Japanese singer-songwriter and newcomer to the music industry has enjoyed huge success this year, releasing her debut EP inside you back in March and making it to No. 1 on Recochoku’s ranking for Best New Act for the first half of 2019.

milet dropped her third EP entitled us on August 21, the title track of which was used as the main theme for the Japanese TV drama Gisou Furin. The song made it to No. 1 on Oricon’s Daily Digital Singles.

 

Having already dominated the charts with three releases, milet has announced that her fourth EP entitled Drown / You & I will be released on November 6.

The song Drown will be used as the second ending for the ongoing TV anime series Vinland Saga, which milet describes as her clashing with emotions to a beat that sounds like marching on the ground with intent.

 

The anime’s second opening theme Dark Crow will be performed by MAN WITH A MISSION, who are set to release the song as a single on October 23. milet will in fact feature as a guest vocalist on the single’s coupling song Reiwa.

Speaking about the Vinland Saga series, millet commented: “When I first stepped into the world of Vinland Saga, I felt something that I had never felt before. [The character] Thorfinn is someone who rides the invisible wave between life and death, and who lives his life while learning about a part of him he never knew before. I wrote the song about the whirlpool emotions that I feel: pain, hope, strength, and love. I clashed with my emotions when I sang, along to a beat that sounds like stomping on the ground one step at a time. I am so happy to be one small part of this wonderful series. I hope people enjoy the song together with it.”

Photo by Daisuke Sakai

She also commented on MWAM’s song Reiwa on which she will feature, saying: “When I first heard to Reiwa, my heart shook at the vocals－which feel like they are wrapping around you gently－and the powerful and majestic music which sounds like a bright white world spreading before you. I sing about the transition from the Heiwa era to the new Reiwa era and reflect on what it means to be happy. The best thing though is that I get to be a part of MAN WITH A MISSION’s music who I’ve always loved. I’m full of joy at that. Look forward to hearing us come together.”

MAN WITH A MISSION are currently embarking on their North American ‘Chasing the World Tour’ which began in September 2018 and includes their first ever shows in Canada and Mexico.

It has been revealed that their new song 86 Missed Calls feat. Patrick Stump will be used as the main theme for the upcoming Japanese film Three Nobunagas starring TAKAHIRO of EXILE which is set for release on September 20. The song features Patrick Stump of Fall Out Boy and marks their second collaboration with him following Dead End in Tokyo.

 

Three Nobunagas 60 Second Promo Trailer

The latest trailer for the film features the song itself to be sure to check it out.

©2019 “Three Nobunagas” Production Committee

More and more announcements have been rolling out about Japanese artists set to perform overseas in the latter half of 2019. Let’s take a look and see if one of them is coming to a city near you in Part 4.

 

・Aimyon

Singer-songwriter is set to take her enthralling set to Shanghai with a headline show. The music video for her hit song Marigold, taken from her album Shunkanteki Sixth Sense which released in February, was shot on the streets of Shanghai. Currently knee-deep in her Japan tour to promote her new album, this will mark Aimyon’s second time performing overseas following up from a successful show in Taiwan. Her popularity is steadily surging across the globe, be sure to check out her music available on Spotify as well as her many music videos.

 

Related Article: Aimyon Releases Music Video Teaser & CD Cover For New Song ‘Manatsu no Yoru no Nioi ga Suru’

 

▶︎AIMYON 2019 LIVE in SHANGHAI

Date: July 13, 2019

Venue: 世博中心—紅庁, Shanghai 2019

Japan Enquiries: http://www.accessbright.com/aimyon/

AIMYON Official Website: http://www.aimyong.net/

 

・OKAMOTO’S 

Celebrating 10 years since their debut, OKAMOTO’S are currently touring Japan nationwide in promotion of their new album BOY. The four-piece rock band performed what they called their “first and last” Nippon Budokan show on June 27 but are following that straight up with two concerts in Beijing and Shanghai. OKAMOTO’S are veterans when it comes to having performed overseas. They are the younger Japanese male act to play SXSW in Texas, US when they performed back in 2010. They also embarked on a 7-city US tour and have toured Australia, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Vietnam and other countries. Don’t miss out!

 

Related Article: OKAMOTO’S New ‘Dancing Boy’ Music Video Features Lots Of Guest Artists

 

▶︎OKAMOTO’S “BOY” CHINA TOUR 2019
2019/7/19 @ Beijing MAO Live House, Beijing
2019/7/21 @ Shanghai MAO Live House, Shangai

Tickets: https://www.showstart.com/event/list?type=1&tag=22685

OKAMOTO’S Official Website: https://www.okamotos.net

 

 

【お知らせ】

MY FIRST STORY初の中国・上海でのワンマンライブが決定🇨🇳！

MY FIRST STORY TOUR 2019 IN SHANGHAI

7/27(土) 19:30開演予定
中国・上海市静安体育センター

公演詳細は後日発表！#myfirststory#マイファス pic.twitter.com/BqEzLdAgj9

— MY FIRST STORY (@MyFirstStory_of) 2019年6月6日

・MY FIRST STORY

Since debuting in 2012, Japanese rock band MY FIRST STORY have performed at some of Japan’s biggest music festivals and have also collaborated with foreign musicians. Their lyrics are fluent English which have racked them up some real attention outside Japan. This will mark their first headline show in mainland China.

 

▶︎MY FIRST STORY TOUR 2019 IN SHANGHAI

2019/7/27 @ Jing’an Sports Center, Shanghai

MY FIRST STORY Official Website: http://www.myfirststory.net

 

・Yuzu

Yuzu’s popularity trickles down all generations having performed the song Muscat for the anime series Crayon Shin-chan. The duo have their eyes set on two days at Legacy MAX in Taipei on September 28 and 29. The musicians performed at the 30th Golden Melody Awards, which is nicknamed the “Taiwanese Grammy Awards,” on June 29 and hail as the only Japanese artists to do so.

 

Related Article: Yuzu Joined By Crayon Shin-chan On Stage to Sing New Song ‘Muscat’

 

▶︎YUZU ASIA LIVE 2019 YUZUNOMI

2019/9/28 @ Legacy MAX, Taipei

2019/9/29 @ Legacy MAX, Taipei

Tickets: https://ticket.ibon.com.tw/Web/ActivityInfo/Details/36025

YUZU Official Website: http://yuzu-official.com

 

・MAN WITH A MISSION

MAN WITH A MISSION recently announced their US headline tour. They joined Jimmy Eat World and Stone Sour on tour back in fall 2017, but which is their first North American solo tour in five years. Full details can be found over on their official website.

 

Related Article: MAN WITH A MISSION To Embark on First North American Solo Tour in 5 Years

 

▶︎MAN WITH A MISSION presents Chasing the Horizon World Tour 2018/2019 -North American Tour-

2019/9/6 @ Great American Music Hall, San Francisco

2019/9/8 @ The Regent Theater, Los Angeles

2019/9/10 @ Canton Hall, Dallas

2019/9/16 @ Gramercy Theatre, New York

MAN WITH A MISSION Official Website: https://www.mwamjapan.info/

 

・BABYMETAL

BABYMETAL will released their new album METAL GALAXY this year on October 11 and follow it up with their GALAXY WORLD TOUR where they will hit up Europe, US and Russia. BABYMETAL’s unmatched force continues to be felt across the globe.

 

Related Article: BABYMETAL Announce New Album ‘METAL GALAXY’ & World Tour

 

▶︎BABYMETAL GALAXY WORLD TOUR

*For full dates, please check the band’s official website below.

BABYMETAL Official Website: http://www.babymetal.com

 

《TOUR》

＼💫SKY-HI × SALU TOUR決定！／

🎙Say Goodbye to the System

9/4：東京 Zepp DiverCity

9/24：大阪 なんばHatch

9/25：名古屋 名古屋ダイアモンドホール

9/29：韓国/ソウル

10/1：香港

10/4：台湾/台北

✅詳細はSKY-HI公式HPへ
【https://t.co/AOcUrXeEGL】#SKY_HI #SALU #TOUR pic.twitter.com/E5h8Svngff

— SKY-HI情報 (@skyhi_hidaka12) 2019年7月1日

・SKY-HI

SKY-HI will release his second collaborative album with SALU entitled Say Hello to My Minions 2 on September 4 which will be promoted with the “Say Goodbye to the System” Asia tour. SKY-HI has performed in Los Angeles, New York, Paris, London, Shanghai, Taiwan and Hong Kong in the past. Be sure to keep up to date with his tour schedule via his official website.

 

▶︎Say Goodbye to the System -ASIA TOUR-

2019/9/29 @ Seoul (Venue TBA)

2019/10/1 @ Hong Kong (Venue TBA)

2019/10/4 @ Taipei (Venue TBA)

SKY-HI Official Website: https://avex.jp/skyhi/

 

If you love Japanese music and an artist you like is heading to a city near you, be sure to show them love and support by getting your hands on a ticket!

MAN WITH A MISSION has announced that they will be embarking on a solo tour in North America.

 

Their last appearance in North America was in autumn 2017 when they performed at a concert which also featured Jimmy Eat World and Stone Sour. It has been five years since their last solo tour in North America, which took place in June 2014. 

More information on the cities in which they will perform will be released on a later date. Tickets will go on sale on July 2 at 3 am (Japan time). More information on tickets will be announced in the near future on MAN WITH A MISSION’s official website.

MAN WITH A MISSION are currently in the midst of their first ever arena tour, but managed to weave in a sold-out show at London’s 100 Club on Wednesday June 12.

100 Club has seen a string of rock legends perform there in the past, including The Who, Sex Pistols, and The Clash.

MWAM didn’t stop there however as they also performed at Download Festival on June 14 which saw headline acts from the likes of Slipknot, Tool and Def Leppard.

The band performed on the Avalanche Stage of the festival. Their set included a performance of Out Of Control together with Zebrahead vocalist/guitarist Matty and lead vocalist Ali who appeared on stage as surprise guests.

 

MAN WITH A MISSION’s ongoing “Chasing the Horizon” world tour to promote their 5th album began in September 2018 and has taken them across Japan, Asia and Europe. It will wrap up at BACK BEAT in Minamisoma, Fukushima on June 29.

 

MAN WITH A MISSION performed two sold out nights at Yokohama Arena on May 21 and May 22. The crowd total across both days totalled 26,000.

On the first night (May 21), fans were unfortunately caught in a downfall of untimely rain. Guitarist, vocalist and rapper Jean-Ken Johnny acknowledged it from the offset, greeting fans by saying, “Thanks to all of you who have gathered here today despite such bad weather!”

 

During the early portion of the show, the wolf pack performed songs centred around their latest album Chasing the Horizon which dropped earlier this year. They also performed Remember Me, FLY AGAIN 2019 and Left Alive, all from their forthcoming new single set to hit shelves on June 5.

The band expressed their deep gratitude to fans in the middle of the set: “It’s been 9 years since we started this band, but I never thought we’d get to play 2 days at Yokohama Arena and see this many people. Thank you all so much for just being here today!”

Several actors ran on stage during the first show too as surprise guests to show their support including Masataka Kubota, Tsubasa Honda, Alice Hirose, Kenta Hamano, Tomomi Maruyama, Masato Yano, Sayaka Yamaguchi, and Kenichi Endō.

 

Masataka Kubota surged the excitement in the room too by greeting the crowd: “MAN WITH A MISSION fans, how are you all doing?”

MAN WITH A MISSION’s ongoing tour MAN WITH A MISSION presents Chasing the Horizon World Tour 2018/2019～JAPAN Extra Shows～ will run until June 29. They will also perform at the 100 Club in the UK on June 12 as well as the Download Festival on June 14. Their newest single Remember Me reached No. 1 on several major Daily and Weekly digital music charts in Japan.

MAN WITH A MISSION dropped their sixth live DVD and Blu-ray release Wolf Complete Works Ⅵ ～Chasing the Horizon Tour 2018 Tour Final in Hanshin Koshien Stadium～ on April 24. The released topped Oricon’s Weekly Music DVD charts (May 13, 2019) at No. 1.

This is their fourth DVD and Blu-ray release in a row to make it to No. 1.

 

Their new song Remember Me, which is the main theme for the popular Fuji Television drama series Radiation House starring Masataka Kubota, also made it to No. 1 on ten major digital music platforms.

MAN WITH A MISSION will embark on the extra Japanese shows leg of their Chasing the Horizon World Tour starting with Makomanai Ice Arena in Hokkaido on April 13, 2019.

 

While they prepare to play for their home country fans it has been announced that their new song Remember Me will be used as the main theme for the new Fuji TV drama series Radiation House which just began airing on April 8, 2019.

The drama series is an adaptation of the comic of the same name currently serialised in Grand Jump.

 

Speaking about the tie-up, the band’s bassist Kamikaze Boy who wrote and composed the track commented: “I’m Kamikaze Boy, the wolf appointed to be in charge of the huge role of writing the theme song for Radiation House. We are excited to have the story surrounding our song FLY AGAIN develop since the manga was serialised. We wrote Remember Me to support the emotional and delicate perspective of the drama. I would be happy for people to enjoy it alongside the drama!”

Wolf pack rock band MAN WITH A MISSION are set to begin their European tour starting in Manchester, UK on February 27 before heading on their first arena tour on Japan in April.

 

The five members will release their first song of 2019 titled Left Alive on February 28 both on CD and digitally. The song will be used in a commercial for the upcoming video game LEFT ALIVE™  developed and published by Square Enix set for worldwide release on March 5, 2019.

Left Alive was written specifically for the game. The TV commercial will begin airing in Japan on February 16.

The CD also features cover artwork by internationally renowned Japanese artist Yoji Shinkawa.

 

Speaking about the collaboration, band guitarist and vocalist Jean-Ken Johnny made the following statement: “Before writing the song we heard the details of the story and thought how cool it sounded. We cannot hide our excitement and joy for our music to be used as part of that world. I personally am totally crazy on about this title, there’s nothing else like it. The choices I make change the world. We stayed faithful to that intent when writing the song too.”

 

LEFT ALIVE™ is a survival action shooter set in 2127 during wartime Novo Slava. It tells a story of survival from the perspective of three characters.

The music video for MAN WITH A MISSION’s new single Hey Now, produced by Masayuki Nakano of BOOM BOOM SATELLITES, was released on August 22, just days prior to their performance at Reading Festival 2018 in the UK. The song features on their hugely popular fifth album Chasing the Horizon out now.

The wolf pack pounced on Glasgow on August 23 before chasing up the Reading and Leeds festival on August 25 and 26 respectively.

The live footage seen in the Hey Now music video is taken from the band’s special one-night live show SOUND & VISION X which was held to celebrate the release of their new album.

 

MAN WITH A MISSION (MWAM) dropped their new album Chasing the Horizon on June 6. To celebrate the release, the five-piece wolf pack held a special live show titled SOUND & VISION X Presents MAN WITH A MISSION “Chasing the Horizon” Special Live with Naonori Yago＋1→10. The performance combined music, video, art and technology.

SOUND & VISION X is a live event co-hosted by Space Shower TV, KDDI and Fuji TV. For the concert’s second run, MWAM held a concept live performance centred around their new record, Chasing the Horizon. Naonori Yago is an art director and graphic designer part of the creative group 1→10 and was in charge of the creative process behind the show.

The day of the performance fell on a scorching 30° summer’s day. The venue, specially prepared in Fuji TV’s Wangan Studio, was filled with 1,000 lucky fans randomly selected to receive a very special platinum ticket to attend the concert. But Japanese fans not able to be there that day were not left out as the show was live streamed in 16 locations across the country and was also streamed on au‘s digital music service Uta Pass, meaning no person was left behind in diving into an imaginative and immersive world of lights and sound.

Then it happened. The lights cut to black and all that could be heard was the deafening cries of the crowd as the silhouettes of wolves pounced onto stage. The title of the concert was displayed on stage which was followed by a display of graphic artwork fully synchronised to the music of wolves running on the horizon.

 

The lights lit up the stage and the band began their set with Take Me Under, fans still dazzled by the magical and mysterious stage set and atmosphere.

Guitarist and vocalist Jean-Ken Johnny pumped up the crowed by shouting, in Japanese, “Are you doing good, you damn pack of humans!” This was followed by a string of songs from their new album. To wrap up the first part of their concept concert, the wolves howled Winding Road. Graphical text of posts on their official Twitter page were displayed about seeking your dreams and goals. Thus ended the first section of their moving and interactive performance.

The curtains draped on their conceptual start which evoked cheers once more. Things were about to get real. As if returning to the real world from the prior dreamlike performance, the pack stepped into what is their exclusive territory. The excitement shot to 110% once more as the intro to database began―the main song for lasers. This was followed by a full on climax of 2045 which was played at the start and the classic Raise your flag. The room was so energetic almost as if everybody forget they were in the studio of Fuji TV.

 

This marked the end of the second exhilarating part of the performance.

Not only was this a concept concert, but much shorter than a full set, sitting at just 1 hour. But fans wanted more, and so opted to wolf cry―a standard practice at MWAM shows―which brought them back on stage. They finished up the thrilling one-night-only gig with Freak It! feat. Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra, leaving behind their solo performance at Hanshin Koshien Stadium.

This concert is set to air on Space Shower TV in August and Fuji TV NEXT in September. If you were there and want to experience it again, or you missed it, then be sure to catch up later this year.

 

 

MAN WITH A MISSION’s new song “Freak It! TOKYO SKA PARADISE ORCHESTRA.”

This song has been chosen to be the opening theme song for TV Tokyo’s Drama 25 “MASKMEN” which will start broadcasting on 2018 January 12^th (Fri.) at 0:52.

Drama 25 “MASKMAN” is a documentary drama about how Kukki of the comedy duo, Yasei Bakudan produces and nurtures “Pit In” a new comedian.

©MASKMEN Production Committee

This new song, “Freak It! TOKYO SKA PARADISE ORCHESTRA” was recorded with the following musicians from TOKYO SKA PARADISE ORCHESTRA – horns: NARGO, Kitahara Masahiko, GAMO, Taninaka Atsushi / keyboards: Oki Yuichi / percussions: Ohmori Hajime

It will be digitally released, worldwide on February 2^nd, 2018 (Fri.)

Furthermore, it has now been decided that MAN WITH A MISSION will perform at TSUTAYA ROCK FESTI VAL 2018 to be held at Makuhari Messe on March 18^th (Sun.).

Keep your eyes focused on MAN WITH A MISSION’s storm of new activities.