Utada Hikaru, who is also known as Hikaru Utada and the mononym Utada, is a Japanese-American singer-songwriter and producer. Born in the United States to Japanese parents, record producer Utada Teruzane and enka singer Keiko Fuji, Utada began to write music and lyrics at an early age and often traveled to Tokyo as a result of her father's job. Eventually, a recording contract with Toshiba-EMI was signed and, under the stage name Cubic U, Utada released her English-language debut album Precious in early 1998, but it was a commercial failure. In the following year, heavily influenced by R&B and dance-pop, her Japanese-language debut First Love was released and became an instant success. Backed by the massive success of singles "Automatic", "Time Will Tell", and "Movin' On Without You", the album sold two million copies in its first week in Japan, topped the Oricon charts for six non-consecutive weeks and went on to sell six million more throughout the rest of 1999. First Love eventually became the country's best-selling album of all time.
Kwon Bo-ah, known professionally as BoA, is a South Korean singer, songwriter, record producer and actress. BoA has been recognized as one of the most successful and influential Korean entertainers throughout her career, and is therefore commonly credited as the "Queen of K-pop."
Mariya Takeuchi is a Japanese singer and songwriter. Regarded as an influential figure in the city pop genre, she is one of the best-selling music artists in Japan, having sold over 16 million records, and has received several accolades.
Tomoaki Ishizuka, known exclusively by his stage name Pata, is a Japanese musician. He is the rhythm guitarist for the visual kei rock band X Japan. He joined the band in 1987, stayed with them until their dissolution in 1997 and rejoined when the band started a comeback in 2007.
Fantastic Plastic Machine is the stage name of Tomoyuki Tanaka, a Japanese musician and DJ born in Kyoto, Japan. Tanaka was considered to be part of the Shibuya-kei movement.
The Fantastic Plastic Machine is the debut studio album by Japanese musician Fantastic Plastic Machine. It was released on October 10, 1997 by Readymade Records. The album was subsequently released in Germany on April 24, 1998 by Bungalow Records and in the United States on September 15, 1998 by Emperor Norton Records.
Luxury is the second studio album by Japanese musician Fantastic Plastic Machine. It was released on September 10, 1998 by Readymade Records. The album was released in Germany on March 29, 1999 by Bungalow Records and in the United States on April 27, 1999 by Emperor Norton Records.
Too is the fourth studio album by Fantastic Plastic Machine. It was released on February 26, 2003. It peaked at number 35 on the Oricon Albums Chart. It includes contributions from Incognito, Verbal, Maki Takamiya, Ryohei Yamamoto, Coralie Clément, and Ward E. Sexton.
Imaginations is the fifth studio album by Fantastic Plastic Machine. It was released on February 22, 2006. It peaked at number 38 on the Oricon Albums Chart.
Kiyonobu Inoue, better known exclusively by his stage name Inoran, is a Japanese musician, singer and songwriter. He is best known as the rhythm guitarist and co-founder of the rock band Luna Sea. He started his solo career in 1997. Luna Sea disbanded in 2000, and he formed Fake? with Oblivion Dust vocalist Ken Lloyd a year later. In 2005 he left Fake? and founded Tourbillon with Luna Sea vocalist Ryuichi Kawamura and Hiroaki Hayama. He rejoined Luna Sea when they reunited in 2010, and in 2012 formed Muddy Apes with bassist Taka Hirose and guitarist Dean Tidey, both from Feeder, and 8otto's vocalist Maeson.
Kara was a South Korean pop girl group formed by DSP Media in 2007. The group's final lineup was composed of Park Gyu-ri, Han Seung-yeon, Goo Hara and Heo Young-ji. Members Nicole Jung and Kang Ji-young officially departed from the group in 2014, while Kim Sung-hee left in 2008.
Alive is the fifth Korean-language extended play by South Korean group Big Bang. It was released on February 29, 2012 by YG Entertainment. Big Bang members G-Dragon and T.O.P wrote the music and lyrics, respectively, for nearly all tracks on the album. The EP had three singles—"Blue", "Fantastic Baby", and "Bad Boy". A repackaged version of the EP titled Still Alive was released on June 3, 2012, and featured the single, "Monster". Both EP versions and their singles achieved commercial success on music charts in South Korea, and the EP became the first K-pop album to chart on the United States' Billboard 200.
South Korean boy group BTS has released nine studio albums, six compilation albums, and six extended plays. In December 2018, BTS surpassed 10 million albums sold, setting the record for reaching the 10 million milestone in the shortest span of time among all Korean acts to have debuted since 2000, with 5 million of those albums being sold in South Korea in 2018 alone. As of April 2020, BTS has sold over 20 million physical albums in less than 7 years, making them the best-selling Korean act of all time.
"Believe in Love" is a song by Japanese dance music project Ravex, featuring South Korean singer BoA. On February 18, 2009, the original version of the song was simultaneously released with an acoustic version of the song, found on BoA's "Eien / Universe / Believe in Love" single.
Remixion is a remix extended play by Japanese band Sakanaction. It was released on October 5, 2008 through Victor Entertainment sublabel BabeStar exclusively as a paid download.
VIXX LR is the first official sub-unit of South Korean boy group VIXX formed by Jellyfish Entertainment. Established in August 2015, VIXX LR consists of VIXX's main vocalist Leo and main rapper Ravi. The sub-unit debuted with their first mini album, titled Beautiful Liar on August 17, 2015.
Up10tion is a South Korean boy band formed by TOP Media in 2015. The group consists of ten members: Jinhoo, Kuhn, Kogyeol, Lee Jin-hyuk, Bitto, Kim Woo-seok, Sunyoul, Gyujin, Hwanhee, and Xiao. The group debuted with an extended play Top Secret. In 2017, they made their Japanese debut with EP ID.
Machiko Saitō, better known by her stage name Machico, is a Japanese singer and voice actress from Kure, Hiroshima. After participating in an audition organized by Horipro, she made her music debut in 2012, singing a theme song for a PC game. She was cast as the character Tsubasa Ibuki in the mobile game The Idolmaster Million Live! in 2013. Apart from voice acting, she has performed theme songs for KonoSuba and Age 12. Machico released two albums between 2014 and 2015, and opened her official fanclub in late 2016.
SF9 is a South Korean boy group formed by FNC Entertainment and the company's first dance boy group. Consisting of nine members, the group debuted on October 5, 2016 with the release of their first single album, Feeling Sensation.
"Run" is a song recorded by South Korean boy band BTS as the lead single for their fourth extended play, The Most Beautiful Moment in Life, Pt. 2 (2015). The original Korean version was released by Big Hit Entertainment on November 30, 2015 in South Korea. The Japanese single version was released on March 15, 2016 under the Pony Canyon label.
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