Mr. Children, commonly referred to by their contracted nickname "Misu-Chiru" (ミスチル), are a Japanese pop rock band formed in 1989. Consisting of Kazutoshi Sakurai, Kenichi Tahara, Keisuke Nakagawa, and Hideya Suzuki, they made their major label debut in 1992. They are one of the best selling artists in Japan and one of the most successful Japanese rock artists, having sold over 75 million records and creating the "Mis-chil Phenomenon" (ミスチル現象) in the mid-1990s in Japan. They held the record for the highest first week sales of a single in Japan for 15 years, with 1.2 million copies of their 10th single "Namonaki Uta" (名もなき詩), have 30 consecutive number 1 singles, replaced Glay as the all-male band to have the most number 1 albums on the Oricon charts, and won the Japan Record Award in 1994 for "Innocent World" and in 2004 for "Sign". As of 2012, Mr. Children has published fifteen original studio albums and 34 physical singles, along with five compilations, a live album, and fifteen home video releases.
Mai Kuraki is a Japanese pop and R&B singer-songwriter and record producer. After releasing her US debut single "Baby I Like" in 1999, Kuraki signed with Giza Studio and released her Japanese debut single "Love, Day After Tomorrow" in 1999. In 2000, she released her debut album, Delicious Way, which debuted at number-one and sold over 2.2 million copies in its first week. The album has spawned four top-three singles, "Love, Day After Tomorrow", "Stay by My Side", "Secret of My Heart", and "Never Gonna Give You Up". Eventually, the album sold over 3.5 million copies nationwide and became the best-selling album in Japan in 2000, and has been the ninth best-selling album in Japan of all-time.
Southern All Stars, also known by the abbreviations Sazan (サザン) and SAS, are a Japanese rock band that first formed in 1974.
E-Rotic are a Eurodance duo act formed in 1994 by German record producer David Brandes. The act is best known in Europe for the hits "Max Don't Have Sex With Your Ex" and "Fred Come to Bed". E-Rotic originally consisted of German born singer Lyane Leigh and American rapper Richard Allen Smith. The act is known for its use of sexual references and innuendo in their songs and music videos.
Karl Martin Sandberg, known professionally as Max Martin, is a Swedish songwriter, record producer and singer. He rose to prominence in the late 1990s after making a string of hit singles such as Britney Spears' "...Baby One More Time" (1998), the Backstreet Boys' "I Want It That Way" (1999), and NSYNC's "It's Gonna Be Me" (2000).
Queen of Hip-Pop is Namie Amuro's seventh original studio album. It was released on July 13, 2005 after four singles and was her most commercially successful effort in five years before Play was released.
Dance Tracks Vol.1 is Namie Amuro's debut studio album and only release through Toshiba-EMI. Nine days after Dance Tracks Vol.1 hit stores, she released her first single with Avex Trax, "Body Feels Exit" on 25 October 1995. The album reached the top position on the Oricon charts and charted for forty-four weeks.
"Audience" is a song by Japanese recording artist Ayumi Hamasaki from her third studio album Duty (2001). It was released as the album's fifth and final single on 1 November 2000 by Avex Trax. Hamasaki wrote the track and Max Matsuura Lewis produced it. Dai Nagao and HΛL composed both the single and album version. The single artwork was shot by Japanese photographer Toru Kumazawa and features duplicate clones of Hamasaki, resembling an audience. Musically, "Audience" is a dance–pop and disco song.
"Larger than Life" is a song by American boy band Backstreet Boys, released on September 3, 1999 as the second single from their third studio album, Millennium. It was written by band member Brian Littrell with Max Martin and Kristian Lundin, who also produced the song along with Rami Yacoub. The song is a "thank you" for their fans' encouragement and devotion. Music critics praised its memorable melody, singalong lyrics and the band's vocal performance. It was also on Blender's list of the 500 Greatest Songs Since You Were Born.
Jewel of Jewels is MAX's fifth original studio album released five years after their last album, Emotional History (2001). It is their first and last album recorded with Aki who left the group in 2008. It contains six of the seven singles released with Aki and was the group's first album to be released in dual formats.
Elizabeth Sakura Narita, better known by her stage name LISA, is a Japanese singer, songwriter and producer. In 1998, she debuted as a member of the Japanese urban contemporary group M-Flo with Verbal and Taku Takahashi. In 2002, she left the band in order to pursue a solo project and released seven albums as a soloist. In December 2017, she rejoined as a member of M-Flo.
Kind of Love is the first long-play record by Japanese rock band Mr. Children The album was issued in December 1992, only 7 months after the release of their debut EP entitled Everything. It has commonly been regarded as the band's second studio album.
Shuchishin is a Japanese idol vocal group formed as part of the variety show Quiz! Hexagon II produced by Fuji Television Network Incorporated. Originally meant to be a joke group, the trio has released singles that have hit the top 10 on both the Oricon and the Billboard Japan Hot 100 Singles. Shuchishin, whose name translates as "Shame", consists of the leader Takeshi Tsuruno with Naoki Nokubo and Yusuke Kamiji. The group's final performance was on the January 2, 2009, New Year's Special episode of Quiz! Hexagon II. The group's name comes from a mispronunciation of the word when it came up in a question on the show in mid-2007.
MAX presents Live Contact 2009 "New Edition" is Japanese dance unit, MAX's sixth concert tour and their first in eight years. The show was organized to help commemorate the return of original member, Mina. The tour was originally a one night show performed on January 31, 2009 in Tokyo, Japan at Shibuya C.C. Lemon Hall. During the initial concert, six additional tour dates were announced including a show set on May 10, the group's 14th anniversary. The second leg of the tour began on April 25 at Osaka Kousein Nenkin Kaikan Dai Hall in Osaka, Japan and will come to an end on May 30 in Kanagawa, Japan. A live recording of the concert will be released on DVD on August 5, 2009.
"Never Gonna Give You Up" is a song recorded by Japanese singer Mai Kuraki. It was released on June 7, 2000, in Japan as a CD single and as a 12" vinyl by Giza Studio, Giza Inc., and Tent House as the fourth and final single from her debut studio album, Delicious Way (2000). The track features lyrics in Japanese and English language, written by Kuraki and Michael Africk, respectively. He also served as the single's composer, backing singer and producer, alongside Kanonji, Miguel Sá Pessoa, and Perry Geyer. The CD release of the track included the B-side recording "Trying to Find My Way". Musically, "Never Gonna Give You Up" is an R&B and pop song whose lyrics delve on themes of love and relationships, a common trait on its parent album.
"Perfect Love" is MAX's 20th single on the Avex Trax label and was released on May 16, 2001. The title track was the "Kacchao" commercial song. The song debuted and peaked at #10 on the Oricon charts and is currently their last top 10 single.
A.K.A. is the eighth studio album by American entertainer Jennifer Lopez. It was released on June 13, 2014, by Capitol Records. Lopez started working on the album in February 2013, after the end of her first worldwide tour, the Dance Again World Tour. Originally scheduled to be released in November 2013, Lopez postponed the album release to 2014. Undecided between Same Girl and A.K.A. as the album's title, Lopez eventually chose the latter as the title.
Sandaime J Soul Brothers, formerly simply J Soul Brothers and stylized as Sandaime J Soul Brothers from Exile Tribe, are a J-pop vocal and dance group formed by Exile leader Hiro in Japan in 1991. Sandaime J Soul Brothers are managed by Hiro's talent agency LDH, and are a part of the supergroup, Exile Tribe. Reformed exclusively by Exile's Vocal Battle Audition in 2010, Sandaime J Soul Brothers released their first single "Best Friend's Girl" in November 2010, which peaked at number three on the Oricon Singles Chart. Their self-titled debut album J Soul Brothers, released in 2011, also peaked at number three. In 2013, they achieved their first number-one record with their third album Miracle.
Naoki Kobayashi is a Japanese dancer, choreographer, actor and model. He is a performer of J-Pop dance and vocal group Exile, and is a leader and performer of J-Pop dance and vocal group Sandaime J Soul Brothers. He was also a member of Nidaime J Soul Brothers until their migration to Exile in 2009. As a member of Sandaime J Soul Brothers, he has received the Japan Record Awards twice, and has received the same award three times as a member of Exile. He choreographed the famous "Pocky Dance" for Pocky's advertisement in 2015.
"You're My Only Shinin' Star" is a song recorded by Japanese singer Miho Nakayama, from her third studio album Summer Breeze (1986). It was re-recorded two years later and released as a single by King Records on February 17, 1988. The album version of the song is featured on the TBS drama series Mama wa Idol, starring Nakayama herself. "You're My Only Shinin' Star" was one of the fifteen recipients of the Gold Prize at the 30th Japan Record Awards and was nominated for the Japan Record Award.
