Having amassed a global audience, BAND-MAID is starting off 2023 in the best possible way. The group performed their largest-ever concert, BAND-MAID TOKYO GARDEN THEATER OKYUJI, on January 9. Soon after, they announced a domestic and overseas tour set to begin in March 2023.

BAND-MAID’s 10th-anniversary tour will commence with a show in Kumamoto on March 23 and will then travel to 20 cities around Japan for a total of 23 performances. The legendary finale will take place at Yokohama Arena on November 26, marking the largest-ever solo performance for the band. In May and August, the girls will tour the U.S. and appear at a number of major festivals. More details will be announced soon.

The sold-out TOKYO GARDEN THEATER performance is also available to stream. Tickets are now available through February 8 and fans around the world are welcome to enjoy this
incredible show from the comfort of their own home!

To commemorate BAND-MAID’s 10th anniversary, a high-resolution stream of all works
after the group’s transfer to Pony Canyon will be available on streaming sites starting January 10.

Atarashii Gakko! will hold solo concerts at Zepp venues in Tokyo and Osaka in April and May of 2023.

These performances will be held almost a year after the girls held their solo concert at Zepp DiverCity in Tokyo last May. This year’s events will be held at Zepp Osaka Bayside on April 30 and Zepp Shinjuku in Tokyo on May 2.

ATARASHII GAKKO! – HANAKO (Official Music Video)

ATARASHII GAKKO! – Pineapple Kryptonite (Official Music Video)

ONE OK ROCK is now massively popular around the world. The rock band has just announced a Japan Dome tour set to be held in Nagoya, Fukuoka, Osaka, Tokyo, and Saitama starting in January 2023.

The band released the new album LUXURY DISEASE in September, followed by a 23-city North American tour. Venues across the states have completely sold out, and ONE OK ROCK has already announced that it will join MUSE on its North American tour. Keep an eye out for more information!

ONE OK ROCK has become an incredible success with audiences around the world. The Japanese rock band will join Muse’s North American tour starting in February 2023 as special guests along with Evanescence, and the three musical acts will tour arenas in the US and Canada for around a month.

The band released their album Luxury Disease in September. Immediately following this, ONE OK ROCK headlined a 23-city North American tour, selling out a number of shows.

Be sure to follow ONE OK ROCK as they continue their upward climb to become international superstars!

WILL OF THE PEOPLE WORLD TOUR 2023

02/25/2023 Chicago, IL – United Center

02/26/2023 Minneapolis, MN – Target Center

02/28/2023 Austin, TX – Moody Center

03/02/2023 Houston, TX – Toyota Center

03/03/2023 Ft. Worth, TX – Dickies Arena

03/05/2023 St. Louis, MO – Chaifetz Arena

03/07/2023 Columbus, OH – Nationwide Arena

03/09/2023 Toronto, ON – Scotiabank Arena

03/11/2023 Quebec City, QC – Videotron Centre

03/12/2023 Quebec City, QC – Videotron Centre

03/14/2023 Montreal, QC – Bell Centre

03/15/2023 Montreal, QC – Bell Centre

03/17/2023 New York, NY – Madison Square Garden

03/19/2023 Philadelphia, PA – Wells Fargo Center

*ONE OK ROCK will perform from February 25 until March 19.

Globally popular girl band BAND-MAID has successfully concluded their first solo tour in the U.S. in about three years. Immediately after returning to Japan, the group was met with a sold out crowd when they performed as the supporting act for the Guns N’ Roses JAPAN TOUR held at Saitama Super Arena on November 6, 2022. Following the event, BAND-MAID even became a trending topic on Twitter!

BAND-MAID made a splash during their U.S. tour, playing a total of 13 packed shows and getting plenty of media coverage. Given that the Guns N’ Roses JAPAN TOUR was the group’s first performance after returning home to Japan, it received massive attention from fans both locally and abroad.

Miku Kobato (Gt. & Vo.), KANAMI (Gt.), MISA (Ba.), and AKANE (Dr.) strolled onto the stage and performed the instrumental track from now on. The audience was shocked watching these petit girls in maid outfits perform such heavy rock! SAIKI (Vo.) appeared as the following song, DICE, began to play, with her powerful voice tearing through the intense ensemble. BAND-MAID’s goal of world domination certainly came through in their performance–of course, the song DOMINATION began to huge fanfare, with the girls being shown on the big screen next to the stage. It was clear that each of them was enjoying the performance to the fullest. During Manners, MISA’s incredible bass took the spotlight, with the sound of shredding guitar punctuating the powerful track. Miku Kobato’s strong chorus was also a fan favorite, and as the song Daydreaming began, SAIKI’s voice captivated the audience. BAND-MAID left the stage amidst a sea of applause after performing a total of seven songs ranging from quiet instruments to rock ballads.

In addition to their appearance at MERRY ROCK PARADE 2022 on December 18 in Japan, the band will also perform solo at Tokyo Garden Theater on January 9, 2023. This will be the largest solo performance in the band’s history, so fans won’t want to miss it!

Joakim Brodén, the vocalist for Sabaton, served as a guest performer on the song Oh! MAJINAI (feat. Joakim Brodén) found on Babymetal’s third album METAL GALAXY released on October 11, 2019. This will be the first time that the two groups have performed live together since the BABYMETAL WORLD TOUR 2018 in JAPAN EXTRA SHOW – DARK NIGHT CARNIVAL in October 2018 at Saitama Super Arena.

BABYMETAL will release its first concept album, THE OTHER ONE, on March 24, 2023. Ahead of release, five singles will be available to download and stream worldwide, with one releasing in October, November, January, February, and March. Be sure to watch out for Babymetal as they rock the world once again!

Japanese music streaming site RecoChoku has announced the top song and album rankings for September 2022.

Ado tops both the single and album charts for the second month in a row with her tracks from the movie ONE PIECE FILM RED. The singer provided the singing voice of Uta, the main character in the film which was released nationwide on August 6, 2022. The theme song for the film, New Genesis, ranked top in the weekly rankings on September 7, September 14, and September 28. Back in August, Ado dominated the charts as well, with I’m Invincible and Where the Wind Blows taking the top spots.

Ado also took first place in September’s album ranking with her collection of songs from ONE PIECE FILM RED. A number of other popular artists worked on the album, including Yasutaka Nakata, Mrs. GREEN APPLE, Vaundy, FAKE TYPE., Hiroyuki Sawano, Yuta Orisaka, and Motohiro Hata. The album for the film also ranked top in the weekly rankings on September 7, September 14, and September 28. 

In August, Ado took the top spot for both most popular song and most popular album on RecoChoku’s download ranking, and the singer has done it again in September.

If you haven’t listened to Ado’s collection of songs from the new ONE PIECE film, this is your sign to do so.

RecoChoku Monthly Music Award – September 2022

(Announced October 1, 2022)

Single Ranking
1st Place: New Genesis (Uta from ONE PIECE FILM RED) – Ado (Released June 8, 2022)
2nd Place: Hitotsuboshi – KOH+
3rd Place: Start Over – THE BEAT GARDEN
4th Place: Velvet – back number
5th Place: I’m Invincible (Uta from ONE PIECE FILM RED) – Ado
https://recochoku.jp/ranking/single/monthly/

Album Ranking
1st Place: Uta’s Songs from ONE PIECE FILM RED – Ado (Released August 10, 2022)
2nd Place: Luxury Disease – ONE OK ROCK
3rd Place: YUZU ARENA TOUR 2022 SEES -ALWAYS with you- Yuzu
4th Place: Hitotsuboshi ~Galileo Collection 2007-2022 – KOH+ 
5th Place: BE:1 – BE:FIRST
https://recochoku.jp/ranking/album/monthly/ 
  

©尾田栄一郎／2022「ワンピース」製作委員会

BE:FIRST, the 7-member boy band created from winners of SKY-HI’s 6-month “THE FIRST” audition, has continued to rise the ranks in the Japanese pop music world. The group has just started its first nationwide tour, ‘BE:FIRST 1st One Man Tour “BE:1” 2022-2023,’ which will see the boys perform 29 shows in 17 cities. The tour began in Hiroshima on September 23. 

The group released its first album, BE:1, on August 31, and it immediately reached the top slot on the Billboard Japan Overall Albums Chart. At the first stop on the tour, the boys performed plenty of tracks from the album, including Bye-Good-Bye which has been streamed over 100 million times. They also sang the album’s leading track Scream and Message, their first love song. As BE:FIRST’s popularity soars, the group announced two additional shows to take place in Tokyo and Osaka. Keep an eye on what they do next!

Additional Performances

January 26, January 27, 2023 – Yoyogi National Gymnasium, Tokyo

January 31, February 1, 2023 – Osaka-Jo Hall, Osaka

Born in Niigata and living in London, international singer-songwriter Rina Sawayama released her second album Hold The Girl on September 16. The album is Sawayama’s first in two and a half years and was written and recorded over the past year and a half. With an overarching pop sound, the album blends other genres expertly, from country, electro, and R&B to folk, metal, and rock. Hold The Girl manages to track Sawayama’s personal growth, sharing her goals for the future while fully accepting her past. The album has already received rave reviews from media outlets worldwide, including Rolling Stone, The Times, DIY, The Mail on Sunday, and more. “Among contemporary pop stars, Rina Sawayama certainly stands out,” The Times reads.

Sawayama has also announced that she will hold her first solo Japan tour in January 2023, stopping in Tokyo, Nagoya, and Osaka. Her performance at Summer Sonic 2022 was a smash hit, so don’t miss your chance to see her live if you couldn’t make it!

Japanese rock band ONE OK ROCK has become hugely popular, expanding its activities worldwide in recent years. On September 9, the band released its first new album worldwide in three and a half years, Luxury Disease. Although the album includes six songs that have already been released, the rest of the new release has remained a mystery–until now.

After their last more experimental album, the band stated that this new release would be a proper rock album. Each track has a distinct personality, ranging from emotional numbers to heart-wrenching, passionate ballads that are typical of ONE OK ROCK, and even rock opera songs that are completely new for the members. Ed Sheeran, Satoshi Fujihara (Official HiGE DANdism), and other top artists and creators from both Japan and abroad contributed to the album.

The limited first edition includes a bonus DVD with two acoustic tracks, allowing listeners to hear the differences between the original arrangements and the different lyrics found on the international versions.

This album is sure to inspire, and you won’t want to miss it–especially since it’s streaming on music services now!

Japanese rock band ONE OK ROCK has become hugely popular, expanding its activities worldwide in recent years. The group has just released the single Let Me Let You Go from the upcoming album Luxury Disease, set to hit shelves on September 9, 2022. The track was co-written with Ashton Irwin, a member of 5 Seconds of Summer.

The song, with its sad melody, highlights both strength and weakness, showing a different side to the band and pulling away from the standard rock number. Previously, the group released Save Yourself, another song from the upcoming album that fits more into ONE OK ROCK’s wheelhouse.

Along with the song’s release, a Live Documentary Video for Let Me Let You Go was also uploaded to YouTube. The video is mainly filled with live footage, but also includes rehearsal and backstage footage, as well as drama-style footage shot for the project.

Let Me Let You Go – Live Documentary Video

https://youtu.be/uA832zpafis

ONE OK ROCK has been releasing new tracks one after another ahead of the new album next month, so be sure to stay tuned for more!

Japanese rock band ONE OK ROCK has become massively popular worldwide in recent years. On September 9, 2022, the group will release its new album Luxury Disease, and fans will be excited to know that Satoshi Fujihara from Official Hige Dandism will appear on the track Gravity in an incredible collaboration.

Satoshi Fujihara has gone on record to cite Taka as the person who inspired him to become a vocalist. Since then, Taka has appeared as a guest on Official Hige Dandism’s radio show and Fujiwara appeared as a guest at ONE OK ROCK’s live performance at ROCK IN JAPAN FESTIVAL 2022, bringing the two artists even closer together. This collaboration was a long time coming, and Gravity feat. Satoshi Fujihara will only be included on the Japanese edition of the album. Ahead of the song’s release, a portion of it has been unveiled on ONE OK ROCK’s social media accounts, so be sure to check it out!

With the album only a few weeks away, the countdown has begun! Will you be listening?