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.
Kumiko Kōda, known professionally as Koda Kumi, is a Japanese singer from Kyoto, known for her urban and R&B songs.
D'espairsRay was a Japanese visual kei rock band active from 1999 to 2011. The lineup of Hizumi on vocals, Karyu on guitar, Zero on bass and Tsukasa on drums remained the same, with the group having released four full-length records, three EPs and thirteen singles. Outside Japan, D'espairsRay have toured Europe and North America and had domestic releases in those territories.
Orange Range are a 5-member Japanese rock band, based in Okinawa, Japan. Formed in 2001, the band began with Spice Music and later signed with Sony Music Japan's gr8! records division in 2003. The band left gr8! records in 2010 to start their own label, Super Echo. In 2012, they signed with Victor Entertainment's Speedstar Records label.
Oblivion Dust is a Japanese rock band first active from 1996 to 2001; they reunited in 2007. Although they were originally largely influenced by early 1990s American grunge bands, since reuniting their music has become straight alternative rock. They stand out in the Japanese scene as most of their songs are written and sung in fluent English.
The discography of A-ha, a Norwegian synthpop/rock band, consists of eleven studio albums, eight compilation albums, six box sets, ten extended plays, and fifty singles. This list does not include solo material or other projects recorded by A-ha band members.
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.
Ling tosite Sigure are a Japanese rock trio, formed in 2002 in Saitama Prefecture. The band's style resembles post-hardcore and progressive rock, math-rock, often incorporating rapid changes of tempo and mood framed in complex guitar melodies and technical drumming. They utilize both male and female vocals ranging from soft singing to loud wails and screams.
Kingdom is the sixth studio album by Japanese singer-songwriter Kumi Koda. It was released on January 30, 2008, a week after her single anytime. The album debuted at No. 1 on the Oricon Weekly Charts with sales of 421,302. It remained on the charts for thirty-three weeks. The album was released in four editions: CD, CD+DVD, CD+2DVD and CD+2DVD+Poster, with limited editions of all versions carrying the bonus track Black Cherry.
"Rule"/"Sparkle" is a double A-side single by Japanese recording artist Ayumi Hamasaki from her tenth studio album, NEXT LEVEL' (2009). The song was released on a CD and DVD format on February 25, 2009 as the second single from the album. With "Rule" composed by Miki Wantanabe and "Sparkle" composed by Kazuhiro Hara, both songs were written by Hamasaki and produced by long-time collaborator Max Matsuura. "Rule" was used as the international theme song for the 2009 film Dragonball Evolution.
Next Level is the tenth studio album by Japanese recording artist Ayumi Hamasaki. It was released through Avex Trax on March 25, 2009 in five physical formats, and for digital consumption. The album was solely produced by Avex Trax owner Max Matsuura, whereas the album's content was written by Hamasaki herself. Additionally, it marks a return for several composers that helped construct her previous records, including Dai Nagao, CMJK, Kazuhiro Hara, HΛL, amongst others. Stylistically, Next Level is a departure from her previous albums, focusing on electronic music with elements of rock and dance.
"Love Addict" is the debut single by Japanese rock duo Vamps, released on July 2, 2008. It reached number 2 on the Oricon Singles Chart and was certified Gold by the RIAJ for sales over 100,000.
"I Gotta Kick Start Now" is the second single by Vamps, released on March 13, 2009. It includes a cover of the 1994 song "Trouble" by Shampoo. The limited edition came with a DVD that includes the music video for the title track and its making of. The single reached number 6 on the Oricon chart.
"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.
Today Is A Beautiful Day is the second studio album by Japanese J-pop band Supercell, released on March 16, 2011 by SME. The album contains 13 music tracks written by Ryo, and sung by Nagi Yanagi, though officially Yanagi is not a member of Supercell. Five of the tracks were previously released on three of Supercell's singles. Two different editions of the album were released: a regular CD version and a CD+DVD limited edition. Today Is A Beautiful Day peaked at No. 3 on the Japanese Oricon weekly albums chart, and in July 2011 was awarded a Gold Disc by the Recording Industry Association of Japan for having exceeded 100,000 copies shipped in a single year.
Girls' Generation is the self-titled debut Japanese album and third overall by South Korean girl group Girls' Generation, released by Nayutawave Records and Universal Music Japan on June 1, 2011. A repackaged edition of the album, The Boys, was released on December 28, 2011.
Japonesque is the tenth studio album by Japanese recording artist Kumi Koda. It was released on January 25, 2012 by Rhythm Zone. It was also released just a little under a year after her 2011 album, Dejavu. Japonesque marks Koda's tenth consecutive studio album to be produced by Japanese producer and manager Max Matsuura, amongst many other producers, while she contributes to the album as the lead vocalist, background vocalist, and songwriter to majority of the songs. Recorded in Japanese with minor phrases in English language, Japonesque is a Japanese pop album with numerous musical elements such as dance music, R&B, electronica, and rock music.
"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.
Stay Gold is the sixth major-label Japanese studio album by South Korean pop-rock idol band CNBLUE. It was released on October 18, 2017, under Warner Music Japan. The album was released in four editions: Regular Edition, Limited Editions A and B, and a fan club-only Boice Limited Edition. It went on to debut at number three on Japan's national weekly Oricon Albums Chart. The band will embark on the CNBLUE 2017 Arena Tour Live "Starting Over" from November to December in Osaka, Tokyo, Fukui, Fukuoka, Aichi, and Kanagawa.
