A few days ago, Daichi Miura announced that his wife was pregnant with their first child and that she was set to give birth very soon. Well, it happened sooner rather than later, with Daichi taking to Instagram a few hours ago to announce the child’s birth. Daichi’s wife gave birth a a baby boy!

On December 9, Utada Hikaru held a live internet event titled “Sanjudai wa Hodohodo.” During the half hour show, she answered fans’ questions and performed. KOHH and PUNPEE joined Utada on “Sanjudai wa Hodohodo.” Today, Utada released a nearly 10 minute long digest video of the internet event on her official YouTube channel. Check it out below, along with another video of the event!

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.

This week’s guests were Naoto Inti Raymi and Nana Mizuki.

Naoto Inti Raymi – Yume no Arika

Nana Mizuki – Zettaiteki Kofukuron

Daiichikosho Co., Ltd., the company behind the popular DAM karaoke boxes, recently published their service’s song request rankings for the year 2016.  This chart measures the amount of times which a song has been requested at a DAM karaoke machine between January 1st and November 30th of this year and is useful for showcasing the long-term popularity of particular tracks.  Furthermore, given that DAM possesses the lion’s share of the karaoke market share in Japan, these rankings are as close as can be gotten to a national karaoke chart for the country.

The song with the highest number of requests in 2016 was Kenta Kiritani’s “Umi no Koe”, the immense popularity of this track driven by both its successful au CM series and word of mouth.  Following it at #2 and #3 were Miyuki Nakajima’s ever-popular hit “Ito” and Motohiro Hata’s theme for STAND BY ME:  Doraemon, “Himawari no Yakusoku”.  The only song actually released in 2016 to rank within the Top 20 was RADWIMPS’ “Zen Zen Zense”, the image track for record-breaking film Kimi no Na wa.

You’ll find the full list of DAM’s Top 50 Most Requested Songs, plus both the artist ranking and the list of top tracks released in 2016, just beneath the cut.

Following up on a particularly busy year, six-piece fusion rock band Suchmos have announced that they will be releasing their second studio album next year on January 25th.  Titled “THE KIDS”, this record will include 11 songs such as the band’s slow-burning hit “STAY TUNE”, as well as other previously released tracks like “MINT”, “DUMBO”, and “BODY”.

In addition, the album’s Limited Edition will come packaged with a DVD which contains live footage from the group’s October concert at Tokyo’s LIQUIDROOM venue.  Last but not least, Suchmos will be celebrating the album’s release date by holding a live event at Studio Coast with fellow fusion act cero, for which tickets will be available (via Suchmos’ website) starting on December 12th.

Read on below for a look at the cover and track list for “THE KIDS” and expect further updates as we approach the record’s release.

The year is coming to a close, so the end of the year charts and rankings are upon us. Billboard Japan recently released its year end charts for 2016, measuring the period from 11/23/15 – 11/27/16. AKB48’s “Tsubasa wa Iranai” topped the Hot 100 chart, while Utada Hikaru’s “Fantôme” topped the Hot Albums chart. AKB48’s “Tsubasa wa Iranai” also topped the Top Singles Sales chart, while RADWIMPS’ “Zen Zen Zense” topped the Radio Songs chart. RADWIMPS’ “Zen Zen Zense” topped the Hot Animation chart. Justin Bieber’s “Sorry” topped the Hot Overseas chart. Arashi’s “Are You Happy” topped the Top Album Sales chart. The compilation album “0 Sai Kara no Ikuno Classic” topped the Top Classical Album Sales chart, while Hiromi Uehara The Trio Project’s “SPARK” topped the Top Jazz Album Sales chart.

This week’s guests were Kikkawa Koji, Ohguro Maki, and Haruhata Michiya.

Kikkawa Koji – KISS ni Utarete Nemuritai

Ohguro Maki – La La La

Haruhata Michiya – JAGUAR’13

Ohguro Maki x Haruhata Michiya – DA KA RA

Kikkawa Koji – Over The Rainbow