On Tuesday, January 17, TBS will debut it’s new drama “Quartet“, which will feature a brand new theme song penned by Shiina Ringo. As is common with Ringo nowadays, it has once again been given to another artist, however, more interestingly, this artist is a ‘limited unit’ just for the show called “Doughnuts Hole“. The group consists of members Takako Matsu, Mitsushima Hikari, Issei Takahaski and Ryuuhei Matsuda. The song “Otono no Okite” is arranged by Ringo and Saito Neko and features players HZM, Saito Neko Quartet, Yuya Tamura and Uni Inoue.  Read further to see promotional images of Doughnuts Hole and trailer for “Quartet”.

As previously reported the “manager” of Hello!Project group Country Girls Momoko Tsugunaga announced that she would be graduating from Hello!Project and leaving the entertainment industry. With C-ute and Momoko both graduating in June 2017 this officially marks the end of the “Hello! Project Kids” in Hello!Project.

Momoko’s final single with Country Girls is a double a-side titled “Good Boy Bad Girl / Peanut Butter Jelly Love”. Fans will be given variety for this release, “Good Boy Bad Girl” is a cool rock inspired song while “Peanut Butter Jelly Love” is a very traditional cute idol song, reminiscent of those released in the 80s. The single will be released on February 8th with 6 versions to choose from, 4 limited edition CD+DVDs and two CD only editions.

Covers for “Good Boy Bad Girl / Peanut Butter Jelly Love” can be seen below, as well as a short preview of the “Peanut Butter Jelly Love” PV.

Sandaime J Soul Brothers member ELLY has been taking a lot of flack online after footage leaked of the singer calling actress Mei Kurokawa a bitch.

The drama started on January 1st 2017. A video was posted by ELLY on Periscope, one of the newer social media platforms that allows you to stream live videos. ELLY and his band-mates had just finished work on a television show and were on their way to a year end party. Later on, he started to stream a live video on Periscope where himself and other LDH members were buzzed on alcohol. The majority of the stream consisted of ELLY ranting about “stupid” gossip websites and magazines, saying that his group Sandaime J Soul Brothers worked extremely hard to get into the position they’re in right now, doing their best at singing, dancing and “entertainment” (acting/variety).

This is most likely in response to the allegations that LDH used bribery to win the grand prix award at the Japan Records Awards. However, viewers were more interested in a small excerpt where actress Mei Kurokawa was brought up. ELLY, an unknown woman, and other members of LDH (most netizens feel it’s Mandy Sekiguchi from GENERATIONS) took part in the conversation. While it was difficult to hear at times, the conversation went as follows:

Super cool ZOMBIE-CHANG, who made a splash with last year’s amazing album ZOMBIE-CHANGE (which made more than a few personal end of year lists) returns this March with her brand new LP, “GANG!“. This time the album will be released on Roman Label under the BAYON PRODUCTION sub-label, after moving from indie label Omake Club. The album is going to be mixed by JIGG, most notably known for working with KOHH and SALU amongst others. The striking album art was created by design unit NNNNY, who mainly work with Parco. Read on for more info, album cover and tracklist.

This week, Busaiku topped the Oricon single chart with their new single “Michishirube”, selling 156,034 copies in its first week.

KinKi Kids topped the Oricon album chart with their new best album “Ballad Selection”, selling 122,884 copies in its first week.

back number topped the Oricon digital album chart for the second week in a row with their best album “Encore”, selling 11,769 copies in its second week.

A few months ago, Ami Suzuki announced that she was married and expecting her first child. On January 12, Ami gave birth to the child, a boy! The following day, she reported about the birth on her blog. Ami burst into tears at the first sight of her baby, tiny and crying loudly. She was overwhelmed with happiness. Ami promises to treasure and nuture her first born child. Ami also posted a picture of her and her son, which can be seen below!

Actress Haruka Ayase recently attended a press conference for her latest film project “Honno-ji Hotel”. Also starring veteran actor Shinichi Tsutsumi, the film will hit Japanese theaters on January 14th.

Taking place in Kyoto, Haruka Ayase plays the roll of “Mayuko” a woman who is standing at a crossroad in her life. She’s constantly thinking about the next step in her life, marriage to her boyfriend “Kyoichi” (played by (Hiroyuki Hirayama). Mayuko decides to spend some time at “Honno-ji Hotel”, located where the famous “Honno-ji Incident” took place, an event that ended in the death of the significant historical figure Oda Nobunaga. While staying in the hotel Mayuko finds herself transported back to 1582 where she meets Nobunaga (played by Shinichi Tsutsumi) in person who is right in the middle of his plans to unify Japan.

During the press conference Haruka showed off her gun handling skills and questionable drawing of a ninja, as well as successfully answering history questions regarding Nobunaga in a friendly competition with her co-star Shinichi Tsutumi. Haruku was full of smiles as she described how much of a great experience it was to do a project with past co-workers again. Haruka previously worked with Shinichi, Masayuki Suzuki (the director), and Tomoko Aizawa (screenwriter) on the 2011 film “Princess Toyotomi”.

Pictures from the press conference, as well as a trailer for “Honno-ji Hotel” can be seen below.

Young pop-rock quartet Ryokuoushoku Shakai just released their debut mini-album “Nice To Meet You??” this month on January 11th.  This release includes five songs in total, among them tracks previously featured on the band’s Youtube channel like “Mata ne” and “Outsider”.

In support of the release the group have also published the PV for “Bitter”, the mini-album’s fourth track.  The music video focuses on singer Haruko Nagaya dancing to moves choreographed by guitarist Issei Kobayashi, who designed the motions with the intent to express the idea of romance in a cute manner.

Read on below to find the MV for “Bitter”, as well as the cover and full track list for “Nice To Meet You??”