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Vicke Blanka announced his upcoming Vicke Blanka North American Tour 2024, set to kick off in Vancouver in January.
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It’s been a busy, globe-trotting year for Vicke Blanka, known outside Japan for “Black Rover” and “Black Catcher,” the opening theme songs for the Black Clover anime series. Beginning with the Jeddah Events Calendar 2023 – Anime Village at City Walk event in Saudi Arabia in May, he performed in RIMINI COMIX in Italy and the 22nd Japan Expo in France in July, the Gamers8 Cosplay Cup supported by WCS in Saudi Arabia in August, and Magnificon Krakow in Poland and 29 Manga Barcelona in Spain in December. Notably, he was invited as honorary musical guest at the Japan Expo in France, where his show recorded the highest attendance for a single stage at the event with over 5,000 people flocking to see him perform.
“I’m so happy to finally get to meet everyone in North America!!” says the 36-year-old singer-songwriter in English ahead of his upcoming North American trek. “I’ve often gotten DMs from US/Canadian fans, like, ‘Come do your show here too!’ and ‘We’ll be waiting for you!’ So. Guess I’ll take my DJ set and guitar with me. Let’s make an awesome tour together!”
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Vicke Blanka’s headlining North American tour will begin Jan. 31 in Vancouver, followed by 10 shows in 10 cities including the final in New York Feb. 20. Tickets are now on sale, see the schedule below.
Vicke Blanka North American Tour 2024
Wednesday, Jan. 31, 2024 VOGUE THEATRE, Vancouver
Friday, Feb. 2 GOTHIC THEATRE, Denver
Monday, Feb. 5 GREAT AMERICAN MUSIC HALL, San Francisco
Tuesday, Feb. 6 THE BELASCO, Los Angeles
Thursday, Feb. 8 STUDIO AT THE FACTORY, Dallas
Friday, Feb. 9 SCOUT BAR, Houston
Tuesday, Feb. 13 PARK WEST, Chicago
Thursday, Feb. 15 ANNABEL’S, Toronto
Sunday, Feb. 18 RIALTO THEATRE, Montreal
Tuesday, Feb. 20 PALLADIUM TIMES SQUARE, New York
The number 21 holds a special significance for Nicholas Teo, who has been in the industry for more than two decades. It’s akin to a “coming-of-age ceremony” for his career. Nicholas named his tour “The 21st Story,” a simple yet direct idea. Having spent over two decades in the limelight, Nicholas has gained a profound understanding of life and no longer fixates on the gains and losses.
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While Nicholas still appreciates his early works, he feels that some songs from his first and second albums no longer resonate with him. In this concert, he aims to express himself more sincerely and chooses every song that resonates with him at this moment.
Even for national hits like “Love Is the Answer” and “Tears From Polaris,” Nicholas wants to present them in a different and interesting way. He collaborates with the music director and band teachers to discuss their feelings and understanding of each song. They may adjust the arrangement direction, such as incorporating a jazz flavor, to give these classic songs a new musical appearance and make them more interesting.
“The 21st Story” is Nicholas’s first official concert tour in mainland China. With his life story full of flesh and blood 21 years since his debut, Nicholas hopes to bring this concert to more cities he has never been to, meet fans whom he hasn’t seen for a long time, and create a new chapter of deep empathy through music. Tickets for the first stop in Shenzhen (Nov. 25) sold out shortly after they were released, and tickets for the second stop in Chengdu (Dec. 9) also sold quickly. More new shows will be unlocked in the future.
“White Night”: A Warm and Reserved Self-Dialogue
After a hiatus of five years from the Chinese music scene, Nicholas finally unveiled his latest EP, White Night, earlier this year. Although he may have slowed down his pace of music releases in recent years, it does not imply a deviation from his musical path. On the contrary, Nicholas has dedicated his heart and soul to each song and album, rendering his music distinct and exceptional. From “To Be…Nicholas” in 2015 to “The Best Is Yet to Come” in 2018, and now White Night in 2023, Nicholas’ musical odyssey has propelled him further and further.
The innovative design of the album’s packaging, featuring a fragmented mirror effect, invites listeners to introspect upon their own emotions and thoughts while engaging with the songs in White Night. The popular track “Innocuous” best embodies Nicholas’s present state of life: “I create music that I adore and present my authentic self through these songs. ‘No Harm Done’ closely aligns with my current state of existence. I increasingly recognize that no one is flawless, and no creation is flawless.”
The love songs in White Night depart from Nicholas’s previous repertoire. They emanate a mature perspective on love. For instance, “Unrequited Love” conveys profound anguish without resorting to heart-wrenching cries, while “Symptomless” showcases an insightful comprehension of life after years of experience. Evolving over time, Nicholas has acquired the ability to introspectively articulate his emotions through his music.
In his forthcoming concert tour, “The 21st Story,” Nicholas aspires to perform an array of works from the past decade, enabling the audience to perceive his personal growth through his music. He has realigned his musical direction to remain true to himself. He desires those who have recently discovered him through a variety of shows to witness his authenticity on stage.
After “Call Me by Fire”: A More Open-minded Nicholas
In “Call Me by Fire,” Nicholas expands the audience’s boundless imagination of him: He possesses capabilities beyond standing silently at the center of the stage and crooning love songs. Nicholas relishes every transformation that each stage brings: “The most remarkable aspect is when it occurs at the opportune moment. I aspire to maintain sincerity in sharing my music. I will give my utmost, not necessarily achieving perfection, but exerting my utmost effort.”
On the debut stage of “Call Me by Fire,” Nicholas’ simple Weibo post stating “I’m fine, I’m back” instantaneously moved fans who had followed him for countless years. Over the past 21 years, Nicholas may not have been as active as he is this year, but these dormant periods have ultimately fostered the unwavering confidence he possesses now that he has “returned.” From Nicholas’s perspective, an artist’s duty is to continually produce output. “If you fail to learn to rest and expose yourself to more input, you will easily become depleted. I hope to grant myself a moment of tranquility so that I may generate fresh creations.”
One method by which Nicholas reinvigorates himself is by aimlessly exploring cities during his travels. “I am not the type of individual who meticulously plans their itinerary in advance. It feels excessively laborious. Just like when I spontaneously decided to take classes in New York, it was an impromptu decision. After registering online and booking my flight and hotel, I promptly embarked on my journey. During one year in Tokyo, I had already boarded the bus to Disney, but then I pondered: why should I visit Disney alone? So, I disembarked from the bus. I do not necessarily visit tourist attractions and capture photographs. Instead, I might relish a cup of coffee, engage in shopping, and abstain from setting lofty expectations for myself.”
Participating in diverse music variety shows has taught Nicholas to be more carefree and at ease with his true self: “When recording variety shows, certain aspects can be challenging. I also wish to express gratitude to myself for persevering until the end and gradually revealing a more endearing and authentic side of Nicholas to everyone. This is likely the most favorable arrangement along the journey. I desire to pat myself on the back and say, ‘Nicholas, you have exerted tremendous effort.’”
Nicholas Teo
Tianyao Wang/Billboard China
This year, country music’s popularity has not only surged in the United States, but globally as well.
No one knows that better than Luke Combs. As part of his WME-booked 44-show 2023 tour, the superstar played in 16 countries, one of the most expansive outings ever by a country artist. In addition to sold-out stadium dates in the U.S., Combs spent August through October playing 23 sold-out shows — primarily in arenas — in New Zealand, Australia and in 12 European countries.
Combs’ efforts have earned him the Country Music Association’s 2023 international artist achievement award, which recognizes outstanding achievements by a U.S.-based artist who has demonstrated significant growth and development outside of the U.S., and has helped promote the country music industry.
The CMA took advantage of Combs’ tour to find out more about country music’s international fans and to help spread the word of the genre’s popularity abroad by embedding Milly Olykan, CMA’s vp of international relations and development on several tour dates.
Unlike pop and rock artists, country artists haven’t toured internationally as often, but with streaming dominating discovery, borders have come down, making it easier for international audiences to learn about country artists.
Combs’ ticket sales were propelled by soaring streaming numbers for country acts like him, Morgan Wallen and Lainey Wilson internationally. On-demand audio and video streams for country music are up 24% in the U.S. through the third quarter of 2023 over the same time frame last year, according to data provided to the CMA by Luminate, and other territories are seeing even bigger growth. The U.K. experienced 34.7% growth in country music streaming over the same time, with September breaking the record for most country streams in a month at 213 million. Germany saw 33% growth and Canada 32% growth.
Combs’ audience has been growing steadily internationally. The two-time CMA entertainer of the year has accumulated more than 5 billion streams outside of the U.S. over the last six years, according to his label, Sony Music Nashville. In addition to expected strong markets such as Canada and Australia, Combs has seen tremendous growth in other territories, including year-over-year streaming increases of 128% in Ireland and 166% in the Netherlands and 130% in Sweden, partially boosted by the success of his international hit cover of Tracy Chapman’s “Fast Car.”
Combs’ manager, Make Wake’s Chris Kappy, studied the analytics, but he also was aware of the international demand for Combs based on anecdotal evidence, including emails from Combs’ passionate base, social media and fans who were traveling from overseas to U.S. dates. “When I’m seeing ‘Luke, come to Sweden,’ ‘Come to New Zealand,’ and you look at the analytics and see that Sydney has more people in it that want [to see] Luke than markets where we’re doing double stadiums, I was like, ‘We’ve got to pay attention to this,’” he says.
Kappy positioned the international tour to Combs as a mission much bigger than just expanding his own audience.
“I sat him down and said, ‘Look, man, this is an investment in your career, this is an investment in country music, this is an investment in taking the genre to the next level,’” Kappy says. “’You’re not going to make as much money as you do in [the United States], but you’re going to put the entire genre on your back, and you’re going to take it to the people and you’re going to show promoters, DSPs, record labels, publishers [and] venue buyers that country music is not only alive and well, but as strong or stronger than any other format that can tour over there.’ And he did it.”
Though he says he didn’t feel like an ambassador for country music, “I knew that’s what we were trying to do,” Combs says. “That was the ultimate goal. I’m going to give the credit to Kappy for that. That was his vision from day one. He was adamant that this was bigger than United States and Canada. No [country act] has ever been fully in. But you not only get to grow the genre, you get to extend the lifetime of your career.”
Combs first toured internationally in 2018, starting in clubs. Though he had been to many cities on the 2023 international leg before, there were certain territories, such as three dates in Scandinavia, where he had “never set foot in and he sold out arenas in all three,” Kappy says.
Tickets went on sale in August 2022 and in many markets, smaller venues were upgraded to arenas when it was clear the demand was there. In a few markets, like Paris, where Combs played the 950-seat La Cigale, or in Brussels at the 740-seat Ancienne Belgique, restrictions on moving shows kept him from being able to relocate despite the potential to sell more tickets.
Combs says playing a handful of smaller venues provided some adjustments for him and for his crew now that he’s a stadium act. “It was a huge challenge to my team to adapt to that size venue,” after playing stadiums and arenas. “We’re lugging 45 guys into a venue that has dressing rooms for 10.” Ultimately, though, he says the Paris show provided some of the best memories of the tour. “We started by playing the bar scene and didn’t realize how much we miss doing that,” he says. “It was cool to get to do that again.”
Kappy says the outside-U.S. dates broke even, and next time Combs tours internationally, he will likely be in stadiums. “We could have already done stadiums in Australia, but we couldn’t get them because the Women’s World Cup was at the same time,” Kappy says.
For the CMA’s Olykan, Combs’ tour was the perfect outing to join.
“I knew I had to leverage Luke Combs’ shows because he’s been building an international audience,” Olykan says. “He was the only one doing a world tour like this and had already done some international touring, so he was the poster child for me to attach myself to.”
Olykan’s purpose was two-pronged: to educate the international market on country music and, upon her return, to educate the U.S. country industry on her findings on potential global markets.
Coordinating with the local Sony office in different territories, Olykan held CMA-funded receptions in eight markets, including Auckland, Oslo, Stockholm, Copenhagen, Hamburg and London. The guest list included local promoters and media, as well as festival, label, streaming and radio executives. “I just knew if I could get those people to the show and around country music in the market, I knew they would [discover] it’s a young audience,” she says. “I was trying to have a converting moment for the industry in the local markets. We’ve engaged an industry around there [who] can lean in now when they hear about country music because they know the potential.”
From her time with Combs, Olykan especially sees growth potential in the Nordic countries. “If artists continue to go to the Nordics, they’re going to build good arena business there and eventually there will be a country music festival that will be a tentpole kind of moment for them,” she says. Based on her findings, the Nordics could leapfrog Germany as the next big country market, joining already established markets like the U.K. and Australia.
In additional to the cocktail parties, the CMA conducted surveys with Combs’ audiences. Though that information is still being tabulated, among the questions asked were how attendees discovered Combs, their listening habits in terms of radio and streaming and their ages. “That data will inform us and we’ll use it to talk to the industry here,” Olykan says, adding that the information will be shared with CMA’s members.
The activities expand on connections the CMA already has established based on existing task forces Olykan set up in the U.K., Canada, the Nordics, Australia and Germany. She meets with the task forces, which include industry executives, every two months.
The CMA also aligns with the Country 2 Country festival (C2C), which takes place every March in London, Glasgow, Belfast, Rotterdam and Berlin. CMA programs the opening slot on the shows with a lineup of new country artists. Based on Olykan’s research, this year, in addition to providing talent for C2C, the CMA will bring a number of developing artists for shows in Stockholm and Oslo.
Miu Sakamoto spoke with Billboard Japan for its Women in Music interview series featuring female players in the Japanese entertainment industry. The WIM initiative in Japan launched last year to honor artists, producers and executives who have made significant contributions to music and inspired other women through their work. The first 30 interviews in this series were recently published in Japan as a “Billboard Japan Presents” collection by writer Rio Hirai, who continues to speak with women to highlight their stories.
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Sakamoto celebrated 25 years in music last year. She grew up surrounded by numerous high-profile adults from a young age — she’s the daughter of world-renowned musicians Ryuichi Sakamoto and Akiko Yano, for starters — and moved to the United States at the age of nine. Her upbringing instilled in her a relatively unbiased way of seeing the world through encounters with various people, and she’s now trying to reflect this in her own parenting. The 43-year-old singer, actress, and writer shared her thoughts on where she currently stands in terms of her career and motherhood.
Did you look up to any women when you were little?
I lived in Koenji (a bohemian district in Tokyo) until I was nine years old and grew up not being very aware of differences between men and women. I’m not very good at noticing gender differences. So I don’t think I looked up to any particular woman, but did love beautiful things. I adored a British band called Japan. They disbanded in 1982, but they were also big in Japan at the time, and when they came, they’d do stuff with my father and hung out at our house. I also liked David Bowie and the hair & makeup artist Chiaki Shimada.
Which reminds me, I remember being fascinated with doing makeup. The men I saw growing up, including my father, wore makeup when they appeared on TV or on stage, so it never even occurred to me that most people thought wearing makeup was something only women did.
Of course if you see men wearing makeup all the time, you wouldn’t end up with such a bias regarding gender norms.
Exactly. I also liked Butoh from a young age and when I became a teenager, I liked Visual-kei bands and gothic style. Beautiful things that transcend gender.
Did you become more aware of gender inequalities as you grew older?
I tried to study gender issues when I became an adult and especially since I returned to Japan, but to tell you the truth, I wasn’t very keen on the way some people advocated feminism in a vocal way.
Why do you think you felt that way?
Since men and women are built differently physically, I thought they’d have respective specialties and roles. I’m sure there are exceptions, but… Because I didn’t think in a discriminatory way, or in terms of gender norms like, “This is how things should be,” I had no idea how people who have had such things imposed on them felt at all. I was never told by my parents to “be like a girl,” and I don’t think my brother was ever told to “be like a man.” That’s why, to begin with, I didn’t get why women had to fight (for their rights).
But I gradually learned through junior high and high school how hard it was for women to win rights in all aspects of society throughout history. Once I realized that it hasn’t been that long since women won their rights and that we’re still in the middle of that process, I began to feel that we still need to continue the movement.
The thing is, though, I’ve still never suffered from having my femininity forced on me, so maybe I’m still a bit fuzzy about it all. That’s why I don’t feel like we necessarily have to constantly reject “being like a woman.” Sometimes it feels limiting to stick too closely to equality in form.
I’ve spoken to more than 30 women so far in this series, and many of them aren’t comfortable with being too vocal about asserting women’s rights. But I don’t think asserting women’s rights is the same as oppressing men or people of other genders. I’m hoping this series will someday lead to a future where we don’t have to focus on “being a woman” as a theme. You mentioned earlier that you were raised in an environment without gender norms. What do you take care to do in raising your child?
To raise her among adults with various values, I suppose. Like what I mentioned earlier about the members of Japan playing with me when I was little, I grew up in an environment with a diverse range of adults around me. There were lots of people who were really wild, too. I’ve seen many cases where people who don’t do well socially are outstandingly talented in one particular thing. I mean, my father was like that. [Laughs] I think that’s very human, and no one is perfect. Looking back, I think my way of thinking has a lot to do with my childhood environment.
In a world where people are criticized if they stray a little bit, it’s meaningful to have that sense that imperfection is human nature. I’m sure it would change society if more people thought that way. Is there anything you take care to do in raising a girl?
I never make fun of her appearance. I’ve always had hang-ups about my own appearance, so I make an effort to never say anything negative to her. Of course it comes naturally and not because I decided to do so, but I persistently tell her that she’s so cute, every day. Maybe it’s something that I wanted for myself growing up.
I don’t think anyone feels negatively about their appearance from day one, and we start comparing ourselves to others as we grow up. Going through that, it must be reassuring to have someone close to you affirming you in that way.
Yes. I gained weight after we moved to the U.S. I started extracurricular activities and became muscular and strong, and also wore glasses because I had bad eyesight. Meanwhile, my brother was pale, slender, and had a beautiful face. So my relatives would casually compare me to him. They’d say things like, “Miu, your physique is made for an easy delivery” and things like that. The concept of “lookism” wasn’t widely known back then. More than the fact that I was a minority as an Asian, I suffered an inferiority complex about my appearance during my adolescence.
You’re right, that bias of “this is how beautiful women/men should look” is what causes people to feel inferior about their appearances. As an artist, do you think being a woman affects you in any way?
As a singer, I think being a woman affects me in terms of how I use the voice I have. My voice is my identity and I want to use it to help society. That’s why I continue to appear on radio (as a host) on top of my singing projects.
In 2022, out of the 100 most popular groups on Billboard Japan’s year-end tally, the gender breakdown of artists and acts was 58 male, 27 female, and 15 mixed. The percentage is pretty much the same every year. Any thoughts on this?
My take is that I don’t think this result necessarily means that female artists have limited opportunities, but rather, there’s an imbalance in the style of consumption in Japan and the age group that can spend money on music. I don’t know the real numbers, but I don’t see how there could be such an imbalance in the share of opportunities (based on gender), because I really don’t feel it myself.
Then there’s the reality that there are far fewer women in management positions in the Japanese music industry.
OK, that is so true. Women who are good at their jobs have to fight in the ways of the man’s world to some extent, and they are under a lot of stress. It’d be best if everyone could work in a way that suits their own physical strength, and I hope someday people will be able to choose jobs based on their individual abilities rather than what gender dictates.
Do you and your partner ever talk about how to divide household tasks?
I happen to be a better and more avid cook than my partner, so I’m in charge of cooking. But when I’m away from home because of tours and things, he handles it. We don’t have specific roles and our general rule is, “the one who’s better at it, does it.” I like cooking because my parents always told me that I should be able to cook. And it wasn’t because I’m a girl, they told my older brother the same thing.
So the balanced way you were raised is still being reflected in your current life. Is there anyone who makes you think, “Seeing this woman gives me courage”?
Well… I have many wonderful friends, but I think it would be (actress) Rinko Kikuchi. We’ve been good friends since we were single and she hasn’t changed at all since she got married and became a mom. I think that’s because she has her own individuality at her core. She’s such a natural kind of human being.
It’s often said that when women have children and their life stage changes, they’re referred to as the mother of their kids or face “mommy track” problems that prevent them from getting jobs they want. But obviously women aren’t just moms even after they become one. I think it’s great that such a high-profile person is expressing that. Did anything change for you personally after becoming a mom, or conversely, did anything remain the same?
I don’t feel like I’ve changed, but when I look back at pictures of my daughter when she was still little, I’m sloppily dressed and my face looks different. I wore clothes that allowed me to breastfeed right away and took her to work, and didn’t have much emotional leeway. I’d breastfeed like it was normal even in the radio studio, so the guests were taken aback. [Laughs] When I kept doing that, people around me got used to it and even the security guys were really nice to me. But I don’t feel that my core has changed. In fact, my boundaries as both a mother and a singer are fading and I’m becoming freer.
—This interview by Rio Hirai first appeared on Billboard Japan
Nogizaka46’s “Monopoly” blasts into No. 1 on the Billboard Japan Hot 100, dated Dec. 13, stopping Ado’s “Show” from adding another week to its six-week streak atop the chart.
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The 34th single by the popular J-pop girl group launched with 691,515 CDs, which is 13 percent more than the first-week figure for its previous single, “Ohitorisama Tengoku.” The track rules sales while also coming in at No. 9 for downloads (4,361 units) and radio airplay.
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Ado’s “Show” slips to No. 2 after ten inconsecutive weeks at No. 1, but still maintains momentum. The USJ Halloween event theme racked up 11,181,079 streams (6 percent gain) and 3,487,800 views (5 percent gain) on video this week to hold at No. 1 respectively, while collecting 13,488 downloads (35 percent gain) to come in at No. 2.
YOASOBI’s “Idol,” Billboard Japan’s No. 1 Song of the Year, falls 2-4 this week but also gained points overall. Streaming is up 0.3 percent from the previous week to hit No. 3, while downloads increased by about 6 percent to come in at No. 11. The track also climbed in radio, rising 33-11 this week.
Both YOASOBI and Ado are set to perform live on the CDTV Live! Live! (Dec. 18) and the 74th NHK Kohaku Uta Gassen on New Year’s Eve. These rare TV appearances by two of the year’s biggest acts will likely lead to expanding their reach even further, greatly influencing the performances of “Idol” and “Show” on the charts in the coming year.
After breaking into the top 10 at No. 8 last week, tuki.’s “Bansanka” rises to No. 5 this week to give the 15-year-old singer-songwriter her highest position on the Japan Hot 100 yet. The poignant love song collected 7,271,834 streams (11 percent gain) to rise 6-4 for the metric, while selling 5,784 units (37 percent gain) to hold at No. 7 for downloads. The track also comes in at No. 9 for video with 1,070,672 views (21 percent gain).
Namedaruma’s “FEEL OR BEEF BADPOP IS DEAD” soars 69-9 to give the Saitama-based hip-hop crew its first top 10 hit. The track hits No. 4 for downloads (8,498 units) and video (1,760,136 views), while also coming in at No. 13 for streaming with 4,754,588 weekly streams.
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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 Dec. 4 to 10, here. For more on Japanese music and charts, visit Billboard Japan’s English Twitter account.
A special program highlighting the Rising Sun Rock Festival 2023 in EZO, an all-night outdoor rock festival that took place Aug. 11 and 12 in Hokkaido, Japan, is set to be streamed on RSR’s official YouTube channel for two days on Dec. 22 and 23. Explore Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest […]
FZMZ, pronounced fathoms, is the masked avatar band that burst onto the scene with “BROKEN GAMES,” the opening theme to the TV anime series Shangri-La Frontier, which began airing in Japan in October. FZMZ is said to be a collective of artists on the front-lines of the music scene, hailing from inside Japan and overseas, and the true identities of several members have already been discovered. JACK is (sic)boy, GAVI is Ivan (of Survive Said The Prophet), and KAMATA is Pierre Nakano (of Ling tosite sigure). However, the band remains shrouded in mystery. Billboard Japan talked with MAQUMA, HONNWAKA88, and KAMATA about their new CD single, “BROKEN GAMES,” which will be released on November 29, about what FZMZ is all about, and about the band’s plans for the real world.
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FZMZ, we know you’re a group of active artists from Japan and abroad. While we know some of your true identities, there’s still a lot of mystery about you, and all kinds of theories are circulating on social media. Could shed some light on what led to you coming together and how it’s felt working as a group.
MAQUMA: Urggg…while I’d love to leave it all to your imagination, I shall take advantage of this opportunity and deign to answer your questions! I was approached regarding Shangri-La Frontier, and I thought to myself, if I’m going to be doing this, then why not join with musicians HONNWAKA88 and KAMATA, who are fellow game and anime aficionados, and create a new project?! Then JACK and GAVI joined, bringing us up to five members. I wrote the demo and HONNWAKA88 worked on the arrangement. As soon as I heard it, two words flashed through my mind: “Giant, Massive Success!”
Details regarding FZMZ’s members are still sparse, but you all clearly have a lot of experience and are highly skilled. It would be unsurprising if there had been some conflict between you, in terms of your motivations and musical preferences. Have you all gotten along well from the start?
HONNWAKA88: This…is the NETAVERSE…
Lineage matters not… sleight of hand matters not…
Crazy sounds spill from our souls, laid bare…
There is no need to hold back…we give ourselves up to the chaos, like a turbulent stream, to surging elation…and thus we are “FZMZ”…
We can go…
What kind of creative work do you see as the exclusive domain of FZMZ?
KAMATA: FZMZ’s, like, this really avant-garde project, and we’re using VR, and games, and anime to open new doors. We’ve got some members we haven’t announced yet that are gonna blow people’s minds, so I’m super-hyped about the future! We’re gonna do some real world live shows and some particle live shows, and we wanna make things even more exciting! Now, if we just had some liquor and some meat and social media, it’d be perfect! Especially liquor!
Your long-awaited first digital single, “BROKEN GAMES,” will be coming out soon. I know that you wrote it as the opening theme song for the TV anime Shangri-La Frontier. What feelings were evoked for you by this anime, this tale of a devotee of terrible games who uses the skills he’s learned through them to take on a beloved gaming masterpiece? What aspects of it did you want to express through your music?
MAQUMA: Urgg…Going back to the comic book source material, I was struck by the dynamism of the battle scenes, so full of energy and movement they scarcely felt like a comic. Now that comic was going to be adapted in anime form, so it was vital that our song had a breakneck beat that could keep up with the anime’s tempo. That said, this anime is no simple collection of battles! There are also the aesthetics of the fantasy world, and appearances by other games, so we needed to weave new approaches into our music! Our supremely gifted rapper, Jack mixed in a hip-hop approach, to great success (that said, I am also a talented rapper!). What’s more, there’s a jangling yet sweeping chorus. These diverse musical elements come together to express the world of Shangri-La Frontier in sonic form!
From the soaring, aggressive intro to the layers of rap, each with their different flows, and then the melodious chorus that opens up the song, it’s really a superb song that makes a tremendous impact. What areas did you focus on when writing the song?
MAQUMA: Urggg! The whole world has its attention focused on the anime coming out of Japan. The image of anime reaching foreign audiences long after Japanese viewers is outdated. Now overseas audiences are keeping up with the latest anime. This is no exception, so, to some extent, we wanted to make a song that would click with overseas fans! For example, my rap, the first verse in the song, is in Japanese, but with English-style pronunciation.
I imagine that lines like “Not not not yet NO, I haven’t had enough” and “this world is going to be mine…duh” reflect the feelings of the main character of Shangri-La Frontier, who keeps taking on games without ever tiring. There must be some overlap there between him and yourselves, who have such illustrious careers but never feel sated and keep pushing forward. What do you think?
MAQUMA: A valiant attempt at an insightful observation, but unfortunately the lyrics of the song are all about the main character, Sunraku. It is free of the feelings of the members of FZMZ! How unfortunate! Don’t feel bad, interviewer! Urggg! However, it is true that no matter how much plankton I eat, I am never sated. This is because I am always growing hungrier!
MAQUMA, you and JACK share credits for the lyrics and music. Is there anything you could share with us about how you divide up your lyric-writing and track creation duties?
MAQUMA: Simply put, Jack writes his own rap parts, and I write the other parts! He’s more of a rap specialist than I, so there’s not much I can say about his part…but I was originally going to sing the “we can go” melody in the chorus. Instead, he sang a high-pitched version, and, honestly, I was stunned. What a serendipitous mistake that beautiful voice was!
MAQUMA, some people have been saying that your voice sounds like the voice of MAH, the vocalist of SiM. They’ve also been saying that your sound production is reminiscent of SiM. What are your thoughts on that?
MAQUMA: Urggg…Interviewer! Do you need to take a break or something? Are you suffering from sleep deprivation?! I am MAQUMA, and no other! We’ve heard in the NETAVERSE that there’s an incredible band called SiM in the real world…but FZMZ is number one! We’re unrivalled and unique!!
Is FZMZ a one-time band, created for just this song, or are you planning on creating more in the future? Could you shed some light on that?
MAQUMA: That’s not important! What’s important right now is that you get some sleep! You can’t do good work if you aren’t well-rested! Urggg…We’ve gone to the trouble of bringing together this group of thrilling and provocative members, so of course we’re going to gift the world with even more of our artistry! If the technology advances enough, the day may come when we can travel freely between our worlds and put on live shows in the real world. But until that day comes, listen to “BROKEN GAMES” and enjoy Shangri-La Frontier!
–This interview by Ryuji Yakou first appeared on Billboard Japan
ONE N’ ONLY, a Japanese dance and vocal unit that celebrated its fifth anniversary this year, recently released a new EP, You are / Hook Up. The EP, which came out on Dec. 6, contains eight new songs. The title song, “You are,” is the group’s first ballad. “Hook Up” is also the name of their tour of all 47 of Japan‘s prefectures, which began Oct. 13. Another song on the EP, “EVOL,” is already a mainstay of their live shows. Billboard Japan talked to them about the highlights of You are / Hook Up, the making of the EP, their impressions of EBiDAN THE LIVE UNIVERSE 2023, and more.
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You’ve recently had a rush of new releases, including this new EP, You are / Hook Up. A month ago, you began streaming a new song, “Freaking Happy.” I’m sure your schedule lately has been really hard lately as you were recording this new material.
TETTA: It was a really intense period of recording, but somehow we made it through. It was a really fulfilling time. We even recorded a music video in the midst of our 47 prefecture tour.
HAYATO: We film a lot of our music videos on location, so we go to urban ruins or overseas sites. But, looking back, even after our five-month period of continuous releases, we’ve been able to release even more.
NAOYA: We’ve been in this cycle of performing at various summer events, and then as soon as they’re finished we go in to record a new song.
HAYATO: Yeah, there’s no need to downplay it, our schedule’s been really hard. (laughs)
And in the middle of all that, you also had EBiDAN THE LIVE UNIVERSE 2023.
HAYATO: That was so fun.
TETTA: Yeah. EBiDAN LIVE really brought EBiDAN together. Until EBiDAN LIVE, each group performed their own music at their own events, so it felt like we were colleagues but, at the same time, rivals. With this event, though, we all really bonded and worked together as one.
KENSHIN: The Soiya project, which everyone in EBiDAN took part in, was another huge accomplishment for us.
EIKU: Right. I’m sure there are people out there who learned about ONE N’ through the project and became fans. In EBiDAN LIVE, we played with label-mates, with different sets and lineups. It was a ton of fun. Yuki from Bullet Train was involved in the production, so we really got to interact a lot more. I’m looking forward to performing with everyone again!
And then you released “You are” and “Hook Up.” These are two very different types of songs.
REI: The EP shows a different side of us, coming right after “Freaking Happy.”
KENSHIN: “You are” was sung by our three vocalists (TETTA, REI, and EIKU), and it’s a song about really straightforward love. The melody, the choreography, it all conveys a different emotional feel than our past songs. It expresses its own well fleshed-out worldview, so I hope people realize that it’s a love song to our SWAGs.
It’s bound to strike an emotional chord with the audience when you perform it live.
TETTA: Right. Plus, we’ve never sung any rock ballads before, so I was really happy to be able to sing a song like this. Personally, I like rock music, and this song opened my eyes to what a surprisingly good match ONE N’s JK-POP and rock are. I think this may have opened the door to more rock-like songs in the future. It’s an extremely freeing song, and it sounds great even with some vocal arrangement twists, so I’d love to perform it live.
“Hook Up” is almost its polar opposite.
HAYATO: It’s really different from “You are.” There’s a lot of rap in “Hook Up,” but I love how these two songs showcase our strengths. We’ve always had a lot of hip-hop based songs, but this is our first time doing this much sampling, so it was really exciting. When we were planning for our tour of all 47 prefectures, we all talked about what to call the tour. We wanted for everyone to feel connected, so we went with the slang “Hook Up!” This song really matched up with that theme. Due, in part, to that, we decided on “Hook Up” as the name of the song, too, and the lyrics became all about racing across Japan. What we ended up with was a more positive-feeling song.
KENSHIN: I sing the start of the second verse, and the lyrics in my part are perfect for this 47 prefecture tour theme. I feel it even more when performing it live, and the song has a lot of interplay with the SWAGs, so it gets everyone amped up. When we perform it live, we take time before the chorus to teach the audience (the call and response), which gets people even more excited, so you can really feel the live ONE N’ experience. A lot of the shows in our 47 prefecture tour are at clubs, so the song is even more special, creating a greater sense of unity with the crowd.
Years from now, when you hear this song, they’ll remember the 47 prefecture tour.
NAOYA: Definitely!
TETTA: Really vividly.
EIKU: It’s such an exciting song. However, the choreography is pretty exhausting, even compared to our other songs, so it’s also a hard song to perform.
HAYATO: It’s so hard!!
EIKU: When we were filming the music video, the dancing took so much stamina, it was a tough shoot. But the energy that goes into our moves looks great on-screen and made for a really cool music video.
HAYATO: We filmed the video in Chigasaki, which is a center for skateboarding, basketball, graphics, and other elements of hip-hop culture. The weather forecast said it would be cloudy all day, but it ended up being sunny.
That’s because you’re stars!
TETTA: Of course!
Haha! I’m sure the music video will also have a really open feel to it.
TETTA: Our performance in the video is really fun, too. KAITA did the choreography for it. KAITA always has really powerful vibes, but this time the dance was three times more energetic than usual. The dancing is really a blast.
REI: The song has a pretty strong hip-hop feel, and it really put our abilities to the test. I love the kind of atmosphere it creates, and I’m sure that aesthetic is going to shine even more when we perform it live. I like our performance in the song even more than the other things we’ve done, so I want to do right by it.
The EP has a lot of other wonderful songs, too.
TETTA: I love the melody to “I Don’t Know.” It’s fast and the singing requires some technical skills, but the chorus uses falsetto. It has a very sophisticated feel. It’s one of my favorites. I like it so much that during show rehearsals, even though we’re not planning on performing it in the show itself, we use it for the sound check.
“I Don’t Know” was JUNE’s first song in a while, right? How did it feel taking direction from him again after all this time?
HAYATO: He has a really strong aesthetic.
KENSHIN: JUNE does the vocals in the demos he sends us, and they’re so polished you could probably release the demos as-is.
TETTA: Yeah! So it always feels to me like we’re doing a cover version. Also, each time I hear a new song from him, I can tell that he’s expecting even more out of us, so it’s really exciting (laughs). The switch-ups in the arrangement were complex, so I struggled with them a bit, but it was really fun.
“The Light” is another cool song.
TETTA: It’s wonderful. At the same time, I feel like it ratchets up expectations for our performance.
KENSHIN: The rap in the second verse was so hard that I really struggled during the recording. It took a long time to make it truly my own. But I recorded that part over and over again, and everyone stuck there with me to the end. I could really feel everyone’s love for the group.
REI: When I heard “Nice Guy,” I was like, “Perfect.” (laughs) In a certain sense, it’s an unusual song for us, so we had to think about the best way to make it shine. We still haven’t developed the choreography for it, but our own efforts have a big impact on the quality of a song, so I want us to really think hard about this one before we perform it.
NAOYA: I particularly like “Turn it up.” It’s a very Japanese-feeling take on hip-hop, and it’s addictive. That said, it’s also a really hard song, and we had to record the rap parts several times. It’s the kind of song I hope people listen to closely.
EIKU: This was the first song I performed a spoken part on. I gave it a bit of a bad-boy feel, so keep your ears open for it.
TETTA: When I first heard it, I didn’t even think it was you, EIKU! I thought it was HAYATO. So I guess you really look up to HAYATO…
HAYATO: Haha!
TETTA: It feels totally natural, and the transition from your lines, EIKU, to your singing, HAYATO, was really smooth.
You mean because of EIKU’s respect for HAYATO?
EIKU: Huh?! Uh, yeah! (laughs)
HAYATO: You sound like that was dragged out of you. (laughs)
I’m looking forward to hearing these songs performed live.
HAYATO: As we’re celebrating our 5th anniversary and touring all of Japan’s 47 prefectures, with this EP we’ve also fully leveraged the rap and vocal strengths we’ve been refining through the years. For now, we want to make it through the tour without any accidents or injuries and top the tour off with a successful final performance at Pacifico Yokohama, so make sure to come see us!
—This interview by Kana Yoshida first appeared on Billboard Japan
Billboard Japan unveiled its 2023 year-end charts, tallying the weeks from Nov. 30, 2022 to Nov. 26, 2023.
The No. 1 song of the year on the Japan Hot 100 is YOASOBI’s “Idol.” The opening theme song of the anime series Oshi no Ko was released digitally in April and logged a whopping 21 consecutive weeks at No. 1 on the Japan Hot 100, an all-time record in the history of the Billboard Japan charts.
The long-running hit by the male-female J-pop duo also made headlines in Japan for hitting No. 1 on Billboard’s Global Excl. U.S. chart on the list dated June 10, a first for a Japanese-language song. “Idol” racked up 509,751 downloads and 527,143,965 streams during the tracking period, taking the top spot on the ranking for the respective metrics.
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“I’m elated. It’s no exaggeration to say I’ve been working hard for this,” says Ayase, YOASOBI’s producer and songwriter. “Of course, I don’t make music for the sake of the charts, but we came in a close second both last year and the year before, and it kind of felt like defeat. I found myself feeling like I had to hit No. 1 (on the year-end charts) to move forward. Looks like my gears will start to move at last.”
Singer ikura adds, “I really feel the same way, and the fact that we were able to reach No. 1 in our third year is the result of YOASOBI having made progress and updated itself. I’m happy to be able to actually feel that.”
At No. 2 this year is “Subtitle” by Official HIGE DANdism, the theme of the popular drama series called silent. Vaundy’s “Kaiju no Hanauta” follows at No. 3, a track that has been charting consistently in the top 10 after being boosted by the 23-year-old hitmaker’s first-ever performance on NHK’s prestigious year-end music show Kohaku Uta Gassen last year.
King & Prince
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The No. 1 album of the year on Billboard Japan’s Hot Albums chart is Mr. 5, the greatest hits collection by King & Prince. The set sold 1,408,873 copies total during the tracking period after dropping April 19. “Our best-of album Mr. 5 hitting No. 1 on Billboard Japan’s Hot Albums of the Year 2023 is an honor,” said Ren Nagase and Kaito Takahashi of King & Prince. “While this will be a repeat of what we said when it hit No. 1 on the mid-year chart, again we’d like to sincerely thank everyone who picked it up and everyone who was involved in its production.”
“This year marks our fifth anniversary, and we’re so grateful to receive such major recognition during our milestone year,” they continued. “It proves many people listened to and saw the works and activities that our group has created since our debut. Thank you to our Tiaras (King & Prince fans) for watching over us all these years. We’ll work even harder next year and beyond so that our works and activities will please those who listen to us. Thank you so much.”
Snow Man’s i DO ME comes in at No. 2 and Stray Kids’ Social Path (feat. LiSA)/Super Bowl -Japanese ver. follows at No. 3.
YOASOBI also tops the Artist 100 ranking compiled from the results of the Japan Hot 100 and Hot Albums charts. With “Idol” and “The Blessing” (No. 15 on the year-end list) showing strong performance in streaming and downloads throughout the year, YOASOBI charted a total of six songs and three albums on the respective year-end top 100 lists. Following at No. 2 on the Artist tally is Mrs. GREEN APPLE with ten songs and Official HIGE DANdism at No. 3 with eight songs on the year-end Japan Hot 100.
YOASOBI’s “Idol” is currently the record-holder in Japan for a song that surpassed 500 million streams the fastest and continues to steadily increase that monumental figure. Meanwhile, HIGE DAN’s “Subtitle” was the record-holder for that same milestone before “Idol” came along, meaning the year-end chart for 2023 sees historic chart results with the biggest hits of the century in Japan dominating the top two spots.
With many reports of international successes and achievements by J-pop acts including YOASOBI, Fujii Kaze, XG, imase and more, we can expect more artists to proceed with a global perspective in 2024. The end of the pandemic will likely lead to more Japanese artists expanding their scope of activities outside of their country, and 2024 looks to be a promising year with music by domestic and international acts intermingling in an unprecedented and exciting way.
Billboard JAPAN Hot 100 of the Year 2023
1. “Idol” / YOASOBI
2. “Subtitle” / Official HIGE DANdism
3. “Kaijuu no Hanauta” / Vaundy
4. “KICK BACK” / Kenshi Yonezu
5. “Dai Zero Kan” / 10-FEET
6. “New Genesis (Uta from ONE PIECE FILM RED)” / Ado
7. “Dance Hall” / Mrs. GREEN APPLE
8. “W/X/Y” / Tani Yuuki
9. “Overdose” / Natori
10. “Utsukushii Hiré” / Spitz
Billboard JAPAN Hot Albums of the Year 2023
1. Mr.5 / King & Prince
2. i DO ME / Snow Man
3. Social Path (feat. LiSA) / Super Bowl -Japanese ver.- / SEVENTEEN
4. FML / SEVENTEEN
5. ALWAYS YOURS / SEVENTEEN
6. THE SOUND / Stray Kids
7. SEVENTEENTH HEAVEN / SEVENTEEN
8. Koe / SixTONES
9. POPMALL / Naniwa Danshi
10. SWEET / TOMORROW X TOGETHER
Billboard JAPAN Artist 100 of the Year 2023
1. YOASOBI
2. Mrs. GREEN APPLE
3. Official HIGE DANdism
4. Vaundy
5. Ado
6. back number
7. Yuuri
8. Kenshi Yonezu
9. King & Prince
10. SEVENTEEN
Ado’s “Show” continues to rule the Billboard Japan Hot 100, now in its 10th week atop the list dated Dec. 6.
The enigmatic songstress has been ramping up exposure on terrestrial TV as the year-end festivities draw near, kicking off her string of appearances on NTV’s Best Artist 2023, a four-hour music extravaganza broadcast on Dec. 2 featuring some of this year’s biggest acts. She performed “Show” and “Tot Musica,” a track off the ONE PIECE FILM RED soundtrack onstage in an elaborate cage-like set, her face veiled in the shadows the entire time.
The USJ Halloween event theme is at No. 3 for downloads this week with 9,991 units, up 6 percent from the week before. Streaming and video views are on the decline but still at No. 1 — both down by about 7 percent with the former at 10,522,262 streams and the latter at 3,296,075 views. The track also comes in at No. 8 for karaoke and No. 38 for radio airplay.
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The 21-year-old singer’s next scheduled TV appearance will be on the FNS Music Festival Day 1 on Wednesday (Dec. 6), where she is set to perform “Show” and “Ibara,” a song written by 23-year-old J-pop hitmaker Vaundy (whose “Kaiju no Hanauta,” by the way, is at No. 7 this week). As the song continues to hit terrestrial waves during the year-end and New Year’s holidays, it’ll be interesting to keep an eye on how the exposure will be reflected on the Japan charts.
=LOVE’s “Last Note shika shiranai” debuts at No. 3 this week. It’s the 15th single by the group produced by former AKB48 member Rino Sashihara, who also wrote the lyrics of this wistful love song about the lingering notes of a perfume. The track featuring youngest member, Kiara Saito (19), in center position of the choreography achieved the group’s best first-week CD sales with 256,835 copies (No. 1), about 7 percent higher than the 239,196 copies sold in the first week of the previous single, “Natsumatope.”
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Following at No. 4 is KID PHENOMENON’s “Sonzai Shoumei” (“Proof of Existence”). The Exile Tribe boy band’s second single is featured as the ending theme for Season 2 of the new Rurouni Kenshin anime series. The track launches with 67,853 CDs — not quite reaching the 84,185 copies sold in the first week of the group’s debut single “Wheelie” — and bows at No. 2 for sales. It also hits No. 1 for radio this week.
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“Bansanka” by tuki. entered the Japan Hot 100 top 10 for the first time at No. 8, giving the 15-year-old singer-songwriter her first-ever top 10 single. Points for both downloads and streaming for the track soared by about 113 percent from last week, the former climbing to No. 7 and the latter to No. 6. Video also rose by about 11 percent to hit No. 13, and karaoke is at No. 38 after gaining 7 percent. The overall increase in points indicates that the song’s popularity is gradually on the rise.
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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 Nov. 27 to Dec. 3, here. For more on Japanese music and charts, visit Billboard Japan’s English Twitter account.