J-pop, natively also known simply as pops, is a musical genre that entered the musical mainstream of Japan in the 1990s. Modern J-pop has its roots in traditional Japanese music, but significantly in 1960s pop and rock music, such as The Beatles and The Beach Boys, which led to Japanese rock bands such as Happy End fusing rock with Japanese music in the early 1970s. J-pop was further defined by new wave and crossover fusion acts of the late 1970s such as Yellow Magic Orchestra and Southern All Stars, then Eurobeat in the early 1990s, namely Namie Amuro.
GLAY is a Japanese rock band, formed in Hakodate in 1988. Glay primarily composes songs in the rock and pop genres, but they have also arranged songs using elements from a wide variety of genres, including progressive rock, punk, electronic, R&B, folk, gospel, reggae, and ska. Originally a visual kei band, the group slowly shifted to less dramatic attire through the years. As of 2008, Glay had sold an estimated 51 million records; 28 million singles and 23 million albums, making them one of the top ten best-selling artists of all time in Japan.
Kyosuke Himuro is a former Japanese musician and singer-songwriter. He was lead vocalist of the rock band Boøwy from 1981 to 1988. After the band disbanded he started a successful solo career, becoming one of Japan's best-selling artists. In 2003, HMV Japan ranked Himuro at number 76 on their list of the 100 most important Japanese pop acts. He currently lives in Los Angeles, California, where he purchased a 12,500 square feet palatial residence in Beverly Hills in 2004 for $6.4 million, which was previously owned by Shaquille O'Neal.
Speed were 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.
Hisashi Tonomura, better known by his stage name HISASHI, is a Japanese musician best known as the lead guitarist of the rock band Glay. He is particularly associated with the brand Tokai, designing a series of personal signature guitars, based on their Talbo model.
Glay Rare Collectives Vol. 1 and 2 are the third and fourth released collection albums from the Japanese rock band, Glay. Unlike Review and Drive: Glay Complete Best, these two double disc CDs feature all of the B sides from their singles that were released from their debut to "mata koko de aimashou" as well as some other songs originally used for different works and not featured in any of their albums or singles. The first volume features the original song "Shiawase ni naru, sono toki ni", while the second volume featured the then newly released song "Itsuka".
Pure Soul is the fifth released album from the Japanese rock band Glay. The album was a slight departure from the rock and power ballad sound the band sported with their previous albums. Pure Soul brought forth a faster alt-rock sound. The album contains such hits as "Yuuwaku", "Soul Love", the concert classic "I'm in Love", and the title track "Pure Soul". The album peaked at #1 on Oricon charts and sold about 2,430,000. It was certified "Triple million" by the Recording Industry Association of Japan (RIAJ).
The discography of Japanese pop rock band Glay consists of sixteen studio albums, forty-two unique singles, twenty-seven video albums, and sixty-four songs associated with various promotions.
Takurō Kubo, better known by his stage name TAKURO, is a Japanese musician and lyricist best known as one of the guitarists and leader of the rock band Glay, for which he is also the main composer and lyricist. As a musician and composer, Takuro has worked with different artists and has also released solo works.
Hai to Diamond is the debut album by Japanese rock band Glay. It was released on May 25, 1994 on the independent label Extasy Records and peaked at #26 on the Oricon chart, with more than 100,000 copies sold.
Speed Pop is the second album by Japanese rock band Glay. It is the band's major label debut album, was released on March 3, 1995 and peaked at #8 at Oricon charts, with 320,150 copies sold.
Beat Out! is the third album by Japanese rock/pop band Glay. It was released on July 2, 1996, and peaked at #1 at Oricon charts, with 821,890 copies sold. It was named one of the top albums from 1989–1998 in a 2004 issue of the music magazine Band Yarouze.
Beloved is the fourth album by Japanese rock/pop band Glay. It was released on November 18, 1996, and peaked at #1 at Oricon charts, with 1,522,540 copies sold. The album was certified "Million" by the Recording Industry Association of Japan (RIAJ).
Review is the first greatest hits album from the Japanese rock band, Glay. It was released on October 10, 1997, and this album contains Glay's most popular singles and tracks from their 1994 album Hai to Diamond to their fourth album Beloved. The album sold over 2,003,000 copies in the first week of the release, debuting at the number-one position on the Japanese Oricon weekly charts. It remained for five consecutive weeks at the top of Oricon charts. It became the third best-selling album in Japanese history, with more than 4,870,000 copies sold. It was certified Five Million by the Recording Industry Association of Japan (RIAJ).
Ballad Best Singles: White Road is the fourth released greatest hits album from the Japanese rock band, Glay. The album peaked at #1 at Oricon charts, with 411,521 sales. It was certified Double Platinum (500,000) by the Recording Industry Association of Japan (RIAJ).
The Great Vacation Vol.2: Super Best of Glay is a compilation album by Japanese band Glay, released on October 21, 2009. It reached #1 at Billboard Japan Top Albums chart and #1 on Oricon charts, selling sold 187,732 copies. It was certified gold for shipment of over 100,000 copies.
The Great Vacation Vol.1: Super Best of Glay is a compilation album by Japanese band Glay, released on June 10, 2009. It reached #2 on Billboard Japan Top Albums and Oricon charts and sold 194.289 copies. It was certified Platinum for the shipment of over 250,000 copies.
Parade is the seventeenth studio album by Japanese pop band Deen. It was released on 9 August 2017 under the Epic Records Japan label.
No Democracy is the fifteenth studio album by Japanese pop rock band Glay, released on 2 October 2019.
Zutomayo, stylized in English as ZUTOMAYO is a Japanese rock group that debuted in 2018. Secretive by nature, the group has never released a full member list, crediting different people for music, arrangements, and music video production each time. The only member reoccurring in all of the group's output is the vocalist, an unidentified woman named "ACA-Ne".
