Starting next month, idol superstar Ueto Aya will be starring in a drama with Takenouchi Yutaka, Matsuda Shota, and Kitano Kii.
The hardworking Ueto Aya has stayed busy by participating in a photoshoot for the October edition of “Monthly the Television“, and she can also been seen endorsing the company Fudemame.
J-pop idol groups, Arashi and AKB48, have help set a new record in singles sales according to Oricon.
For the 9/6 weekly rankings, this year’s total (dating from 2009.12.28-2010.8/29) has exceeded 34,087,000,000 yen. It’s been a whole five years since the fiscal year numbers have been surpassed. This surge was due in large part to Arashi’s “Troublemaker” (ranked no.1 during the week of 9/6 and sold 696,000 yen worth) and AKB48’s “Ponytail and chou-chou” (ranked no.3 and sold 630,000 yen).
When looking at the top 10 ranking artists, these two groups’ sales take up more than half of the total. Arashi took three spots: 1st with “Troublemaker”, 2nd with ”Monster” (692,000 yen), and 5th with “To be free” (507,000 yen). AKB48 also took three spots: “Ponytail and chou-chou” in 3rd, 4th with “Heavy Rotation” (592,000 yen), and 7th with “Sakura no Shiori” (385,000 yen).
Over the course of the past couple of years, music DVD sales have had a firm holding as well, with a 139.9% markup that is expected to continue for some time. Arashi’s “ARASHI Anniversary Tour 5×10” was #1 and sold 740,000 yen, while TOHOSHINKI’s “TOHOSHINKI VIDEO CLIP COLLECTION –THE ONE-“ ranked 2nd and sold 172,000 yen. Eight out of the ten spots were taken by male artists.
X Japan leader, Yoshiki, has made a video message to all their fans.
For those of you who are in Los Angeles, get ready, because there’s only seven days till one of Japan’s biggest bands starts off their North American tour.
Rapper KREVA has just been named the artist of the month for ‘MTV x DAM WANNASING’, taking the title from last month’s artist CHEMISTRY.
The position comes with several fun perks for the rapper. KREVA will get a 30-second CM spot on the MTV x DAM channel, which would be great publicity for him considering that he just released his new “OASYS” mini album. He also gets to be in charge of the songs selected for next month’s “MTV x DAM WANNASING KARAOKEE CHART TOP 20“.
Probably the best part of the announcement comes in the form of a poster of KREVA, viewable on the MTV Japan website. It features the rapper singing passionately into a ladle, looking absolutely adorable in his apron.
KREVA will be quite busy promoting over the weekend. He will be on the late saturday night program “JAPAN COUNTDOWN” on TV Tokyo at 12:20AM. On Sunday, he will be on NHK’s “MUSIC JAPAN” for a performance and talk segment with this week’s hosts, Perfume.
To celebrate his new “OASYS” mini album release, KREVA has posted video clips on the iTunes Store. The store now has 19 of his music videos up for purchase, which includes everything from his debut single “neiro” to his newest track “kamo.”
Check out KREVA on MTV: http://www.mtvjapan.com/wannasing/
To celebrate songstress Koda Kumi’s upcoming releases, record store TSUTAYA has decided to launch a special ‘Koda Kumi section’ in 10 stores across Japan!
The special Koda Kumi corner is mostly coming about due to the following upcoming releases: “Sukide, Sukide, Sukide” on September 22nd, and the “KODA KUMI LIVE TOUR 2010~UNIVERSE~” DVD on October 6th. For devout fans, TSUTAYA will even have UNIVERSE goods on sale before the release of the DVD.
More information as well as a sample of what to expect will be in Koda Kumi’s official fanclub newsletter. Her website does tease that the Koda Kumi section in TSUTAYA will be specially colored for each store. Implementation times may vary on a per-store basis, but they are supposed to have the special sections up on Monday the 21st.
SHIBUYA TSUTAYA TSUTAYA EBISUBASHI Shinjuku TSUTAYA TSUTAYA Sannomiya store TSUTAYA Sasngenjaya Store TSUTAYA Nishigotanda Store TSUTAYA Yokohama Minatomirai Store TSUTAYA Hirakata Shi Eki Store TSUTAYA Osaka Hirakata Store TSUTAYA Fukuoka Tenjin
A model for the fashion magazine, “JELLY“, Mori Maya announced on her blog recently that she is getting married to a non-celebrity and is also pregnant. We reported earlier that another model for “JELLY”, Yamamoto Yuuki, is also getting married and having a baby, so both of them appeared on the cover of the November issue, which was published on September 17th.
The November issue also included close reporting on Maya’s wedding ceremony, which was held on August 8th. Additionally, the magazine announced that they will show Yuuki’s wedding in next month’s issue.
An unfamiliar Japanese girl group made an appearance on September 10th at KBS’s Seoul Drama Awards. SKE48 is a popular girl group in Japan, and it consists of a unique system that divides their group into teams according to popularity. In total, they have over 30 members in the final group.
Seven of the girls came to Korea for the appearance, including leader Matsui Rena, Kizaki Yuria, Ishida Anna, Ogiso Shiori, and others.
Sports World was able to personally meet the girls for an interview before their stage. When asked about their feelings regarding their visit to Korea, they answered, “This is our second visit. The first time we came, it was a bit surprising, but I think we have a lot more freedom this time around. We are working hard at learning Korean.”
When asked why they were in Korea, they revealed, “We came in order to raise the awareness of Japanese idol groups in Korea. Before, Hallyu dramas were highly popular in Japan. Now, I think that Korean singers have a lot more popularity. We know that KARA, SNSD, and others are achieving much success. We’d like to show the charms of Japanese idol groups to Korean music fans as well. Should we receive the opportunity, we’d like to promote in Korea.”
SKE48 is highly aware of Korean girl groups, commenting, “SNSD left the greatest impression on us. First of all, they have beautiful legs. We saw them often during broadcast shows and became envious of their skinny legs. It’d be nice if our legs were as pretty as SNSD’s.”
Unfortunately, Korean netizens weren’t so welcoming, as the majority of the comments left were along the lines of, “Honestly, if you guys come to Korea with your skills, you guys will be chased back out,” “It’s not only you guys that won’t make it in Korea, it’s any Japanese group. Don’t even dream of it,” and “Not gonna lie, I was randomly flipping through the channels when I came across them and thought I was watching some school arts festival.”
Otaku idol group Fudanjuku showed up at the grand opening ceremony of KIDDY LAND (a toy store) in Harajuku on September 16th. Fudanjuku is an otaku idol group in which members of the “Nakano Fujoshi Sisters” disguise themselves as men. All the members have otaku hobbies, such as cosplay, anime, yaoi, etc.
One of the members, Seto Kouki (as Seguchi Kana), was very excited to see ”Rilakkuma“, because it’s his favorite character. Since September 16th was Kouki’s birthday, other members promised to buy Rilakkuma goods for him as a birthday present.
Fudanjuku also performed “Muteki! Natsuyasumi” at the store.
The official grand opening of the new KIDDY LAND is on September 17th.
Ex-Morning Musume member, Yaguchi Mari confessed that she is a hard drinker on the variety show, “Downtown DX.” She said that the best record she had (the record she remembers) was ingesting 30 shots of tequila, and amazingly, she chose champagne as its chaser. After drinking that much alcohol, she mourned that she could not even move at all the next day.
Suzanne, who goes drinking with Mari often, was also a guest that day and she exposed that when Mari get drunk, she gets very annoying. Since Mari is such a small girl, Suzanne wonder how it’s possible for Mari’s body to consume that much alcohol.
It’s rumored that many of ex-Morning Musume members are hard drinkers, and Mari is definitely one of them!
As we reported earlier last month, Utada Hikaru is releasing a new album titled “Utada Hikaru SINGLE COLLECTION VOL.2” on November 24th. tokyohive’s got more details on the upcoming album!
The tracklist below is not yet complete, as there will be more additions to it later. The album will come as a 2-CD package.
Darekano Negaiga Kanaukoro (誰かの願いが叶うころ) Be My Last Passion Keep Tryin’ This Is Love Boku ha Kuma (ぼくはくま) Flavor Of Life -Ballad Version- Beautiful World Kiss & Cry HEART STATION Stay Gold Prisoner Of Love Beautiful World -PLANiTb Acoustica Mix- Source: Utada Hikaru Official site
J-pop group, Every Little Thing, will celebrate their 15th anniversary next year, so this December they will hold a “Premium Concert Tour” where they will perform special versions of all their hit songs.
Tickets are priced at 6,800 Yen ($80 USD).
< Every Little Thing Premium Christmas Concert Tour 2010 >
12/07 – Shiga Cultural Sangyoukouryuu Hall 12/09 – Matsudo Mori Hall 21 12/12 – Toyama Aubade Hall 12/14 – Bunkamura Orchard hall 12/15 – Bunkamura Orchard Hall 12/17 – Kobe International House 12/19 – Nagasaki Town Hall 12/22 – Nagoya Century Hall 12/23 – Osaka International Convention Center
Dance & vocal group, Tokyo Girls’ Style, has released the PV to their upcoming single ”Himawari to Hoshizuku” on their official YouTube. If you’re not familiar with the group, they are Avex’s new girl unit, and they have been dubbed by some as ”Sweets v.2″. The members are Ayano Konishi, Miyu Yamabe, Hitomi Arai, Yuri Nakae, and Mei Shyoji, all of whom are said to be aged around 12-years-old.
This will be the group’s fourth single this year since their debut in May. It will be released on 10/6 and will have five tracks, including one B-side, “Kitto Wasurenai“, which is an image song in the movie, “Kimi ga Odoru, Natsu”. Tracks three and four are instrumentals to the title track and B-side, respectively, while track five is titled, “TGS06 –NEW SONG Senkouongen-”. Whether that’s the actual name of the track, I’m not too sure.
The single will have three editions, with one being only obtainable by going to mu-mo’s shop event. The limited edition will include the PV of “Himawari to Hoshizuku”, a “making of” movie, one of six random jacket cards, and an invitation to the TGS Christmas Event. The normal version will include an eight page booklet and invitation to the TGS Christmas Event. The mu-mo shop edition will include a “Special movie” on the DVD (Title TBA) and one of six random jacket cards.
Actress Naka Riisa (20) attended the opening of the American clothing brand “Rugby Ralph Lauren” in Shibuya.
Naka was sporting a chic RUGBY outfit that included a striped blazer and a black lace dress. She said of the brand, “They have colourful and casual outfits that young people can wear”. Naka also revealed that she’s not really as stylish as the character she’s portraying in her current drama, “Nihonjin no Shiranai Nihongo”. “There were times when I wear the exact same clothes that I’ve worn in a drama before. But still, people don’t recognize and greet me,” she said.
Aside from Naka Riisa, model Hasegawa Rie (36) also came with her pet dog to promote the brand. “I’m a huge fan of RUGBY, and always make it a point to drop by their store whenever I’m in New York. I’ll be really glad if they can make clothes for dogs as well,” Hasegawa said.
Actor Nagayama Kento, producer Terry Ito, m-flo’s Verbal, former soccer player Nakata Hideyoshi, and model Matsushima Hana also attended the opening event.
Ex-Ayabie members, Kenzo and Yumehito, have formed a new session band, K.Y. For those who didn’t know, both of them left their old band, Ayabie, a few months ago.
K.Y. stands for KENZO & YUMEHITO, with Yumehito on vocals and guitar, and Kenzo on drums and chorus. They are supported by Ryouta on guitar and Masato on bass.
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...
Starting next month, idol superstar Ueto Aya will be starring in a drama with Takenouchi Yutaka, Matsuda Shota, and Kitano Kii.
A model for the fashion magazine, “JELLY“, Mori Maya announced on her blog recently that she is getting married to a non-celebrity and is also pregnant. We reported earlier that another model for “JELLY”, Yamamoto Yuuki, is also getting married and having a baby, so both of them appeared on the cover of the November issue, which was published on September 17th. 
The November issue also included close reporting on Maya’s wedding ceremony, which was held on August 8th. Additionally, the magazine announced that they will show Yuuki’s wedding in next month’s issue.
An unfamiliar Japanese girl group made an appearance on September 10th at KBS’s Seoul Drama Awards. SKE48 is a popular girl group in Japan, and it consists of a unique system that divides their group into teams according to popularity. In total, they have over 30 members in the final group. 
When asked why they were in Korea, they revealed, “We came in order to raise the awareness of Japanese idol groups in Korea. Before, Hallyu dramas were highly popular in Japan. Now, I think that Korean singers have a lot more popularity. We know that KARA, SNSD, and others are achieving much success. We’d like to show the charms of Japanese idol groups to Korean music fans as well. Should we receive the opportunity, we’d like to promote in Korea.”
Otaku idol group Fudanjuku showed up at the grand opening ceremony of KIDDY LAND (a toy store) in Harajuku on September 16th. Fudanjuku is an otaku idol group in which members of the “Nakano Fujoshi Sisters” disguise themselves as men. All the members have otaku hobbies, such as cosplay, anime, yaoi, etc. 
Fudanjuku also performed “Muteki! Natsuyasumi” at the store.
After the release of their newest album, “LIVE“, NEWS fans couldn’t help but ask one another, “Will there be a new NEWS single soon?”
Actress Naka Riisa (20) attended the opening of the American clothing brand “Rugby Ralph Lauren” in Shibuya.
