Johnny & Associates' Johnny Kitagawa passes away at 87

We regret to inform that Johnny Kitagawa, president of popular talent agency Johnny & Associates, passed away due to a ruptured cerebral aneurysm this past week on July 9. He was 87 years old.

The surprising passing of Kitagawa occurred weeks after he collapsed and was rushed to the hospital on June 18. While the cause of the incident is unclear, several entertainers he produced visited him during his hospitalization.

Spawning numerous groups through his agency, Kitagawa became a big player and held a foothold in the industry through the success of top male idol groups such as Arashi, SMAP, and Kinki Kids. One of Kitagawa’s final wishes was for the world to be peaceful and full of hope so that people could enjoy entertainment.

No successor to Kitagawa has been named as of now, but several speculators announced that current president of Johnny’s Island Inc. Hideaki Takizawa will be the forerunner for the position.

We at Ongaku to You send our thoughts and prayers to Kitagawa’s family and loved ones in this trying time.

Official HIGE DANdism announces new album

Four-member rock band Official HIGE DANdism announced they will be holding a brand new tour along with a brand new album, both coming this October. The full schedule for the upcoming tour was revealed; it will last from October 26 all the way to February 11 of 2020. At this time there have been no details released regarding the album.

Official HIGE DANdism has been on the rise as of late with their single “Pretender” which dropped May 15 and debuted at nine on the physical release chart for the Oricon. For the combined weekly chart on Oricon, “Pretender” has consistently placed around the sixth spot since its release. On top of all of this, Official HIGE DANdism has a new single coming July 31 titled “Shukumei”. It is only to be featured in a single edition which will be CD-only. Pre-orders are available here.

Be sure to check out the outstanding “Pretender” and the full tour schedule below.

---

Official Werewolf [dism one-man tour 19/20]

October 26, 2019 (Sat) Chiba Prefecture Ichikawa City Cultural Hall

October 30, 2019 (Wed) Nara Prefecture 100 Years Hall 100 Hall Large Hall

November 1, 2019 (Fri) Osaka Prefecture Grand Cube Osaka (Osaka Prefecture International Conference Hall)

November 2, 2019 (Sat) Osaka Grand Cube Osaka (Osaka Prefecture International Conference Hall)

November 7, 2019 (Thu) Saitama Prefecture Omiya Sonic City Large Hall

November 10, 2019 (Sun) Ishikawa HONAMI no Mori Hall

November 15, 2019 (Fri) Hokkaido Otaru Citizens Hall

November 17, 2019 (Sun) Sapporo Cultural Arts Theater hitaru

November 23, 2019 (Sat) Kagawa Prefecture Sunport Hall Takamatsu

November 20, 2019 Kobe International Hall Kobe Kokusai Hall

November 29, 2019 (Fri) Aichi Aichi Arts Theater Grand Hall

November 30 2019 (Sat) Tokyo Metropolitan Office Olympus Hall Hachioji

December 7, 2019 (Sat) Gifu Prefecture Nagara River International Convention Center Main Hall

December 8, 2019 (Sun) Aichi Prefecture Japan Special Ceramics City Hall Forest Hall

December 13, 2019 (Fri) Hiroshima Prefecture Hiroshima Culture Academy HBG Hall

December 15, 2019 (Sun) Shimane Prefecture Shimane Prefecture Public Hall Large Hall

December 20, 2019 (Fri) Miyagi Prefecture Sendai Sun Plaza Hall

December 22, 2019 (Sun) Fukushima Prefecture Iwaki Art and Culture Exchange Center Arios

January 4, 2020 (Sat) Fukuoka Prefecture Fukuoka Sun Palace

January 5, 2020 (Sun) Fukuoka Prefecture Fukuoka Sun Palace

January 12, 2020 (Sun) Kanagawa Prefecture Pacifico Yokohama National Grand Hall

January 13, 2020 (Mon, Congratulation) Kanagawa Prefecture Pacifico Yokohama National Grand Hall

January 19, 2020 (Sun) Tottori Prefecture Yonago City Public Hall

January 21, 2020 (Tue) Okayama Prefecture Kurashiki Citizens Hall

January 26, 2020 (Sun) Niigata Prefecture Terasa Niigata

January 31, 2020 (Fri) Kagoshima Takayama Hall

February 2, 2020 (Sun) Kumamoto Kumamoto Prefectural theater Theater hall

February 10, 2020 (Mon) Kanagawa Prefecture Pacifico Yokohama National Grand Hall

February 11, 2020 (Tue) Kanagawa Prefecture Pacifico Yokohama National Grand Hall

Music Corner Week 14: The Charm Park

The Charm Park is the brainchild of talented, Los Angeles-raised vocalist Charm, who started the project in 2015. Charm’s solo project is becoming the missing link that lies among western and eastern styles of pop music, and it’s even making big waves with the rise of the fusion pop genre in Japan as of late. Dubbing himself the next generation pop maestro, Charm is true to his word, having organic and dynamic compositions accompanying his melodic vocals. He hopes that his arrangements can be enjoyed by fans all around the world. 

While the majority of his songs are in Japanese, Charm’s time in the U.S. has not gone to waste, as several tracks have him weaving back and forth between English and Japanese in perfect ease—so much so that listeners might not even know when the switch will happen. Some tracks are even sung almost entirely in English, such as “Still in Love”—which might puzzle some, as it seems like a song that could appear on the radio in the U.S. However, Charm keeps these English-only songs as special events. “Stars Colliding”, for example, is a very emotional and thought-provoking track which might have domestic fans of his feeling somewhat left out in his work, but entirely fulfilling for English fans of his which makes Charm’s solo project the catalyst in introducing Western fans to the Japanese music genre.

Under his The Charm Park motif, Charm has garnered major levels of success and signed with Avex in June of last year. He released two mini-albums during his indie days with A LETTER (2015) and A REPLY (2016) with Avex’s mini-album Standing Tall in 2019. He has also released four singles during that time—and two under Avex—along with two full albums, THE CHARM PARK (2017) and Timeless Imperfections (2018).

Check out The Charm Park’s official site along with his Twitter and watch the music video for “花が咲く道” (“Hana ga Sakumichi”) along with the link for Standing Tall here!

Hey! Say! JUMP brings on the fanfare

Male idol group Hey! Say! JUMP revealed their latest single, which will be titled “Fanfare!”, scheduled for release August 21. Not only is “Fanfare” going to serve as the group’s twenty-fifth single but it is also serving as the main theme for quirky romance drama Semi Otoko. 

“Fanfare!” is will be found in three editions total. The standard edition will be CD-only and contain four tracks while the limited edition Type One will feature its own set of unique songs on the CD and also include a DVD which will feature the music video for “Fanfare!”. The limited edition Type Two will also feature its own unique tracks for the CD while its DVD will include a video wherein the group discusses various songs they perform. Even though each edition is radically different from each other, the good news is that if you want all three editions there is a bundle option available. Pre-orders are currently available—check them out below.

Standard edition

Limited edition type one

Limited edition type two

Bundle edition

Nogizaka46 announces twenty-fourth single

Mega female idol group Nogizaka46 announced they will be releasing their twenty-fourth single which will be released September 4. So far, the title and center have yet to be revealed. The untitled single will be released in a total of five editions, a standard edition that will be CD-only and four limited editions that will be CD + Blu-ray. Each edition will come with its own unique cover and inside the packaging there will be a randomly selected photo of one of the members along with an event ticket only valid in Japan. Pre-order links are posted here.

Standard Edition

Limited Edition Type A

Limited Edition Type B

Limited Edition Type C

Limited Edition Type D

You can check out Nogizaka46’s last number one single “Sing Out” below.