We’re back with another episode of the Arama! Japan podcast! This episode covers December 2020! This month we covered a variety of topics, including the year end music shows, our Koki Maeda interview, Ren Ozawa‘s abuse scandal, the disbanding of the Tokyo 2020 ceremonies committees, and more.
Featured on the podcast alongside myself this time is Hannah. Check it out below!
It has been announced that girl group Perfume will be starring in a brand new campaign for Levi’s® RED, promoting their timeless denim styles. The RED promotion is getting a complete new restart in 2021, Levi’s has uploaded a short 15 second teaser on Twitter and YouTube showing off some of the new styles.
Perfume have already started to appear in promotional material found in Levi’s stores all across Japan. Expect more CMs and photoshoots showing off the RED looks in the upcoming weeks! Check out the first Perfume x Levi’s special movie below:
Newly formed Johnny’s Jr group IMPACTors is making their presence known in a very big way! The boys caught the attention of many fans after the teaser for their very first original song “Top Of The World” was released on a newly formed Johnny’s Jr YouTube channel. The full MV for the track has finally been uploaded!
IMPACTors was formally announced as a group on the October 16th, 2020 SP episode of Music Station. They are currently regulars on the popular NHK music program “The Shounen Club”. IMPACTors was originally supposed to appear at the special event “Johnny’s Ginza 2020 Tokyo Experience”, but the event was confirmed to be canceled in October 2020 due to COVID-19.
Check out the full MV for “Top Of The World” below!
Today, Johnny & Associates announced on its site that the company is setting an age limit for Johnny’s Jr. The new policy will go into affect on March 31, 2023. From that day forward, if there is no agreement with the company to debut by the March 31 after the trainee reaches the age of 22, his contract with Johnny & Associates will be terminated that day.
Hayato Komori of GENERATIONS has tested positive for the novel coronavirus COVID-19.
Hayato underwent a regular PCR test under the guidance of LDH’s coronavirus team. He was found to be positive on January 15. He is currently asymptomatic and will be under the watch of medical staff going forward.
This week’s guests were Eito, Suzuki Emiko, Ryokuoushoku Shakai, Orisaka Yuta, and Snow Man.
Eito – Boku wa Baka
Suzuki Emiko – After All
Ryokuoushoku Shakai – Yuishou
Orisaka Yuta – Asagao
Snow Man – Grandeur
This month on the download side, one song from this year was certified Platinum for selling 250,000 downloads: Yonezu Kenshi‘s “Paprika.”
Three songs from this year were certified Gold for selling 100,000 downloads: Suda Masaki‘s “Niji”, DISH//‘s “Neko ~THE FIRST TAKE ver.~”, and BTS‘ “Dynamite.”
On the streaming side, one song from this year was certified Platinum for reaching 100,000,000 streams: BTS’ “Dynamite.”
Three songs from this year were certified Gold for reaching 50,000,000 streams: BTS’ “Stay Gold”, Yonezu Kenshi’s “Lemon”, and LiSA‘s “Homura.”
Eight songs from this year were certified Silver for reaching 30,000,000 streams: Aimyon‘s “Sayonara no Kyou ni”, NiziU‘s “Baby I’m a star”, Ken Hirai & Aimyon’s “Kaibutsu-san”, Hirai Dai‘s “Stand by me, Stand by you.”, BTS’ “Your eyes tell”, YOASOBI‘s “Gunjou”, Yonezu Kenshi’s “Flamingo”, and Lady Gaga ＆ Ariana Grande‘s “Rain On Me.”
On January 15, JP THE WAVY will release his new digital single, “I WANT ONE.” The song is a collaboration with the Korean rapper Kid Milli and the Chinese rapper Psy.P, a member of the rap group Higher Brothers. This is the third time that JP THE WAVY has worked with a Korean rapper (having previously worked with Sik-K and Jay Park) and the first time he’s worked with a Chinese one. He released a solo version of the music video for the song last month.
JP THE WAVY recently performed “I WANT ONE” on the YouTube live music show “DOG HOUSE STUDIO.” He performed seven songs in total on the show.
JP THE WAVY also appears in the just released music video for “BEAST MODE”, his collaboration with Leon Fanourakis. The song appears on Leon’s new album “SHISHIMAI”, out January 22. “BEAST MODE” was produced by JIGG, and marks the first time he’s worked with JP THE WAVY and Leon.
Check out all of the aforementioned videos below!