Friends III

Last updated
Friends III
B'z Friends III.png
EP by
B'z
ReleasedDecember 8, 2021 (2021-12-08)
Recorded2021
Genre Soft rock
Length24:57
Label Vermillion
Producer Tak Matsumoto
B'z chronology
Friends II
(1996)
Friends III
(2021)

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.

Contents

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]

Background

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]

Track listing

All lyrics are written by Koshi Inaba; all music is composed by Tak Matsumoto.

No.TitleLength
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.TitleLength
1."Itsuka no Merry Christmas (いつかのメリークリスマス, That One Merry Christmas)" (Friends III Edit) 

Charts

Chart (2021)Peak
position
Japanese Albums (Oricon) [6] 1
Japanese Hot Albums ( Billboard Japan ) [3] 1

Certifications

[7]

RegionCertification Certified units/sales
Japan (RIAJ) [8] Gold100,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">B'z</span> Japanese rock duo

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Koshi Inaba</span> Musical artist

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".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Love Phantom</span> 1995 single by Bz

"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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Liar! Liar!</span> 1997 single by Bz

"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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kon'ya Tsuki no Mieru Oka ni</span> 2000 single by Bz

"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.

<i>Magic</i> (Bz album) 2009 studio album by Bz

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".

<i>Cmon</i> (Bz album) 2011 studio album by Bz

C'mon is the eighteenth studio album by the Japanese rock duo B'z. It was released on July 27, 2011.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Electric Boy</span> 2012 single by Kara

"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.

<i>Epic Day</i> 2015 studio album by Bz

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.

<i>Chubby Groove</i> 2017 studio album by Inaba/Salas

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.

<i>Dinosaur</i> (Bz album) 2017 studio album by Bz

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.

<i>Phenomenon</i> (Monsta X album) 2019 studio album by Monsta X

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.

<i>New Love</i> (Bz album) 2019 studio album by Bz

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.

<i>The Book 2</i> 2021 EP by Yoasobi

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.

<i>Highway X</i> 2022 studio album by Bz

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.

References

  1. 1 2 "B'z、コンセプトアルバム『FRIENDS III』収録詳細およびアートワーク公開". BARKS (in Japanese). Retrieved 2021-10-27.
  2. "2021年12月06日~2021年12月12日 オリコン週間 アルバムランキング". ORICON NEWS (in Japanese). Retrieved 2021-12-22.
  3. 1 2 "Billboard Japan Hot Albums 2021/12/20". Billboard Japan (in Japanese). Retrieved 22 December 2021.
  4. "B'z、25年ぶりコンセプトアルバム『FRIENDS III』を今冬リリース+<LIVE FRIENDS>を11月2DAYS開催". BARKS (in Japanese). Retrieved 2021-10-27.
  5. "B'z、25年ぶり続編『FRIENDSIII』今冬発売 『LIVEFRIENDS』開催も決定". ORICON NEWS (in Japanese). Retrieved 2021-10-27.
  6. "FRIENDS III | B'z". ORICON NEWS (in Japanese). Retrieved 2021-12-22.
  7. 編集部. "レコ協12月ゴールドディスク認定発表、トリプル・プラチナ認定にSnow Man". MusicVoice (in Japanese). Retrieved 2022-12-20.
  8. "Japanese album certifications – B'z – Friends III" (in Japanese). Recording Industry Association of Japan.