Enka (演歌) is a Japanese music genre considered to resemble traditional Japanese music stylistically. Modern enka, however, is a relatively recent musical form, which adopts a more traditional musical style in its vocalism than ryūkōka music, popular during the prewar years.
Maaya Sakamoto is a Japanese actress and singer. She made her debut as a voice actress in 1992 as the voice of Chifuru in the anime Little Twins, and became known as the voice of Hitomi Kanzaki in The Vision of Escaflowne. Other major roles in anime include Leila Malcal in Code Geass: Akito the Exiled, Jeanne d'Arc in Fate/Apocrypha, Shiki Ryōgi in The Garden of Sinners, Eto in Tokyo Ghoul, Riho Yamazaki in Nightwalker: The Midnight Detective, Moe Katsuragi in Risky Safety, Princess Tomoyo in Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle, Haruhi Fujioka in Ouran High School Host Club, Sayaka Nakasugi in Birdy the Mighty, Ciel Phantomhive in Black Butler, Shinobu Oshino in Monogatari, Lunamaria Hawke in Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Destiny, Merlin in The Seven Deadly Sins, Motoko Kusanagi in Ghost in the Shell: Arise, Quinella in season 3 of Sword Art Online, and Echidna in Re:Zero − Starting Life in Another World.
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, a term for Japanese popular music from the 1920s to the 1980s in the Japanese music scene.
Miki Nakatani is a Japanese actress and singer who began her professional career as a member of the girl group Sakurakko Club. Nakatani focused on acting after her departure from the band, making her debut on the popular television drama Under the Same Roof.
Anthem is a Japanese heavy metal band that was formed during the early 1980s in Tokyo. They are among the many heavy metal bands founded in Japan during that time and are considered to be one of the most successful and influential, alongside Loudness and Earthshaker.
Yura Yura Teikoku was a three-piece Japanese rock band from Tokyo, formed in 1989. Part of the city's underground music scene centered in Kōenji, their music has an eclectic sound usually described as psychedelic rock. After 21 years playing together, Yura Yura Teikoku amicably broke up in 2010.
Eizo Sakamoto is a Japanese musician, singer and songwriter who was born in Nishinomiya, Hyōgo Prefecture. He is most famous for being the lead vocalist of heavy metal band Anthem. In the 1990s he started up the band Animetal which performed heavy metal covers of anime and tokusatsu opening and closing themes. He also was involved with the Anison band JAM Project before reuniting with Anthem. Sakamoto then began a new project called Eizo Japan which is similar to Animetal: more heavy metal covers of theme songs post-disbanding, along with original material.
Shota Shimizu is a Japanese singer-songwriter and musician from Yao, Osaka, Japan, who debuted in 2008. On June 1, 2008, Shimizu performed at Central Park in New York City, USA, during the annual Japan Day Festival. Shota Shimizu went to a local Christian school in Osaka where he learned how to sing gospel music. He became captivated with soul music, which is how his music career started. He was inspired by Donny Hathaway, Marvin Gaye, and Ray Charles.
KAT-TUN III: Queen of Pirates is the third studio album by Japanese boy band KAT-TUN and was released in Japan on June 4, 2008 by J-One Records. The album was issued in two editions; the limited edition came with four bonus tracks, a DVD with an extended version of the music video for their 2008 single "Don't U Ever Stop" and a short film chronicling the making of the video.
Heavy Metal Anthem is the eighth studio album by the Japanese heavy metal band Anthem, released on April 21, 2000. It was their first album since their disbandment in 1992. Most of the former members play on the album, but the original vocalist, Eizo Sakamoto, did not return until the next album, and was a joint collaboration between the band and English singer Graham Bonnet. All of the songs are Anthem's older releases, which have been rerecorded and sung in English by Bonnet. Bassist and principal songwriter Naoto Shibata recreated the songs with Bonnet's voice in mind, including the English lyrics.
Seven Hills is the ninth studio album by the Japanese heavy metal band Anthem, released on August 22, 2001. It's the second studio album since their reformation in 2000 and the first with totally original material. It's also their first album with vocalist Eizo Sakamoto first 1987's Bound to Break. It debuted at No. 35 on the Oricon Weekly Albums Chart.
Eternal Warrior is the eleventh studio album by the Japanese heavy metal band Anthem, released on July 21, 2004. The band released this album after 2 years of intensive touring and planning. Like their previous studio album Overload, this album follows the same aggressive direction. It debuted at No. 42 on the Oricon Weekly Albums Chart.
Immortal is the twelfth studio album by the Japanese heavy metal band Anthem, released on August 30, 2006. In Europe, the album was sold together with the Anthem 20th Anniversary Tour 2005 bonus DVD; this DVD included several videos of the band rehearsing some of the songs that were included in the album: "Immortal Bind", "Insomnia", "Mob Groove", and "Road to Nowhere". This bonus DVD is known as "Core". It debuted at No. 41 on the Oricon Weekly Albums Chart.
Black Empire is the thirteenth studio album by the Japanese heavy metal band Anthem, released on October 29, 2008. It debuted at No. 42 on the Oricon Weekly Albums Chart.
Fuyumi Sakamoto is a Japanese female enka singer under EMI Music Japan.
Live' Melt Down is the third live album released by the Japanese heavy metal band Anthem and recorded during their "Overload Live" tour of 2003.
"1/3 no Junjō na Kanjō" is a song by the Japanese rock band Siam Shade, released in 1997. The song was first released as their sixth single on November 27, 1997, and also featured on their fourth studio album Siam Shade IV - Zero, released on January 21, 1998.
"Ashita, Haru ga Kitara" is a song by Japanese entertainer Takako Matsu from her debut album, Sora no Kagami (1997). It was released on March 21, 1997, through BMG Japan as her debut single. The song was written by Yūji Sakamoto and Daisuke Hinata, while Hinata produced the song. Following the wrap-up of the drama Long Vacation, she decided to give singing a try upon the suggestion of one of its directors.
Back Number is a Japanese rock power trio formed in 2004. The group consists of Iyori Shimizu, Kazuya Kojima, and Hisashi Kurihara (drums). The group signed to independent record label Idolsmith Recordings in 2009 and released their debut EP Nogashita Sakana (2009) and studio album Ato no Matsuri (2010). They signed to Universal Sigma in 2011.
