First Love is the debut Japanese-language studio album by Japanese-American recording artist Hikaru Utada, released on March 10, 1999, by Toshiba-EMI.
Kaori Asada, known by her stage name Bonnie Pink, is a Japanese singer-songwriter and musician. She writes and composes all her songs, and plays guitar and piano. Asada has said that the name Bonnie Pink is random and has no special meaning; she chose it because it was easy to remember and because she thought the words were cute together.
M-Flo is a Japanese hip hop group consisting of Taku Takahashi, Verbal and Lisa.
Crystal Kay Williams is a Japanese-American singer, songwriter, actress and radio host.
Beat Space Nine is the fourth studio album released by the Japanese group M-Flo. The record is presented in the metaformat of a spaceliner's in-flight entertainment system, specifically that of "Global Astroliner", constituting a recurring theme in the group's albums. Similarly to their previous works, the majority of the tracks contain guest features—including that of Bennie K, Yoshika, and Emyli.
Verbal is a Japanese rapper, music video director and record producer who debuted in 1998 as a member of the hip hop group M-Flo. He is a third generation Zainichi Korean and a notable representative of Zainichi Korean music in Japan.
Emi Hinouchi is a Japanese urban music singer-songwriter. She was formerly signed under King Records' sub-label Venus-B and Taku Takahashi's Tachytelic Records. She is best known for writing songs for Heartsdales and for her collaborations with M-Flo.
Taku Takahashi is a Japanese DJ and record producer who debuted in 1997 as a producer of the hip hop group M-Flo. The group rose to prominence in the early 2000s, with hit singles such as "How You Like Me Now?" and "Come Again." Takahashi was also a member of Avex's 20th anniversary dance music project Ravex, and has produced songs for musicians such as Crystal Kay, Ami Suzuki and Rie Fu, and remixes for Hikaru Utada and Ayumi Hamasaki. He formed the record labels Tachytelic Records and TCY Recording.
M-Flo Inside: Works Best II is a compilation album released on July 26, 2006, by the Japanese hip-hop group, M-Flo, containing tracks by the group and its members since the release of M-Flo Inside in 2004.
Award Supernova: Loves Best is the second greatest hits album by M-Flo. Featured artists include Crystal Kay, BoA, Namie Amuro and Emyli. Despite the band's claim that the previous album, Cosmicolor would be the last album in the "loves" series, a brand new song called "Love Comes and Goes" featuring Emi Hinouchi, Ryohei, Emyli, Yoshika and Lisa was recorded and included on the album.
4 Real is the fourth studio album by Japanese recording artist Crystal Kay. It was released via Epic Records Japan on November 27, 2003, and was made available as a stand-alone CD and for digital consumption. The title 4 Real is play on the phrase "for real"—signifying the singer's fourth record. It contains primarily contemporary R&B influences and saw contributions from various songwriters and producers, including M-Flo, Yoshika and Keri Hilson, among others. The album spawned four singles, which were all released over the course of 2003.
Expo Expo is the second studio album by Japanese hip-hop group M-Flo. The thematic concept of the record is set at a virtual world expo, with Coldfeet of Lori Fine and narrator Mako Hattori participating in the interlude. Six singles were spawned off of the album, including "How You Like Me Now?" and "Come Again", which were both certified by the RIAJ in different categories. Remixes of songs from this album were released as Expo Bouei Robot Gran Sonik.
Astromantic is the third studio album by the Japanese hip-hop group M-Flo. It was released on May 26, 2004, through Rhythm Zone. Remixes of songs from this album were released as Astromantic Charm School. The album spawned three singles featuring different singers: "Reeewind!" with Crystal Kay, "Miss You" with Melody, and "The Love Bug" with BoA.
"Eien / Universe / Believe in Love" is BoA's twenty-seventh Japanese single. It was released on February 18, 2009 in two formats, CD-only and CD+DVD. The CD edition also comes in a first press limited edition. Following "Eien", the second A-side, "Universe", features fellow J-pop singer Crystal Kay and label mate, Verbal of M-Flo. The third A-side is the acoustic version of Ravex's single "Believe in Love", which features BoA. The 4th track on the Limited Edition version of the single, Best Hit Mega Blend [Limited Edition Bonus Track], is a mashup of multiple of her best hits in Japan.
Next Level is the tenth studio album by Japanese recording artist Ayumi Hamasaki. It was released through Avex Trax on March 25, 2009 in five physical formats, and for digital consumption. The album was solely produced by Avex Trax owner Max Matsuura, whereas the album's content was written by Hamasaki herself. Additionally, it marks a return for several composers that helped construct her previous records, including Dai Nagao, CMJK, Kazuhiro Hara, HΛL, amongst others. Stylistically, Next Level is a departure from her previous albums, focusing on electronic music with elements of rock and dance.
Kana Nishino is a Japanese singer and songwriter signed with SME Records' Newcome Inc. She debuted on February 20, 2008 with the single "I".
Luv Songs (ラブ・ソングス) is the third studio album by Australian recording artist Che'Nelle. It was first released on 20 July 2011 by EMI Music Japan. Luv Songs is the singer's first cover album. Most of the songs were translated from Japanese into English by Che'Nelle and her team. She worked with past collaborators Derek Brin, Emile Ghantous and Erik Nelson who produced and recorded songs for the album. Che'Nelle worked with EIGO, who produced additional tracks. "Luv Songs" peaked at number 3 on the Oricon albums chart and spent 107 weeks in total on the chart. A digital deluxe edition was released on 30 November 2011 containing additional versions of "Baby I Love U". To promote "Luv Songs", three official singles were released "Sakura", "So Sick" and "Baby I Love U". The latter becoming one of her most successful singles to date selling more than 500,000 digital downloads alone by October 2013, according to RIAJ. The album was certified gold and later platinum by RIAJ in Japan. In 2013, it was re-released as "Luv Songs -Special Edition" with four additional versions of "Baby I Love U", including remixes by DJ Kaori and DJ Komori.
Japonesque is the tenth studio album by Japanese recording artist Kumi Koda. It was released on January 25, 2012 by Rhythm Zone. It was also released just a little under a year after her 2011 album, Dejavu. Japonesque marks Koda's tenth consecutive studio album to be produced by Japanese producer and manager Max Matsuura, amongst many other producers, while she contributes to the album as the lead vocalist, background vocalist, and songwriter to majority of the songs. Recorded in Japanese with minor phrases in English language, Japonesque is a Japanese pop album with numerous musical elements such as dance music, R&B, electronica, and rock music.
"Koi ni Ochitara" is a song recorded by Japanese singer Crystal Kay for her sixth studio album Call Me Miss… (2006). Written by H.U.B. and Shingo.S with production handled by Sakazume MisakIt, it was released as her 17th physical single through Sony Music Japan on May 18, 2005. The single is supported with the B-side tracks "Love It Take It" and "Bet You Don't Know "; the latter track was originally included as part of her previous album Crystal Style (2005).
"Tsubomi" is a song by Japanese folk rock band Kobukuro. It is their 15th single and is included on its ninth studio album 5296. The song was written and composed by Kentarō Kobuchi. The single was released on March 21, 2007, in two editions: a CD-only edition and a limited edition. It debuted at number two on the weekly Oricon Singles Chart before topping the chart the following week, and it was certified double platinum by the Recording Industry Association of Japan (RIAJ), denoting shipment of 500,000 units. "Tsubomi" earned the Grand Prix award at the 49th Japan Record Awards.
