Yonezu Kenshi has given his fans a huge Christmas gift this year! The man with the biggest song of 2018 will be making his TV debut at this year’s Kohaku Uta Gassen. Kenshi will perform the aforementioned “Lemon”, which recently cracked the two million mark in terms of downloads. Instead of performing at NHK Hall like the rest of the guests, Kenshi will perform in his hometown in Tokushima Prefecture.
Kenshi originally declined his Kohaku Uta Gassen invitation, but later accepted after NHK proposed him performing in Tokushima Prefecture. This performance will have special meaning for Kenshi. He started working on “Lemon” last December, during which time his grandfather passed away. The song deals with thoughts about the death of a loved one, so the song has special meaning to Kenshi. Being able to perform this song in Tokushima Prefecture, his grandfather’s home as well, a year after his death, makes the performance even more special.
Singer/songwriter ORIGINAL LOVE (Takao Tajima) recently announced that he will be releasing a new studio album next year on February 13th. Titled “bless You!”, this will be Tajima’s first full-length record in nearly four years, following up on the release of “Lover Man” back in 2015.
“bless You!” will include his previously released digital single “Happy Birthday Song”, as well as nine new songs featuring a number of collaborators such as Petrolz’ Ryousuke Nagaoka, Kazumi Watanabe, Yoshiaki Okayasu, and Manami Kakudo. Of particular note, however, is Tajima’s collaboration song with trackmaker PUNPEE, “GOODIE Girl”, which will receive an analog release next month on January 13th.
You’ll find the cover and complete track list for “bless You!” right after the jump.
We’re back with this week’s edition of Oricon Flashback. This is where we look back on what topped Oricon this week 5, 10, 15, and 20 years ago. Think of it as a way to reminisce and learn about the past of Japanese music.
This week, SKE48 topped the Hot 100 single chart with their new single “Stand by you.”
RADWIMPS topped the Hot Albums chart with their new album “ANTI ANTI GENERATION.”
Aimyon topped the Streaming Songs chart for the seventh consecutive week with her single “Konya Kono Mama.”
Yonezu Kenshi topped the Download Songs chart for the third non-consecutive week with his single “Flamingo.”
RADWIMPS also topped the Download Albums chart with “ANTI ANTI GENERATION.”
As 2018 comes to a close, Oricon has released the results of its annual favorite artist poll, with this year’s list being the 15th edition. Oricon polled 20,000 music fans for this survey, between October 29 – November 15. Oricon asked males and females, ranging from teens to 40-somethings.
Arashi topped the 2018 favorite artist ranking, after having been knocked off the top spot last year by Mr.Children. Arashi has topped the favorite artist ranking eight times, more than any other act.
Arashi also topped the favorite artist ranking for male respondents, while Namie Amuro topped the one for female respondents.
Nogizaka46 topped the favorite artist ranking for teen respondents, with Arashi topping the list for respondents in their 20s and 40s, and Namie Amuro topping the list for 30-something respondents.
Check out all the lists below!
Today, CDTV Special! Christmas Ongakusai 2018 aired. The show featured performances by the likes of L’Arc~en~Ciel, Hoshino Gen, DA PUMP, Mariah Carey, NEWS, Nishino Kana, Ken Hirai, and EXILE. Check out the full show below!
This week’s guest was Aimyon.
Aimyon – Marigold
This week’s guests were Ishiwatari Junji, Matsumoto Ryoki, Mika Nakashima, Tsukaji Muga, and Ohara Sakurako.
Mika Nakashima x Matsumoto Ryoki x Kanjani8 – Yuki no Hana
