Electronic producer Nakata Yasutaka will be working with Momo Mashiro who is set to make her debut sometime in the Spring. Momo was discovered through the “Lawson Dream Artist Audition”. Lawson, who is the parent company of a large chain of convenience stores as well as the music chain HMV, partnered with Nakata to find talent within their 170,000 part-time employees.  The audition period took place between September – December 2016.

Momo has always had a dream of becoming a singer, so she jumped at the opportunity. She auditioned with the YUKI song “Yorokobi no Tane”. Judges were enamored with her voice, calling it powerful yet pretty. Previously Momo worked as a small-time hair model for salons around the Harajuku area.

Upon winning the audition Momo was awarded with a contract to Warner Japan, and the production services of Nakata. Momo stated that she wants to be active not only in Japan, but around the world as well. Before her official debut you can keep up with Momo on her Instagram and Twitter accounts. Additional photos from the event can be seen below.

(via fuckyeahystk)

Namie Amuro fans have some fresh new receipts. The Okinawan singer has successfully finished over 100 tour dates for her “LIVE STYLE 2016-2017” concerts. Beginning on August 19th 2016, May 3rd marks the official grand finale of the tour. It was held at the Orix Theater in Osaka.

Originally, the tour was scheduled to have just over 85 dates but due to huge demand more stops were added bringing the grand total to 101 shows! Namie has set a solo female record for the most amount of performances for a single nationwide tour, in Japan. It’s been revealed that throughout the entire tour she drew well over 260,000 people, making it one of the most successful tours ever for a Japanese female. Critics praised Namie for her crisp live vocals and sharp dance moves. Some were worried that such a long tour would cause physical exhaustion, but for the finale she was full of energy. It takes a lot of mental power to maximize each performance like Namie has, which critics also say is probably due to her stoic nature.

On May 31st Namie will be releasing her new single “Just You and I”, next she will be celebrating her 25th anniversary with a two day concert in Okinawa. Currently titled “25th ANNIVERSARY LIVE in OKINAWA” the concerts will take place on September 16th and 17th. In 1992 Namie made her debut in the group SUPER MONKEYS with the single “Koi no Cute Beat/ Mister U.S.A”.

May 3rd also marks the release of the DVD and blu-ray for LIVE STYLE 2016-2017. The 101 date accomplishment is incorporated into the cover with “88 + 13”. Tracklist and covers can be seen below.

(via infoseek)

Details of the upcoming 2017 Summer Drama season are slowly being revealed. One future drama that has tons of fans buzzing is NTV’s “Uchi no otto wa shigoto ga dekinai”, where Ryo Nishikido and Mayu Matsuoka will be playing a married couple.

The main character in “Uchi no otto wa shigoto wa dekinai” (My husband can’t do his work) is Kobayashi Tsukasa (Ryo Nishikido). On the surface Kobayashi seems to have it all. High income, good looks, and a young pretty wife. However, what Kobayashi’s wife Sayaka (Mayu Matsuoka) doesn’t realize is that Kobayashi is pretty terrible at what he does. Many of his co-workers see him as a huge burden. Even his junior co-workers poke fun and bully him over his constant mistakes.

Sayaka really admires her husband, so Kobayasha tries his best to hide the situation from her. Things don’t get better which leads to Kobayashi considering quitting, but Sayaka finds out she’s pregnant. With his job being the primary source of income he’s stuck in a bind. Sayaka eventually finds out about the work situation and helps Kobayashi overcome his issues.

A low quality video of Ryo and Mayu introducing “Uchi no otto wa shigoto ga dekinai” can be seen below!

NHK, Japan’s largest public broadcasting company, decided to hold a poll to determine the top 100 Anime series and films. To determine these results NHK decided to open the poll to the public which basically resulted in seeing which series had the strongest fanbase!

Love Live! was a big fan favorite, claiming 3 spots in the top 10, and one in the top 40.  But they weren’t strong enough to topple Tiger & Bunny which took the number 1 spot, “Tiger & Bunny Movie: The Rising” came in 2nd place.

Did any of your favorites make the cut? Find out under the jump.

Many top stars hit the runway for the popular fashion and music show GirlsAward.

Usually abbreviated as “GA”, the GirlsAward is held semi-annual at the Yoyogi National Gymnasium in Tokyo. In general it attracts well over 30,000 people making it one of the most popular and biggest fashion events in Japan. The very first GirlsAward took place in September 2009, and it became inaugurated the following year in 2010.

The fans were treated to performances from FAKY, Junnosuke Taguchi, EXO-CBX, CHANMINA, Nogizaka46, Sakamoto Shogo, JY (Jiyoung), and AAA’s Shinjiro Atae. Many of the performers also walked the runway showing off the latest trends for Spring / Summer season. Dozens upon dozens of Japanese models appeared at the show, most notably exclusive models from the popular magazines non-no and men’s non-no. Guest celebrity models were also a big continued trend from past shows, the audience went crazy when actress Satomi Ishihara stepped out in a chic deep blue dress. Masaki Suda received a similar reception as he donned white overalls down the runway.

Comedian Ryota Yamasato, Manatsu Akimoto (Nogizaka46), and FUJI TV announcer Yoko Ozawa served as hosts for the show.

A gallery of some of our favorite looks from GirlsAward 2017 Spring / Summer can be seen below!

(all photos via MODEL PRESS)

Kimura Takuya and Ninomiya Kazunari will be co-starring in a new movie titled “Kensatsugawa no Zainin” (Criminal for the Prosecution). This is the first time an Arashi and former SMAP member will be co-starring and is being tagged as a “Dream Collaboration” between these two top stars.

KASHIF has spent his career working with the likes of Hitomitoi, (((Sssurrounddd))), G.RINA, and Sugar’s Campaign, as well as being part of Pan Pacific Playa and JINTANA & EMERALDS. On May 3, he’s set to venture out on his own by releasing his debut solo album, “BlueSongs.” The album is a self-produced work which features KASHIF singing. The album does have some collaborations though. Hitomitoi is a featured vocalist, while Illreme has contributed lyrics. Yoshinori Sunahara mastered “BlueSongs”, while the cover was created by Hiroshi Nagai, who’s worked with city pop legends such as Yamashita Tatsuro and Ohtaki Eiichi.

Check out more information on “BlueSongs”, including a digest video, 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.