The first episode of 2016 was a 2 hour special that included a “Who Is the Ruler of Love Songs? Ranking.” Music Station asked 3000 people what their favorite male and female love songs are. A list of 25 songs for each gender was presented. It can be seen after the jump!

The guests on this week’s show were miwa, Yuzu, NEWS, Gesu no Kiwami Otome., Makihara Noriyuki, back number, and Ken Hirai.

miwa – Hikari e

Yuzu – Kakeru

NEWS – touch

Gesu no Kiwami Otome. – Romance ga Ariamaru

Makihara Noriyuki – Mou Koi Nante Shinai / No.1

back number – Heroine

Ken Hirai – Boku wa Kimi ni Koi wo Suru / ON AIR

Kawatani Enon made his first public appearance today since the news broke that he was secretly married and having an affair with Becky. This appearance was made on the first episode of Music Station of the New Year, which was a 2 hour special. During the episode, Enon did 2 deep bows in a show of remorse for his actions.

The first came when the band was introduced. With a serious expression of his face, Enon did a deep bow of about 3 seconds, while his bandmates greeted the audience.

On February 17, Leo Ieiri will release her 11th single, “Hello To The World.” It will serve as the opening theme song for CDTV for February and March. The first B-side, “Obake no Namida” will serve as the theme song for NHK’s “Minna no Uta” in February and March. The single’s second B-side is the piano version of her previous single, “Kimi ga Kureta Natsu.”

Today, Leo released the short music video for “Hello To The World.” It’s an upbeat rock tune about opening up to the world and its future possibilities. The song was produced by Tabo Koichi, formerly of Superfly. The music video was shot at a high school in Shizuoka Prefecture. It tells the story of 3 schoolgirls who break free from their boring, timid lives and in effect take the song’s meaning to heart. Students from the school appeared in the video as extras. Leo was excited to meet with the students when the video was done filming.

Check out the music video as well as more information about the single after the jump!

For the past few years, iTunes has had a feature at the beginning of the year called “NEW ARTIST Spotlight”, which showcases acts that they think are worth looking out for in the year to come. That duty has now been handed over to Apple Music. Today, Apple Music revealed the 6 acts that made the cut this year. Check the out after the jump!

Anne’s management has announced that she is pregnant with twins! These will be the first children for Anne and her husband Higashide Masahiro, who were married on New Year’s Day last year. She is expected to give birth this summer.

On January 20, ZOMBIE-CHANG will release her new album, “ZOMBIE-CHANGE.” The album is described as having a new wave sound. She recently released the music video for the album’s eighth track, “SEMETE KANASHII TOKINIWA.” It’s a hazy affair, which brings to mind Instagram filters. In the clip, ZOMBIE-CHANG wanders down a city street singing.

Last summer, she released a music video for a song titled “LEMONADE.” This song will be featured on “ZOMBIE-CHANGE.” The music video for this song is an odd one. It features people doing random things, such as dancing, in strange costumes.

Check out both videos after the jump, along with more information on the album!

SXSW is a large music, film, and interactive festival that takes place annually in Austin, Texas, United States. The music portion of this year’s festival takes place March 15 – 20. Last year, Perfume performed at SXSW. This year sees several other Japanese acts performing, including [Alexandros], KOHH, and DE DE MOUSE. [Alexandros] performed at SXSW in 2014 under their old name, [Champagne]. See who else will be performing at SXSW this year after the jump!

As previously reported, the future of SMAP is currently unknown. All of the members, except Kimura Takuya, are trying to leave Johnny & Associates after the resignation of their manager Iijima Michi. The company is currently trying to work things out, basically admitting that the rumors are true.

But why did Kimura Takuya stay? According to Sankei Sports, his wife, Kudo Shizuka, is the reason. She is said to have told him to stay with Johnny & Associates.