Friends III | ||||
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EP by | ||||
Released | December 8, 2021 | |||
Recorded | 2021 | |||
Genre | Soft rock | |||
Length | 24:57 | |||
Label | Vermillion | |||
Producer | Tak Matsumoto | |||
B'z chronology | ||||
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Friends III is the sixth mini-album by the Japanese rock duo B'z. It was released on December 8, 2021. [1] It's a concept album and is a sequel to their previous mini-album, Friends II , released in 1996.
The mini-album came in three editions: a standard edition, a first press edition with a DVD featuring a re-recording of their song "Itsuka no Merry Christmas" from their fourth mini-album, Friends, and a special Live Friends box featuring the standard edition with a glass, which was only available to those who purchased live tickets and was only sold through B'z Club-Gym. [1]
The mini-album debuted at number one on both the Oricon weekly albums chart and on the Billboard Japan Hot Albums chart. [2] [3]
During the COVID-19 pandemic, guitarist Tak Matsumoto went back and forth between Japan and the United States. During a mandatory isolation after returning to Japan, he decided to make one song a day. The songs produced matched up to the style of the past Friends mini-albums, which led Matsumoto to propose producing a third entry into the series, to which vocalist Koshi Inaba agreed. [4] [5]
All lyrics are written by Koshi Inaba; all music is composed by Tak Matsumoto.
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "Harunohi" | 0:35 |
2. | "Season End (シーズンエンド, Season End)" | 4:38 |
3. | "Midarechiru (ミダレチル, Scatter in Pieces)" | 3:53 |
4. | "Friends III" | 2:02 |
5. | "Butterfly" | 3:54 |
6. | "Konna Toki Take Anata ga Koishii (こんな時だけあなたが恋しい, I Miss You Only at Such Times)" | 4:40 |
7. | "Grow & Glow" | 5:19 |
Total length: | 24:57 |
Limited Edition DVD
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "Itsuka no Merry Christmas (いつかのメリークリスマス, That One Merry Christmas)" (Friends III Edit) |
Chart (2021) | Peak position |
---|---|
Japanese Albums (Oricon) [6] | 1 |
Japanese Hot Albums ( Billboard Japan ) [3] | 1 |
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
Japan (RIAJ) [8] | Gold | 100,000^ |
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. |
B'z are a Japanese rock duo, consisting of guitarist, composer and producer Takahiro "Tak" Matsumoto and vocalist and lyricist Koshi Inaba, known for their energetic hard rock tracks and pop rock ballads. B'z is one of the best-selling music artists in the world and the best-selling in their native Japan, having released 49 consecutive No. 1 singles, 25 No. 1 albums, and 3 No. 1 EPs on the Oricon music charts, and have sold more than 100 million records worldwide.
Koshi Inaba is a Japanese vocalist, multi-instrumentalist and songwriter. He is best known as the singer and lyricist of the rock duo B'z, the best-selling music act in their native Japan. He has also had a successful solo career, with five studio albums and five singles topping the Japanese music charts. He collaborated with Slash on single "Sahara" which was released in 2009. In 2017, he released a collaborative album, Chubby Groove, with Stevie Salas under the name "Inaba/Salas".
"Love Phantom" is the eighteenth single by B'z, released on October 11, 1995. This song is one of B'z many number-one singles in Oricon chart. The song was used as ending theme for The X-Files during the height of its popularity in Japan. The single sold over 950,000 copies within one week. It sold over 1,862,000 copies according to Oricon. The song won "the best five single award" at the 10th Japan Gold Disc Award.
"Liar! Liar!" is the twenty-third single by B'z, released on October 8, 1997. This song is one of B'z many number-one singles in Oricon chart, selling 794,000 copies during its chartrun.
"Kon'ya Tsuki no Mieru Oka ni" is the twenty-seventh single by B'z, released on February 9, 2000. This song is one of B'z many number-one singles in Oricon chart, and sold over a millions copies, with 1,129,000 copies sold. It was used as the main theme for the TV drama Beautiful Life.
Magic is the seventeenth studio album by the Japanese rock duo B'z, released on November 18, 2009. A limited edition was released featuring a bonus DVD with the video "Magical Backstage Tour 2009".
C'mon is the eighteenth studio album by the Japanese rock duo B'z. It was released on July 27, 2011.
"Electric Boy" is the seventh Japanese single by South Korean girl group Kara. It was released on October 17, 2012. The song is featured on the soundtrack of the third Japanese edition of Just Dance Wii.
The year 2015 in Japanese music.
Epic Day is the nineteenth studio album by the Japanese rock duo B'z. It was released on March 4, 2015, more than 3.5 years after their previous studio effort, C'mon, their longest gap between studio albums. It came after a hiatus in which the members released solo projects, including vocalist/lyricist Koshi Inaba's Singing Bird and guitarist/composer Tak Matsumoto's New Horizon.
The year 2018 in Japanese music.
Chubby Groove is a collaborative studio album by Japanese singer Koshi Inaba, of B'z fame, and Native American musician Stevie Salas. It was released by Vermillion Records on January 18, 2017.
Dinosaur is the twentieth studio album by the Japanese rock duo B'z. It was released on 29 November 2017. It came after a hiatus in which the members released solo projects, including vocalist/lyricist Koshi Inaba's collaborative album with Stevie Salas, Chubby Groove, and guitarist/composer Tak Matsumoto's solo effort enigma and collaborative studio album with Daniel Ho Electric Island, Acoustic Sea.
The year 2020 in Japanese music.
Phenomenon is the second Japanese-language studio album of the South Korean boy group Monsta X. It was released and distributed by Universal Music Japan on August 21, 2019. It is also the last Japanese album to feature Wonho, who left the group in October 2019.
New Love is the twenty-first studio album by the Japanese rock duo B'z. It was released on May 29, 2019, about a year and a half after their previous album Dinosaur. It is the first B'z album to not have an accompanying single, though music videos were produced for "Tsuwamono, Hashiru", "Wolf", and "Majestic".
The year 2021 in Japanese music.
The Book 2 is the second Japanese-language extended play (EP) and third overall by Japanese duo Yoasobi. It was released on December 1, 2021, through Sony Music Entertainment Japan, eleven months after their debut EP The Book (2021). It consists of eight tracks, preceded by their all singles released in 2021, and included the new song "Moshi mo Inochi ga Egaketara". In support of the EP, the duo held their first face-to-face concert Nice to Meet You on December 4–5 at Nippon Budokan. Commercially, The Book 2 debuted at number two on the Oricon Albums Chart, and atop Billboard Japan Hot Albums and certified gold by Recording Industry Association of Japan (RIAJ).
The year 2022 in Japanese music.
Highway X is the twenty-second studio album by the Japanese rock duo B'z. It was released on August 10, 2022, and was their first album released after the COVID-19 pandemic started.