Earlier today, the second night of “2021 FNS Kayousai” aired. The show featured performances by likes of Tokyo Jihen, SixTONES, Aimyon, Akiko Yano, WANIMA, Liella!, Yuuri, [Alexandros], Spitz, and GENERATIONS. Check it out below!
In April, NHK will premiere its new comedy drama, “Shojiki Fudosan.” Tomohisa Yamashita will be the the main character of the drama, playing Nagase Saichi, a real estate agent who, due to a curse on the property he is trying to sell, can no longer lie, and has to sell real estate while being completely honest. This will be Tomohisa’s first time starring in a drama on NHK.
The drama is based on the manga of the same name, which was drawn by Ohtani Akira, drafted by Natsuhara Takeshi, and written by Mizuno Mitsuhiro.
Today, December 9, is Hikaru Utada’s 23rd anniversary. They celebrated this day by releasing more information on their upcoming eighth album. The album is titled “BAD Mode”, and will see a digital release on January 19, followed by a CD released on February 23.
“BAD Mode” will be released in a CD+DVD and CD+Blu-ray limited edition and a CD only regular edition. The DVD and Blu-ray that comes with the limited edition will include the digital live event “Hikaru Utada Live Sessions from Air Studios”, documentary footage about the digital live, and the music videos for the songs “Time”, “One Last Kiss”, “PINK BLOOD”, “Kimi no Muchuu”, and “BAD Mode.”
“Hikaru Utada Live Sessions from Air Studios” will take place on January 19, Utada’s birthday, at 8 PM JST. During the two hour pre-recorded concert, they will perform songs from their new album at London’s Air Studios. “Hikaru Utada Live Sessions from Air Studios” will be available for viewing until 11:59 PM JST on January 23.
As previously reported, today is also the day Utada would release the music video for “Kimi ni Muchuu.” Check it out below, along with more information on their upcoming album!
On December 31, this year’s Johnny’s Countdown, “Tokyo Dome ni 2nen Buri no Dai Shugo! Johnny’s Countdown 2021→2022”, will be held. It will air on Fuji TV from 11:45 PM til 12:45 AM January 1. KinKi Kids will serve as hosts.
As the title of the show suggests, this year’s show returns to Tokyo Dome after not being there last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Several anniversaries will be celebrated at this year’s Johnny’s Countdown, including KinKi Kids’ 25th, Hey! Say! JUMP‘s 15th, and A.B.C-Z‘s 10th.
Naniwa Danshi will also make their Johnny’s Countdown debut this year!
See who else is performing below!
At 6:30 PM PM JST on December 8, the second night of “2021 FNS Kayousai” will air. The show will feature performances by the likes of Tokyo Jihen, SixTONES, Aimyon, AKB48, Hey! Say! JUMP, Yuuri, [Alexandros], Spitz, THE RAMPAGE, and Akiko Yano.
There is a live stream of the show and Arama! Japan will be hosting a chat on Discord so that readers can chat with each other during the show! Links to the show and the chat are after the jump!
Spotify, which is used by over 381 million users worldwide, has released its rankings for the most played Japanese artists and songs overseas in 2021.
YOASOBI tops the artist chart, while Eve‘s “Kaikai Kitan” tops the song chart.
There was also a ranking of the foreign countries that listened to anime-related music the most this year. The United States topped that ranking.
See the rest of the rankings below!
The year is ending, so that means end of year best of lists are upon us! Of particular mention is the American magazine Time’s “The 10 Best Songs of 2021” ranking. Alongside the usual suspects like Olivia Rodrigo, Doja Cat, and Taylor Swift, sits YOASOBI, coming in at #5 with their song “Kaibutsu.” Check out what Time had to say about the song below!
This week’s guests were Chanmina, MAISONdes, Suzuki Suzuki, TAEKO, ELAIZA, and SOIL&”PIMP”SESSIONS.
Chanmina – Harenchi
MAISONdes – Yowanehaki feat. Wanuka, asmi
Suzuki Suzuki – Umi no Living
TAEKO – Queen Bee
ELAIZA & SOIL&”PIMP”SESSIONS – Yumamachi