Nogizaka46 says goodbye to another member

On September 1 Nogizaka46 held its final stop for their 2019 live tour titled Nogizaka 46 Midsummer Tour 2019 which was also the final performance for long-term member Reika Sakurai. Per usual, it was a somber affair filled with tears and a level of camaraderie shining through as fellow members wished Sakurai one final goodbye. In the encore of the show Sakurai addresses the audience and discusses her emotions as she leaves the group. She expresses how much the group has meant to her but mentions she has a dream and feels that in order to achieve her dream she needs to branch out on her own. Akimoto, owner of the Nogizaka46 brand, came out on stage to recall some of the good times with Sakurai. Reika Sakurai will be the center of the upcoming single “Yoakemade Tsuyogaranakutemoii”, her last, which is already out on YouTube (you can check it out for yourself below). “Yoakemade Tsuyogaranakutemoii” is currently available for pre-order and will be posted below. We wish Sakurai the absolute best in her future endeavors.

Standard Edition

Limited Edition Type A

Limited Edition Type B

Limited Edition Type C

Limited Edition Type D

Sphere achieves a first for upcoming single!

Popular returning four-member voice actress-turned-idol group sphere announced that they they will be releasing a brand new single titled “Sign” October 23.  “Sign” will be the latest single since “best friends” back in June and will be the group’s second single since returning from their hiatus back in 2017. It will be a first for the group as it will be attached to a live action project compared to their usual animated ones. “Sign” will be the second season’s  ending theme song for popular Tokusatsu show Ultraman Taiga with its coupling B-side track being the main theme for Gekidan Sphere, a drama that Sphere will also star in airing on TOKYO MX October 16. The single will drop with two editions, a CD-only standard edition and a CD+ Blu-ray which will include the music video as well. Pre-order both editions in the link below!

Standard edition 

Limited edition

GANG PARADE shows off their Love Communication in sunny Hawaii!

Popular alt idol group GANG PARADE dropped the music video for their track “LOVE COMMUNICATION” on their official YouTube channel. “LOVE COMMUNICATION” is set to be one of the lead tracks for the group’s first major album LOVE PARADE set for release November 13. The music video showcases the summer love feeling and has the girls showing it off on the sunny beaches of Waikiki and among the spacious greenery of Kapiolani Park. Like the Korean idol group TWICE before them, the track and the music video itself are more of an advertisement of the summertime —all the time— feeling of Hawaii, stating that summertime never ends in Hawaii. “LOVE COMMUNICATION” is written and composed by Kenta Matsukuma with SCARAMBLES who has worked with the group in the past, handling the arrangement.

LOVE PARADE will drop with two editions, a CD-only standard edition and a two-CD + Blu-ray + Photo book limited edition. As previously reported, the second disc will feature excerpts from the concert held at Osaka-Jo Hall earlier in the year. 

Check out the music video in question and pre-order LOVE PARADE in the links below!

Standard edition

Limited edition

Johnny's West takes the spike with new single!

Popular boys group Johnny’s West announced that they will be releasing a brand new single, “Big Shot!!”, October 9. This will be the latest single from the up-and-coming Johnny’s group since their hit “Ama no Chihare” back in April of this year and it will be the group’s thirteenth single overall. The track “Big Shot!!” was chosen to become the official match theme song for Fuji Television coverage of this year’s FIVB Volleyball Women’s World Cup, which Japan is being the host nation of.

Per the norm of latest Johnny’s releases, “Big Shot!!” will drop with three releases, a CD-only standard edition and two CD + DVD limited editions lovingly called Type A and Type B. Each edition will be released with two tracks total, with each B-side track being different among the editions. The limited edition Type A will be released with the music clip of “Big Shot!” along with the making-of while Type B will include footage from their five year anniversary event「5周ねんやねん♪よろしゅうねん♪」(5 Years Nenyanen♪Yoroshunen♪). Not to be outdone by the limited editions, the standard edition will include an additional B-side track totaling that edition’s tracks to three.

Pre-order all three editions along with an exclusive CDJapan Bundle edition set in the links below!

Standard edition

Limited edition Type A

Limited edition Type B

Bundled Edition 

Johnny’s WEST「Big Shot!!」

Limited edition Type A

CD

01. Big Shot!!

02. Untitled Track A

03. Big Shot!!（Original Karaoke）

04. Untitled Track A（Original Karaoke）

DVD

・Big Shot!! Music Clip & Making

Limited edition Type B

CD

01. Big Shot!!

02. Untitled Track B

03. Big Shot!!（Original Karaoke）

04. Untitled Track B（Original Karaoke）

DVD

・2019.4.23 CD Debut 5 year anniversary「 5 Years Nenyanen♪Yoroshunen♪」

Standard edition 

CD

01. Big Shot!!

02. Untitled Track C

03. Untitled Track D

04. Big Shot!!（Original Karaoke）

05. Untitled Track C（Original Karaoke）

06. Untitled Track D（Original Karaoke）

Aldious finds new lead singer

Heavy metal band Aldious revealed they will be picking up a brand new vocalist for the band. The latest member goes by the moniker R!n and is to take the place of Re:No who left the group at the end of last year. R!n won her spot in the band through a singing contest and has done some touring with the group in April along with Saki, who had previously worked with the band Cyntia. In the end the group felt that R!n was the best fit for the group despite her lack of experience working with a metal band.