EXILE and GENERATIONS member Alan Shirahama has teamed up with American singer Austin Mahone to promote Samantha Thavasa’s latest line of handbags and accessories.

Ever since both of them teamed up to star in a CM and web series promoting the brand, a friendship was formed between the two. At the live event Mahone shared “I loved being able to work with Alan again, it was the best!”

One of EXILE’s comeback songs Melody, was selected as the theme for both the CM and web drama. Mahone said he’s currently obsessed with the song, and teased a possible future collaboration between himself and Shirahama’s agency LDH.

During the event Shirahama also showcased a small choreography lesson with Mahone, the two are said to have exchanged some moves during filming for the CM/web drama. To close Mahone performed his song So Good for the audience.

Today marks the release of Sakanaction‘s very first compilation album Sakana Zukan.

The rock-electronic band burst onto the scene over 10 years ago with the release of their first studio album GO TO THE FUTURE. They have went on to release five more studio albums, and 12 physical singles.

Sakana Zukan contains 34 tracks in total spanning the groups entire career. It was released in three versions, a CD only, CD+DVD, and CD+bluray. The DVD and blu-ray content consist of  20 live performances, roughly 100 minutes worth of footage.

What makes this album so unique is the packaging. The album comes with a book titled “Book of Fishes”, where it contains various information and illustrations about different species of fish. The album is housed in a transparent case that shows the temperature and water depth for living conditions of various aquatic species in the ocean.

Why the fish theme? The name Sakanaction comes from the Japanese word sakana meaning fish, and the word action.

Check out the tracklist and album packaging below!

During the early part of his solo career, KinKi Kids member Tsuyoshi Domoto used to release music under the pseudonym “ENDLICHERI☆ENDLICHERI”.  Now, fully an entire decade after he retired the identity, Tsuyoshi has decided to revive it and release a new neo-soul inspired album titled “HYBRID FUNK” on May 2nd.

Rebranding as simply “ENDRECHERI”, his first release will include a total of 16 newly written tracks, including the 80s inspired “YOUR MOTHER SHIP” and the soul ballad “Shinjiru to Uragiru”.  Of particular note is the track “HYBRID ALIEN”, which will feature a guest performance from singer/songwriter Tatsuro Yamashita on guitar.

You’ll find the complete track list for “HYBRID FUNK” right after the cut, so please read on below.

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.

Just a few days ago, we reported that Kazumasa Oda had been selected to provide the latest Mezamashi TV theme song.  Now the singer has announced that he will be releasing a brand new single, his first Quadruple A-Side release, on May 2nd.

Included on this expansive single will be the aforementioned Mezamashi TV theme song; Oda’s theme for the “Sakamichi no Apollon” film adaptation; his theme song for the FujiTV drama “Iryu Sosa”; and his newly announced theme song for the upcoming TBS drama “Black Pean”.  The latter is a medical drama which stars Arashi’s Kazunari Ninomiya, who plays the role of an arrogant surgeon that has a 100% success rate.

You’ll find the cover and complete track list for this special single right after the jump.

Following up on his two album releases last year, veteran singer/songwriter ASKA seems to be in no hurry to slow down.  Though the year has barely started, the man has already announced his rather ambitious plans to produce one new song every month going forward.  The first of these tracks, the glittering and upbeat “Niji no Hana”, was released on the music distribution site Weare this past weekend.

In addition, ASKA has also made a special best album entitled “We are the Fellows” available for purchase on his official website.  The release includes 13 fan favorite tracks spanning his 30 years in the music industry and will remain on sale until May 7th.

Read on below to find not only the cover, track list, and digest for this compilation, but also a preview of his latest track “Niji no Hana”.

In anticipation of the upcoming 2020 Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics, NHK’s international station, NHK World, has decided to change its name to NHK World JAPAN. NHK has selected Daichi Miura to be the star of this campaign. The campaign will consist of posters and videos which will be displayed around Tokyo. The videos will also be shown on NHK.

NHK says that this rebranding has come about as a means of showing the world the real Japan that it has not seen before, a “New Japan” so to speak. The network found Daichi to be the perfect fit for the campaign due to his international-level talent.

Check out the poster and video for the campaign below!

This week’s guests were Porno Graffitti, BLUE ENCOUNT, Rei, and Sasaki Ryosuke.

Porno Graffitti – Chameleon Lens

BLUE ENCOUNT – Tomose

Rei x Sasaki Ryosuke (a flood of circle) – Stand by Me