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Beni Arashiro drops last name for new single – Tokyograph
Singer Beni Arashiro is reinventing herself under a new name: BENI. She will once again be focusing on her music career, after months of silence, starting with a new single next month. Arashiro left her previous management agency, Oscar Promotion, at the end of August, and her contract with Avex expired at the end of…
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Kiroro announces another hiatus – Tokyograph
The female duo Kiroro held a short concert in Okinawa on Sunday. During the show, vocalist Chiharu Tamashiro announced that the group will go on hiatus by the end of the year. The news has been expected since August, when keyboardist Ayano Kinjo revealed that she was pregnant with her second child. Kiroro previously went…
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MINA to rejoin MAX!
After leaving MAX in 2002, original member MINA has returned to the group filling in the spot left by the exit of AKI back in August of this year (who ironically took her place). In 2002, MINA left the group to raise her child (she now has two children) and since last year has been…
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melody. announces retirement – Tokyograph
Singer melody. has suddenly announced on her official blog that she will be retiring as a music artist this January. Instead, she will be pursuing another one of her dreams, which is to become a designer of Western-style clothes. The 26-year-old singer made her major label debut in 2003. Since then, she has released 11…
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Maki leaves H&MC – Tokyograph
HIGH and MIGHTY COLOR vocalist Maki performed her final show with the group on Saturday at the Akasaka Blitz in Tokyo. In July, she had announced that she would be leaving the band by the end of this year due to her marriage to DREAMS COME TRUE’s Masato Nakamura. For the final concert, HIGH and…
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Kiroro, Keroro join forces – Tokyograph
The duo Kiroro will be singing their first movie theme song for the animated feature ‘Keroro Gunso 4,’ which is scheduled for release in March. Their song, titled ‘Minna Anata wo Aishiteru,’ will be released in February, ahead of the film’s opening. The film’s theme is ‘birth,’ which is appropriate for Kiroro as keyboardist Ayano…
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Kariyushi58’s new single set for a November release
Kariyushi58 will be releasing a new single on November 11th titled “Nana.” Included with the A-side song are the tracks “Kaze no Utai Hito,” “Aoi Basu,” and a cover of a song from The Blue Hearts. View the band’s YouTube playlist to see a bunch of their PVs. (Via bounce.com.)
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SPEED to release first single in 5 years!
It was just last month that our beloved J-pop quartet SPEED got back together and now we have news of a release of a new single—their first in 5 years! (The group’s last single, released in 2003, was “Walking in the rain.”) The single, “Ashita no Sora,” will be released on November 5, 2008, in…
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Syakari celebrates 10th anniversary with a best of album
Pop group Syakari will be marking their 10th anniversary with their very first best of album titled “10th anniversary BEST~Boku to Iu Na no Chizu~.” The 15-track album will be released on 10/22/08 and retail for ¥2,800. Included is their single (above YouTube clip) “Taiyou no Hito” and the best of album spans their album…
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A trio of upcoming singles to look out for
HIGH and MIGHTY COLOR’s “Remember,” marked for a 10/15/08 release, will be the band’s last single featuring their lead singer Maakii—who, after announcing her marriage to DREAMS COME TRUE’s bassist Masato Nakamura this past June, will retire from the band. O-pop duo Yanawarabaa will be releasing their 9th single, “Present,” on 11/5/08. “Present” follows the…