Charts: AKB48, Mr.Children, SMAP
Tue, December 14, 2010 (9:11pm EST)
AKB48's 19th single, "Chance no Junban," is #1 on the sales charts this week, moving just under 597,000 copies. Although this is a drop from the 827,000 copies sold in the first week by their previous single "Beginner," the song is still their fourth consecutive single to exceed half a million in first-week sales.
AKB48 now has five #1 singles for the year, a feat that has not been accomplished by a female artist since Pink Lady in 1978. The group also has achieved a streak of six consecutive chart-toppers. Among female groups, this ties for the record with Onyanko Club, who had six number-ones between February 1986 and May 1987.
Two singles by the anime band Girls Dead Monster ranked #2 and #3, followed by Kaela Kimura's latest song at #4. Choshinsung, TUBE, and Sata Andagi entered the charts in the #7 to #9 spots.
On the album charts, Mr.Children's "SENSE" held on to the #1 seat for the second straight week, selling an additional 95,000 copies. This brings its current sales total to 597,000.
A few new albums made the top ten, coming from Dragon Ash (#7), Yuna Ito (#8), INFINITY16 (#9), and GARNET CROW (#10).
The overall DVD charts were led by SMAP's "We are SMAP! 2010 CONCERT DVD" at a pace of 164,000 copies in its first week. This is SMAP's 2nd consecutive DVD (and 5th in total) to reach #1 in the overall DVD rankings. In just the music DVD category, this is their 6th consecutive #1.
Musicians Offer Miyazaki a Helping Hand
December 16, 2010
Pop duo Kobukuro (photo left) and musician couple Imai Miki (47, right) and Hotei Tomoyasu (48, center) have made a cash donation of more than ¥10 million to Miyazaki Prefecture, it was announced yesterday. The artists collaborated on the song "Taiyo no Melody" and donated earnings to support people in the prefecture who suffered financial damage due to this year's outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease in the local cattle population. Imai, a former idol singer who is married to former Boowy guitarist Hotei, is a native of the Miyazaki town of Takanabe, while Kobukuro's Kobuchi Kentaro (33) hails from Miyazaki City.
April's foot-and-mouth outbreak, the worst the country has ever seen, made national headlines and was a major blow for Miyazaki's meat industry and the economy of the region. The prefecture's popular governor Higashikokubaru Hideo declared a state of emergency, asking people living in the affected and surrounding areas to refrain from going out unless absolutely necessary. Hundreds of thousands of livestock were killed by the disease or slaughtered in containing it.
34th Japan Academy Prize winners announced
Fri, December 17, 2010 (10:25am EST)
The winners of the 34th Japan Academy Prize were announced on Friday. Sang-il Lee's "Akunin" received the most awards, with a total of 15 awards in 13 categories. One of the most notable winners is 6-year-old actress Mana Ashida, the youngest ever to win one of the newcomer awards.
Most of the categories have five "Excellent" recipients, and one in each category will be chosen for the "Best" awards, to be revealed at the presentation ceremony on February 18.
Picture of the Year:
Akunin
Otouto
Kokuhaku
Kokou no Mesu
13 Assassins
Animation of the Year:
Colorful
Karigurashi no Arrietty
Eiga Doraemon: Nobita no Ningyo Daikaisen
Meitantei Conan: Tenkuu no Lost Ship
One Piece Film: Strong World
Director of the Year:
Tetsuya Nakashima (Kokuhaku)
Izuru Narushima (Kokou no Mesu)
Takashi Miike (13 Assassins)
Yoji Yamada (Otouto)
Sang-il Lee (Akunin)
Screenplay of the Year:
Masato Kato (Kokou no Mesu)
Daisuke Tengan (13 Assassins)
Tetsuya Nakashima (Kokuhaku)
Yoji Yamada / Emiko Hiramatsu (Otouto)
Shuichi Yoshida / Sang-il Lee (Akunin)
Outstanding Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role:
Tsurube Shofukutei (Otouto)
Shinichi Tsutsumi (Kokou no Mesu)
Satoshi Tsumabuki (Akunin)
Etsushi Toyokawa (Hisshiken Torisashi)
Koji Yakusho (13 Assassins)
Outstanding Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role:
Shinobu Terajima (Caterpillar)
Eri Fukatsu (Akunin)
Takako Matsu (Kokuhaku)
Hiroko Yakushimaru (Kondo wa Aisaika)
Sayuri Yoshinaga (Otouto)
Outstanding Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role:
Renji Ishibashi (Kondo wa Aisaika)
Akira Emoto (Akunin)
Masaki Okada (Akunin)
Masaki Okada (Kokuhaku)
Koji Kikkawa (Hisshiken Torisashi)
Outstanding Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role:
Yu Aoi (Otouto)
Kirin Kiki (Akunin)
Yoshino Kimura (Kokuhaku)
Yui Natsukawa (Kokou no Mesu)
Hikari Mitsushima (Akunin)
Outstanding Achievement in Music:
Koji Endo (13 Assassins)
Grand Funk (BECK)
Isao Tomita (Otouto)
Joe Hisaishi (Akunin)
Meina Co. (Kondo wa Aisaika)
Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography:
Shoichi Ato / Atsushi Ozawa (Kokuhaku)
Koichi Ishii (Hisshiken Torisashi)
Norimichi Kasamatsu (Akunin)
Nobuyasu Kita (13 Assassins)
Shinji Chikamori (Otouto)
Avatar
Inception
Invictus
Toy Story 3
The Hurt Locker
Rookie of the Year:
Mana Ashida (Ghost: Mou Ichido Dakishimetai)
Momoka Ono (Kinako: Minarai Keisatsuken no Monogatari)
Riisa Naka (Zebraman: Zebra City no Gyakushu, Toki wo Kakeru Shoujo)
Kento Nagayama (Soft Boy)
Shohei Miura (THE LAST MESSAGE: Umizaru)
Takahiro Miura (RAILWAYS)
Special Award from the Chairman:
Umetsugu Inoue (director, died February 11 at the age of 86)
Tanie Kitabayashi (actress, died April 27 at the age of 98)
Takeo Kimura (art director, died March 21 at the age of 91)
Keiju Kobayashi (actor, died September 16 at the age of 86)
Katsumi Nishikawa (director, died April 6 at the age of 91)
Boyz II Men releasing cover album of Japanese songs
Sat, December 18, 2010 (2:11am EST)
Details have been released regarding Boyz II Men's upcoming album "COVERED -Winter-," which contains covers of 9 popular Japanese songs. The album was first listed on retailer websites a couple months ago, but the tracklist was not known at the time.
The songs being covered are:
"Missing" - Toshinobu Kubota
"First Love" - Hikaru Utada
"Yuki no Hana" - Mika Nakashima
"Itoshi no Ellie" - Southern All Stars
"Saigo no Ame" - Yasushi Nakanishi
"EVERYTHING" - MISIA
"Sen no Kaze ni Natte" - Man Arai
"WINTER SONG" - DREAMS COME TRUE
"Heavenly White" - EXILE
The album is being released on December 22, 2010. Boyz II Men also has plans for an original album commemorating their 20th anniversary, tentatively set for release in summer or fall 2011. They will also perform a 4-concert tour in Japan in November 2011.
UPDATE: Boyz II Men has also launched an official website in Japanese. Samples from the album are available on a special page.
Ameblo's Blog of the Year 2010: Osamu Mukai, Atsuko Maeda
Blogging service Ameblo has announced its Blog of the Year 2010 awards, chosen through an online survey conducted between December 17 and December 20. The winner in the male category was actor Osamu Mukai (28), while the winner in the female category was AKB48 member Atsuko Maeda (19).
Mukai became tremendously popular this year thanks to his role in the drama series "Gegege no Nyoubou," as well as parts in high-profile movies like "BECK" and the upcoming "Paradise Kiss."
Maeda has been popular as one of the top members of AKB48, and her starring role in the drama series "Q10" also drew a lot of attention to her blog.
Ameblo also announced the top 10 rising blogs of 2010, and Maeda was #1 on that list as well. Fellow AKB48 members Yuko Oshima, Rino Sashihara, and Tomomi Itano also made the rankings, as did Morning Musume's Reina Tanaka and actress Riisa Naka.
The complete rankings are expected to be published soon.
Last week, BUMP OF CHICKEN released "COSMONAUT," their sixth album overall and their first in three years. It sold more than 207,000 copies over the week to rank #1 on the sales charts, giving the band their first number-one since album since "Yggdrasil" in 2004.
Sound Horizon's "Marchen" entered the charts at #2, slightly beating out Michael Jackson's posthumous album "Michael." The only other Michael Jackson albums to ever reach the Top 3 in Japan were "Thriller" (#1) in 1984 and "Bad" (#1) in 1987.
On the singles chart, Hey! Say! JUMP took the top spot with "Arigatou ~Sekai no Doko ni Itemo~," selling approximately 151,000 copies. All six of their singles since their debut have been chart-toppers.
Other new singles in the top ten were released by the GazettE (#2), VAMPS (#4), Superfly (#5), Hiroshi Kamiya (#6), the Teni Puri All Stars (#7), DaiKichi (#9), and Plastic Tree (#10).
In DVDs, Namie Amuro sold 95,000 copies of her "PAST < FUTURE tour 2010" release to achieve #1 in the music category. This is her second consecutive #1 music DVD, and her fourth overall.
On the overall DVD charts, however, she was edged out by the "Gintama" movie "Gekijoban Gintama: Shinyaku Benizakura-hen," selling roughly 96,000 copies. Meanwhile, the limited Blu-ray edition of "The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya" sold 77,000 copies to top the overall Blu-ray charts.
LUNA SEA bassist J to celebrate 14th anniversary with 5-day event
LUNA SEA bassist J has announced a 5-day event at Shibuya AX for next spring to celebrate the 14th anniversary of his solo career, since 14 is said to be his lucky number. This will be the 4th time that he has held a 5-day event at that location, but this one promises to be even more special.
J has invited several guest artists to perform: a flood of circle; avengers in sci-fi; Fear, and Loathing in Las Vegas; MASS OF THE FERMENTING DREGS; Northern19; Nothing's Carved In Stone; Pay money To my Pain; The Telephones; and Zioooubachi.
The event will take place on May 5-9, 2011.
Last month, J announced that he is releasing a self-cover album titled "FOURTEEN -the best of ignitions-" on January 26, also in celebration of his 14th anniversary.
m.o.v.e teams up Ryuichi Kawamura, Sugizo to provide "Gakudori" theme song
Musical group m.o.v.e is collaborating with LUNA SEA members Ryuichi Kawamura and SUGIZO to provide a theme song for the upcoming movie "Gakudori," scheduled to open in theaters in spring 2011. Their song will be called "oveRtaKerS," and will feature Kawamura on vocals and SUGIZO on guitar.
m.o.v.e is well-known for doing several popular anime theme songs, including some for the series "Initial D." Like "Initial D," "Gakudori" focuses on the car racing scene.
"Gakudori" is an abbreviation of "Gakusei Drift," a student-only competition organized by automobile magazine Drift Tengoku. That competition is the central setting for the film, which tells the story of three young students aiming for the top. The three stars are "Kamen Rider Double" actor Minehiro Kinomoto (21), actor Kazuki Kato (26), and fashion model and actress Aoi Miura (20).
The "oveRtaKerS" song has not been given a release date yet.
Kouhaku Uta Gassen performance order: SMAP chosen as Ootori
On Sunday, NHK announced the planned performance order for the upcoming Kouhaku Uta Gassen. It is now confirmed that SMAP and DREAMS COME TRUE will be the "tori" (final performance) for the White Team and Red Team, respectively, with SMAP serving as the "ootori" (the last performance of the whole contest).
SMAP previously had the "ootori" role in 2003 and 2005. For DREAMS COME TRUE, this will be their second year in a row as the "tori" for the Red Team, which has not happened since Akiko Wada in 1998-1999. This is also the first time since 1978 that two pop artists have been "tori"; usually at least one of the artists is an enka singer.
It was recently announced that SMAP member Masahiro Nakai is going to be the host of this year's "CDTV Special! Toshikoshi Premier Live," which starts at 11:45m on TBS. Because Kouhaku Uta Gassen ends at 11:45pm, Nakai will have to rush from the NHK studio in Shibuya to the TBS studio in Akasaka. Since he will not be able to make it in time by the start of the "CDTV Special," the show will start out with Nakai on a live video feed.
The first performance of Kouhaku (the "top batter") will be done by Ayumi Hamasaki, for the third year in a row.
The performance order, as announced:
Ayumi Hamasaki - Virgin Road
EXILE - I Wish For You
AKB48 - Kouhaku 2010 AKB48 Kamikyoku SP
NYC - Yoku Asobi Yoku Manabe 100% NYC
Angela Aki - Kagayaku Hito
AAA - Aitai Riyuu
Mitsuko Nakamura - Kawachi Otoko Bushi
flumpool - Kimi ni Todoke
Ayaka Hirahara - Voyagers
Yusuke - Hito
Natsuko Godai - Hitori Zake
Takashi Hosokawa - Naniwabushi da yo Jinsei wa
Porno Graffitti - Kimi wa 100%
Kana Nishino - Best Friend
FUNKY MONKEY BABYS - Ato Hitotsu
Miyuki Kawanaka - Nirinkusa
HY - Toki wo Koe
Kumiko - INORI
Kaori Mizumori - Matsushima Kikou
Hideaki Tokunaga - Toki no Nagare ni Mi wo Makase
Nana Mizuki - PHANTOM MINDS
L'Arc~en~Ciel - BLESS
Yoshimi Tendo - Jinsei Michizure
Shinichi Mori - Erimo Misaki
Hiromi Go - GO!GO!Year Kouhaku Special Medley
aiko - Mukai Awase
Perfume - Nee
TOKIO - advance
Kumi Koda - KODA KUMI 2010 Special Medley
Hiroshi Itsuki - Oshiroi Hana
Akiko Wada - AKKOii! Kouhaku 2010 Special
Yuzo Kayama - Wakadaisho 50 Nen Special Medley
Masaharu Fukuyama - Michishirube
Sachiko Kobayashi - Kaachan no Hitorigoto
Kobukuro - Ryusei
Kana Uemura - Toilet no Kamisama
Arashi - 2010 Kouhaku Original Medley
Ikimono Gakari - Arigatou
Sayuri Ishikawa - Amagi Goe
Saburo Kitajima - Fusetsu Nagare Tabi
Fuyumi Sakamoto - Mata Kimi ni Koishiteru
Kiyoshi Hikawa - Nijiiro no Bayon
DREAMS COME TRUE - Ikite Yuku no Desu feat. The Kouhaku Special Brass Band
SMAP - This is love '10 SP Medley
The order of the special segments have not yet been announced.
Keisuke Kuwata confirmed as special guest at Kouhaku
Mon, December 27, 2010 (6:54pm EST)
Last month, it was rumored that Southern All Stars member Keisuke Kuwata (54) would be making a special guest appearance on the upcoming Kouhaku Uta Gassen. On Monday, his management agency and record label officially confirmed the news.
Although he will not be part of a team, this will count as his first solo performance at Kouhaku. The last time he was on the show was in 1983, when Southern All Stars made their third appearance.
Currently, it is still not known which songs he will perform or when in the program he will appear. It also has not been decided whether he will be at the event itself or will perform through a live video feed.
Kuwata has not performed in public since July, as he underwent treatment for esophageal cancer. He resumed work in October and recently finished his new album.
The Kouhaku Uta Gassen will begin at 7:30pm on December 31.
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Post time 21-12-2010 04:57 PM
