Billboard Japan
Travis Japan continues to expand their reach in its home country and around the world in 2025, taking on challenges on a global scale. The popular boy band is currently on the road promoting its second album VIIsual — which topped the Billboard Japan Hot Albums chart after dropping in December — traveling to eight cities around the country for the domestic Travis Japan Concert Tour 2025 VIIsual tour that kicked off in January. The group is also set to tour Asia and the U.S. for its second global trek this summer.
Billboard Japan caught up with the six members (Noel is currently taking a break for health reasons), who continue to improve themselves by learning from each other, and asked about the appeal of their new songs “Say I do” and “Tokyo Crazy Night.” The group also looked back on their world tour from last year that took them to six cities around the globe and shared some takeaways from the experience.
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Could you share your impressions from your first world tour, Travis Japan World Tour 2024 Road to A, which took place last fall?
Shizu: We toured six cities around the world to promote our first album Road to A, and were able to interact further with our fans outside of Japan. I felt like I’d been given a very valuable experience. The venues weren’t exactly big, but I was glad we were able to show the appeal of Travis Japan that can only be expressed on those kinds of stages. We had a lot of fun on tour, learning the local languages along the way.
Shime: It was our first time doing it, so of course I was looking forward to it but also a little worried about how it would go. But when we actually got on stage, the audience got really excited and cheered so much. Our fans taught us some of the local languages in-between songs, and we learned a lot on that world tour.
Chaka: We’d been waiting to do a global tour since our debut in October 2022, so when it finally became a reality, we boarded the plane with a mixture of anticipation and anxiety. It was a completely new environment for us, but we went on stage with the confidence that our fans had given us, and the entertainment that we’d built up. Above all, I thought it was wonderful that we were able to connect with people through entertainment. We could have done better in certain aspects, but I think it was a very fruitful tour.
Genta: After experiencing the world tour that the seven of us had been aiming to do, there were definitely some fun parts, but also a lot of difficult parts. But as the other members said, we gained a lot of experience and everything we went through made us stronger. I’m really grateful that we were able to show our performances on stage with the support of our fans and staff who have stood by us. I was also happy to have experienced the culture and food of each country we visited. I strongly felt that I want us to keep expanding our reach and gain more experience.
Machu: It was our dream and a huge goal that we’d been working towards, so I was really happy that it came true. Up until then, we’d been getting responses through social media from our fans overseas who couldn’t come to our domestic tours, but when we were able to communicate with them directly in their home countries, we realized once again just how many people were supporting us. It was a really wonderful opportunity.
Umi: It really hit home how big the world is after we did our global tour, and I could feel firsthand just how many fans were waiting for us. I had a really great time, but simultaneously felt that I need to study languages more.
You’re stepping into new genres with “Say I do” and “Tokyo Crazy Night.”
Umi: It does feel like “Say I do” is a kind of song we’ve never done before. We don’t have many songs where we open up like that to the love interest, so I was happy we could sing lyrics like that, and that karaoke-friendly sound is really good, too.
Machu: The lyrics are straightforward, aren’t they? It’s a love song that really gets the message across.
Shizu: I think it’s delightful because it’s pop and uses sounds that make people feel happy.
Shime: I also think the lyrics are really good. The part that goes, “The illumination in my heart lights up every time I see you,” I wonder if our fans think like every time they come to our shows. I think there are parts that everyone can relate to.
“Say I do” is the theme song for Honnou Switch, the drama series starring Chaka.
Chaka: When I read the lyrics, I could imagine the situation in the drama, and I feel that (the lyrics and drama) are strongly linked. There are two people who love each other, and the lyrics are full of both their feelings and the messages they convey to each other. I also think it’s cute that there’s a development in the lyrics. Expressing that kind of feel is a new side of TJ. It’s fun discovering we can express things like this too.
Genta: We put aside our “weapons” (dance) for the first time in the accompanying music video and set up a company called Doki Doki Ren’ai Sodanjo (Racing Heart Love Consultation Center). We work there as employees and solve people’s problems.
“Tokyo Crazy Night” is the theme song for the drama series Tokyo Camouflage Hour, starring Machu.
Machu: It’s retro-style city pop and so cool, and matches the drama it accompanies. It’s also a genre we’ve never tried before, so I think our fans will be able to see a new side of us.
Shime: I really like the chorus. The melody of the chorus, the rhythm of the song, and the background sounds all go really well together, and it’s a lot of fun to sing. It’s a cool song, so we have to sing it in a cool way, but it’s just so fun. I want our fans to sing it at karaoke with cool expressions on their faces.
You have a second world tour lined up this year.
Machu: During our first trek, we directly sensed how much so many people support us, and having experienced that means a lot. This time, we can plan ahead from the rehearsal stage and include things like, “Let’s make a section where we sing together with the crowd” so we can kick up this year’s global tour a notch from last year’s. I want to deliver a lot of thanks again this year too.
Genta: We hope to be able to deliver Travis Japan’s performance to more people, while making use of the experience we gained last year. The theme songs for the drama series starring members have also been released, so I want to convey the appeal of those new songs as well.
Chaka: I’m going to take the feelings and love we received from everyone on our domestic tour, the performances we want to show and deliver, plus our wonderful songs, put them all in a carry-on case and board those planes!
Machu: What the heck do you mean? Sounds like you’ll get stopped at the security checkpoints.
Shime: [Laughs] I want to spread lots of happiness. We’ll all work hard to put on shows that will make you love Travis Japan’s performances and entertainment even more.
Shizu: Every time we perform during our tours and events overseas, the number of people we want to see again increases, and it feels like our family is growing. I’m sure there will be fans from each country who will be coming to our shows for the first time, so I want to give it my all to make them feel like they’re part of our family too. We want to make this a tour that people want to come back to, and also want to create a space that makes us want to go back.
Umi: Being able to perform for local fans on our world tour is a really big deal for us. There are things you can’t understand until you feel the passion of the local fans directly, so we’ll perform with the same power as everyone waiting for us, and it’d be great if we can make them happy with our dancing and singing.
Travis Japan World Tour 2025 VIIsual
Jul 25 – Hammerstein Ballroom – New York, NY
Jul 27 – The Grove of Anaheim – Anaheim, CA
Taipei – coming soon
Hong Kong – coming soon
Bangkok – coming soon
–This interview by Atsuo Nagahori first appeared on Billboard Japan
ONE OR EIGHT is an eight-piece boy band made up of members MIZUKI, NEO, REIA, RYOTA, SOUMA, TAKERU, TSUBASA, and YUGA. Their profile is rising thanks to their debut single “Don’t Tell Nobody,” which they released in August 2024, and the buzz generated by their collaboration with American rapper Big Sean on their song “KAWASAKI (with Big Sean).” On March 19, they released a new song, “DSTM.” It uses an authorized sample of Rihanna’s “Don’t Stop The Music” and was created by Stargate, the original producer of “Don’t Stop The Music,” together with fresh young American songwriters. Billboard Japan talked with the group about the approach they used in creating the song.
Your name, ONE OR EIGHT, comes from the Japanese expression “Ichi Ka Bachi Ka,” right?
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TSUBASA: That’s right. The Japanese idiom “Ichi Ka Bachi Ka,” which literally translates as “one or eight,” means “all or nothing” in English. It represents our desire to use an all or nothing approach to take on the world from here in Japan. Also, we’re all Japanese, and Japan’s telephone country code is “81,” so we wanted to reflect that in our name, too.
What kind of spirit runs through your own activities within the group?
NEO: Our tagline is “BET ON YOURSELF.” We want to encourage people by showing everyone how we’re betting on ourselves, constantly taking on new challenges with the support of the other members, staff members, and our fans. We’re performing at a level now that I’d never even imagined, but sometimes you can find yourself swallowed up by the whole experience. We’re working hard, pushing forward and doing our best to make sure things keep going in the right direction.
What would you say your strengths are as a group?
REIA: Our members. I feel like, with the members we have, we can take on any challenge. Before our debut, we travelled to different countries performing at what we called “STAGE ZERO” events. During these events, we had to deal with all kinds of different problems, but we were able to overcome all of them by supporting each other.
You’re active both in Japan and overseas. What kind of influence do you think this approach has had on ONE OR EIGHT?
SOUMA: Performing overseas has expanded both our expressive range and our adaptability. For example, fans in Thailand create an incredibly welcoming atmosphere, which has helped us develop the ability to stay composed while delivering a more high-energy performance that matches their enthusiasm. In contrast, audiences in Vietnam and Japan tend to embrace us as we are, so our focus there is more on refining our performance itself. That approach has helped us grow a strong base of receptive fans.
REIA: Audience energy and the way people engage with our shows can vary greatly from place to place. In Thailand, many fans seem to be fully immersed in the moment, which brings an exciting dynamic to our performances. Just next door in Vietnam, the atmosphere is more about support and appreciation, similar to Japan.
NEO: For me, live performances are like a conversation between performers and the audience. Audiences that get hyped up, like Thai audiences, are like talkative people. In our conversations with them, it’s like we’re engaging with talkative people, and that produces an exciting, fun conversation. Supportive audiences, on the other hand, are like good listeners who pay close attention to all we have to say. That’s why we fully focus on our lyrics, delivering them straight to the audience’s hearts so they viscerally feel our slogan of “BET ON YOURSELF.” It’s not a question of which type of audience is better. Instead, it’s about using different conversational approaches depending on the audience.
I see. You released your new song, “DSTM,” on March 19. What were your initial impressions of the song?
RYOTA: The song has a different tone than the songs we’ve done in the past. I felt like it had the potential to show some aspects of our appeal and some new performance approaches that we’d never shown before.
TAKERU: “DSTM” samples Rihanna’s “Don’t Stop The Music.” The song’s theme is about how we won’t stop as long as the music keeps flowing, and also about how we’ll have fun as we do it. I hope when people are feeling down, seeing us and our performances will put smiles on their faces, and that when they hear “DSTM,” it will lighten their mood and help them forget their worries.
TAKERU mentioned that “DSTM” samples “Don’t Stop The Music.” “Don’t Stop The Music,” in turn, sampled Michael Jackson’s “Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’,” so the music has been passed along from Michael to Rihanna to you. Did you feel like you were under any pressure because of that?
TSUBASA: “DSTM” is tied to these huge names, so its release put a tremendous amount of pressure on us. But, at the same time, because of its new tone, with “DSTM” it feels like we’re breaking new ground and opening the way to a new era. We’re here because of the music we’ve listened to, and as the song title says, we don’t want the music to stop, but to keep going on forever. That’s the spirit with which we’re sharing “DSTM” with the world.
Now you’ve become a part of this process of the song’s transformation. What do you see as the significance of this, and what do you feel is expected of you?
TSUBASA: Through our music, we want to take an all or nothing approach to challenges. If the music stops, then we’ve lost everything. In that sense, we have to keep on carrying the torch of the music. That’s how I see it.
So, for you, these are the ideals represented by the song. What kind of back-and-forth did you have with other members and staff when working on the song?
REIA: To make the song a good fit for us, we needed to preserve the essence of the original song while also giving it the energy of a ONE OR EIGHT song. That’s why Stargate, who produced the original song, and the other writers put our own story into the lyrics.
MIZUKI: We also talked amongst ourselves in the group about what approach to take. The song has been performed by true giants, so we feel really grateful that virtual unknowns like us were given the opportunity to perform it. And just like “Don’t Stop The Music” propelled Rihanna to fame, we also worked hard on the song in the hope “DSTM” could bring greater worldwide recognition to ONE OR EIGHT.
REIA: We also really put our heart into our singing. For example, I sing a part right before the “please don’t stop the music” line, and I made sure that my own part had just as much power as the chorus. My own vocal qualities don’t pack much punch, so I accentuated my performance through physical movement.
TSUBASA: I did some ad-libbing on the last chorus in a part that wasn’t in the original demo. During the recording, I’d felt frustrated because I just couldn’t express what I was going for, so I talked to the producer, and together we created the ad-lib part. That part isn’t in Rihanna’s “Don’t Stop The Music,” though, so there was also a lot of pressure, because people might compare “Don’t Stop The Music” to our “DSTM.” But I’m really satisfied with how it turned out, so I want to keep confidently doing the ad-lib part.
NEO: I do the first half of the first rap verse, and unlike TSUBASA, I found it to be a blast. One of the things that’s appealing about the first verse is the use of Japanese words like “katana” and “sumo” that will be familiar to overseas listeners. I’m very proud of this part, because it conveys the message and shares the feeling that this is coming from Japan. Of course, I was also nervous about including a rap part, because it isn’t in the original song, but it was really fun. The rhythm is easy to get into, so even people who don’t know much about hip-hop will be able to enjoy it. I hope when people hear it, they’ll think to themselves “don’t stop this song.”
Thank you. In closing, what are your future goals?
NEO: I want us to be the kind of group that always has fun taking on new challenges. Our group’s name means “all or nothing,” and I want us to achieve success, no matter what, touring the world and setting our sights high. I hope there are people out there who’ll see us taking on these imposing challenges and it will instill them with pride in themselves and help them feel the fun in taking on new challenges. That’s the kind of world I hope we’ll create. I believe that, joined by colleagues and fans like that, our efforts will prove successful. We’re going to do all that we can, led by our motto of “BET ON YOURSELF!”
–This interview by Azusa Takahashi first appeared on Billboard Japan
Creepy Nuts recently dropped their highly anticipated new album called LEGION, their first in about two and a half years. The project consists of 15 tracks — the most the duo has ever included in a set — including two that made their name known on a global scale: their biggest hit to date, “Bling-Bang-Bang-Born,” and the follow-up single, “Otonoke.”
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While rapper R-Shitei and DJ Matsunaga appear to be enjoying breakout success since last year with global hits under their belts, the track “Tsujoukai” (“usual episode”) on the new album is the pair’s answer to those who see them in that light. This latest Billboard Japan interview by the two artists gives fans a look into their innate strengths as creators they’ve cultivated up to this point, which explains why they’re able to state that any situation is a “usual episode” for them.
I read the lyrics before playing the album, and thought they depicted a “true-to-life documentary” more than ever before. Was this intentional?
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R-Shitei: After trying to write from the perspective of different people in our previous album Ensemble Play, I went back to (focusing on) “living” more so than when we were busy. For me in particular, changes happened in my private life and lots of words came to me naturally. The first song that led to the creation of this album, “Biriken,” started from that kind of hyper-documentary aspect, so the project naturally became all about our own stories.
Then when I listened to the songs, I was surprised to find that the “fewer notes” aspect that Matsunaga-san mentioned in last year’s mid-year interview was even more evident that I’d expected. Was that something you intended to do for this entire album from “Biriken” the first single off the set?
DJ Matsunaga: I didn’t have the entire album in mind, but when I considered “making good songs” (that’s what happened). I want every detail to be high quality, even if you take all the riffs apart and look at just one instrument. Layering a lot of different instruments works out somehow, but with the (relatively sparse) number of sounds on this album, if I compromised even a bit, it probably wouldn’t have worked. I think the most high-quality tracks are ones with a spartan design on the verge of being cheap, that are simple but still sound great, and it feels like I was able to perfect that in my track production.
When did you start thinking that way?
DJ Matsunaga: I’ve always been like that, but the sentiment might have been getting stronger every year. It’s become an absolute must for me lately. I researched and selected everything from the microphones to the preamps and compressors used in the recording. Those kinds of expertise aren’t easily found in Japan, so I had to think and make it myself in the end.
The first track on the album, “Chugaku 22 nensei” (“22nd year of junior high school”), had by far the fewest number of sounds of any of the songs on the set. The title harks back to your song “Chugaku 12 nensei” (2018), which also has a sparse track. Was this also intentional?
DJ Matsunaga: It wasn’t my intent for this one to be entitled “Chugaku 22 nensei” off the bat. R sent the demo back with something I hadn’t imagined.
R-Shitei: At first, I think we both intended to make a song with a completely different mood. But we made the right choice. This time in particular, the process of making the album had that kind of joy to it. Like seeing how far we can use our ideas to go off the rails and make the leap to a place we didn’t imagine.
DJ Matsunaga: That’s true. “Causing an accident.”
I see. And you mentioned “A life of reaching No. 1 on Billboard” in your lyrics. [Laughs]
R-Shitei & DJ Matsunaga: [Laugh]
R-Shitei: Yeah… I took the liberty of using that. [Laughs]
By the way, the engineers who worked on this album have previously worked with some great U.S. rappers including Kanye West, Kendrick Lamar, Tyler, the Creator and more. Did you gain any new inspiration from them?
DJ Matsunaga: The finished sounds are so different. It’s pretty hard to talk about sounds using only terms that everyone can recognize, but they delivered what I wanted to make.
Why did you ask these top-tier engineers to participate?
DJ Matsunaga: There were certain sounds I wanted to make, so I tapped people outside of Japan to make them happen. I asked some great engineers who even raised the bar of the quality I was seeking.
From the eighth track “Get Higher” onwards, I thought that the perspective rapidly turns inward. “Tsujoukai” in particular really seems to express what you want to say most as Creepy Nuts at the moment.
R-Shitei: Rap is about taking your personal experiences from everyday life and interpreting them in a hyper-dramatic way. So that’s “usual” — that’s how I interpret everything, in every situation. It’s true that I write lyrics in a dramatic way, but that’s probably the limit of how dramatic I can be as someone in this line of work. So it’s already wrapped up from my point of view, but from people looking from the outside, it probably appears more dramatic in a way. So that’s why I’m saying it’s a “usual episode” again. This song’s mood is where we’re at right now.
DJ Matsunaga: Wherever we go, people treat us like we’ve entered the final phase (of success). But my life hasn’t changed at all since last year.
R-Shitei: I know, right? I mean, as a rapper, I’ve pulled off something that makes people go, “That’s amazing,” so I do say, “I did it!” but I’m not living a glam life in my lyrics, am I? [Laughs]
No, you’re not. [Laughs]
R-Shitei: I wrote the whole album with that kind of mood, and put my feelings into it, so that’s why I expressed it like that in “Tsujoukai.”
DJ Matsunaga: That’s so true. It doesn’t mean it’s constantly calm, but like a lull.
R-Shitei: I have really intense ups and downs, but that just continues as it always has. I probably interpret everything too extremely. That hasn’t changed. I think that’s why I’m probably cut out to be a rapper.
DJ Matsunaga: Lately I feel kind of at a loss because I don’t get worked up over anything. But I guess that means I can focus on sounds. Maybe my mind’s in a place where I can concentrate on sound production.
R-Shitei: So if you think about it like that, it’s a good thing, isn’t it? I’d probably want to immerse myself in that frame of mind as much as I can once I get into it. Then lots of words come out, but when we were really busy, we had to deal with other work before I could (write lyrics). This time, we were able to use plenty of time luxuriously…
DJ Matsunaga: …so we were able to dive in deep.
R-Shitei: Yeah, that was what was so great. Matsunaga was in his “lull” and was able to dive deep into his sounds. I was able to live everyday life immersing myself in the ups and downs and in the little things.
When I interviewed another act the other day, the composer said they wrote the melody as a “representation of their emotions,” and another member wrote the lyrics by “sharing the emotions” in that melody. You two seem to be the complete opposite of that.
DJ Matsunaga: But when we’re playing catch with the music, I channel R-Shitei’s lyrics a lot. First I send him the riff, and then when he sends back the lyrics and rap, a story is added to it. So the criteria for sifting through which sounds will highlight that is born. I think our process is similar R being the screenwriter and me being the cinematographer, adding pictures to the script.
I see!
DJ Matsunaga: I tailor everything to the lyrics. Like for “Emmanuelle,” I really focused on that. Like the part in the verse where he says, “Unadareta oreni…” (“Downcast, I’m…”), I imagined the way R is feeling then and made the background music to fit that. I spend a lot of time doing all that.
R-Shitei: To be more precise about “facing music luxuriously” that I’ve been talking about, I mean that I had ample time to face my emotions and get inside myself.
DJ Matsunaga: I totally get what you mean.
R-Shitei: Right? That’s how something like “doppelgänger” came to be. Having different versions of yourself — and it’s not a matter of which is good or bad — is what a doppelganger represents. And in line with that, (the album’s title) LEGION is an army of demons, which in my mind is the monster Legion from the movie Gamera 2: Attack of the Legion, and that huge swarm that gathers consists of me and and my own emotions, you know?
Lastly, there’s a line in “Tsujoukai” that goes, “Turntable and microphone, what we do doesn’t change.” What always impresses me about your shows is the stoic way you always hype up the audience with just the turntable and microphone, no matter what venue you perform in. Could you elaborate on your commitment to this style?
R-Shitei: Probably because that’s ultimately our “max.”
DJ Matsunaga: That’s exactly it! We do it because it’s the best for us. A lot of hip-hop artists have bands or dancers join in during the performance… but if a band joins in, you don’t need me anymore.
R-Shitei: [Laughs]
DJ Matsunaga: The bigger the stage, the more people want to embellish the shows. I have mixed feelings about that. We just want to be able to keep doing some raw, incredible rapping and awesome DJing.
But I think there aren’t many people who can say that with such certainty… It takes courage to say that.
DJ Matsunaga: You’re right… I might have been arrogant. [Laughs] I want our stages to be like that because I’m really proud of what we do.
R-Shitei: I guess it’s because our strongest desire is to hit hard with our rapping and DJing.
—This interview by Maiko Murata first appeared on Billboard Japan
Billboard Women in Music 2025
Nogizaka46‘s “Navel Orange” tops this week’s Billboard Japan Hot 100, on the chart released April 2.
The 38th single by the popular girl group launched with 611,511 CDs after dropping March 26, more than its previous single. The song tops sales and comes in at No. 9 for downloads, No. 13 for radio airplay, and No. 21 for video views to give the group its 28th leader on the tally.
Mrs. GREEN APPLE’s “Lilac” drops a notch to No. 2, but continues its domination of multiple metrics. The Oblivion Battery opener rules streaming for the 30th week with 9,912,320 weekly streams, video for the 13th week, and karaoke for the 12th week.
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Sakanaction’s “Kaiju” holds at No. 3. Downloads for the Orb: On the Movements of the Earth opener are down to 74% compared to the week before, streaming 92%, radio 60%, and video 62%, while karaoke gains for the second week in a row to 113%.
Mrs. GREEN APPLE’s “Darling” rises 6-4. Karaoke for the three-man band’s latest hit increased for the ninth consecutive week to 105% and radio is also up to 103% week-over-week. The band’s long-running hit from 2023, “Que Sera Sera,” follows at No. 5, jumping 6 slots this week to re-enter the top 10. The song logs its 101st week on the Japan Hot 100 and boasts over 600 million total streams.
Outside the top 10, JO1’s “BE CLASSIC” debuts at No. 11. The lead title track off the eleven-member boy band’s best-of album, released Apr. 2, tops downloads and comes in at No. 18 for streaming and No. 4 for videos. Also, cherry blossom season is in full gear in Japan and Ketsumeishi’s “Sakura” from 2005 has re-entered the Japan Hot 100. Downloads, streaming, videos, and karaoke for the classic seasonal staple have increased and the track hits No. 89 this week.
The Billboard Japan Hot 100 combines physical and digital sales, audio streams, radio airplay, video views and karaoke data.
See the full Billboard Japan Hot 100 chart, tallying the week from Mar. 24 to 30, here. For more on Japanese music and charts, visit Billboard Japan’s English X account.
The inaugural MUSIC AWARDS JAPAN ceremony, the largest music awards in the country, is set to take place in May in Kyoto. Embodying the theme of “Connecting the world, illuminating the future of music,” the brand-new international music awards is hosted by the Japan Culture and Entertainment Industry Promotion Association (CEIPA), an association jointly established by five major organizations in the Japanese music industry.
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This year’s MAJ will recognize works and artists in more than 60 categories, including the six major awards for Song of the Year and Artist of the Year and more, which have gained significant attention and recognition from Jan. 29, 2024 to Jan. 26, 2025. The entries for each category were announced on March 13 and the selection by domestic voting members is currently underway to narrow down the list to five nominees for each category.
Let’s take a look at the 256 songs that are up for the high-profile Song of the Year category, as compared against Billboard Japan‘s all-genre Japan Hot 100 song chart (hereafter BBJ), and delve deeper into the trends and characteristics unique to MAJ based on data.
Comparison with BBJ Chart Metrics
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First, we’ll compare some of the differences between the MAJ and BBJ metrics. The chart above shows the point share of each metric for the 256 songs entered in the Song of the Year category. The figures for BBJ show the point share of the top 256 songs in the Japan Hot 100 chart during the same tallying period as MAJ.
The entries for Song of the Year is based on an original chart that combines the six metrics of the Japan Hot 100 (rounded up in two-month segments) and UGC data (click here for details). The system is structured in a way that makes it easier for songs with short peak periods to be eligible.
One feature MAJ and BBJ both have in common is that streaming accounts for the largest proportion of both. This shows that both are strongly aware that streaming is the main way people listen to music today.
CD sales account for 10% of MAJ, but only 2% of BBJ. Japan’s CD sales market is still large when viewed globally, and MAJ places importance on this unique Japanese user trend. Downloads are 7% of MAJ while 4% for BBJ, indicating that the former places a relatively higher value on ownership-type metrics.
While streaming is the main focus for MAJ, they are clearly also conscious of achieving a balance with a wider range of metrics. Its most distinctive feature is that its system is designed to take into account the characteristics of the Japanese market.
Analysis of the Songs’ Properties
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The gender ratio of the MAJ entries is 61% male artists, 30% female artists, and 9% mixed acts. Compared to BBJ, the ratio of male artists is slightly lower, and the ratio of female artists is higher. BBJ has more mixed acts, mainly because many songs by male-female duo YOASOBI have charted.
84% of the entries were by Japanese artists. Compared to BBJ, MAJ has slightly more songs by South Korean artists (MAJ 14%, BBJ 10%). The only artists from outside Japan and South Korea were Mariah Carey, OneRepublic, and Taylor Swift, all of whom are from the U.S. There were also two entries for collaborations between artists from different countries: Rosé & Bruno Mars and BE:FIRST X ATEEZ.
Billboard Japan
The ratio of member composition of the acts entered in MAJ is highest for groups (37%), followed by bands (27%) and solo artists (26%). Dance and vocal groups, which have strong CD sales, are pushing up the ratio of groups. Meanwhile, BBJ has the highest proportion of bands (36%), influenced by the long-running hits of popular bands such as Mrs. GREEN APPLE and back number. Of the 256 songs, there are 124 acts in MAJ and 103 in BBJ, so the former has a greater variety of acts.
Billboard Japan
The genres with the largest number of songs for both MAJ and BBJ are pop and rock. Notably, K-pop accounts for 14% of MAJ, and idol performers account for 9%, indicating the major influence of dance and vocal groups. Hip-hop and Vocaloid account for less than 10%, but these genres have their own categories, such as the Best Japanese Hip-Hop/Rap Song and the Best Vocaloid Culture Song.
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43% of the entries weren’t tie-ins, but songs connected to anime (19%), drama series (13%), and commercials (11%) were also prominent. BBJ shows a more continuous tie-in effect, while MAJ can be said to have a diverse collection of songs that are relatively independent of tie-ins.
These data show that MAJ incorporates a good balance of diverse metrics to reflect a wide range of mainstream music in Japan. The fact that the awards also places weight on metrics reflecting the unique characteristics of the Japanese music market, such as CDs and downloads, is a major difference from the BBJ charts.
It’ll be interesting to see how MAJ’s design will impact the future of the music market and the promotion of Japanese music worldwide. The nominated songs will be announced on Apr. 17, and the awards ceremony will take place on May 21 and 22.
Billboard Japan will continue to publish features on MUSIC AWARDS JAPAN. In the second installment, we’ll compare MAJ’s Song of the Year with BBJ’s Top Global Hits from Japan chart.
Hitomitoi dropped her new album Telepa Telepa via Billboard Japan Records on Mar. 26. The latest release by the Japanese singer-songwriter is her first album of original works since July 2017. The project’s theme is her connection to people and places overseas, which were some of the most memorable things that happened to her over […]
Ado, ATARASHII GAKKO! and YOASOBI graced the stage at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles for matsuri ’25: Japanese Music Experience LOS ANGELES on Sunday, March 16, the music event by Japan’s Culture and Entertainment Industry Promotion Association (CEIPA).
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YOASOBI opened the show, and when the duo’s name on a banner flashed on the screen behind the stage, the 7,000 fans in the audience cheered loudly. As the banner was torn down by the hand of a monster, low-pitched sounds and mysterious music played over the speakers. ikura and Ayase appeared on stage to the announcement, “Welcome to the world of Surrealism,” and the crowd shouted and waved their glow sticks to express their excitement. The intro to “Seventeen” began to play after a brief silence, and ikura said in English, “Welcome to matsuri ’25. We are YOASOBI from Japan. Get ready to have a blast tonight. L.A., are you guys ready?” Fans responded with shouts of “Oi! Oi!” and the band kicked off the event with a bang.
ikura took a moment to explain the purpose of the event, saying, “Three acts from Japan — Ado, ATARASHII GAKKO!, and YOASOBI — have come this time, hoping to enjoy great music, J-pop music, with everyone here.” She then asked the audience to light up their phones and sway to create a sense of unity, and the duo performed the poignant mid-tempo ballad “Tabun.”
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Following “The Brave,” the band performed “Monster,” a fast-paced track with thumping low beats that satisfy performed live. “As a J-Pop artist, we’ve been trying to spread our music from Japan to the world,” said ikura in English. “We are so so so happy to be able to share with all of you. Thank you very much. I love you guys. We dive into the second half. Let me see your passion, OK? You ready to go loud? Can you give us some more? Ok, let’s sing together.” The pair then went on to perform some of its biggest hits back-to-back, with the exhilaration of “Into the Night,” the unity of the chorus in “Blue,” and the energy and enthusiasm of the audience in “Idol” filling the venue. The overwhelming delivery of the last three songs proved that YOASOBI has indeed become one of Japan’s top acts whose concerts sell out instantly whenever they perform overseas today.
ATARASHII GAKKO!
Yuri Hasegawa
Following a 15-minute changeover, the four members of ATARASHII GAKKO! appeared from the audience aisle to the sound of ringing school bells, holding big white flags over their heads. When the members — SUZUKA, RIN, MIZYU, and KANON — gathered on stage, SUZUKA greeted the crowd with the sound of a trumpet in the background: “Hello everyone. We are ATARASHII GAKKO! Everybody, are you ready?” The words “Seishun Nihon Daihyo” (Youth Team Japan) appeared on the screen and the women began their set with “Change,” the members swinging their arms around and performing immaculate choreography off the bat. During “Fly High,” RIN called out, “L.A., are you ready? Jump!” and fans were more than happy to comply. For “Arigato,” each member sang while holding a broomstick like a microphone stand, or fake-played it like a guitar, playfully reminding us of our school days. The audience reacted enthusiastically to the intro of the group’s breakout hit “Otona Blue,” and the members captivated the crowd with their signature head-shaking dance and distinctive choreography.
Following a group chant with SUZUKA, who hyped up the audience calling out, “Everybody, ganbatte (hang in there)! Woo!” the women performed “Toryanse.” Fans waved their glow sticks towards the stage during the intro and danced to the lively rhythm accompanied by electronic sounds of Japanese instruments. Each of the four members called out, “Everybody jump!” “Say yeah!” and “Say change!” in time with the lyrics during the set, confidently charging the crowd with their energy.
An image of the Tokyo metropolis appeared on the screen and ATARASHII GAKKO! launched into “Tokyo Calling.” SUZUKA came down from the stage and sang enthusiastically while making her way through the crowd, regally marching back to the lyrics of “We are marching.” The women closed their set with “One Heart,” the word “SAIKO” (“the best”) appearing behind them on the screen, and the audience joined in and sang along. The lyrics “AG want to take you higher” is like the Japanese modern version of Ike & Tina Turner’s “I Want To Take You Higher,” and the song uplifts and inspires like the best kind of music.
Watching ATARASHII GAKKO!’s performance, this writer couldn’t help but agree with what Creativeman Productions’ Rob Kelso said during the press conference before the event: “The best way to integrate these [artists] is to realize we lost the last excuse. Their last excuse was it must be in English…anything in the U.S. must be in English. And that doesn’t exist anymore. Now it is ok not to be in English…let’s take advantage of that. Doors are opening again to other languages.” The members of ATARASHII GAKKO! know how to entertain the crowds at their shows overseas, encouraging call-and-response with fans using short Japanese words like “ganbatte” and “saiko,” and getting them excited in English, saying, “Everybody jump!’ and ”Say yeah!” Plus, the group’s shows never look cheap or over-the-top, thanks to the four members’ well-coordinated dance moves, SUZUKA’s vocal prowess, and the individuality of each member. Whether you’re Japanese or American, anyone who sees ATARASHII GAKKO! will be able to enjoy its performances to the fullest, and the group’s set at matsuri ’25 was a testimony to that.
Ado
Viola Kam
Then the “Ado Box” was set up in the center of the stage for the event’s final artist, the enigmatic singer Ado, who never shows her face. The 22-year-old songstress immediately launched into her hit banger “Show,” then performed “New Genesis,” “Usseewa” (which sounded faster and more powerful than when this writer saw her on her North American tour a year ago), and “Lucky Bruto” in succession. The stage production was designed to be visually enjoyable as well, with Ado performing “RuLe” by dancing and singing while seated on a chair in her box.
After calls of “Let’s go, Ado” from the audience, the singer addressed the crowd for the first time, talking about how living in Los Angeles for a month last year was one of the best experiences of her life. She shared some episodes that showed her personality, like how she enjoyed In-N-Out burgers and going to Macy’s. “I’m proud to be able to share the stage with ATARASHII GAKKO! and YOASOBI,” she said, expressing appreciation for the opportunity to perform at the event. “I’m so happy that you’ve come to experience Japanese music and culture today. It will really make me happy if you’ll continue to love Japanese music and culture. This has been a really great evening. Thank you.” She then invited the audience to sing and dance with her before performing the last song of her set, “Odo.”
It was unthinkable in the past that an artist who maintains her anonymity by never revealing her face would perform on stage in a box. But it’s true that many people listen to Ado’s music and when she announces shows outside of her home country, many fans rush to buy tickets. This is in line with what Goldenvoice vice president Ellen Lu said at the conference that “festivals are booking with a global sense now. Because that is what people are listening to, so if we are to stay in touch with what people are wanting to see that is not just exclusive to the U.S. or Europe which historically has been the case. It just puts these [international] artists in front of audiences that want to see them or have never had a chance to see them.” This is why Ado was able to successfully tour the world last year, and is set to embark on her second global trek this summer at even bigger venues including arenas.
The three acts that performed at the matsuri ’25 event all had previous experience performing live in North America, and it was a luxurious and precious experience to be able to see them at once. It was an evening that surely made fans want to support other Japanese artists that will follow these groups and go on to perform on the world stage.
—This article by Tomoya Ogawa first appeared on Billboard Japan
Mrs. GREEN APPLE‘s “Lilac” Returns to No. 1 on the Billboard Japan Hot 100, on the chart released March 26.
The Oblivion Battery opener is back atop the tally after five weeks to log its seventh week at No. 1. On its 50th week on the chart, streaming for the long-running hit is up 103%, downloads 104%, and karaoke 103% compared to the week before.
Eighteen songs by the popular three-man band continue to chart this week, with “Ao to Natsu” from 2018 leading the pack at 282 weeks.
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Debuting at No. 2 is SixTONES’ “Barrier.” The six-member boy band’s 14th single bows at No. 1 for sales again, selling 374,475 copies after dropping March 19, making it the group’s 14th consecutive single to debut atop the metric.
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Sakanaction’s “Kaiju” rises a notch to No. 3. The newly released music video accompanying the Orb: On the Movements of the Earth opener helped boost downloads, streaming, video views and karaoke. Downloads are up slightly, streaming up 106%, video 185%, and karaoke 198% week-over-week.
Rosy Chronicle’s “Heirasshai! ~ Nippon de aimasho” bows at No. 4. The Hello! Project girl group’s major-label debut single launches with 74,912 CDs to come in at No. 2 for sales and No. 28 for downloads.
Boku ga Mitakatta Aozora’s “Koi wa baisoku” follows at No. 5, debuting on the chart at a higher position than the group’s previous single, “Sukisugite Up and down.”
Southern All Stars’ “Yume no Uchuryoko” rises to No. 8. The track off the evergreen veteran band’s 16th studio album and the first in ten years entitled THANK YOU SO MUCH ruled radio and came in at No. 11 for downloads after dropping March 19.
The Billboard Japan Hot 100 combines physical and digital sales, audio streams, radio airplay, video views and karaoke data.
See the full Billboard Japan Hot 100 chart, tallying the week from March 17 to 23, here. For more on Japanese music and charts, visit Billboard Japan’s English X account.
Billboard Japan’s Women in Music initiative launched in 2022 to celebrate artists, producers, and executives who have made significant contributions to music and inspired other women through their work, in the same spirit as Billboard’s annual Women in Music celebration since 2007. This interview series featuring female players in the Japanese entertainment industry is one of the highlights of Japan’s WIM project.
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For the latest installment, the four members of ATARASHII GAKKO! — MIZYU, SUZUKA, RIN, and KANON — spoke with Billboard Japan at Amazon Music Studio Tokyo in Shibuya. There’s no other act quite like this unique group anywhere in the world, including its home country. Their concept is to “stand out” and true to this motto, the “Otona Blue” members put on fierce performances clad in their signature sailor-style school uniforms. Having toured internationally to great success and secured fans of various genders and nationalities, what’s their current mindset and where are they heading? The four young women who have been fearlessly standing out from boundaries over the years looked back on their careers and spoke about their future goals in this latest interview.
SUZUKA
Megumi Omori
The concept of ATARASHII GAKKO! has been to “stand out” from the beginning. Why did you choose this theme?
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SUZUKA: I think the premise was that “ordinary is boring.” We wanted to create something new instead of copying something made by someone else. When we explored that idea, we ended up with the concept of “standing out with our individualities and freedom.”
RIN: We were still in junior high and high school when we formed the group, so we were actual students. That’s why we really wanted to become leaders who were half a step ahead of other students. That feeling is also reflected in the “leaders” part of our group’s name. [Translator’s note: The group’s name in Japanese means “the new leaders in school.”]
Now that a decade has passed since the group’s formation, has your way of thinking about standing out changed?
KANON: I think my understanding of it has deepened. At first, I just sort of intuitively tried to stand out, but now I think about what I can do to push boundaries in a meaningful way.
SUZUKA: Yeah, standing out sounds easy but it’s actually quite hard. At first, I was simply rebellious, like, “I don’t like stuff that is exemplary,” but now I have respect for the background of why those boundaries were created. I often say, “It’s OK to stand out, but not to go overboard.” [Laughs] Instead of taking off on a stolen motorbike like the late Yutaka Ozaki sings in his classic song, “The Night,” our group places importance on inner freedom and liberation. We’ll follow rules but push boundaries and add our own new essence, that’s how we feel now.
RIN: In the past, we were like, “Let’s stand out!” on a single straight line that we’d drawn, but now that line has split and spread out in various directions and we look forward to it intersecting with various things.
KANON: To explain in sensory terms, it feels like it started out as a cool color, but now it’s become a warm color. Ten years ago, we were standing out in a pointed way, but now the way we stand out is like a permeating warmth.
KANON
Megumi Omori
What’s the public reaction been like to the way you’ve been standing out?
MIZYU: In Japan, it feels like if you’re even slightly different from the norm, people will ask you, “How come?” But I’ve always wondered who decides what is “normal.”
SUZUKA: We often use the phrase “intolerance is stifling” in our activities and this has been a theme since the group’s formation. There are rules in school and society that you have to follow, of course, but they include things that make you wonder, “Why isn’t this allowed?”
RIN: I think I’ve probably felt pressure to behave in a certain way because I’m a woman.
KANON: But we shouldn’t have to feel that pressure, you know? We want to convey through our music and performances how we can free ourselves from such pressures.
It takes courage to stand out from boundaries. What advice would you give to someone who can’t muster up that courage?
RIN: “Standing out” doesn’t necessarily mean sticking out, and taking that first step towards doing the things you like or want to do is what’s important. That small first step will lead you to your own unique way of standing out. This isn’t really advice, but I want to tell people to cherish the things they really like.SUZUKA: I think one of the main reasons why people can’t muster up the courage to do what they want is because they’re worried about what other people think. But the truth is, no one is really paying that much attention to you. [Laughs] If you do something you like and it’s within the rules, then the people around you have no choice but to accept it. So trust yourself more and do what you like.
RIN
Megumi Omori
So that’s the solid common understanding you all share.
KANON: What SUZUKA and RIN said has become the norm among the four of us. Because we’re accepted by the other members of the group, we can also accept everyone else. So when you come to our shows, you’ll understand what I mean. It’s a space where everyone becomes free and we can all say to each other, “This is the best!” We and all our fans have become a community that sticks out.
RIN: The members have completely different characters and our personalities and appearances are diverse as well. But because four such people got together and grew up respecting the things that we each like, the ATARASHII GAKKO! community has become a place where everyone can feel at ease. That’s why we can express ourselves with confidence even when we go out into the outside world.
MIZYU: I’ve never felt that I had to be the same as everyone else. If you like cute things, for example, you can pursue that to your heart’s content, and even if your tastes are different from the people around you, the important thing is to explore that. The members of our group can respect each other even if we can’t relate to certain aspects, and we’ve come this far because we can enjoy our differences.
MIZYU
Megumi Omori
As female artists, do you ever find yourself thinking about gender?
KANON: We’re women, but it’s a given that we don’t want to be bound by gender. Sometimes we wear sailor-style (girls’) school uniforms, sometimes we wear gakuran (school uniforms for boys), and we have male fans who wear sailor-style school uniforms. Both in Japan and elsewhere, many people express themselves in ways that transcend gender boundaries. We feel like we just express ourselves as human beings without being bound by gender.
MIZYU: Yeah, it seems like our fans freely choose what they like instead of thinking that men should be like this or women should be like that.
KANON: That’s why we want to live as individuals and as human beings instead of “being strong as women.” If people take our expression on a more essential level, like in their souls or senses, rather than being bound by our gender, that would make me happy.
SUZUKA: When I was little, I used to behave in ways that were so different from what was considered “girly” and really hated the feeling of being pushed into a stereotype of what a girl should be like. Now I’ve come to think that it’s fine to just be the way I am.
Is there anything the four of you want to take on in the future?
SUZUKA: I want to make my life wonderful, and I want to make everyone else’s lives wonderful, too. It could be about attaining happiness, or about accomplishing something amazing, but I want to make it so that I can look back and think, “That was one hell of a life!”
KANON: We often use the word “seishun” (youth), but for us, seishun isn’t about age, but about living life to the fullest right now. I want to keep living life to the fullest with these members.
This interview by Rio Hirai (SOW SWEET PUBLISHING) first appeared on Billboard Japan.
King & Prince’s “HEART” blasts in at No. 1 on this week’s Billboard Japan Hot 100, dated March 19.
The group’s 16th single is being featured as the ending theme song for the latest drama series starring member Ren Nagase. The CD launched with 329,809 copies to debut at No. 1 for sales, tops downloads (30,920 units), and comes in at No. 14 for streaming (4,288,922 weekly streams), No. 23 for radio airplay, and No. 3 for video views.
“HEART” becomes King & Prince’s 14th No. 1 on the Japan Hot 100. The group has consistently sold over 300,000 copies of all of its singles in the first week and all of them have topped the physical sales list.
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King & Prince First Week Single Sales
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1. “Cinderella Girl” 622,701 copies
2. “Memorial” 372,139 copies
3. “Kimi wo Matteru” 400,315 copies
4. “koi-wazurai” 385,303 copies
5. “Mazy Night” 531,162 copies
6. “I promise” 578,092 copies
7. “Magic Touch/Beating Hearts” 470,605 copies
8. “Koi Furu Tsukiyo ni Kimi Omou” 449,115 copies
9. “Lovin’ you/Odoruyouni Jinsei wo.” 471,845 copies
10. “TraceTrace” 513,056 copies
11. “Tsukiyomi/Irodori” 614,173 copies
12. “Life goes on/We are young” 1,051,909 copies
13. “Nanimono” 546,829 copies
14. “Aishi Ikiru koto/MAGIC WORD” 353,077 copies
15. “halfmoon / moooove!!” 315,400 copies
16. “HEART” 329,809 copies
Mrs. GREEN APPLE’s “Lilac” stays at No. 2. The track continues to rule streaming for the 28th week with 9,761,022 streams, while hitting No. 8 for downloads, No. 66 for radio, No. 2 for video, and topping karaoke. The Oblivion Battery opener has sailed past 500 million streams as of this week.
SKE48’s “Tick tack zack” debuts at No. 3. The girl group’s 34th single sold 288,724 copies in its first week, coming in at No. 2 for sales and No. 50 for radio.
At No. 4 on the Japan Hot 100 is Sakanaction’s “Kaiju,” slipping a notch from last week. The Orb: On the Movements of the Earth opener came in at No. 7 for downloads, No. 2 for streaming, and No. 6 for radio and video. The accompanying music video dropped Mar. 16, so points for video will also fuel the track from next week.
Mrs. GREEN APPLE’s “Darling” follows at No. 5. The track is also down a notch from last week, but radio and karaoke increased by 133% and 109%, respectively, compared to the week before.
Elsewhere on the chart, Remioromen’s J-pop classic “Sangatsu Kokonoka” (March 9th) charts for the second consecutive week (No. 33 this week). The graduation-related favorite from 2005 climbs the chart every year around this time, and this week, streaming for the track is up 111%, downloads 168%, videos 142%, and karaoke 126% week-over-week.
The Billboard Japan Hot 100 combines physical and digital sales, audio streams, radio airplay, video views and karaoke data.
See the full Billboard Japan Hot 100 chart, tallying the week from Mar. 10 to 16, here. For more on Japanese music and charts, visit Billboard Japan’s English X account.