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.
J-pop, natively also known simply as pops, is the name for a form of popular music that entered the musical mainstream of Japan in the 1990s. Modern J-pop has its roots in traditional music of Japan, and significantly in 1960s pop and rock music. J-pop replaced kayōkyoku in the Japanese music scene.
Arashi is a Japanese boy band consisting of five members formed under the Johnny & Associates talent agency. The members are Satoshi Ohno, Sho Sakurai, Masaki Aiba, Kazunari Ninomiya, and Jun Matsumoto. Arashi officially formed on September 15, 1999, in Honolulu, Hawaii, and made their debut CD on November 3, 1999. The group was initially signed to Pony Canyon and released one studio album and six singles—beginning with their 1999 eponymous debut single before moving to the Johnny's subsidiary label J Storm in 2001, which was initially set up for their succeeding releases. While their debut single sold close to a million copies, the group took a mixture of pop and alternate/contemporary approach to its music which attracted core followers, but subsequently faced commercially slow sales.
First Love is the debut Japanese-language studio album by Japanese-American recording artist Hikaru Utada, released on March 10, 1999, by Toshiba-EMI.
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.
Crystal Kay Williams is a Japanese-American singer, songwriter, actress and radio host.
A Song for ×× is the debut album by Japanese pop artist Ayumi Hamasaki, released January 1, 1999, by Avex Trax. Primarily a rock-pop album, it features musical composition and arrangements by Yasuhiko Hoshino, Mitsuru Igarashi, and others.
Duty is the third studio album by Japanese recording artist Ayumi Hamasaki. It was released on September 27, 2000, by Avex Trax. Duty is Hamasaki's first studio album inside the 2000s decade, and her third consecutive studio album to be fully produced by Japanese musician and businessman Max Matsuura. The album's composing and arrangement was handled by several music collaborators, such as Ken Harada, Kazuhito Kikuchi, Dai Nagao, HΛL, among many others. Hamasaki contributed to the album as the primary and background vocalist, and songwriter to every song. Three different formats were released to promote the album: a standalone CD, a limited edition Playbutton, and a digital download. The cover sleeve has Hamasaki wearing a leopard-print cat suit.
"Mizérable" is the debut extended-play or mini album of Japanese singer-songwriter Gackt, released on May 12, 1999, by Nippon Crown. It marked his solo debut, four months after he left Malice Mizer, immediately gaining success reaching second position on the Oricon Albums Chart.
Akina Nakamori is a Japanese singer and actress. She is one of the most popular and best-selling artists in Japan. Akina achieved national recognition after winning the 1981 season of the talent show Star Tanjō!. Her debut single "Slow Motion" was released to moderate success, peaking at number thirty on the Oricon Weekly Singles Chart. Nakamori's popularity increased with the release of her follow-up single, "Shōjo A", which peaked at number five on the Oricon charts and sold over 390,000 copies. Her second album Variation became her first number-one on the Oricon Weekly Albums Chart, staying in that position for three weeks.
(Miss)understood is the seventh studio album by Japanese singer-songwriter Ayumi Hamasaki. It was released on New Year's Day 2006, by Avex Trax. Hamasaki acted as the album's sole lyricist, as she had on all of her preceding albums. (Miss)understood marked new musical directions for Hamasaki: she explored new influences such as funk and used gospel choruses in some of the songs, foreign to her previous works. This was the result of her having heard compositions by Geo from the German based pop music project Sweetbox and asking him for his works. Subsequently, Hamasaki rewrote the lyrics entirely to fit (Miss)understood. Lyrically, the album was a departure from her previous work, My Story, which had been primarily autobiographical.
"Love (Destiny)" (stylized as "LOVE ~Destiny~") is a song recorded by Japanese recording artist Ayumi Hamasaki, serving as the second single for her second studio album, Loveppears (1999). It was released by Avex Trax in Japan and Taiwan on April 14, 1999, and through Avex Entertainment Inc. worldwide in September 2008. The track was written by Hamasaki herself, while production was handled by long-time collaborator Max Matsuura. Three versions of the recording have been made available—a ballad version arranged by Tsunku, an edited version with vocals by Tsunku, and a dance-influenced version included on Loveppears.
"Movin' On Without You" is a song recorded by Japanese–American singer and producer Hikaru Utada taken from her debut studio album First Love (1999). The song was written, arranged, and produced by Utada herself, and it became her first ever hit. "Movin' On Without You" was written, produced and composed while Utada was attending college in Tokyo, Japan, during 1997. Utada, who received a record contract by Toshiba-EMI, had written an English-language version of the song, but the song remains unreleased.
"I Have Never Seen" is the 12th single by Japanese singer Namie Amuro. It was released by Avex Trax on December 23, 1998, as the lead single to her fourth studio album Genius 2000 (2000). The song was written and composed solely by Tetsuya Komuro. It was the first single released after Amuro's return from her yearlong maternity leave, and was released approximately one week before her well-publicized official comeback at the 49th NHK Kohaku Uta Gassen.
"Respect the Power of Love" is the 13th single from Japanese recording artist Namie Amuro. The song was released on March 17, 1999, by Avex Trax. It was used as the KOSÉ Cosmetics' VISÉE commercial song and also the Asahi Drink "niceOne" commercial song. The album cover was also taken at the location where the music video was filmed. The music video was shot at Coyote Dry Lake, California, just like Madonna’s “Frozen” one year before.
The discography of Japanese R&B singer Misia consists of nine studio albums, three compilation albums, one extended play (EP), one live album, six remix albums, twenty-six singles, twelve promotional singles, eighteen video albums and thirty-seven music videos. In 1997, Misia signed a recording contract with BMG Japan and joined the then up-and-coming talent agency, Rhythmedia. Under the sub-label Arista Japan, Misia released her first single, "Tsutsumikomu Yō ni..." in February 1998, followed by "Hi no Ataru Basho" in May. In June, her debut album, Mother Father Brother Sister, opened at number three on the Oricon chart. The album peaked at number one three weeks later and stayed in the top five for eleven consecutive weeks. Mother Father Brother Sister was certified double million and won a Japan Record Award for Best Album, as well as a Japan Gold Disc Award for Pop Album of the Year. In 2000, Misia's second studio album, Love Is the Message, debuted at number one and was certified double million. It won a Japan Record Award for Best Album and a Japan Gold Disc Award for Pop Album of the Year. The album spawned three top ten hits: "Believe," "Wasurenai Hibi" and "Sweetness." Misia's first remix album, Misia Remix 2000 Little Tokyo, was released three months later and shot to number one. It sold over 800,000 copies and is the second best-selling remix album of all time in Japan.
All the Best! 1999–2009 is the third greatest hits album by Japanese pop boy band Arashi. The album was released on August 19, 2009, in Japan under their record label J Storm in two editions, a limited 3CD version and a regular 2CD version. The album debuted at number-one on the Oricon album weekly chart, selling 753,430 copies. Thirteen days after the release of All the Best! 1999–2009 the album sold over a million copies. As of September 22, 2009, All the Best! 1999–2009 had overtaken Supermarket Fantasy to claim the title of best-selling album of the year in Japan. On December 18, 2009, Oricon officially ranked All the Best! 1999–2009 as the best-selling album in Japan for 2009, with over 1.43 million copies sold.
5x20 All the Best!! 1999–2019 is the fifth greatest hits album by Japanese boy band Arashi. It was released through J Storm on June 26, 2019. The album debuted at the top spot of the Oricon Weekly Albums chart, selling 1,304,251 copies in its first week of release in Japan. It spent the most weeks at number one of any album on the Oricon Albums Chart in 2019, with four, and was both the best-selling album of 2019 in Japan, as well as worldwide, with 3.3 million copies sold, eventually becoming the world's best-selling album of the year for 2019.
Japanese singer-songwriter Mai Kuraki has released twenty-five video albums and three video singles, and been featured in sixty-six music videos, two television series, and eleven commercials. Kuraki debuted in 1999, while she was still in high school, through Giza Studio. The label initially marketed Kuraki in the United States under the name Mai K, and released the single "Baby I Like" (1999). However, the single was a commercial failure which prompted the label to send her back to Japan. There, they released her single "Love, Day After Tomorrow", which peaked at number two on the Oricon Singles Chart and was certified million by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAJ). The second single, "Stay by My Side" became her first number one single on the chart. Kuraki's debut album, Delicious Way, topped the Oricon Albums Chart and was certified triple million by the RIAJ.