the mystery horror manga written by Ito Junji, and the series have resulted many previously unknown actresses to become popular. 
The Tomie series has a different story setting for each movie, and for this latest series, Tomie and Tsukiko are set as sisters. The story will revolve around Tomie as she keeps reviving from death.
R&B singer AZU just released her 11th single, “Broken Heart“, on February 2nd, and is releasing a new album called “AZyoU” on February 23rd.
