Hello, Arama! Japan readers and welcome to this week’s installment of #1 Song Review! Last week saw Hey! Say! JUMP defeat Sexy Zone. Gen is back again this week, facing off against a newcomer. Find out what various staff members thought of the songs that topped the physical and digital charts this week and share your thoughts on them too!

ONE OK ROCK has officially released a music video for the song ‘Taking Off’. The video features live footage and backstage shots from ‘ONE OK ROCK 2016 SPECIAL LIVE IN NAGISAEN’ which was  held in September in Shizuoka.

The band is currently set to release a new album on January 11, 2017 titled ‘Ambitions’ as well do an arena tour.

Check out the MV after the jump!

Today TBS (the Tokyo Broadcasting System) has published both this year’s set of winners for the Japan Record Awards as well as the nominees for the Song of the Year and Best New Artist categories.  The Japan Record Awards are a Japanese music awards show akin to what the Grammies are in the United States and it can be considered a great honor to be selected for any award on the list below.  It should be noted, however, that these honors have been somewhat tarnished by the allegations that the top award can be bought and paid for.

Of particular note among this year’s Song of the Year Nominations are AKB48’s “365 Nichi ni Kami Hikouki”, Kiyoshi Hikawa’s “Miren Kokoro”, Kana Nishino’s “Anata no Suki na Tokoro”, and Kenta Kiritani’s “Umi no Koe”.  Also worth mentioning is the recipient of this year’s Album of the Year award:  Hikaru Utada’s “Fantome”, her first full album release in over eight years.

The 58th Japan Record Awards will air on December 30th, which is when we’ll find out who this year’s Best New Artist will be, as well as which of the song nominations will receive the Grand Prix award.  Please read on below for a look at the full list of winners and nominees and a healthy congratulations to each and every one of them.

From November 11 – 13, this year’s edition of Trophee de France took place in Paris. This was the fourth event in the International Skating Union’s 2016 – 2017 Grand Prix Series. Wakaba Higuchi took third place in the women’s portion, making her the only Japanese skater out of the four present to medal at this event.

In her senior Grand Prix Series debut, Wakaba Higuchi placed third with a total score of 194.48, 5.87 points behind the second place finisher, Russia’s Maria Sotskova. This score is currently Wakaba’s personal best combined score. Her short program received a score of 65.02, putting her in fifth place, 1.59 points behind Laurine Lecavelier of France. Wakaba botched a planned triple flip in her final jump and received no score for the element. “I felt some nerves but my body was moving fine,” she said afterwards. “I thought the score was going to be much lower. I’ve been aiming to get (high scores) and it’s a real plus to be able to manage that in a big event like this.” She added, “The triple flip turning into a double was a close one. I might have slacked a little bit.” Wakaba’s free skate was the third highest scored of the night with 129.46 points, 2.18 points behind Maria. This score is currently Wakaba’s personal best free skate score. Her program featured a triple Lutz-triple toe combination and three more triples. “I wasn’t expecting to stand on the podium so I’m really happy. I’m pleased with the points I got but I also made some major mistakes. I’m really eager to work on fixing those,” she said after the event.

Singer and multi-instrumentalist Ohashi Trio will be celebrating his 10th anniversary in the industry next year and has decided to start the festivities early by releasing a new single this week on November 16th.  His first Double A-side single, this new release is titled “Ringo no Ki / Uchuu Kara Yattekita Nyanbo”; the latter track is currently being used as the theme song for the popular NHK-E anime “Nyanbo!”.

The single was issued in two different versions, with the Limited Edition including footage from Ohashi Trio’s 2015 Year End Party with his live band the PRETAPORTERS.  In addition, he will follow up this release by embarking on his “ohashiTrio HALL TOUR 2017”, which will see him visit 19 venues between April and June.

Read on below to find both the cover and track list for the single, as well as previews of its CD and DVD content.

Gorilla themed rapper Akko Gorilla has been quite busy recently. Not only has she got a new EP due out on November 30, but has also been on a trip to Africa to film its leading single’s music video “Back to the Jungle” (also the title of the EP). The delightful Shingo Ota directed clip shows her having a pretty wild time; mingling with the locals and of course- hanging out with some Gorillas. The video is produced by lute. Watch the clip below, and also read further for more info on the EP, including its wildly trashy but endearing cover!

Chara made her debut on September 21, 1991 with the single “Heaven.” Twenty five years later, she’s set to a release a new best album which spans her career. The album is titled “Naked & Sweet” and will be released on November 16. The album contains 45 songs spread out over 3 CDs. The limited edition of the album contains footage from a concert Chara held at Budokan in November 1994. Check out more information on the album below!

Last week popular rock band [Alexandros] released their second major album “EXIST!“.  After a full week of sales, the group has managed to reach the top of Oricon’s Album chart for the very first time, selling just over 59,000 copies in six days.

To further support this already successful album, the band has now published the PV for its second track “Kaiju” to their Youtube channel.  The video is based on the theme of “harmony”, juxtaposing traditionally-clad Japanese dancers with the band’s more modern outfits and mannerisms.

You’ll find the stylish PV for this full English track just beneath the cut.