This week on Recochoku, AI topped the chart with “Minna ga Minna Eiyuu.”

She also topped iTunes with the song this week, for the second week in a row.

Kiritani Kenta as Urashima Taro topped the Recochoku monthly chart for January with “Umi no Koe.”

On February 3, Yasuda Rei releases her second album, “PRISM.” It will include the singles “Koi Uta”, “Tweedia”, and “Ashitairo.” It will come come in a CD+DVD Limited Edition and a CD only Regular Edition. Check out the album’s covers, tracklist, and sampler after the jump!

On March 2, Charisma.com will release their new mini album, “Aidoro C.” Today, the duo released the music video for its opening track, “Sapuriminal Diet.” As the title suggests, the clip deals with weight loss. MC Itsuka leads an aerobics class and then stars in an infomercial for a special weight loss machine. The machine is a bust of DJ Gonchi’s head that shoots special laser beams out of its eyes. Check it out after the jump!

Avex recently signed another new act, pianist Riyoko Takagi. She is from Tokyo and was born on September 20. Riyoko is a graduate of Keio University. During her college days, she began playing the piano at various live houses and clubs. Riyoko has been playing the piano since she was 4 years old. Her specialty is jazz piano, but she does bring elements from other genres into her sound. She is known for her fashionable image that a lot of people don’t think of when they think of jazz musicians.

In 2014, she entered a contest at The Montreux Jazz Festival Japan, advancing to the semi-finals. This led to performances at the jazz club Blue Note Tokyo, where she performed with the likes of Crystal Kay and American jazz guitarist Lee Ritenour. In January 2015, she released the album “Salone” independently, which did well on the jazz charts. Last year also saw her tour Japan, as well as being part of the unit Inner City Jam Orchestra.

Today, Riyoko released the music video for “MOJO swing.” It is the tenth track on her major label debut album, “THE DEBUT!” It features Riyoko playing the keyboard on the tropical island of Saipan. Check it out after the jump, along with more information her “THE DEBUT!”

On December 23, Ayumi Hamasaki released her new classical album, “Winter diary ~A7 Classical~.” The album features some of the songs she released last year done in a classical style. The album also features a new song, “Winter diary.” Today, Ayu released the music video for “Winter diary.” The clip was shot in Taiwan last month and features her former dancer Shuya. Check it out after the jump!

This week’s guests were MACO, NakamuraEmi, THE Love Ningen, Yoshida Yamada, and Yoshizawa Kayoko.

MACO – Koigokoro

NakamuraEmi – YAMABIKO

THE Love Ningen – Conto

Yoshida Yamada x Yoshizawa Kayoko – Friends

This past weekend, Kyary Pamyu Pamyu revealed her 5 point plan in celebration of her 5th anniversary in the music industry. The final point of that plan was Kyary’s ride at Universal Studios Japan, Kyary Pamyu Pamyu XR Ride. The ride recently opened at the theme park and The Japan Times sent Patrick St. Michel to review it.

Kyary Pamyu Pamyu XR Ride is part of Universal Studios Japan’s “Universal Cool Japan” event. This is the event’s second year, and it runs until June 26 this year. “Universal Cool Japan” is, as its name suggests, part of the Cool Japan program. The irony here though is that visitors must go to Osaka to actually experience this pop cultural outreach program. Patrick notes Cool Japan’s ineffectiveness, despite its billion yen budget. Things look especially bleak when compared to how Korea’s Hallyu has taken off internationally.

Avex has steadily been signing several new acts for the past couple of years, such as Seiko Oomori, lol, SOLIDEMO, and ANARCHY. They have now added a male / female duo to their roster, JamFlavor. They are from the Kansai region. They formed in 2014 and played several street lives and small venues / events before signing to Avex. They also released a mini album independently in 2014, titled “Tasting.”

On March 2, JamFlavor will make their major label debut with the mini album “Koikogare Koi ni Hinshi.” Today, they released the music video for the title track. The song is a blend of jazz, R&B, and hip hop. “Koikogare Koi ni Hinshi” will serve as the ending theme for the TV Asahi variety show “Ima-chan no ‘Jitsu wa…'” for February.

Check out the music video after the jump, along with more information on JamFlavor and their major label debut!