ARAMA! JAPAN | Page 1362 | Breaking J-Pop News and Celebrity Gossip

Performances from FNS Uta no Natsu Matsuri

Last night, Fuji TV aired its midyear music special FNS Uta no Natsu Matsuri. The show was about 4 hours long and was hosted by Suiyou Kayousai’s hosts Chisato Moritaka and Watabe Ken. Performers included EXILE, AKB48, Daichi Miura, Busaiku, SKE48, BREAKERZ, NMB48, T.M.Revolution, HKT48, Flower, E-girls, miwa, Momoiro Clover Z, Sandaime J Soul Brothers, JUJU, SMAP, Ken Hirai, Kyary Pamyu Pamyu, Kanjani8, Koda Kumi, TOKIO, Nogizaka46, V6, Arashi, Nishino Kana, Sexy Zone, Tomomi Kahala, chay, Hoshino Gen, Happiness, Hey! Say! JUMP, Morning Musume.’15, Funassyi, GENERATIONS, Tetsuya Komuro, May J., Leo Ieiri, Ohara Sakurako, and Kis-My-Ft2. Check out the full show after the jump!

Enka singer Sachiko Kobayashi gets her own Vocaloid!

Vocaloid just added an new interesting voice to their catalogue, and this time it’s an enka singer’s. That’s right, it was announced that the famous enka singer, Sachiko Kobayashi, known for her extravagant Kouhaku costumes, is coming to you in Vocaloid-form. This new vocaloid is named Sachiko, after her real life counterpart and her first album was released this past Monday in the Vocaloid Shop.

Anime News Network shares more information on the Tuesday press conference in which Kobayashi, Vocaloid project leader Katsuki Ishikawa and developer Masashi Yoshida were also in attendance.

SEKAI NO OWARI to release first Double A-side Single since going Major

Following the successful release of their new single “ANTI-HERO”, pop/rock band SEKAI NO OWARI have announced that they will be releasing another single in just under two months on September 25th. “SOS / Present” will be issued as a Double A-side single, the group’s first since their indie days, in three versions: a regular CD-Only edition, a CD+DVD version which will include the music video and making-of footage for “SOS” (Limited Edition A), and a second CD+DVD version which will include four as yet unselected live recordings from the band’s “TOKYO FANTASY” concert on October 4th of last year (Limited Edition B).

“SOS” has been picked up as the theme song for the second of the two Attack on Titan films, “Shingeki no Kyojin ATTACK ON TITAN End of the World”, and will be produced by Ken Thomas, who is famous for his work with Icelandic band Sigur Ros. On the other hand, “Present” was written specifically as the image song for the junior high school branch of the 82nd NHK Nationwide School Music Competition, a yearly choral contest which takes place every September. In addition, the single will also include the acoustic versions of “Snow Magic Fantasy” and “Pierrot” which were revealed at their “Twilight City” concerts earlier this month.

Read on below for a look at the single’s complete track list and look forward to continued updates as its release date draws closer.

Yuzu unveil manic yet fun Music Video for “Owaranai Uta”

As we reported previously, folk/pop duo Yuzu are set to release their latest single “Owaranai Uta” (“Neverending Song”) next month on August 12th. Now the group have uploaded the full music video for the title song to their official Youtube channel, giving us a glimpse of what we can expect from the release.

Stylistically the PV for “Owaranai Uta” is faintly reminicent of the duo’s earlier video for “LAND“, taking us inside of a cuckoo clock to view various different mechanical contraptions at work while Yujin and Koji play a pair of clockwork dolls at the center of all of the madness. This wild music video was directed by Kamatani Sojiro, with creative design handled by the special unit magma; of note, the PV’s set was constructed entirely from scrap wood and other waste products.

You’ll find the music video for the bright and upbeat “Owaranai Uta”, as well as the single’s cover and full track list just after the jump.

Vice Wants Your Questions and Comments for a Live Show about Their Recent “Joshi Kosei Osanpo Date” Documentary

Last week, Vice released a controversial documentary about “joshi kosei osanpo dates”, a practice in which older men pick up underage schoolgirls off the street for paid dates. They linked this to the dark side of Japan’s obsession with schoolgirls and cute culture. They also showed certain cafes and an idol concert / handshake event as elements of this phenomenon. A few days later, they released extra footage from the idol concert / handshake event, including an interview with one of group’s members. This extra footage also proved to be controversial. Vice is now allowing viewers to respond to the film in a way besides the usual YouTube comments. At 12 PM EST on Thursday, Vice’s series “On The Line” will focus on their recent documentary. Viewers of the documentary can tweet or make a Skype video with their questions and comments for the documentary’s reporter Simon Ostrovsky, as well as contributor Jake Adelstein. They will be answered during tomorrow’s live broadcast by the two men. Find out how you can become a part of the show after the jump!

Raychell gets ‘Krazy’ in new MV with RICKEY & RABBIE

Singer Raychell has joined the string of artists releasing summer jams. Today she released the music video for her August 19th release, Krazy and keeps up her party girl image. The song and music video features the rap duo, RICKEY & RABBIE. This is not the first time she has collaborated with the act as she has released a mini-album earlier this year with them. The song is described as being a dance song with an ‘upper’ tune. And is actually being used as the theme song with the Japan release of Human Centipede 3.

Fitting with the summer theme, Raychell parties like there’s no tomorrow on a boat with friends. In a clever way, the music video manages to work scenes from the Human Centipede 3 into the music video. While the party guests are out on the veranda, they are one by one drawn away, to the television screen with features clips from the movie. However the guests can’t seem to stomach the scenes and collapse, however it’s all according to Raychell’s plan?

To find out more, check out the music video below!

Akiko Yano Announces New Album Featuring Collaborations with Seiho, tofubeats, and More

On September 16, Akiko Yano will release her new album, “Welcome to Jupiter.” This will be her first album since “Tobashite Ikuyo”, released in March 2014. The theme of “Welcome to Jupiter” is “adult techno music.” To execute this concept, Akiko has drafted a crop of collaborators. Those collaborators are Seiho, AZUMA HITOMI, Ovall, Tomita Keiichi (also known as Tomita Lab), tofubeats, and Fukusawa Hideyuki. Quruli’s Shigeru Kishida also lends his vocals to one of the album’s songs. Akiko will cover her song “PRAYER” on this album, as well as her song “Tong Poo”, which is based on her ex-husband Ryuichi Sakamoto’s band Yellow Magic Orchestra’s song of the same name (the song was originally an instrumental and she later wrote lyrics for it.). She’ll also cover the theme song for the movie “Mothra”, Happy End’s “Taifu”, and The Folk Crusaders’ “Kanashikute Yarikirenai.”

Prior to the release of “Welcome to Jupiter”, Akiko will release the album’s opening track, “Tong Poo”, as a 7 inch vinyl single. This limited release will only be available at HMV stores starting on September 5. Seiho is in charge of the arrangement of this song. A sample of it can be heard in the trailer for the album, which was released today. Check it out after the jump along with the album’s covers and tracklist!

Toki Asako Releases PV for “C’est La Vie ~Onna wa Ai ni Isogashii~”

Today, Toki Asako releases her new album, “Bittersweet.” She recently released the music video for “BOY from Setagaya”, and now she’s back with one for the album’s opening track, “C’est La Vie ~Onna wa Ai ni Isogashii~.” The song serves as the opening theme for the second season of LaLa TV’s “Watashitachi ga Puropose Sarenai no ni wa, 101 no Riyuu ga Atte da na”, which starts September 2. The drama’s creator, Jane Su, co-wrote the song with Asako.

The music video for the light disco song features Asako performing on a fictional music show called “Soul Onna Michi.”, which Jane serves as narrator for. Asako is backed by 2 drag queens while performing the song. A young girl watches this performance at home on tv, while pouring over her vinyl record collection featuring classic artists such as Diana Ross, Chaka Khan, Chic, and Donna Summer. Check it out after the jump!