Someone fill me in

[ayu3657]

OK, so I've been out of the Japanese music loop for a LONG time now, and I have no idea what has been going on in the world of Japanese music. I had NO idea Ayu had a new CD until I saw someone with it on Soulseek. Anyway, I'd just like some people to fill me in on what has been happening with my favorite artists (new releases, singles, PVs, etc). Those artists would be:

Ayumi Hamasaki
Koda Kumi
Mika Nakashima
Dir en Grey
Namie Amuro
Ai Otsuka

And that's pretty much it. Thanks!

[CREA.tive]

Well you should know that there's the song Startin preview (not the single version but from a concert i think).

Edit: Namie Amuro released the single Violet Sauce/White light on November

[ayu_fan929]

well, i'll do the best i can.

ayu- she just released her new album "(miss) understood" at the beginning of the year, containing all the songs from her 2005 singles. her dvd extra in the album has tons of PVs and it also comes with a photobook too. her upcoming arena tour will start in march and will go all the way to june. as mentioned, she already has a new song called "Startin' "

koda kumi- released her best album, "Best~first things~" in september, it has sold at least 1.5m and it continues to sell to this date. starting dec 7th, she has released 1 new single a week until feb 22nd. but, 9 of the 12 singles are limited to 50,000, and most of them have sold out or nearly sold out. the only non-limited singles are "you" (released dec 7th); "No Regret" (release jan 25th); and "Someday/BoysGirls" (release feb 22nd). she finally has 2 #1 singles under her belt with "you" and "feel". "you" has become her 2nd best selling single, passing "LOVE & HONEY" but still far short from "real EMOTION". she finished her 2nd tour in 2005, (i think its called "Best~first things~") in november. her 1st tour of 2005's dvd, "secret" sold really well.

mika nakashima- starred in the summer/fall movie "NANA" with tremendous success. her single, "GLAMOROUS SKY" (tied in with NANA) was the only female single to break into the 2005 oricon yearly top 10, selling over 400,000. she released her best album, "BEST" on dec 7th and it is expected to break the 1,000,000 mark in 1-2 weeks. sadly, her best album does not come with a dvd extra, and is released separately.

dir en grey- i dunno nething about them.

namie amuro- as mentioned she released her single, "White Light/Violet Sauce" in november. "Violet Sauce" is tied in to the movie, "Sin City". she also released a PV collection dvd in december. her tour "Space of Hip-Pop" ended in december

Otsuka Ai- released her new album, "LOVE COOK" on dec 14th. it has become her best selling album. it includes her hit singles, "SMILY/Biidama" and "Planetarium", which both reached #1 on their release dates. these 2 singles have become her 2nd and 3rd best selling singles respectively. "Planetarium" is expected to break the 300,000 mark by next week. she did her 1st tour earlier in 2005 called "JAM PUNCH" and is scheduled to do another tour later in the year.

[ayu3657]

Thanks a lot! That really helps. I need to get Ai Otsuka's new album. I loved her last one.