Mizuki Nana’s upcoming song “7COLORS” has been chosen as the new ending theme for the TBS quiz show “Hitachi Sekai Fushigi Hakken!“.

“7COLORS” will be included on Mizuki Nana’s 25th single, “Junketsu Paradox“, on sale August 3rd, and it promises to gain a lot of attention as the ending theme of a popular prime-time show.

The singer is currently on her nationwide tour, “NANA MIZUKI LIVE JOURNEY 2011“. The tour covers 14 concerts and will finish at Sendai’s Sun Plaza Hall on August 13th and 14th.

source: tokyohive

AKB48 has been chosen as the image characters for Asahi’s “Wonda” coffee drinks!

The group – which features top members Itano Tomomi, Shinoda Mariko, Watanabe Mayu, Oshima Yuko, Kasai Tomomi, Yokoyama Yui, and Maeda Atsuko – will be promoting the drink, “Wonda I’m FREE“.

During the commercial, Yokoyama cutely exclaims, “I’m FREE!”, in reference to the 97% caffeine-free drink.

Unlike previous commercials, AKB48 wears casual clothing to bring out their sincere expressions of happiness.

Check out the CM below!




source: tokyohive

On June 20th, idol group Morning Musume appeared at a public recording event for a STAR digio music broadcast that occurred in Tokyo.

The group has just completed their first concert as a nine-person group with the four new Ninth Generation members, and in front of nearly 1000 fans who gathered at the event, Morning Musume Sixth Generation member Michishige Sayumi remarked with a smile that, “The ninth generation members are still feigning innocence.” Afterwards, she praised herself, while her fellow members smiled bitterly.

Before their first public recording, new member Suzuki Kanon said, “As usual, I want to sing and dance with a smile,” while Ikuta Erina said spiritedly, “I think that many people are listening and I also think about the people who could not come to the event while I sing and dance.”

Mitsui Aika, who fractured her left ankle at the group’s May 8th public performance in Nagano Sunplaza, and was told she needed 8 weeks of recovery time, smiled and said, “I am okay. I stood for one month. I am healthy,” and she later participated in the event on crutches.

An edited recording of the event will be broadcast as a special program on the 26th at 11 PM on STAR digio as “Morning Musume. ‘Shoka no Kaishingeki’ Special ~ Watashitachi no deban ga yatte kitaa!! 9 nin, chikara o awasete tsukisusumu kara nee!!~.”


source: tokyohive

Yesterday, AAA’s Nishijima Takahiro and Uno Misako posted a YouTube video on their YouTube channel on how to dance “CRAZY GONNA CRAZY,” a song that will be featured on their Buzz Communication Tour 2011.

In this short video, Nishijima starts out the video by stating, “Hi, everyone! How are you? The two of us will now show you how to dance ‘CRAZY GONNA CRAZY’. I’ll be really happy if you learned it and remembered it for our live concert for Buzz Communication Tour 2011!”

Many of the comments from the viewers state on how cute this video is.

So check out for yourself on how cute the video is below!



source: tokyohive

Model/talento Masuwaka Tsubasa (Milky Bunny) has revealed the jacket covers for her upcoming debut single, “Bunny Days“, to be released on July 20th.

The cover see Masuwaka posing with adorable bunny ears in a pastel-colored room.

Check out the regular version of the cover below, in addition to the close-up version shown above!




source : tokyohive

The cast of “Ouran Host Club” was recently interviewed on TBS’s morning show,”Ousama no Brunch“!

Check out the video and translation below!




Based on a very popular teenage girl’s manga, the main character is a girl who joins a club and ends up posing as a boy.


Kawaguchi Haruna acts as the main character, performing in her first drama.

Yamamoto Yusuke acts as the host club leader/director.

Daito Shunsuke acts as club’s vice leader/director.

-

Question to Kawaguchi: This is your first drama, how do you feel?

Kawaguchi: I’m so nervous, I feel like throwing up (laugher). But I have the will to perform well, and I’ll do my best.

-

Question: How did everybody prepare for their roles?

Yamamoto: There is the manga and anime to study and learn the role from.

Nakamura: And we also learned the mannerisms of the characters directly from the character instructor.

-

Question: Within those character’s mannerisms that you learned, were there any surprise parts to the character?

Response: The manner in which one has to “bow” (ojigi).

This is how you normally bow, but we learned to bow from the waist, keeping the angle of one’s neck straight.

-

Question to Ryusa: It seems Ryusa is the black sheep of the group, as you’re the only one with a different uniform. How do you feel?

Response: Yeah, it just seems like an error, but…the character is well played at certain point.

-

Question to Kawaguchi: Among the seven actors here, please pick the one who portrayed the character best.

Response: (After playing around with the seven guys…complimenting, bribing, etc.)

Tamaki (Yamamoto)!

Fundamentally, these parts always had lots of tension, but when we’re together, we always kept smiles on our faces.

Yamamoto: There is a lot of similarity in my character and my real self. I think even if this is for real, and not just acting, she’s probably picking me.

-

Question: What about in real life?

Kawaguchi: For real, I think it’s Nakamura.

(Yamamoto seems down…he thought she would pick him.)

-

Now a question to everybody…how do you plan to fight the heat this summer?

Ito: I don’t like to keep air conditioning on…like when I go sleep, I just leave the window little open and feel the night breeze.

Takaki: I don’t think of it as hot. It’s all a matter of mind control.

Yamamoto: Guarantee you guys are lying!

-

At the end of the interview, Kawaguchi states:

With interesting members, I’m hoping that this drama will provide good laughter and a good story for everyone.

The drama starts in July!


source :tokyohive

Hello! Project group Buono! has released some details about their upcoming single, titled “Natsu Dakara!”

The single will be released on July 20th in three different packages: Limited Edition Type A, Limited Edition Type B, and Regular Edition. The limited editions will come with a serial number for their fan event and a DVD.

Check out the single covers below!




source: tokyohive

The members of AKB48 will be making a guest appearance on an award show called, “The Golden Melody Awards“, which is the Taiwanese equivalent to the Grammys.

AKB48 members Umeda Ayaka (22) and Oya Shizuka (19), as well as SKE48 members Ogiso Shiori (18) and Matsumoto Rina (17) made an appearance at a press conference for the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in Japan to make the announcement.

AKB48 opened their first official store in Taipei on June 12th. Umeda commented, “Our Taiwanese fans have been supporting us for a very long time,” showing her gratitude towards the fans over there. She even added, “We’ll worked very hard to deliver a perfect performance!”

For the performance in Taiwan, five members from AKB48, five members from SKE48, and six members from NMB48 will be making an appearance. A total of 16 girls will be there to see the Taiwanese fans at The Golden Melody Awards.

source : tokyohive

Takimoto Miori, who will be playing the lead role in the Japanese remake of the popular Korean drama, “You’re Beautiful (Ikemen desu ne),” has cut 36 centimeters of her beautiful long black hair.

She will be playing the two roles of Miko, a girl who is filling in as her twin brother Mio, a vocalist in a rock band. Although she is merely gearing up to play her role, cutting hair is no easy task for any girl. However, Takimoto commented, “I feel refreshed! I want to be called ‘cool’ instead of ‘cute’ right now.”


On top of revealing Takimoto’s new look for this drama, they have also released the album covers for the rock band “A.N.JELL“, along with artist photos. Kis-My-Ft2’s Tamamori Yuta and Fujigaya Taisuke, as well as HEY! SAY! JUMP’s Yaotome Hikaru, are also featured on the album covers.

Being that this was before their group’s major debut, both members of Kis-My-Ft2 were amazed that their faces were on the cover of a CD, excitedly commenting, “We haven’t even debuted and our faces are on a cover of a CD!”

The insert song for the drama will be a Japanese version of the song from the Korean drama, and is currently being recorded. There may be a chance that those songs will be released in some form or another.

The drama will also feature AKB48’s Kojima Haruna as the troublemaker idol, as well as Tano Shingo as the hair stylist, which makes it a very fresh cast. With new and fresh faces gracing the TV screen, we can definitely look forward to the next wave of “Ikemen” fever!

Check out Takimoto Miori’s new look, as well as one of the album covers for “A.N.JELL”, below!






source: tokyohive

Ikimonogakari will be releasing their 20th single, “Warattetainda/NEW WORLD MUSIC”, on July 20th, and it has been about a year since they released their last single, “Kimi ga Iru Kara”.

This new single includes “Warattetainda”, a song that the band’s guitarist, Mizuno Yoshio, wrote for Nissan Motor’s “Nissan SERENA” CM. The coupling song, “NEW WORLD MUSIC”, is the theme song for Fuji TV’s morning news program, “Mezamashi TV“. The arrangements for “Warattetainda” were done by Kameda Seiji, while “NEW WORLD MUSIC” was arranged by Tsutaya Koichi.

Last night, the members of Ikimonogakari broadcasted on “Ikimonogakari Yoshioka Kiyoe’s All Night Nippon”, and announced this new release. Additionally, they sang “Warattetainda” on air, pleasing the listeners.

Track List:

1. Warattetainda
2. NEW WORLD MUSIC
3. Warattetainda -instrumental-
4. NEW WORLD MUSIC -instrumental-

source: tokyohive

source: tokyohive

“Daiichi Kosho“, a karaoke system company, have revealed the top picks for their karaoke request ranking. The survey period spanned from the beginning of 2011 up until June 11th, and ranks the most popular karaoke songs for the first half of 2011.

AKB48 managed to dominate the first half of 2011, as well as Korean idols KARA and Shoujo Jidai (SNSD).

Check out the full ranking below!

First Half of 2011 Karaoke Request Ranking TOP 10
1. “Heavy Rotation” – AKB48
2. “Mister” – KARA
3. “Arigatou” – Ikimonogakari
4. “Aitakatta” – AKB48
5. “Gee” – Shoujo Jidai
6. “Ponytail to Shushu” – AKB48
7. “Kiseki” – GReeeeN
8. “Zankoku na Tanshi no Teze” – Takahashi Youko
9. “Mata Kimi ni Koishiteru” – Sakamoto Fuyumi
10. “Hanamizuki” – Hitoto Yo
11. “Chiisana Koi no Uta” – MONGOL800
12. “I Wish For You” – EXILE
13. “Aitakute Aitakute” – Nishino Kana
14. “Ryuusei” – Kobukuro
15. “Lovers Again” – EXILE
16. “Story” – AI
17. “Amagigoe” – Ishikawa Sayuri
18. “Tsubomi” – Kobukuro
19. “Konayuki” – Remioromen
20. “Jumping” – KARA

—

The company also conducted a survey of the top 10 overall most popular artists, which include many that did not make the other ranking:

Karaoke Request Artist Ranking
1. AKB48
2. EXILE
3. Arashi
4. Koda Kumi
5. Hamasaki Ayumi
6. Ikimonogakari
7. Nishino Kana
8. Mr.Children
9. Kobukuro
10. Kitajima Saburo
11. Ishikawa Sayuri
12. Misora Hibari
13. L’Arc~en~Ciel
14. Ishihara Yujiro
15. BUMP OF CHICKEN
16. GReeeeN
17. Fukuyama Masaharu
18. Southern All Stars
19. RADWIMPS
20. KARA

source : tokyohive

EXILE member MAKIDAI will be releasing a new mix CD, entitled “Treasure MIX 3“, on July 6th.

The mix CD will feature music from a variety of English artists, including 50 Cent, Drake, Rihanna, Nelly, Asher Roth, and even one of Lady Gaga’s newest singles, “Judas“.

The promotional track, “Really Into You“, was taken up as a collaboration with girl group Happiness, and is a cover of a 90s track by group Around The Way.

Check out a preview of the PV below!




DJ MAKIDAI from EXILE
Treasure MIX 3

01. Really Into You / DJ MAKIDAI feat. Happiness
02. I Made It (Cash Money Heroes) feat. Birdman, Jay Sean & Lil Wayne / Kevin Rudolf
03. Just A Dream / Nelly
04. You Be Killin Em / Fabolous
05. Holding You Down (Going In Circle) / Jazmine Sullivan
06. Arab Money feat. Ron Browz / Busta Rhymes
07. Find Your Love / Drake
08. Runaway feat. Pusha T / Kanye West
09. Price Tag feat. B.o.B. / Jessie J
10. Pretty Girl Rock / Keri Hilson
11. Lay It Down / Lloyd
12. Love King / The-Dream
13. Girl Next Door / Musiq Soulchild
14. Street Dreams (Remix) feat. R. Kelly / Nas
15. Sky’s The Limit ｆeat. 112 / THE NOTORIOUS B.I.G.
16. Baby By Me feat. Ne-Yo / 50 Cent
17. Rocketeer feat. Ryan Tedder Of One Republic / Far East Movement
18. What’s My Name? feat. Drake / Rihanna
19. Buzzin’ / Mann
20. She Be Like (Bom Bom Bom) / Git Fresh
21. White Flag feat. Kayla Kai / Far East Movement
22. Feel Good / Che’Nelle
23. Patron Tequila feat. Lil John & Eve / Paradiso Girls
24. Hot-N-Fun feat. Nelly Furtado / N*E*R*D
25. G.R.I.N.D. (Get Ready It’s A New Day) / Asher Roth
26. XXXO (Jay-Z Remix) / M.I.A.
27. Super Bass / Nicki Minaj
28. Judas / Lady Gaga

source : tokyohive

On June 14th, actresses Ueto Aya (25), Kikukawa Rei (33), and Kutsuna Shiori (18) attended the CM press meeting for the employment information website “dip“.

The actresses, who are all from the same agency, portrayed sisters in the new CM. Ueto, who is the image character for “dip”, played the middle sister, who is also a temporary worker. She commented, “It felt fresh during filming.”

Ueto entered the entertainment business when she was only 13-years-old, and when asked what her childhood dream job was, she replied, “Until I was about 20, I wanted to be a kindergarten teacher… I’m certified in childcare, and I love kids.”

The CM starring the three actresses will start airing tomorrow, on June 15th.





source: tokyohive

The newly published July issue of “Friend”, a shoujo manga magazine, featured the collaboration of AKB48’s Maeda Atsuko and manga author, Nanba Atsuko. The headline of this volume stated “Double Atsuko Festival!”, which referred to the singer and the author.

Not only did the front magazine cover feature Maeda Atsuko and Nanba Atsuko’s protagonist from “Tonari no Atashi”, but it was also revealed that magazine had featured their interviews, Maeda’s performances in AKB48, and other miscellaneous drawings from Nanba.


Furthermore, as their proof of meeting, Nanba drew a colored portrait picture of Maeda,which was autographed by Maeda herself. The portrait picture is being given away to two people who enter the contest through “Friend” magazine.

source: tokyohive