It was been said that the advent of streaming has led to a decrease in album listening. To show the charm of albums, a group of music professionals presented a list of 12 albums on this week’s episode that they regard as JPop masterpiece albums. Three of these professionals were guests on this week’s episode: […]

On May 7, CRYSTAL will release their second album, “Reflection Overdrive.” This album comes on the heels of last year’s “Ecco Funk EP”, which was inspired by the 1992 Sega video game “Ecco the Dolphin.” On their new album, CRYSTAL returns to their roots by taking a retro-futurist approach to synths, but with a bold, […]

We’re back with this week’s edition of Oricon Flashback. This is where we look back on what topped the charts this week 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, and 30 years ago. Think of it as a way to reminisce and learn about the past of Japanese music. 4/22/91 Album: Himuro Kyosuke – Higher Self (second […]

Last November Masahiko Kondo (56), whose primary achievements include being one of the largest stars in the 1980s only to disappear and cheating on Akina Nakamori with Seiko Matsuda, was caught having a five year affair with a 31 year old woman. While he has kept private since, Shukan Bunshun has learned that he will […]

Over the past couple of months with the debut of groups like NiziU and JO1 there has been a rise of what I would call “popularity alarmism”. This is a feeling that is very real on both sides of the strait with K-pop fans becoming alarmed by the number of non-Koreans in K-pop, and J-pop […]

As previously reported, YUKI will release her new album, “Terminal”, on April 28. The album will contain 13 songs, including both songs from her last single, “Baby, it’s you / My lovely ghost.” “Terminal” will be released in a CD+DVD limited edition and a CD only regular edition, with the limited edition DVD containing the […]

FujiTV has announced a brand new drama that is sure to be a hit, a new medical based series titled “Night Doctor“. The theme for the drama is quite topical, as it will focus on Japan’s emergency medical care system which is currently suffering from a huge labor shortage. The doctors are becoming overwhelmed with […]

As previously reported, Hey! Say! JUMP will release their new single, “Negative Fighter”, on May 12. They previously released a music video for the song in which they appeared as “neo avatars.” The group has now released another video for the song, this time as their human selves. Check it out below, along with the […]

On April 24, the final episode of “CHUANG 2021” aired. The top eleven members debuted as “INTO1.” The group’s name stems from “eleven international members, selected by viewers via the internet, coming together as one.” Three out of the five contestants that Avex sent to be on the show debuted in INTO1. WARPs UP‘s SANTA […]

One of the main issues with being a 48 Group fan (not to belittle the literal millions of issues this entire institution has) was probably that stages tend to be the single most hyped musical release you can get as a fan, and ultimately the hype tends to eclipse what you actually get. That was […]

On April 21, Daichi Miura will release his new single, “Backwards.” The song serves as the campaign song for “adidas 2021 S/S Collection.” Daichi appears in commercial for the collection, along with Hirose Alice. “Backwards” will be released in three editions: CD+Blu-ray, CD+DVD, and CD only. Three B-sides are included on this single. The second […]

On April 21, Crystal Kay will release her first cover, “I SING.” The 13 songs on the album, which were chosen via a fan survey, span from the early Heisei era to today. “I SING” sees Crystal covering an array of artists, including Ken Hirai, Official HIGE DANdism, EXILE, RADWIMPS, and BUMP OF CHICKEN. Several […]

This week’s episode was a three hour special. This week’s guests were EXILE, A.B.C-Z, Sakurazaka46, DA PUMP, Shimajirou to Nakamatachi, Keropons, AKB48, Sanrio no Character-tachi, Foorin, Macaroni Enpitsu, Nishikawa Takanori, Oda Sakura, Diamond✡Yukai, Crystal Kay, Kawasaki Takaya, Daichi Miura, SEVENTEEN, and Moriyama Naotaro. Watch here EXILE – Choo Choo TRAIN (CDTV Special Ver.) A.B.C-Z – […]