Atsuko Maeda Reveals Covers and Tracklist for "Kimi Wa Boku Da"

Prior to Atsuko Maeda's graduation from AKB48, the "Ace" has released tracklist and covers for her second single, "Kimi wa Boku Da".
The said single, which will be released on June 20th, will be available in three versions. Each versions will have a CD+DVD. "Kimi was Boku da" will be used as the theme song for the movie "Love Masao-kun ga Iku!", while "Migikata" is being used for the TV drama "Shiritsu Bakaleya Koukou".
The covers are the first three pictures above, Act 1,2, and 3 respectively. Moreover, here are the tracklist:
[Act 1] CD+DVD
[CD]
01. Kimi wa Boku da
02. Mikigata
03. Toomawari
04. Kimi wa Boku da [Original Karaoke]
05. Migikata [Original Karaoke]
06. Toomawari [Original Karaoke]
[DVD]
01. Kimi wa Boku da [Music Video]
02. Kimi wa Boku da [Drama Version]
03. Kimi wa Boku da [PV Making]
[Act 2] CD+DVD
[CD]
01. Kimi wa Boku da
02. Mikigata
03. Aishi sugiru to...
04. Kimi wa Boku da [Original Karaoke]
05. Migikata [Original Karaoke]
06. Aishi sugiru to... [Original Karaoke]
[DVD]
01. Kimi wa Boku da [Music Video]
02. Kimi wa Boku da [Drama Version]
03. Graduation Interview [Korekara, Watashi]
[Act 3] CD+DVD
[CD]
01. Kimi wa Boku da
02. Mikigata
03. Sunday drive
04. Kimi wa Boku da [Original Karaoke]
05. Migikata [Original Karaoke]
06. Sunday drive [Original Karaoke]
[DVD]
01. Kimi wa Boku da [Music Video]
02. Kimi wa Boku da [Drama Version]
03. Bokutachi no Goshujinsama ~Aikentachi to Maeda Atsuko no Nichijou~

AKB48's Atsuko Maeda To Graduate After Tokyo Dome Concert

AKB48 member Atsuko Maeda shocked fans when she announced she had decided to graduate from the group. For months, the date of her graduation had not been decided on.
Today, the man behind the group, Akimoto Yasushi, revealed through his Google + account that he and Atsuko have discussed when she will be leaving.
"Though she is not good with words, she shared her sincere thoughts with me. I was touched to see that the shy 14 year old girl that always hid in a shell had matured into a 20 year old woman who cared for others and shared those feelings with me...Anyway, Atsuko Maeda will be graduating after the Tokyo Dome concert and the AKB theater performance on the following day," he wrote.
The dates for the group's Tokyo Dome concerts have not been set yet. However, it is clear that whenever this occurs, it will mark the singer's last day with the group.

AKB48 Members Make Personal Appeal for Senbatsu Election 2012

Just like in every elections, even idols have the chance to make an appeal to charm their voters. AKB48's members, from Team A to Team 4, have now started their campaign for the general election. Each "elections appeal" have been posted on AKB48's official Youtube channel.
The 4th Senbatsu Election will not only determined the new "center" but will also determined the chosen-one's for AKB48's 27th single. This year's election have attracted more attention after Atsuko Maeda's decision to graduate. Oshima Yuko, who ranked no.2 last year and no.1 backed in 2010, is rumored to be this year's front-runner, and said to be her last chance to be AKB48's center. However, other members like Takahashi Minami, Mayu Watanabe, and Kashiwagi Yuki are not far behind.
The 4th Senbatsu Election will be held at Nippon Budokan on June 6th.
To watch AKB48's personal election's appeal, as well as individual videos from their sister groups and sub-unit, click HERE.
If you have the chance to vote for this year's Senbatsu Election, who will you vote for?

AKB48's Tokyo Dome Schedule Determined, Atsuko Maeda to Graduate One Day Later

As with the title of AKB48's official blog "~Road to TOKYO DOME~", it has been their dream to be invited to perform at Tokyo Dome since the formation of the then unpopular idol group back in Dec 8, 2005.
Today, at the last day of Minogashita Kimitachie 2 concert, it's announced that AKB48 has been determined to perform at Tokyo Dome from 24th to 26th August for 3 days.
This is during the encore performance, when a video footage of Minami Takahashi visiting the HQ of Yomiuri Newspaper is suddenly played on the screen to about 2100 fans at the scene. Yomiuri Newspaper is the largest newspaper agency in Japan, and also the owner of the famous professional baseball team Yomiuri Giants, whose home is the Tokyo Dome. She met and spoke to the chairman of the company Tsuneo Watanabe, where he unveiled the performance dates to her.
Mr. Watanabe added that each day shall be filled with about 40,000 fans at the stadium, accumulating to over 100,000 fans over 3 days. It'll be the largest concert ever in Japan*.
*The context here may not necessary be referring to number of audience
Despite achieving their biggest dream, it'll be the most heartbreaking moment for AKB48 and the fans when Atsuko Maeda is set to graduate on August 27th, 1 day after the concert back at the AKB48 Theater in Akihabara, where everything first begins. On that day, it'll be her last stage performance, ending her 6 years as an undisputed ace of AKB48.
According to Minami Takahashi, Captain of AKB48 Team A, it shall be a new starting point for AKB48 from here on and she hopes that the group will keep growing with the fans.
Note: It's still unknown at the moment whether Atsuko Maeda will be participating in AKB48's 27th single, which is to be released in August.
Gallery: Minami Takahashi's conversation with Tsuneo Watanabe

高橋みなみより東京ドームコンサート日程について / AKB48【公式】

高橋みなみよりAKB48東京ドームコンサートの日程について発表させていただきます。

Hey!Say!JUMP on Their First-Ever Overseas Live Performance

18,000 fans screamed and cheered for Hey!Say!JUMP as they rocked their first-ever overseas performance in Star Hall KITEC, Hong Kong, which lasted for two days (May 26th and 27th).
As curtains fall, the nine-member Johnny's group was welcomed with a deafening roar from the audience. They opened the night with "Ultra Music Power!" followed by their trademark "flying" routine as they start singing "Dreams Come True". They also performed songs from their 2nd album- "JUMP World"- like "Super Delicate" and "Boku wa Vampire" where Yamada Ryosuke came out from a coffin. The Johnny's talents performed 29 songs in total including a cover of Masahiko Kondo's "Andalucia ni Akogarete". Masahiko is one of Johnny's seniors/senpai who also performed in Hong Kong backed in the 80's.
More than Hey!Say!JUMP's awe-inspiring group performances, the concert also showcased each members' individual talents, like: Yamada Ryosuke on saxophone, Nakajima Yuto on drums, Yaotome Hikaru on bass, and Keito Okamoto on guitar.
During MCs, fans got the chance for some interaction with their idols. One fan even asked about their room assignments and the members were just too happy to share. Apparently, Hikaru was the only one who didn't get a room partner. Moreover, a lot of hugs were requested from the audience, prompting the members to go down from the stage to hug and shake hands of their fans.
Aside from Hey!Say!JUMP, fellow Johnny's talents like A.B.C.-Z and Noon Boyz from Johnny's Junior also performed for the crowd.
Lastly, the group sang "Arigatou boku kara kimi e" as a way of thanking their fans not just for attending their concert but also for helping Japan during last year's earthquake. They even sang the latter part in Cantonese, which was received with loud applause.

the LEM Releasing First Mini Album

Visual Kei band the LEM will release their first mini album titled “∞-infinity-“ in June!
From December 2011 to April 2012 the band had a five-month consecutive release campaign where each month one of the members released a song available for download. These songs and a brand new song titled “∞-infinity” can also be heard on the LEM’s new mini album “∞-infinity-“ that will come out on June 27th!
Tracklist:
1. COSMIC JOURNEY
2. under the beautiful
3. over and again
4. LoveDistance ni hanabata wo
5. kimi wo utaeba
6. ∞-infinity
To commemorate the release the band will hold some instore events in Tokyo, Osaka and Nagoya.

Former SDN48 Member Yuka Ninomiya Welcomes First Child

Former SDN48 member Yuka Ninomiya gave birth to a healthy baby boy.
The child is reportedly 7 pounds 4 ounces and was delivered in only 6 hours.
"It’s such a strange feeling!!! I thought I was going to be moved to tears, but both my husband and I were surprisingly calm.“ She continued, “But of course, he’s really cute and precious! I’m filled with gratitude that he was born safely!!!" she stated through an announcement.
Yuka joined SDN48 in May of 2010 as the group's first married member, but left the on May 12th of 2011. This is the singer's first child.

Former AKB48 Member Erena Ono To Go Solo This Summer

Former AKB48 member Erena Ono will be releasing her first solo single this summer.

The new single is titled "Erepyon" and will be released on June 13th. The song will used as the opening theme song for the Fuji TV drama "Legal High" starting on April 17th.

The new single will come in 3 limited editions, a regular edition and a Lawson edition. Check out the tracklist below:

Regular Edition

1. Erepyon
2. Sentimental Girl

Limited Edition A

CD
1. Erepyon
2. Sentimental Girl

DVD
1. Erepyon -music video-
2. Off-shoot

Limited Edtion B

CD
1. Erepyon
2. Sentimental Girl

DVD
1. Photo -making of-

Limited Edtion C

CD
1. Erepyon
2. (TBA)

DVD
1. Coupling song -music video-
2. Off-shoot

Lawson Edition

CD
1. Erepyon
2. Sentimental Girl

DVD
1. Comment DVD

AKB48's Kohaku Uta Gassen 2011 DVD Tops Oricon Charts

AKB48's own version of the annual Kohaku Uta Gassen has been selling like pancakes and currently tops Oricon DVD charts.

AKB48's Kohaku Uta Gassen 2011 have managed to top Oricon's DVD ranking with 68,000 copies sold for just the first week. This is a huge leap from last year's 16,000 sales. Some have been speculating that Atsuko Maeda's graduation announcement is one of the reasons for a huge rise in sales especially since the DVD was released right after the Saitama concert.

Moreover, the latest AKB48's DVD is also a collaboration of their sister groups- SKE48, NMB48, and HKT48. Lastly, last year's Kohaku also introduced JKT48, which drew attention from Japanese and Indonesian media.

AKB48 Opens First Cafe in Kansai Region

AKB48's Aki Takajou and NMB48's Saka Yamamoto participated in the grand opening of the "AKB48 Cafe&Shop Namba" located in Osaka at the Namba Ground Kagetsu. This will be the 4th store opened by AKB and is the first in the Kansai Region. Others have been opened in Akihabara (Tokyo-7/2011), Hakata (Fukuoka-3/2012), and Harajuku (Tokyo-9/2011).

AKB48 wanted to make this cafe special and created and designed their own personal menu. Their cafe area is a stylish rendition of a traditional cafe and seats 56 people. Takeshiro wants a more people to know the AKB48 group as well as appeal to a wide variety of people.

In addition to those members already stated, AKB48's Haruka Katayama, Kobayashi Kana, Ami Maeda and NMB48's Rieko Jyou, and Yuuka Kodakari participated in the event.

Itano Tomomi Reveals Title, Covers & Tracklist for Her 3rd Single

AKB48's Itano Tomomi has revealed the title of her 3rd single to be "Jyuunen go no Kimi e" (10年後の君へ). It'll be released in 3 editions: DVD Type A and B, and Regular CD Edition. Additionally, she has also unveiled the covers and tracklist.

Type A

【CD】
01.Jyuunen go no Kimi e
02.Clone
03.deal feat. NO-FACE
04.Jyuunen go no Kimi e ‒instrumental-
05.Clone ‒instrumental-
06.deal feat. NO-FACE‒instrumental-
【DVD】
01.Jyuunen go no Kimi e -Music Video-
02.Jyuunen go no Kimi e -Making Clip-

Type B

【CD】
01.Jyuunen go no Kimi e
02.Clone
03.Always I need you
04.Jyuunen go no Kimi e ‒instrumental-
05.Clone ‒instrumental-
06.Always I need you‒instrumental-
【DVD】
01.Clone -Music Video-
02.Clone -Making Clip-

Regular Edition

【CD】
01.Jyuunen go no Kimi e
02.Clone
03.lose-lose
04.Jyuunen go no Kimi e ‒instrumental-
05.Clone ‒instrumental-
06.lose-lose ‒instrumental-

How do you feel of her upcoming single? "Jyuunen go no Kimi e" is scheduled to hit the shelves on 25th April.

SKE48's Matsui Jurina Hospitalized Due to Overwork

SKE48's Matsui Jurina was hospitalized today, Apr 4th. SKE48 official blog released a statement stating that Jurina has to be admitted in the hospital because she's been experiencing dizziness and fatigue for several months. Her deteriorating health is also the reason why SKE decided to cancel a scheduled hand-shake event.
Jurina was asked to take a medical leave and was diagnosed with anemia due to overwork. She was also advised to have a proper rest and nutrition to slowly regained her energy.

To alleviate Jurina's fans fears, Jurina posted a picture of herself on her Google+ account with this message: (translated by tomkono)

I have been in hospital from today for several days.
So sorry to cause make you worry about me(>_<)
I am eating a lot to get better soon!
But I'm telling my mother I wanna eat your homemade meat sauce spaghetti!
Oh..
I have to sleep early!!!

Jurina Matsui is expected to resume her activities once her health has improved.

Tackey & Tsubasa 10th Anniversary Event in Yokohama

Popular Johnny's duo- Tackey & Tsubasa- held their 10th anniversary special event with 15,000 fans in attendance at Yokohama Arena last Apr 1st.

15,000 fans were selected via lottery after they purchased the duo's latest concert DVD "Tackey & Tsubasa Tour 2011 OUR FUTURE". According to the report, Tackey and Tsubasa personally welcomed their fans as they entered Yokohama Arena. A special booth was set-up for a "talk show" wherein fans got the chance to do some Q&A and even participated in games.

Hideaki Takizawa said that Yokohama Arena is special to him and Tsubasa Imai because it was the first stage they performed at and it was also used as a venue of their press conference when they debuted.

Moreover, the duo performed six of their hit songs, which included “Ai wa Takaramono”. They also performed songs from their Johnny's Junior pre-debut days.

When Imai was asked what he got for Tackey for his 30th birthday last Mar 29th, he said that he gave Tackey a figurine of "Takizawa Kabuki", a female stage show character of Takizawa.

Lastly, even though both of them are busy with their own solo activities, they still hoped that they will be able to do something together for their 10th year anniversary just like this Yokohama event.

Atsuko Maeda Won't Participate in AKB48's 4th Senbatsu Election

Atsuko Maeda has been rejecting many questions regarding her graduation as she wants time to properly convey her feelings in own words. To do so, she released a video on AKB48 official Youtube channel and Google+, where she unveiled her intentions and rationale, and while a graduation date is not fixed, she will be withdrawing from the senbatsu election. She also hopes that fans will continue to support her and AKB48.
Check out the video below:

前田敦子より総選挙について / AKB48[公式]

AKB48 前田敦子より総選挙についてファンの皆様にお伝えしたいことがあります。

Full translations (credits to melosnomichi.blogspot.com):

This is Maeda Atsuko from Team A of AKB48.
On March 25th, I announced my graduation from AKB48 at Saitama Super Arena.
As expected, I am very clumsy and not good at handling many things at once;
I am very disappointed in myself because of this, and I believe this has made all the members, staff and fans worry about me, as well as given them a lot of trouble. However everyone has been great to me and I feel like I've been a spoilt child taking advantage of everyone's kindness.
I started thinking about graduation quite a while ago, but I didn't tell anyone except Takamina, a few other members and Akimoto-san. These were not exactly realistic conversations, and I was really worried that if I am not in AKB anymore, what would be left of me?
We won the Record of the Year award last year; we have finally made it to the Tokyo Dome; we participated in NHK Kouhaku Utagassen; slowly but surely our dreams are becoming real, and it's time for the next step. I'm sure every member is doing a lot of thinking about the future, and they will need all the chances they can get from AKB. In order for this to happen, I have to work harder.
When I announced my graduation, I was very anxious in front of everyone, like I said, and I'm sure everyone is worried about whether I can be on my own, since until now I have always had members to depend on and always had this place called AKB for me to go back. But I've made it this far and this is what I want to do.
I would be very happy if you could keep cheering for me.
Like I've been saying - at this point I haven't decided any details on my graduation, and I've been discussing the timing with everyone. I would like to withdraw from the upcoming AKB Senbatsu Election, and I am sorry for any inconvenience caused.
I really wanted this message to come from myself, so I was given the chance to present it in this fashion. I don't have a lot of time left as a member of AKB, but I will still be around after graduation. I would be grateful if you would keep supporting me. Moreover, please keep cheering for AKB48 with me.
Maeda Atsuko, out.

Nana Mizuki to Provide Theme Song for Blood-C Movie

Popular seiyuu-singer Nana Mizuki will provide the theme song to the anime movie Blood-C: The Last Dark.

This will be her 2nd musical work involving in the anime, with the previous one being her 25th single "Junketsu Paradox", which is being used as the ending theme to the Blood-C TV series. However, any CD release of the new theme song is still not known at the moment.

Like with the TV series, Nana Mizuki will also again return to voice Saya Kisaragi in the movie. The movie will premiere in Japan on 2nd June.

Check Out a Preview for Maiko Fujita's New Single "Nee"

Japanese singer Maiko Fujita will be releasing her new single ねぇ(Nee) on April 18th. You can listen to a preview of it in the Hiiro No Kakera anime trailer.

Maiko Fujita was born on January 16, 1984 in Nagoya, Japan and made her musical debut with her single Koi ni Ochite in 2006. Since then, she has released six singles, four studio albums, one mini-album and a compilation album.

Meanwhile, Hiiro no Kakera is a otome video game set to air its anime adaption in April of this year. The story centers around a teenage girl named Tamaki Kasuga who moves to a mountain village where her grandmother resides. While there she encounters terrible creatures, but is saved by a boy named Takuma Onizaki.

___

Hiiro no Kakera Anime PV

アニメ 緋色の欠片 【PV】

Yu Yamada And Oguri Shun Announce Marriage

Yu Yamada and Oguri Shun have announced that they are getting married. The marriage will be registered on March 14th.

The two released a statement to the media together. The two told the media that they will register their marriage on March 14, thanked everyone for their support and stated that they would like to build a family together.

Congratulations to the happy couple!

Ikimonogakari's NEWTRAL Tops Oricon Album Charts 2 Weeks in a Row

Popular trio pop/rock band Ikimonogakari's 5th album "NEWTRAL" continues to sell very well on its 2nd week of sales, claiming the number 1 spot on the Oricon weekly charts once again, selling 83,000 copies. Together with their 1st week sales, this totals up to 276,000 copies.

With just 83,000 copies sold, they already outsold the 1st week sales of other popular artists' work like Jin Akanishi's "JAPONICANA" and SCANDAL's compilation album "SCANDAL SHOW".

However, this is nothing new to Ikimonogakari. Their 4th album "Hajimari no Uta" and their compilation album "Ikimonobakari ~Members Best Selection~" managed to top the Oricon weekly album charts 2 weeks in a row as well.

That's not all! The success of this album further raised the sales of their compilation album "Ikimonobakari ~Members Best Selection~", which is released way back in November 2010. Though it's still charting well last week at #51, it managed to rise to #38 this week, bringing the total sales to 1,338,000 copies and back in the Oricon's weekly top 50. With this, the album has charted for 71 weeks, and won't be dropping off anytime soon.

Nogizaka46 Announces 2nd Single

AKB48's official rival Nogizaka46 have announced their 2nd single, scheduled to be released on the 2nd May. This is the same release date as AKB48 Sashihara Rino's debut single "Soredemo Sukidayo", and 1 week before NMB48's 4th single.

As with their debut single, it'll be released in 4 editions: Limited Edition Type A, B, C and Regular Edition. The title and track-list of the single is still not known at the moment.

Nogizaka46's debut single "Guruguru Curtain" peaked at #2 on the Oricon charts, selling 133,000 copies in its first week, and have sold over 160,000 copies till date. Do you think they can do better and get #1 on the Oricon weekly charts with the next single?

Chef Tatsuya Kawagoe Debuts as Artist

Popular chef Tatsuya Kawagoe has announced the release of his single "O America no Ohanashi/Curry Rice Gakkou" which will be released as on his debut CD on April 25th.

Tokui Yoshimi who is in charge of the tutorials is writing the lyrics. Kawagoe wants children to not dislike or like food but just be able to eat some delicious meals. Intertwined within the two songs are feelings of food through dreams.

　
Besides opening his official artist site and twitter account (@chef_kawagoe) today (13th), there will be a photo session and meeting with Kawagoe for the release of his CD. With his sweet CD meaning both meanings, it will sure attract lots of people including the women.