On May 30, YU-A will release her new mini album, “OFF.” This is her first release since her June 2016 single “30 -My Thirty-.” During this time away from music, YU-A has become a wife and mother. YU-A’s new life serves as inspiration for the song “Kimi ni Todoke”, a song about her child. Another new song, “Shaping Up”, is about dieting. Check out more information on this release below!

On May 30, Ken Hirai will release two singles, “Todokanai kara” and “Shiranai ne Desho?” “Todokanai kara” is the theme song for the movie “50 First Kisses”, while “Shiranai ne Desho?” is the theme song for the TV Asahi drama “Mikaiketsu no Onna: Keishichou Bunsho Sousakan.” Each single includes the title track, its instrumental, and three live tracks from Ken’s Christmas concert which was held at Yokohama Arena last year.

Ken recently released the music videos for both songs. In the clip for “Todokanai kara”, Ken, with a pink, glittery beard, appears alongside a female dancing clown. The music video for “Shiranai ne Desho?” has a horror theme, with Ken being followed down a dark road by a mysterious woman. Check out both videos below, along with more information on both of Ken’s new singles!

Girl group Wasuta is back on the scene with their brand new MV titled “Tapioca Milk Tea“.

The theme of the song was actually inspired by Da-iCE member Taiki Kudo. He helped provide music for a recent solo concert held by Wasuta.

Last we heard from singer/songwriter Tatsuro Yamashita, it had just been announced that he would be providing the theme songs for the upcoming Mamoru Hosoda film “Mirai no Mirai“.  Now he has decided to reveal all of the details about the release of these songs, which will be issued as a physical single on July 11th.

Titled “Mirai no Theme / Uta no Kisha”, the former track will serve as the movie’s opening theme and the latter its ending theme.  Of note, the single will also include an acoustic live version of Tatsuro’s “Bokura no Natsu no Yume”, perhaps better known as the theme song for Hosoda’s second major work “Summer Wars”.

Read on below to find the cover and complete track list for Tatsuro’s latest single.

Up-and-coming pop band bjons will be releasing their debut album “SILLY POPS” this week on May 30th.  The trio draws their musical inspiration primarily from soft rock groups like Roger Nichols & The Small Circle of Friends and the legendary Japanese band SUGAR BABE, which counted both Tatsuro Yamashita and Taeko Onuki among its members.

“SILLY POPS” takes these influences and attempts to mix them with a variety of different genres, such as Country Rock, AOR, R&B, and Soul.  You can take a listen to this eclectic mix of sounds yourself, as the group have published a trailer for the record to their label’s Youtube channel.

You’ll find this trailer, as well as the cover and track list for “SILLY POPS” right after the jump.

Last month rock band SUPER BEAVER announced that they would be releasing a new studio album titled “Kansei Zenya” on June 27th.  Their first new record since 2016’s “27”, “Kansei Zenya” will include the group’s previously released songs “Shiawase”, “Utsukushii Hi”, “Zenbu”, and “Niji”, as well as eight new tracks for a total of 12.

The album is currently planned to be issued in two versions, with the Limited Edition to include a Live CD containing audio from the band’s Zepp Tokyo show last December.  In support of the release, the group have also uploaded the music video for its lead track “Love Song” to their Youtube channel.  The video is a collaboration with Sony’s high resolution WALKMAN brand, aiming to express the joy that music can bring into people’s lives.

You’ll find this PV, as well as the cover and track list for “Kansei Zenya” right after the cut.

The annual Senbatsu Election may just prove to be one of the smartest marketing gimmicks of all time. Girl group AKB48 just broke their own record by selling almost 1.6 million copies of their new single “Teacher Teacher” in just one day.

Oricon has revealed the single sold 1,591,164 physical copies. Billboard Japan actually stated that they sold 2.5 million copies, as reported by Soundscan Japan. Their number is different from Oricon due to the number scaling Oricon implemented in response to fans buying large amounts of multiple copies.

Their previous record was 1.4 million copies sold in a day, achieved by the 2015 single “Bokutachi wa Tatakawanai’

Idol graduations are very common in the entertainment industry, and many them are initiated by the idol themselves. While a few of them are surly glad to leave, it seems some of them come to regret the decision. Former AKB48 member Miki Nishino falls into the latter category.

Nishino originally joined AKB48 in July 2012 as a 14th generation member. She stayed with the group for about 5 years until graduating in March 2017.