B'z is 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 by certifications, having released 50 consecutive No. 1 singles, 27 No. 1 albums, and 4 No. 1 EPs on the Oricon music charts, and have sold more than 100 million records worldwide.
X Japan is a Japanese rock band from Chiba, formed in 1982 by drummer and pianist Yoshiki and lead vocalist Toshi. Starting as a predominantly power/speed metal band with heavy symphonic elements, they later gravitated towards a progressive sound with an emphasis on ballads. Besides being one of the first Japanese acts to achieve mainstream success while on an independent label, the group is widely credited as one of the pioneers of visual kei, a movement among Japanese musicians comparable to Western glam.
KAT-TUN is a Japanese boy band formed under Smile-Up in 2001. The group's name was originally an acronym based on the first letter of each member's family name: Kazuya Kamenashi, Jin Akanishi, Junnosuke Taguchi, Koki Tanaka, Tatsuya Ueda, and Yuichi Nakamaru. Their debut on March 22, 2006, was marked by a tripartite release of a CD single, album and music DVD on their exclusive record label J-One Records. Since then, all of their single, album and music DVD releases have debuted at number one on the Oricon music and DVD charts.
NEWS is a Japanese boy band consisting of Keiichiro Koyama, Takahisa Masuda and Shigeaki Kato. Formed in 2003 by Johnny Kitagawa as a nine-member group under the label Johnny's Entertainment, NEWS released a promotional single "NEWS Nippon", which was used for the World Cup of Volleyball Championships. In 2004, Takahiro Moriuchi left the group and the remaining eight members released their debut single, "Kibō: Yell", which debuted atop the Oricon charts.
Concentration 20 is the third studio album by Japanese singer Namie Amuro. It was released on July 24, 1997, by Avex Trax. The album's musical style is a fusion of genres including pop, dance, rock, reggae and ska. Unlike Amuro's previous effort, Sweet 19 Blues (1996), which primarily had lyrics written by Tetsuya Komuro, Concentration 20's lyrics were mostly written by Marc Panther. Komuro did, however, compose and arrange most of the album's songs and wrote the lyrics to three of them. It was Amuro's second solo album since splitting up with Super Monkey's.
Art of Life is the fourth studio album by Japanese heavy metal band X Japan, released on August 25, 1993, by Atlantic Records. The album consists solely of the 29-minute-long orchestrated title track, which was written and composed by Yoshiki entirely in English and recorded with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. It topped the Oricon chart and has sold over 600,000 copies. The album is the band's first after changing their name from simply "X" and the first to feature bassist Heath.
Dahlia is the fifth studio album by Japanese rock band X Japan, released on November 4, 1996, by Atlantic Records. It is the band's last album before breaking up the following year, and the last to feature new work by guitarist hide, due to his death two years later. The album is composed largely of ballads, with only a few tracks retaining the band's heavier musical traits seen on previous releases. It topped the Oricon chart and stayed on the chart for only 15 weeks, but managed to sell over half a million copies. Seven, nearly all, of the album's songs were released as singles, most of which also topped the singles chart and sold well.
Jealousy is the third studio album by Japanese heavy metal band X Japan, then known as simply X. The album was released on July 1, 1991, by Sony, as the band's second major label release. Jealousy is the band's best-selling album, having sold more than one million copies, it topped the Oricon chart and stayed on the chart for 50 weeks. The album's singles would also reach the top three on the chart. It is their last album under the name "X", before changing to "X Japan", and the last to feature Taiji on bass, who would be replaced by Heath.
"Crucify My Love" is the fifteenth single by Japanese heavy metal band X Japan, released on August 26, 1996. A power ballad, "Crucify My Love" is written and performed entirely in English, unlike most of the band's songs.
The discography of the Japanese heavy metal band X Japan consists of five studio albums, six live albums, one remix album, eleven compilations, one soundtrack album, 23 singles, and around 22 live video recordings.
"Dahlia" is the thirteenth single by Japanese heavy metal band X Japan, released on February 26, 1996.
Art of Life Live is an X Japan live album released on March 18, 1998. It is composed solely of one song, "Art of Life". Mostly recorded on December 31, 1993 at the Tokyo Dome. The album reached number 20 on the Oricon chart. This same performance was released on DVD and VHS, as Art of Life 1993.12.31 Tokyo Dome, five years later.
"The Last Song" is an X Japan single released on March 18, 1998, shortly after the band's breakup in late 1997.
Complete II is a box set released October 1, 2005. On ten CDs and nine DVDs it collects all studio and live albums, and all DVDs that X Japan released after changing their name from X, along with two DVDs containing previously unreleased and rare material from the band's earlier career. It reached number 92 on the Oricon chart.
Perfect Best is a compilation album by Japanese heavy metal band X Japan, released on February 24, 1999. It includes songs that go from their debut album Vanishing Vision to Dahlia, and also an interview with Yoshiki. Some tracks are taken from Live Live Live Tokyo Dome 1993-1996. The album reached number 4 on the Oricon chart. It was certified gold by RIAJ.
Live Live Live Tokyo Dome 1993–1996 is a live album released by X Japan on October 15, 1997. As the title states, it contains songs recorded at the Tokyo Dome between 1993 and 1996, all of them at the band's annual New Year's Eve concerts at that stadium. The album reached number 3 on the Oricon chart. A supplemental disc, titled Live Live Live Extra was released the following month.
The Last Live is an X Japan live album released on May 5, 2001. It contains what was the band's last concert, recorded at the Tokyo Dome on December 31, 1997. The band, however, has since reunited, though this was their last live concert with guitarist Hideto "hide" Matsumoto, who died nearly half a year thereafter. A DVD/VHS version was also released, titled The Last Live Video. The album reached number 7 on the Oricon chart. In 2020, Jonathan McNamara of The Japan Times listed it as one of the 10 Japanese albums worthy of inclusion on Rolling Stone's 2020 list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.
On the Verge of Destruction 1992.1.7 Tokyo Dome Live is a live album released by X Japan on January 1, 1995. It contains the band's performance at the Tokyo Dome on January 7, 1992, which was the last with Taiji Sawada on bass. It is their only live album to feature Sawada. The album reached number 3 on the Oricon chart. There is also a VHS version with the same name.
Live in Hokkaido 1995.12.4 Bootleg is an X Japan live album released on January 21, 1998. It contains a shortened recording of the band's performances at the Tsukisamu Green Dome on December 4, 1995. The "bootleg" moniker applies as the album's sound quality is not on par with X Japan's other live recordings. The album reached number 20 on the Oricon chart.
Domoto is a Japanese duo consisting of Koichi Domoto and Tsuyoshi Domoto under the talent agency Starto Entertainment. Domoto was formed in 1993 as Kinki Kids and officially debuted on July 21, 1997. With more than 30 million physical copies sold, they are one of the best selling boy groups in Asian history and top 20 best-selling artists of all time in Japan. Although the members share the same surname, the only relation they have to each other is that they both hail from the Kinki region, hence the duo's name.
