J-pop, natively also known simply as pops, is a musical genre that entered the musical mainstream of Japan in the 1990s. Modern J-pop has its roots in traditional Japanese music, but significantly in 1960s pop and rock music, such as The Beatles and The Beach Boys, which led to Japanese rock bands such as Happy End fusing rock with Japanese music in the early 1970s. J-pop was further defined by new wave and crossover fusion acts of the late 1970s such as Yellow Magic Orchestra and Southern All Stars, then Eurobeat in the early 1990s, namely Namie Amuro.
Mai Kuraki is a Japanese pop and R&B singer-songwriter and record producer. After releasing her US debut single "Baby I Like" in 1999, Kuraki signed with Giza Studio and released her Japanese debut single "Love, Day After Tomorrow" in 1999. In 2000, she released her debut album, Delicious Way, which debuted at number-one and sold over 2.2 million copies in its first week. The album has spawned four top-three singles, "Love, Day After Tomorrow", "Stay by My Side", "Secret of My Heart", and "Never Gonna Give You Up". Eventually, the album sold over 3.5 million copies nationwide and became the best-selling album in Japan in 2000, and has been the ninth best-selling album in Japan of all-time.
Headstones is a Canadian punk-influenced rock band formed in Kingston, Ontario in 1987, but on hiatus from 2003 to 2011. Consisting of vocalist Hugh Dillon, guitarist Trent Carr, bassist Tim White, keyboardist Steve Carr plus guitarist Rickferd Van Dyk and Jesse Labovitz on drums, and a reputation for high energy, 'more rock less super shock' stage presence, and interaction with the audience, they frequently draw capacity crowds at mid-sized venues. Their songwriting tackles many serious and controversial topics. Between 1996 and 2016, Headstones was among the top 150-selling Canadian artists in Canada and among the top 35 best-selling Canadian bands in Canada.
Boøwy was a Japanese rock band formed in Takasaki, Gunma in 1981. The classic lineup of vocalist Kyosuke Himuro, guitarist Tomoyasu Hotei, bassist Tsunematsu Matsui, and drummer Makoto Takahashi reached legendary status in Japan during the 1980s.
Crystal Kay Williams is a Japanese singer, songwriter, actress and radio host.
Pierrot was a Japanese visual kei rock band formed in 1994 in Nagano. After changing their name from Dizy-Lizy to Pierrot and several member changes, the final lineup was completed in 1995 with Kirito on vocals, Jun and Aiji on guitar, Kohta on bass and Takeo on drums. After roughly ten years together, Pierrot disbanded in 2006. Their final single was named "Hello", an apt title for a band who started their major career with an album called Finale.
Hitomi Shimatani is a Japanese pop singer signed to the Avex Trax label.
Canadian singer-songwriter Avril Lavigne has released seven studio albums, eight extended plays (EPs), 32 singles, and 37 music videos, and she has appeared on several movie soundtracks and charity albums. With worldwide sales of 40 million albums and 50 million singles, Lavigne is ranked as the third top-selling Canadian female artist in history. Billboard listed her as the eighth best-selling Canadian artists of the Nielsen Music Canada era.
F.T. Island, is a South Korean rock band formed by FNC Entertainment in 2007. The band currently consists of main vocalist Lee Hong-gi, bassist Lee Jae-jin, and drummer Choi Min-hwan. Guitarist Oh Won-bin left the band in 2009 and was replaced by Song Seung-hyun. Former leader Choi Jong-hoon left the band and retired from the entertainment industry on March 14, 2019, while Seung-hyun left the group on December 31, 2019, to pursue his acting career.
anima is Nightmare's third full-length studio album, released on February 22, 2006. and arguably, the best known. This album is considered a huge stepping stone in the band's future success. The sound of this album has a lighter and more pop feel than its predecessors, Livid and Ultimate Circus. It peaked at #12 in the Oricon Charts.
Complete Best is a greatest hits album by Canadian singer Celine Dion, released exclusively in Japan on 27 February 2008. It reached number three on the Oricon Albums Chart, was certified Gold by the RIAJ and has sold 173,100 copies in Japan in 2008.
Killer Show is Nightmare's fifth studio album. It was released May 21, 2008 in three different versions: one with just a CD; one with a CD+DVD; and a limited edition with a CD+DVD and a photo book. The album peaked at #5 in the Oricon Charts. The eleventh song, White Room, was released as a limited single download on their homepage.
Majestical Parade is Nightmare's sixth full-length studio album. Three different versions of this album were released: one with just the CD; one with a CD+DVD; and one with a CD+DVD and a photo book. The sixth song, MELODY, was released as a limited single download on the DWANGO homepage. The album reached #3 in the Oricon Charts.
"You Were..." is a song recorded by Japanese recording artist Ayumi Hamasaki, taken from her tenth studio album, Rock 'n' Roll Circus (2010). It was written by Hamasaki with production being done by long-time collaborator Max Matsuura. The song premiered on December 29, 2009 as the album's second a-side single with the album track, "Ballad". Four formats were released for the single; a CD format, a CD and DVD bundle, a limited edition box set, and a digital download. The first three artworks feature Hamasaki laying in snow, whilst the limited edition box set has a long-shot of Hamasaki in a dress.
Rock 'n' Roll Circus is the eleventh studio album by Japanese recording artist Ayumi Hamasaki. It was released on April 14, 2010, by Avex Trax. It was also released just a little over a year after her 2009 album, Next Level. Rock 'n' Roll Circus marks Hamasaki's eleventh consecutive album to be fully produced by Japanese producer and manager Max Matsuura, while she contributes to the album as the lead vocalist, background vocalist, and songwriter to all songs. Recorded in Japanese with minor phrases in English, Rock 'n' Roll Circus is a rock album with numerous musical elements such as electropop, J-pop, rock, pop ballad, and dance music.
"Willie and the Hand Jive" is a song written by Johnny Otis and originally released as a single in 1958 by Otis, reaching #9 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and #5 on the Billboard R&B chart. The song has a Bo Diddley beat and was partly inspired by the music sung by a chain gang Otis heard while he was touring. The lyrics are about a man who became famous for doing a dance with his hands, but the song has been accused of glorifying masturbation, though Otis always denied it. It has since been covered by numerous artists, including The Strangeloves, Eric Clapton, Cliff Richard, Kim Carnes, George Thorogood and The Grateful Dead. Clapton's 1974 version was released as a single and reached the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at No. 26. Thorogood's 1985 version reached No. 25 on the Billboard Rock Tracks chart.
Nightmare is a Japanese visual kei rock band formed in January 2000. As of the end of January 2015, they have released ten studio albums, four compilation albums and twenty-eight singles. Most of their albums and singles have been released in three formats - two with bonus DVDs and one CD only.
Nightmare is the seventh studio album from the Japanese band Nightmare. Like all the band's recent releases, this album was released in three different editions, each with different artwork. The 2 limited edition albums contain bonus DVD tracks, while the regular edition includes a bonus track titled "Dazzle". The album peaked at #10 in the Oricon charts and sold 16,971 copies in the first week.
"Believe" is a song recorded by Japanese female trio Kalafina. It was released as a stand-alone single to promote the Japanese anime visual novel Fate/stay night in November 2014. "Believe" was the group's second single from their fifth studio album far on the water. The song was written by Yuki Kajiura, who also composed and produced the single, which she has done for the group since their debut.
Band-Maid is a Japanese rock band formed in 2013. The band combines a rock sound with a maid image modeled on Japanese maid cafés. Originally signed to Gump Records, they switched to major label Nippon Crown's sub-label Crown Stones in 2016 and later moved to new sub-label Revolver Records in 2019. The band's albums have been released internationally through JPU Records since 2016. In late 2020, the band left Revolver Records and signed with Pony Canyon.
