Piano Man is the second studio album by American recording artist Billy Joel, released on November 9, 1973 by Columbia Records. The album emerged from legal difficulties with Joel's former label Family Productions, and ultimately became his first breakthrough album.
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, 3 No. 1 EPs on the Oricon music charts and sold more than 100 million records worldwide.
Spitz are a Japanese rock band. The group was originally formed in 1987 by four art school students in Tokyo – it consists of Masamune Kusano, Tetsuya Miwa, Akihiro Tamura, and Tatsuo Sakiyama (drums).
Zard were a Japanese pop rock group. Originally a group of five members, with lead vocalist Izumi Sakai as its only constant member. Zard's work was sold under the record label B-Gram Records, Inc. Their most popular and successful songs are "Makenaide" (1993) (負けないで), "Yureru Omoi" (1993) (揺れる想い), and "My Friend" (1996). As of 2014, Zard has sold over 37 million records, making them one of the best-selling music artists in Japan.
In/Casino/Out is the second full-length album by American post-hardcore band At the Drive-In, released on August 18, 1998 through Fearless Records. It was recorded as a live studio album, with the intention of better capturing the energy and sound of their live shows. The album marks a clear middle ground between the dirty, lo-fi sound of their first album, Acrobatic Tenement, and the sleeker, more produced sound heard on Relationship of Command.
Misia, commonly stylized as MISIA, is a Japanese singer, songwriter, and record producer. Born in Nagasaki, Misia moved to Fukuoka at the age of 14 to pursue a recording career. There, she continued her secondary education and briefly attended Seinan Gakuin University before withdrawing to focus on her musical career. She was signed to BMG Japan in 1997, after auditioning for record producer Haruo Yoda.
Yui, stylized as YUI or yui, is a Japanese singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and actress. In her solo career, she sold more than 5 million physical copies in Japan. She is popular in Japan and in surrounding countries, ranking number one in 2011 Count Down TV "Dearest Female Artist" and Music Station "Artist You Most Want to Marry" polls, as well as Radio Television Hong Kong's "Most Popular Japanese Artist".
Ayaka Iida, known simply as Ayaka, is a female Japanese singer, songwriter and record producer formerly signed to Warner Music Japan. Born in Osaka, she moved to Tokyo to pursue a singing career. She married actor Hiro Mizushima on February 22, 2009.
Kiyonobu Inoue, better known exclusively by his stage name Inoran, is a Japanese musician, singer and songwriter. He is best known as the rhythm guitarist and co-founder of the rock band Luna Sea since 1986. He started his solo career in 1997. Luna Sea disbanded in 2000, and he formed Fake? with Oblivion Dust vocalist Ken Lloyd a year later. In 2005 he left Fake? and founded Tourbillon with Luna Sea vocalist Ryuichi Kawamura and Hiroaki Hayama. He rejoined Luna Sea when they reunited in 2010, and in 2012 formed Muddy Apes with bassist Taka Hirose and guitarist Dean Tidey, both from Feeder, and 8otto's vocalist Maeson.
Jean Marcel Leroy artistically known as Jean-Jacques Perrey was a French electronic music producer and was an early pioneer in the genre. He is known for being member of the electronic music duo Perrey and Kingsley with the German-American composer Gershon Kingsley.
Lead is a Japanese hip-hop dance and vocal group, initially formed under the name Rhymix in Osaka, Japan in March 2002. They went through two name changes before debuting as "Lead" in May 2002 under the Pony Canyon sub-label Flight Master. The group consists of Shinya Taniuichi, Keita Furuya, Akira Kagimoto and, formerly, Hiroki Nakadoi.
Ikimonogakari (いきものがかり) is a Japanese pop rock band from Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. The group started in February 1999 with Hotaka Yamashita and Yoshiki Mizuno, and was joined by vocalist Kiyoe Yoshioka in November of the same year. The group's name is a reference to ikimono-gakari (いきものがかり), a group of children who are responsible for looking after plants and animals in Japanese elementary schools.
chatmonchy was a three-piece all-female rock band which consisted of Eriko Hashimoto, Akiko Fukuoka, and formerly Kumiko Takahashi who are from Tokushima Prefecture on the island of Shikoku, Japan.
Sakanaction, stylised as sakanaction, are a Japanese rock band from Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan. Their music is a fusion of alternative rock, electronic, pop, and new wave styles, and is thus difficult to classify under one category. The band consists of five members: Ichiro Yamaguchi, Motoharu Iwadera, Ami Kusakari, Emi Okazaki, and Keiichi Ejima.
Record Store Day is an annual event inaugurated in 2007 and held on one Saturday every April and every Black Friday in November to "celebrate the culture of the independently owned record store". The day brings together fans, artists, and thousands of independent record stores across the world. A number of records are pressed specifically for Record Store Day, with a list of releases for each country, and are only distributed to shops participating in the event.
Kenshi Yonezu is a Japanese musician, singer-songwriter, record producer and illustrator who began releasing Vocaloid music under the stage name Hachi (ハチ) in 2009. In 2012 he debuted under his real name, releasing music with his own voice. He sold 4.2 million physical copies and more than 7 million digital copies in Japan.
Balloom is an independent Japanese record label that was created in 2011. Until 2013, it focused on releasing music by musicians who were popular on video streaming service Niconico Douga, especially those who used Vocaloid software, and people who created Dōjin music.
Eri Sasaki is a Japanese musician from Fukuoka Prefecture who is signed to 5pb. Records and Sony Music Publishing. She made her music debut in 2015 with the release of her first single "Ring of Fortune", which is used as the opening theme to the anime television series Plastic Memories. She released her first album in 2017.
Endless Way is the third album by Japanese guitarist Kazumi Watanabe. The album was released as a vinyl LP by the Better Days label of Nippon Columbia in 1975.
Gundam Song Covers is a cover album by Hiroko Moriguchi, released on August 7, 2019 to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the Gundam franchise. The album features Moriguchi's versions of the 10 most popular Gundam songs, as voted on NHK's "Announcement! All Gundam Big Vote". Her song "Sora no Kanata de" from Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin is also included as a bonus track. It was released in two physical CD versions: a regular release and a limited edition release with an LP-sized jacket with a booklet and stickers. The album cover, illustrated by Tsukasa Kotobuki, features Moriguchi dressed in an A.E.U.G normal suit, with the MSZ-006 Zeta Gundam in the background.
