Hikaru Utada, also known by the mononym Utada, is a Japanese singer, songwriter and producer. Utada is one of the most influential and best-selling musical artists in Japan.
Namie Amuro is a retired Japanese singer. She rose to prominence as a teen idol, and transitioned into a leading pop artist due to her versatility across music styles and visual presentation. Due to her career reinventions and longevity, she is known as an icon across Japan and Asia. She has been referred to as the "Queen of Japanese Pop", and her influence domestically has drawn equivalent comparisons to artists such as Janet Jackson and Madonna in Western pop culture.
Karl Martin Sandberg, known professionally as Max Martin, is a Swedish record producer and songwriter. He rose to prominence in the late 1990s with songwriting credits on a string of hit singles, such as Britney Spears's "...Baby One More Time" (1998), the Backstreet Boys' "I Want It That Way" (1999), Céline Dion's "That's the Way It Is" (1999) and NSYNC's "It's Gonna Be Me" (2000).
Toshinobu "Toshi" Kubota is a Japanese singer, songwriter, musician, music producer, and radio personality. He has produced six million-seller records and thirty-three Top 40 singles during his career. Kubota is currently part of Sony Music Japan. In addition, he has composed and written songs for many singers including Hiromi Iwasaki, Misia, Toshinori Yonekura, Kyōko Koizumi, and many other recording artists.
MAX is a Japanese female vocal group. The name is an acronym for "musical active experience". The original members of MAX made their musical debut as members of the Super Monkey's along with lead vocalist Namie Amuro. They branched out on their own in 1995, becoming stars in their own right with selling several million albums and a string of consecutive top 20 singles from 1996 to 2000. Their lead singer, Mina, left the group in 2002 due to pregnancy and was replaced by Aki Maeda who assumed the stage name Aki. Aki left the group in August 2008 to pursue a solo career. Original member Mina returned to the group on October 28, 2008 ushering in the group's comeback after a two-year hiatus.
Kumiko Kōda, known professionally as Koda Kumi, is a Japanese singer from Kyoto, known for her urban and R&B songs.
TVXQ, known as Tohoshinki in Japan, is a South Korean pop duo formed by SM Entertainment, composed of U-Know Yunho and Max Changmin.
"Boom! Shake the Room" is a song by American hip hop duo DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince. The track samples the 1973 song "Funky Worm" by the Ohio Players. Released on July 16, 1993 by Jive Records, as the second single from the duo's fifth studio album, Code Red (1993), the single peaked at numbers 13 and 12 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and Cash Box Top 100, as well as topping the charts of Australia, Ireland, Spain, and the United Kingdom. In Spain, it was a number-one hit for six weeks. Its music video was directed by American film director Scott Kalvert, featuring the duo performing onstage in front of a live crowd.
Canadian singer-songwriter Avril Lavigne has released seven studio albums, nine extended plays (EPs), 33 singles, and 40 music videos, and she has appeared on several movie soundtracks and charity albums. With worldwide sales of 40 million albums and 50 million singles, Lavigne is ranked as the third top-selling Canadian female artist in history. Billboard listed her as the eighth best-selling Canadian artists of the Nielsen Music Canada era. According to Recording Industry Association of America, Lavigne has sold 28.07 million albums and singles in the United States.
American R&B singer Monica has released 8 studio albums, one extended play, and 48 singles. Since the beginning of her career in 1995, she has sold 5.3 million albums in the United States, In 1999, Billboard included her among the top twenty of the Top Pop Artists of the 1990s, and in 2010, the magazine ranked her 24th on its list of the Top 50 R&B and Hip Hop Artists of the past 25 years. With a career lasting over 20 years, Monica became the first artist to top the US Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart in the 1990s, 2000s, and 2010s.
Before the Rain is the third album by the British R&B vocal group Eternal, released on 17 March 1997. The album includes the single "I Wanna Be the Only One", which became Eternal's first and only number one hit in the United Kingdom. "Someday" and "Don't You Love Me" were also issued as singles, and two other songs, "Finally" and "Think About Me", were released only in Japan. The album features lead vocals from Vernie Bennett and Kéllé Bryan, and is their last to feature Bryan.
"So Help Me Girl" is a song written by Howard Perdew and Andy Spooner and recorded by American country music singer Joe Diffie. It was released in January 1995 as the third single from his fourth studio album, Third Rock from the Sun (1994). The song reached number two on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart, where it debuted at number 59 for the week of February 4, 1995, and number 84 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Japanese female vocal/dance unit, MAX has released five studio albums, two compilations, three remix albums, and 31 singles. Three of their albums, Maximum (1996), Maximum Groove (1998), and Maximum Collection have topped the Oricon album charts. Four of their albums, including Maximum, Maximum II (1997), Maximum Groove, and Maximum Collection have been certified million selling albums by RIAJ. The group have 15 consecutive top ten singles, 16 overall. Their sixth single, "Give Me a Shake" (1997) is their best selling single and their only single to top the Oricon singles chart. Since their debut on May 10, 1995, the group has amassed sales of over 10 million albums and singles in Japan.
CNBLUE is a South Korean pop rock band formed in 2009. The band consists of Jung Yong-hwa, Kang Min-hyuk (drums), and Lee Jung-shin (bass). First bassist Kwon Kwang-jin left the band after they released their debut Japanese extended play Now or Never in 2009, and was replaced by Lee Jung-shin. Lee Jong-hyun left the band on August 28, 2019.
South Korean boy band 2PM has released twelve studio albums, three compilation albums, two EPs, and thirty-nine singles.
Girl's Talk is the first Japanese studio album by South Korean girl group Kara. It was released on November 24, 2010, in four editions: CD+DVD, CD+Photobook (28-pages), CD-Only First Press coming with Korean versions of the songs "Sweet Days", "Love Is", and "Binks" and a CD-Only Normal Press coming with no bonus tracks. The album peaked at number two on the Oricon Weekly Album Charts and was certified as double platinum by the RIAJ.
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.
Kiss is the second studio album by Canadian singer and songwriter Carly Rae Jepsen. It was released on September 14, 2012, by 604, Schoolboy and Interscope Records. After her debut, Tug of War (2008), was only released in Canada, Kiss became Jepsen's first internationally released album. Songs on the album are in the nu-disco, dance-pop, and teen pop genres, drawing inspiration from the Cars, Madonna and Robyn. Featuring production from a wide collection of producers including Dallas Austin, Josh Ramsay, and Redfoo, the album features guest vocals from Justin Bieber and Owl City.
South Korean pop group TVXQ, known as Tohoshinki in Japanese releases, have released 74 singles, 3 featured appearances, and 27 soundtrack appearances. The group signed with S.M. Entertainment in 2003 and released their debut single "Hug" in January 2004, peaking at number four on the Monthly Albums Chart of the Music Industry Association of Korea (MIAK). Their following single "The Way U Are", released in June 2004, entered the MIAK Monthly Albums Chart at number one.
