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.
Mika Nakashima is a Japanese singer and actress. Five of her studio albums, one of her mini-albums and one of her compilation albums have reached number one in Japan's Oricon album chart. She also embarked on an acting career, most notably as Nana Osaki in the live action film adaptations of Nana. She has sold over 10 million records in Japan.
Best of Soul is the second Japanese compilation album by South Korean recording artist BoA. This is her first greatest hits album to contain her Japanese songs. The album was released on February 2, 2005, under Avex Trax.
Valenti is the second Japanese studio album by South Korean recording artist BoA, released through Avex Trax on January 29, 2003. The album's lyrics were written by multiple contributors including Natsumi Watanabe and Kenn Kato, with composition on the album handled by a team of composers including Kazukiro Hara, Bounceback, Kosuke Morimoto, Ken Harada, and Akira. Valenti is a pop record containing influences from R&B and dance music, and is primarily recorded in Japanese with minor phrases in English.
Akina Nakamori is a Japanese singer and actress. She is one of the most popular and best-selling artists in Japan. Akina achieved national recognition after winning the 1981 season of the talent show Star Tanjō!. Her debut single "Slow Motion" was released to moderate success, peaking at number thirty on the Oricon Weekly Singles Chart. Nakamori's popularity increased with the release of her follow-up single, "Shōjo A", which peaked at number five on the Oricon charts and sold over 390,000 copies. Her second album Variation became her first number-one on the Oricon Weekly Albums Chart, staying in that position for three weeks.
Exile is a 19-member Japanese boy band. Hiro is the group's leader, who debuted as a member of Zoo under For Life Music, but Exile have released their singles and albums under Avex Group's label Rhythm Zone. Hiro and Avex's president Max Matsuura came from the same high school. In 2003, the six original members of Exile founded the management and entertainment company LDH which has debuted many successful groups and soloists ever since. Exile is the representative group of the company.
Speed was a Japanese female vocal/dance group comprising Hiroko Shimabukuro, Eriko Imai, Takako Uehara and Hitoe Arakaki. All four members are former students of the Okinawa Actors School which also trained popular artists Namie Amuro and MAX.
The Grace, known as Tenjochiki in Japan, is a South Korean a cappella girl group consisting of Lina, Dana, Sunday and Stephanie.
Best: First Things is the debut greatest hits album by Japanese singer Koda Kumi. Rhythm Zone released it in a variety of formats on September 21, 2005. The album is divided into two discs, each containing a single released by Koda between her 2000 debut with "Take Back" and her most recent single, "Hot Stuff" in 2005. The second disc contains four new singles: "Butterfly", "Flower", "Promise", and "Star", as well as a bonus track, the solo version of "The Meaning of Peace".
Blue Blood is the second studio album by Japanese rock band X Japan, then known as simply X. It was released on April 21, 1989, by CBS/Sony as the band's major label debut. Blue Blood sold more than 700,000 copies, reached number 6 on the Oricon chart and stayed on the chart for more than 100 weeks. The album's singles would also reach the top five on the chart. In 2007, Rolling Stone Japan ranked Blue Blood number 15 on their list of the "100 Greatest Japanese Rock Albums of All Time".
"Grace Kelly" is a song by British singer Mika. It was released as the lead single from Mika's debut studio album Life in Cartoon Motion (2007) on the 8th January 2007. It was written by Mika alongside Jodi Marr, John Merchant and Dan Warner. The song was produced and mixed by Greg Wells.
Yes is the eighth album by Mika Nakashima; it is the fourth album to be released under her own name. It also was the first of her albums to have been released in both a CD only and a CD+DVD Limited Edition format. The album boasts a slower and more gospel-orientated arrangement.
Rising Sun is the second Korean-language studio album by South Korean boy group TVXQ, released on through SM Entertainment on September 12, 2005. Musicians including Yoo Young-jin, Kenzie, Hwang Sung Je and All-4-One's Jamie Jones took part in the album's songwriting and production. Musically, Rising Sun is primarily a pop album, but also includes tracks that utilize styles such as hip-hop, rock, teen pop, and ballads.
Best Fiction is the greatest hits album by Japanese singer Namie Amuro. Avex Trax released it in a variety of formats on July 30, 2008, and it has since been distributed in several Asian countries. It is Amuro's third compilation album, and features seventeen singles released in the 2000s. The compilation also included five new songs, three of which were released as a triple A-side single called "60s 70s 80s". Furthermore, the album tracks "Do Me More" and "Sexy Girl" experienced success in the Japanese market.
"Yuki no Hana" is a song recorded by Japanese singer Mika Nakashima. It was released on October 1, 2003, via Sony Music Japan as the fifth and final lead single for her second studio album Love (2003), and her 10th single overall. "Yuki no Hana" was distributed in two formats—a standard CD single and was made available digitally.
Past<Future is the ninth studio album by Japanese pop singer Namie Amuro. It was released on December 16, 2009, through Avex Trax. This was her first original album in two and a half years since Play (2007). It was released in two versions: a CD+DVD edition and a CD only edition. The first press of both versions came housed in a digipak, and pre-orders came with an original poster. The record came after the release of her third best-of album Best Fiction, which sold over a million copies. Unlike her previous studio albums Queen of Hip-Pop and Play, Past<Future features a more electropop and synth-pop sound.
"Storm" is the ninth single by Japanese rock band Luna Sea, released by Universal on April 15, 1998. Their first release after switching record labels from MCA Victor, "Storm" became the band's fourth number 1 single on the Oricon Singles Chart. It was certified Platinum by the RIAJ and was the 29th best-selling single of the year with 720,370 copies sold, which makes it the band's best-selling single. It was used as the April 1998 theme song for NHK's music television show Pop Jam.
"1/3 no Junjō na Kanjō" is a song by the Japanese rock band Siam Shade, released in 1997. The song was first released as their sixth single on November 27, 1997, and also featured on their fourth studio album Siam Shade IV - Zero, released on January 21, 1998.
Covers is the first English-language cover album released by Beni Arashiro under her new label Universal Music Japan under the mononym Beni on March 21, 2012. This album contains cover songs from popular Japanese male singers in Japan. However, the original Japanese lyrics have been translated to English by Beni herself. The 13th song will be chosen by the fans through a request page. The song chosen by the fans is Naoto Inti Raymi's song "Ima no Kimi wo Wasurenai" Covers has been certified Gold by RIAJ for shipment of 100,000 copies. On 16 May, it was announced that Covers sold over 100,000 copies.making it Beni's highest ranked and best selling album so far. The website announced on 21 August, that a Deluxe version of "Covers" was going to be released on 12 September 2012. The new version would include a DVD with music video's and live video footage.
