Yonige Shows Fans That the Morning Will Come in Latest Music Video!

Music Corner alum Yonige released the music video for their upcoming track “健全な朝” (“Kenzenna Asa”) on their official YouTube channel. “Kenzenna Asa” is set to be one of the lead tracks for their album 健全な社会 (Kenzenna Kaisha) which is due for release April 29. Produced by industry veteran Gotou Masafumi of the rock band ASIAN KUNG-FU GENERATION, the track takes on a more laid-back composition and focuses more on vocalist Arisa’s vocal range. The music video is produced by famed music videographer Yasuyuki Yamaguchi and, like previously released music videos by Yonige, features a more story driven undertone which is shown throughout the video.

“Kenzenna Kaisha” will include ten tracks and be the latest physical release by the duo since HOUSE back in October 2018. The album will also drop with a CD-only standard edition which you can pre-order in the link below along with view the music videos for “Kenzenna Asa”.

Standard edition

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Yonige「Kenzenna Kaisha」

1. 11月24日
2. 健全な朝
3. ここじゃない場所
4. Intro
5. 往生際
6. あかるいみらい
7. メリークリスマスイヴ
8. 春一番
9. みたいなこと
10.ピオニー

The RAMPAGE from EXILE TRIBE Drops Music Video Full of Anguish

Boy group RAMPAGE from EXILE TRIBE dropped the music video for their upcoming single “Invisible Love” which is set to drop April 22. In the music video it shows the boys struggling with their emotions as they dance with a masked woman in a red dress. “Invisible Love” is the first ballad in the group’s history being released as a single.

“Invisible Love” is being released in two editions, a standard edition which will be CD-only and a limited edition which will come with a bonus DVD. Pre-orders are up and posted below along with the upcoming single so you can check it out for yourself.

Standard Edition

Limited Edition

pont Introduces the Masses to Their Uplifting Style!

Four-member rock band pont released their much sought after first mini-album ぽ (Po) across all music streaming platforms. Originally released back in November of last year with a limited release of only 500 physical copies, Po captures the feel of nostalgic happy-go-lucky pop rock of the early 00s with a splash of modern flair. The album dropped with a six track total, which you can capture a small sample of each via a teaser trailer below!

pont「Po」

01. 歌謡曲

02. ディスコタウン

03. プルキニエ

04. 素敵なデイズ

05. ぶぎうぎ

06. みんなへ

Macaroni Pencil Drops Music Video For New Album

Rock band Macaroni Pencil dropped a brand new music video for their new album titled hope which dropped April 1. hope will be Macararoni Pencil’s second full album. The video is for the title track of the album, “hope”, and depicts two women living together. The new album isn’t up on CDJapan but it is available on Apple Music and Spotify. Be sure to check out the video for yourself.

Tuneback Tuesday - First Week of April

Let’s turn back the hands of time as we look back at the songs that made the Japanese music industry through the Oricon Weekly Chart. This week we look back on the first week of April for both 2010 and 2015, when Korean boy group Tohoshinki and Johnny’s boy group  Kis-My-Ft2 reigned supreme with “時ヲ止メテ” (“Toki o Tomete”) and “Kiss魂” (“Kiss Damashii”), respectively. But just what exactly made these songs so great?

“Toki o Tomete”

This was the thirtieth single the then-dominating Tohoshinki released in the Japanese market. It was released as a re-cut from their greatest hit album Best Selection 2010 which released a month prior. Written by the duo Ichiro Fujiya and  Shinjiroh Inoue and composed by Daisuke Kahara, the track is arranged in a majestic ballad which is raised tenfold by all five band members’ powerful yet soothing vocals capable of bringing fans to tears.

Unfortunately it really did result in some teary-eyed admirers, as this was the last single to feature members Jeajoong, Yoochun, and Junsu due to contract disputes (As this subject is a very extensive issue which could warrant its own write-up, check out a summary of the dispute here.) The single was released with five tracks and its B-side track, “Checkmate”, was member Yunho’s solo track, with its third track being a remix version of “Toki o Tomete”. The single originally sold over 195,000 copies during its first initial week of sales and ended up placing twenty-sixth overall on the yearly single chart.

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“Kiss Damashii”

This one was the thirteenth single by ever-surprising Kis-My-Ft2. While not changing the formula of Johnnys tracks released during this era, the boys’ ever-impressing and evolving choreography along with their vocal prowess were put at the forefront here, making this an unforgettable song. The track was originally written by KOMU, who had worked with the group extensively in the past, and the compositions were done by industry veteran Kazuhiro Hara; this was his first time working with the group. The single dropped with four tracks and three different editions and sold over 350,000 copies. This was the thirteenth consecutive single to take the number 1 spot.