Back in January, voice actress and singer Mizuki Nana announced that her first release of 2011 will be a simultaneous release. At the time, the title singles were not released, but now they are, as Mizuki will be releasing “Scarlet Knight” and “Pop Master” on April 13th.
Both singles will be sold at ¥777 in reference to the singer’s name.
“Scarlet Knight” was written by Mizuki Nana herself and is the theme opening theme song to anime, “DOG DAYS“. It will also be the ending theme song to TV Asahi’s “Onegai! Ranking!“ and Ehime Asahi’s “Love Chu! Chu!“. The track was composed and arranged by Elements Gardens‘ Hitoshi Fujima.
The coupling song, “HIGH-STEPPER“, will be the ending theme song to “Ousama no Brunch” for the month of April and May.
Mizuki also just released the “Scarlet Knight” PV, and you can check it out below!
Mizuki also wrote the lyrics to her second single, “Pop Master”. The coupling song, “Unbreakable“, will be the opening theme song to the Nintendo 3DS/PSP game, “Unchained Blades Rexx“.
Hello! Project has just revealed its newest additions to the “Hello! Cover” series!
The most recent round features Natsuyaki Miyabi, Tsugunaga Momoko and Sugaya Risako of Berryz Koubou, Suzuki Airi and Okai Chisato from C-ute, and Morning Musume leader Takahashi Ai as they cover some of Hello! Project’s most memorable songs.
Check out the list of new tracks below!
Berryz Koubou
“Akai Nikkichou” (Original: Akairo 5) – Sugaya Risako “Egao ni Namida ~THANK YOU MY DEAR FRIENDS~” (Original: Matsuura Aya) – Sugaya Risako “Egao ni Namida ~THANK YOU MY DEAR FRIENDS~” – Tsugunaga Momoko “Koi wo Shichaimashita!” (Original: Tanpopo) - Natsuyaki Miyabi “Koi wo Shichaimashita!” – Tsugunaga Momoko “Kousui” (Original: Melon Kinenbi) – Tsugunaga Momoko “LOVE Namida Iro” (Original: Matsuura Aya) – Natsuyaki Miyabi “LOVE Namida Iro” – Sugaya Risako C-ute
Mitsui Real Estate has just announced its fourteenth “Rehouse Girl“!
“Mitsui no Rehouse” CMs, which are quickly becoming a newcoming actress’s gateway to success, have previously starred famous actresses such as Miyazawa Rie, Aoi Yuu, Kawaguchi Haruna, and many others since appointing their first Rehouse Girl in 1987.
The fourteenth Rehouse Girl is a thirteen-year-old model named Yamamoto Maika, whose hometown is in Tottori Prefecture. Yamamoto is a middle school student who loves sports – especially softball – and is currently a first-level black belt in karate.
Yamamoto will begin appearing on the firm’s home page and shop-front posters in April.
16 AKB48 Research Students have been chosen to do the theme song for the 14th season of NHK’s “Ojarumaru” program. The group’s name will be called “Ojarumaru Sisters“.
The single is set to drop on April 13th, and the tracklist is as follows:
01. Hatsukoi wa Minoranai
02. Title Pending
03. Hatsukoi wa Minoranai (Original Karaoke)
4. Title Pending (Original Karaoke)
Check back with tokyohive for more updates on this interesting new release!
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.
Earlier, we reported that F.T. Island was gearing up to drop their new Japanese single, “SATISFACTION“, for April 20th. Well, it looks like fans won’t have to wait four weeks to hear their new work, thanks to a newly-released preview of their music video!
The 30-second teaser promises a motivating track. To emphasize the new style, the director delivers a slow-motion shot of the boys running, and uses the color orange to bring in a sense of energy.
One of the new tracks from Dream Morning Musume’s upcoming album, “Dori Musu 1″, has just been leaked on the internet for fans to enjoy!
The song, titled “Atto Odoroku Mirai ga Yatte Kuru!”, is one of only two new tracks that will be featured on the group’s “debut” album, which mostly features covers of past Morning Musume songs.
The girls are currently preparing for the release of “Dori Musu 1″ on April 20th, and the start of their nationwide tour, “Dream Morning Musume. Concert Tour 2011 Haru no Mai~Sotsugyousei DE Saikessei~“, on April 23rd.
Check out the full version of “Atto Odoroku Mirai ga Yatte Kuru!”, as well as small shots of the covers for the album below!
On March 28th, the AKB48 members along with Tamura Atsushi (London boots No.1 No.2) held press conference for upcoming variety program “Naruhodo! High School” which will start airing in April.
“Naruhodo! High School” will be a show in which AKB48 members are quizzed on many questions, such as how high the cellphones’ connection would work, or if it’s possible to make ice cream in a drum. The show was first aired in 2010 as special program, and due to the special’s popularity it will now become a regular program. The AKB48 members will appear as students while Tamura will act as their teacher, and they will welcome some guests every week as well.
At the press conference, member Takahashi Minami talked about the earthquake, “I have learned the fear of natural disaster. We were abroad when the earthquake occurred, and when we came back, I couldn’t believe it was really happening in my country. I hope that we could convey something in our own words (during the show).” Tamura also added, “I was told by someone at the devastated area that something we could do (for the victims) is to deliver smiles for them. I would like to send them cheers and smiles.” (On March 20th, Tamura visited the devastated area, and delivered relief to the earthquake victims.)
At the press conference, AKB48’s sister group, NMB48 members, comedian duo Peace (as sub-teachers), and Terry Ito (as board chairman) also made appearance.
The first episode of “Naruhodo! High School” will air as 2-hours special on April 21st. (regularly, every Thursday at 7:00~ 7:54 pm)
AKB48’s best album, “Kamikyokutachi”, has given the girls their first album that has sold over half a million units!
As of this week, “Kamikyokutachi” has sold approximately 501,000 copies since its release on April 7th of 2010. Although the idol group has already sold over a million copies of their singles “Beginner” and “Sakura no Ki ni Narou”, this marks the first time that any of their albums have sold over 500,000 since their debut six years ago.
“Kamikyokutachi” is also the first album by a female group to surpass half a million since Destiny’s Child sold 592,000 copies of their best album, “Number Ones”, over five years ago, and the first time a Japanese girl group has done so since Morning Musume’s album, “4th Ikimasshoi!” (515,000), went on sale almost nine years ago.
On March 28th, main cast members of the upcoming movie “Koukou Debut“, which Mizobata Junpei and Ohno Ito star in, gathered at Tokyo FM Hall, and sent yells for earthquake victims.
This day was planned to be a private showing for the movie, however, it was changed to the event to send the supportive messages to the victims. Other than Mizobata and Ohno, Suda Masaki, Aizawa Rina, Furukawa Yuki, Okamoto Rei, Miyazawa Sae (AKB48), Masuda Yuka (AKB48), and Tsukaji Muga (Drunk Dragon) also showed up.
Mizobata said, “Although I may only have poor ability, I think it’s my mission (as an actor) to send yells to everybody. I hope this movie would be the trigger to make people smile a bit.” Ohno said, “It’s heartbreaking to think about people who have been affected. I want to continue doing small things I can do, such as saving on electricity and donating. Since this is a very cheerful movie, I wish we could send this to the victims someday.”
At the event, it was confirmed that they will hold a charity auction with costumes and goods which were used in the movie, and they will donate the money through Japan Red Cross Society.
“Koukou Debut” will be released on April 1st as scheduled.
On March 28th, main cast members of the upcoming movie “Koukou Debut“, which Mizobata Junpei and Ohno Ito star in, gathered at Tokyo FM Hall, and sent yells for earthquake victims.
This day was planned to be a private showing for the movie, however, it was changed to the event to send the supportive messages to the victims. Other than Mizobata and Ohno, Suda Masaki, Aizawa Rina, Furukawa Yuki, Okamoto Rei, Miyazawa Sae (AKB48), Masuda Yuka (AKB48), and Tsukaji Muga (Drunk Dragon) also showed up.
Mizobata said, “Although I may only have poor ability, I think it’s my mission (as an actor) to send yells to everybody. I hope this movie would be the trigger to make people smile a bit.” Ohno said, “It’s heartbreaking to think about people who have been affected. I want to continue doing small things I can do, such as saving on electricity and donating. Since this is a very cheerful movie, I wish we could send this to the victims someday.”
At the event, it was confirmed that they will hold a charity auction with costumes and goods which were used in the movie, and they will donate the money through Japan Red Cross Society.
“Koukou Debut” will be released on April 1st as scheduled.
ToshI, the vocalist of rock band X JAPAN, has announced an upcoming charity concert tour to benefit disaster victims.
The tour will kick off on April 9th. In order to raise support for energy conservation, he will be accompanied by a live orchestra instead of recorded music. He also plans to unveil a new song dedicated to those affected by the disaster, called “Haru no Negai“, as well as auction off some personal items to raise money. Discouraged from performing in affected areas like Northeastern Japan and the Tokyo area due to power outages and safety issues, he nevertheless declared, “We’ll take a look at the situation, but I definitely want to perform in Tokyo and the most affected areas as well.”
The rock vocalist, in a rare gesture, stood up for the victims of the earthquake: “I pray for Japan to recover as soon as possible!”
Four shows covering Western Japan were quickly schedule for the tour. Beginning on April 9 with a performance in Gifu, and then Kanazawa, Osaka, and Fukuoka, the tour will cover 8 shows in four cities. The stages are not part of the area called to cut back on energy consumption to help Tokyo and Northeastern Japan, but in order to support the conservation measure, the singer will use the least energy as possible, singing with a live orchestra instead of recorded music.
In addition, X JAPAN bassist HEATH and LUNA SEA drummer Shinya have agreed to support ToshI’s efforts by participating in the concerts.
Since the earthquake and tsunami hit on the 11th, ToshI has been shocked by the TV news coverage of the wide-spread damage. He was particularly struck by the terrible images of Northeastern Japan’s damage, because he had visited the area in the past for solo concerts. He scrupulously prepared the tour, finding locations, hiring staff, advertising, and gathering volunteers all by himself. He explained, “If there is anything I can do to help, I want to start right away.”
During the show, ToshI will accompany himself on the piano to perform new solo songs, and will also have a jam session with HEATH and Shinya to play some of X JAPAN’s famous hits. Jewelry-designer/Songwriter Shita Akie, who is a mutual friend of ToshI and X JAPAN leader YOSHIKI, wrote the song “Haru no Negai” that ToshI will introduce for the first time. There will also be an auction of X JAPAN and other celebrities’ personal items. All proceeds will be donated to the Japanese Red Cross to benefit the earthquake and tsunami victims.
Sadly, due to power outages and safety issues, ToshI was forced to abandon plans to perform in Northeastern Japan and in the Tokyo area. However, he voiced his support for these areas, saying, “In such a crucial moment, I think it’s wrong for parts of Japan to be separated like this. We’ll take a look at the situation, but I definitely want to perform in Tokyo and the most affected areas as well.” Next he made an appeal to the public: “I applaud everyone’s strength during these hard times. Please help in any way you can.”
It’s been revealed that Okinawan rock band, Stereopony, will provide the theme song for the film, “Tengoku kara no Yell” (“A Yell from Heaven”). The film is slated for an October release and is about a music group from Okinawa. The film is based on a true story of Hikaru Nakasone and his “Ajiasai Ongaku Mura” studio.
Since Stereopony graduated from “Ajisai Ongaku Mura”, they’ve titled the new song “Arigatou” as an expression of their thanks.
The film had a special screening this month at the Okinawa International Film Festival, from March 18th to March 27th.
Stereopony will also be a special musical guest at ‘Anime Boston‘ along with rock band Girugamesh. This is not the first time they have performed in the U.S., as they were guests at SXSW 2009 and performed at ‘AnimeNEXT‘ in 2010. If you’re nearby the area, be sure to check out ‘Anime Boston’ when it runs from April 22nd to the 24th!
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!
It’s been announced that four stages of Spitz’s nation tour, “SPITZ JAMBOREE TOUR ‘Togemaru 2011′“, have been passed on due to vocalist Kusano Masamune’s sudden illness.
According to Spitz’s official site, Kusano was diagnosed with acute stress disorder on March 17th, and he needs to be under medical treatment for about three weeks. They said that it was because of the extreme stress from the effect of the Great Tohoku Kanto Earthquake, such as the aftershocks, watching heavy damages reported on TV day after day, and the situation of the atomic power plant in Fukushima.
On their official site, other members and the president of their agency, under joint names, posted a comment in which they apologized to the fans. They also explained about Kusano’s condition, “‘Acute stress disorder’ is a transient thing. It can be healed almost always after a certain time, and Kusano’s current condition is in the recovery process.”
The passed on four stages are the ones in Tottori on April 3rd, in Yamaguchi on April 5th, and in Hiroshima on April 7th and 8th. They will announce if those stages will be postponed or cancelled as soon as possible, in addition to releasing their future schedule.
J-pop singer Utada Hikaru (a.k.a Hikki) updated her blog with a message in both English and Japanese, regarding the Tohoku Earthquake.
In the message Hikki mentions that after the earthquake, she donated 400ml of her blood to the blood bank and made an ¥80,000,000 ($983,888 USD) donation to Japan’s Red Cross. She asks that everyone help by donating to the Red Cross and specifying that it is for the Japan relief.
Hikki goes on to say that this earthquake is a lesson that everyone in the world can learn from, “For decades we have depended on nuclear power. It has made possible quick economic growth and a ‘convenient’ society, but also a lifestyle that is very wasteful.” She adds on that many people in Japan have just realized they have been taking things for granted like food, energy, daily supplies, running water, resources, and life.
Because of this, she is urging everyone to not wait until you lose everything and learn from this event, that everything is precious, “If we all save energy, use only what we need, and live responsibly for what we consume, we can make the world a safer, more peaceful place, for us all.”
Hikki is also thankful for all the support Japan has been receiving from overseas and Japan is truely grateful.
It’s been revealed that rock band L’Arc~en~Ciel will be singing the theme song for the upcoming “Fullmetal Alchemist” movie!
This will mark the fourth time in which L’arc~en~Ciel will sing for the anime franchise. In 2004, they released “READY STEADY GO” as an opening song for the first anime series, and in the following year, they sang both the opening (OP) and ending (ED) for “Fullmetal Alchemist the Movie: Conqueror of Shamballa”
The new film, “Fullmetal Alchemist: Milos no Seinaru Hoshi“, will hit theaters on July 2nd. In the meantime, listen to L’arc~en~Ciel’s previous Fullmetal tracks:
It’s been revealed that rock band L’Arc~en~Ciel will be singing the theme song for the upcoming “Fullmetal Alchemist” movie!
This will mark the fourth time in which L’arc~en~Ciel will sing for the anime franchise. In 2004, they released “READY STEADY GO” as an opening song for the first anime series, and in the following year, they sang both the opening (OP) and ending (ED) for “Fullmetal Alchemist the Movie: Conqueror of Shamballa”
The new film, “Fullmetal Alchemist: Milos no Seinaru Hoshi“, will hit theaters on July 2nd. In the meantime, listen to L’arc~en~Ciel’s previous Fullmetal tracks:
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!”
It was revealed on the 24th that Fukuhara Miho will be singing the theme song for the upcoming animated film “Onigamiden“.
The song is called “STARLIGHT“, and the lyrics reflect the feelings of the protagonist, who must fight to protect his loved ones. The track will also be included in her upcoming mini-album, “The Soul Extreme EP“, which hits stores May 11th.
Fukuhara has commented, “I would be happy if [the song] could reach a lot of people“.
We reported about “Onigamiden” earlier, when it was announced that actress Ishihara Satomi would be voice acting in it, so if you need a refresher, read more about the film here.
AKB48’s Itano Tomomi (aka Tomochin) recently appeared on the front cover of fashion magazine ViVi, and wrote about her happiness in her ViVi column “TomoSuta.”
Although Tomochin publishes photos and beauty tips on Vivi through “TomoSuta,” the May 2011 issue is the first time she has been featured on the cover of the magazine.
The idol wrote ecstatically, “I am extremely happy! I’ve always loved ViVi and it’s a magazine I still read [every month], so I’m really happy that my dream came true!”
J-pop star Amuro Namie was on the previous issue’s cover, and she added, “It’s another dream [come true] to follow on the cover after Amuro-chan, whom I love.”
Tomochin has been gaining attention from female fans since appearing in several women’s magazines, including ViVi. She stated, “I want to work harder on being fashionable so that I get more girl fans.”
Popular group EXILE has just confirmed that they will be appearing on the upcoming episode of “Music Lovers”!
The boys will perform their hit songs “I Wish For You”, “Each Other’s Way ~Tabi no Tochuu~” and “Motto Tsuyoku”.
This week’s ‘guest lover’ is Ogura Tomoaki, who will watch the performance from the first row and chat with the members of EXILE about their past embarrassing experiences.
The episode airs on March 27th, and will broadcast from 11:30 to 11:55 PM JST.
More than a week has passed since the Tohoku Earthquake, and everyone is helping out in some part. Artists in particular have been donating money and offerings songs and messages of encouragement for the victims.
Pop group SPEED are the latest artists to send out a message to the victims. It was written on a handmade by member hitoe, who does some of the group’s artwork.
The group expressed that right now, everyone is doing their best to help each other. There are many risking their lives to help those who are in peril, and they hope that a smile will return to the faces who were caught in the disaster.
Talented R&B singer JASMINE has begun using English on her official Twitter!
Although the singer had previously tweeted short messages and greetings in English, her most recent tweets mark the first time that JASMINE has ever exclusively used English to update her status through Twitter.
Check out some of her cute tweets below, and make sure to follow her here!
On March 22nd, Hello!Project group S/mileage announced through their official website that they would be holding a special charity mini-live!
The event will be held on March 26th at Aeon Kuwana Shopping Center in Kuwana, Mie prefecture from 4:00-5:00PM. After the mini performance, the girls will be collecting donations from those in attendance.
In the same vein, S/mileage will also have a special radio show on Radio Cube FM Sanjou. The show will air on April 3rd from 8:00-8:30PM.
Veteran rock band LUNA SEA has just announced that they will be releasing their first new song in ten years!
The song will be available for digital download only on a specific date, with all proceeds going towards the victims of the Tohoku earthquake. The date of release has yet to be announced.
According the band’s official website, the members of LUNA SEA wanted to contribute as much as possible to the recovery of Sendai, and unanimously agreed that the best way for them to do so was through their music.
Popular idol group AKB48’s new sub-unit Not yet, which consists of Ohshima Yuko, Kitahara Rie, Sashihara Rino and Yokoyama Yui, released their first single “Shuumatsu Not yet” on March 16th, and it sold 160,000 copies in the first week. They topped the latest Oricon weekly chart for the week of March 28th with these sales.
Not yet has the best first week sales among all AKB48’s sub-units, and they are AKB48’s third sub-unit to top the singles chart after “Watarirouka Hashiritai“, and “Team Dragon from AKB48.”
GACKT has now begun tweeting in English in order to spread his messages to international fans!
The singer just recently opened up his own official Twitter account, through which he’s been sending out encouraging information and news on his charity effort, “SHOW YOUR HEART”.
GACKT marked his first official tweet by responding to an international fan’s question. He wrote, “Check my homepage later, we are translating in 9 languages, of course in English as well. You can get what I said.” Since he posted three additional English messages that day, it seems likely that he will continue to do so for his English-speaking fans around the world.
GACKT’s message concerning the earthquake has also been translated into nine different languages, allowing international fans to read his inspiring message in their own language. The message can be viewed on his official website.
Korean girl group 2NE1 will be appearing in next month’s issue of fashion magazine, “NYLON JAPAN”!
According to the magazine’s editor-in-chief, Togawa Takashi, 2NE1 will be appearing in the May edition of “NYLON JAPAN” as their cover girls. The shoot was planned to coincide with their official Japanese debut on March 16th, however, the debut was postponed indefinitely because of the Tohoku earthquake.
The magazine goes on sale on March 28th, and includes a limited number of exclusive 2NE1 posters. “NYLON JAPAN” will also donate ¥20 (approximately $0.25 USD) from every magazine purchased towards disaster relief efforts.
Many Japanese musicians have been writing songs to support earthquake victims, and recently, Jazz-fusion band orange pekoe has joined them in these efforts with their new track, “Tomoshibi“.
Members Nagashima Tomoko and Fujimoto Kazuma wrote the song as a “song of prayer” for the earthquake victims and to those involved with the relief effort. The duo recorded the track using a handheld recorder so they could conserve electricity; consequently, Fujimoto mentioned in his blog that the sound quality wasn’t all that great.
Still, it’s a touching piece that really shows the musicians’ thoughtfulness from beginning to end.
Back in 2002 singer-songwriter Kawashima Ai started out as a street performer at the age of 16 and dreamed of performing in front of 1,000 people. In 2005, she finally achieved her goal and has since become a famous singer and pianist. This year on March 17th, six years after her last street performance, she decided to perform on the streets again in order to collect money for those affected by the Great Tohoku Kanto Earthquake.
Unfortunately it will still take a while until she can perform on the streets of the Kanto region affected by the disaster, but so far she has been able to perform in Hiroshima, Fukuoka and Yamaguchi. Today she was actually able to perform on the streets of Sannomiya, Kobe and Kawanishi, the area that heavily suffered from the Kobe earthquake 16 years ago. Since 2005 she has always performed at charity concerts that helped raise hundreds of millions of yen for the reconstruction of this region.
Kawashima was looking forward to performing on the streets in the Osaka-Kobe region, “I especially wanted to perform in Kobe, but I wasn’t sure if it was really good timing since many people here still have a scar left in their hearts from the Kobe earthquake. However, everyone in Japan cares about the earthquake that happened in East Japan and especially the people in Kobe, who know about all the pain and sorrow. Even if it isn’t much, I hope people will donate for the disaster relief.”
She sang a total of three songs in Kobe including, “Tabidachi no Hi ni” and “Daijōbu da yo“.
After her first performance in Sannomiya, she commented, “As expected, it is a really warm city. A lot of people came to greet me after the performance. Everyone was so warm… really. 16 years have passed since the earthquake here. Everything has been rebuilt, but many people still feel the grief in her hearts. I know, because I have been performing in this city for the past seven years.”
Her second performance on the streets of Kawanishi was very touching as well. She said, “Even more people gathered here. Both Kobe and Kawanishi were struck by the Kobe earthquake. After the performance an older woman was giving me a 1,000 Yen bill with her trembling hands and smiled, ‘Back then we received a lot of help and a lot of love from people throughout the country, therefore we shouldn’t hesitate to do the same this time.’ Those words and this smile alone made it worth it to perform at this place.”
Together with today’s performance, Kawashima was already able to collect a total of 880,000 Yen.
Sandara Park releases an angelic CF for “Nikon”
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Nikon Imaging Korea has just released a jaw-dropping commercial with 2NE1‘s
Sandara Park.
The idol shed her quirky style and emerged as a gorgeous woman w...
Back in January, voice actress and singer Mizuki Nana announced that her first release of 2011 will be a simultaneous release. At the time, the title singles were not released, but now they are, as Mizuki will be releasing “Scarlet Knight” and “Pop Master” on April 13th.
“Scarlet Knight” was written by Mizuki Nana herself and is the theme opening theme song to anime, “DOG DAYS“. It will also be the ending theme song to TV Asahi’s “Onegai! Ranking!“ and Ehime Asahi’s “Love Chu! Chu!“. The track was composed and arranged by Elements Gardens‘ Hitoshi Fujima.
Mizuki also wrote the lyrics to her second single, “Pop Master”. The coupling song, “Unbreakable“, will be the opening theme song to the Nintendo 3DS/PSP game, “Unchained Blades Rexx“.
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.
On March 28th, the AKB48 members along with Tamura Atsushi (London boots No.1 No.2) held press conference for upcoming variety program “Naruhodo! High School” which will start airing in April.
At the press conference, member Takahashi Minami talked about the earthquake, “I have learned the fear of natural disaster. We were abroad when the earthquake occurred, and when we came back, I couldn’t believe it was really happening in my country. I hope that we could convey something in our own words (during the show).” Tamura also added, “I was told by someone at the devastated area that something we could do (for the victims) is to deliver smiles for them. I would like to send them cheers and smiles.” (On March 20th, Tamura visited the devastated area, and delivered relief to the earthquake victims.)
At the press conference, AKB48’s sister group, NMB48 members, comedian duo Peace (as sub-teachers), and Terry Ito (as board chairman) also made appearance.
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.
More than a week has passed since the Tohoku Earthquake, and everyone is helping out in some part. Artists in particular have been donating money and offerings songs and messages of encouragement for the victims.
The group expressed that right now, everyone is doing their best to help each other. There are many risking their lives to help those who are in peril, and they hope that a smile will return to the faces who were caught in the disaster.
Talented R&B singer JASMINE has begun using English on her official Twitter!
On March 22nd, Hello!Project group S/mileage announced through their official website that they would be holding a special charity mini-live!
Popular idol group AKB48’s new sub-unit Not yet, which consists of Ohshima Yuko, Kitahara Rie, Sashihara Rino and Yokoyama Yui, released their first single “Shuumatsu Not yet” on March 16th, and it sold 160,000 copies in the first week. They topped the latest Oricon weekly chart for the week of March 28th with these sales. 
GACKT has now begun tweeting in English in order to spread his messages to international fans!
GACKT’s message concerning the earthquake has also been translated into nine different languages, allowing international fans to read his inspiring message in their own language. The message can be viewed on his official website.
Back in 2002 singer-songwriter Kawashima Ai started out as a street performer at the age of 16 and dreamed of performing in front of 1,000 people. In 2005, she finally achieved her goal and has since become a famous singer and pianist. This year on March 17th, six years after her last street performance, she decided to perform on the streets again in order to collect money for those affected by the Great Tohoku Kanto Earthquake. 
