Hideto Takarai, known by his stage name Hyde, is a Japanese musician, singer-songwriter, record producer, and actor. Best known as the lead vocalist of the rock band L'Arc-en-Ciel since 1991, he is also the lead vocalist of Vamps and has a solo career.
Crystal Kay Williams is a Japanese-American singer, songwriter, actress and radio host.
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.
Galneryus is a Japanese power metal band, formed in Osaka in 2001 by guitarist Syu and vocalist Yama-B. Originally the only official members, the two utilized several support musicians until bassist Tsui, keyboardist Yuhki, and drummer Jun-ichi officially joined for the release of their debut album in 2003. Yama-B left the group in 2008 citing musical differences, and Yu-To, who replaced Tsui in 2006, left the following year. Galneryus recruited Sho on vocals and Taka on bass, and released the album Resurrection in 2010. Jun-ichi left in 2016, and the following year the band released their highest-charting studio album, Ultimate Sacrifice, which reached number 13. In 2017, Loudwire named Galneryus one of the 10 Best Japanese Metal Bands.
Hitomi Shimatani is a Japanese pop singer.
Beni Arashiro is a Japanese R&B singer, who debuted in 2004 under the Avex Trax label. In 2008, Arashiro left Avex Trax and transferred to Universal Music Japan where she started to perform as simply Beni.
Ayaka Iida, known simply by the mononym 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.
"Tears" is the ninth single by the Japanese rock band X Japan, released on November 10, 1993.
"Kurenai" is a song by Japanese heavy metal band X Japan, written by Yoshiki. One of the band's oldest songs, they have been performing "Kurenai" since 1985, and several versions have been released, most significantly as their major-label debut single on September 1, 1989.
Vamps is a Japanese rock duo formed in 2008 by Hyde and K.A.Z. Only a year after their founding, Vamps performed its first international tour, ten dates in the United States, and in 2010 they went on their first world tour. Originally signed to Hyde's own record label Vamprose, every release the band has had to date has reached the top ten on the Oricon music chart. In 2013, the group changed labels to Universal Music Group's Delicious Deli Records and produced their worldwide debut release. After several tours and collaborations with Western acts, Vamps worked with outside producers and songwriters for the first time on the 2017 album Underworld before temporarily ceasing all activities at the end of that year.
Bakuman is a Japanese manga series written by Tsugumi Ohba and illustrated by Takeshi Obata, the same creative team responsible for Death Note. It was serialized in Shueisha's shōnen manga magazine Weekly Shōnen Jump from August 2008 to April 2012, with its 176 chapters collected into 20 tankōbon volumes. The story follows talented artist Moritaka Mashiro and aspiring writer Akito Takagi, two ninth grade boys who wish to become manga artists, with Mashiro as the illustrator and Takagi as the writer. Some characters resemble real authors and editors of Weekly Shōnen Jump, and many manga titles mentioned in Bakuman have actually been published in the magazine.
"50% & 50%" is the second single by Japanese musician hide, released on August 5, 1993. It reached number 6 on the Oricon chart. His first single "Eyes Love You" was released on the same day. Both singles' covers are identical except; "50% & 50%" is red, whereas "Eyes Love You" is green. They form a 3D picture when they are placed side by side. It was certified gold upon release by RIAJ.
Livetune is a Japanese electro band which formed in 2007 as a dōjin music circle signed to Toy's Factory. The band originally consisted of two members, Kz and Kajuki P, but Kajuki P left the band in March 2009. Livetune started out by making use of the Hatsune Miku singing synthesizer to produce vocals for songs submitted to the Nico Nico Douga video sharing website. The popularity of the songs led the band to release the independent album Re:package at Comiket 73 in December 2007. Livetune made its major debut with Victor Entertainment with the professional release of their Re:package album in August 2008, which was updated with more songs. Livetune began collaborating with other artists in 2009, and has since composed music for such artists as Kotoko, ClariS, Maon Kurosaki, and fellow dōjin musician Ryo of Supercell.
"Devil Side" is the fifth single by Vamps, released on May 12, 2010. It includes a cover of the 1982 song "Live Wire" by Mötley Crüe. The limited edition came with a DVD that includes two versions of the music video for the title track.
"Angel Trip" is the sixth single by Vamps, released on June 9, 2010. The B-side is a cover, with some lyrics changed, of "Satsugai", a song K.A.Z wrote for the Detroit Metal City live-action film. The limited edition came with a DVD that includes the music video for the title track and its making of. The single reached number 4 on the Oricon chart.
Best of 4Minute is the first Japanese compilation album by the South Korean girl group 4Minute. It is composed of all the Japanese tracks released by the group since their debut in Japan. It was released on September 26, 2012 in three different editions: 2 limited CD+DVD and a Regular edition.
"Vampire's Love" is the tenth single by Vamps, also the third and last single from album Bloodsuckers released on October 8, 2014. The single reached number 3 on the Oricon chart.
"Hitomi o Tojite" is a song recorded by Japanese singer Ken Hirai, from his sixth studio album Sentimentalovers. It was released by Defstar Records as the album's second single on April 28, 2004. It is the theme song to the film Crying Out Love in the Center of the World. "Hitomi o Tojite" was the most successful song of 2004, topping the year-end Oricon Singles Chart with over 800,000 units sold. Hirai performed the song on his fourth appearance on Kōhaku Uta Gassen on December 31, 2004. "Hitomi o Tojite" was one of the eleven recipients of the Japan Gold Disc Award for Song of the Year. Although the song was considered for contention at the 46th Japan Record Awards, Hirai declined the Japan Record Award nomination.
"Secret Base (Kimi ga Kureta Mono)" (secret base 〜君がくれたもの〜, lit. "Secret Base (What You've Given Me)") is a song by Japanese all-female band Zone, released as their 3rd single on August 8, 2001.
"Ame" is the 11th single by Japanese singer/songwriter Chisato Moritaka. The lyrics were written by Moritaka and the music was composed by Seiji Matsuura. The single was released by Warner Pioneer on September 10, 1990. A remix of the song, titled "Ame ", was released alongside "Watarasebashi" by zetima on November 25, 2009.
