Asian music "what's on your mind" thread III

[KarenPang]

Happy new year to 1 & all !

2020 has barely even started and yet already 2 big news were revealed on the 1st day of 2020 !

- SPYAIR making a comeback in 2020 after their hiatus in 2019
- Shuuji to Akira doing joint tour to celebrate their 15th anniversary !

Zomg

[Kacku]

What is up with Clazziquai Project's Spotify page? Their discography was (mostly) up yesterday, but today I can only see three of their albums on their artist page and access the others through old likes or a specific search, and some songs and albums are not available at all... Why does this just randomly happen? Well, I'll take this as a reminder that buying albums is still necessary for guaranteeing access to music I like.

[KarenPang]

^ It's the same with BREAKERZ & DAIGO's music in that not everything from their respective discography are made available on the various online streaming platforms from last month onwards

I guess Being still wants fans to buy their physical releases , if they want to hear the missing material that's not uploaded online

[Kacku]

^ Yeah, and that's a valid strategy in and of itself. I just find it strange that material that used to be up for years suddenly seems to get pulled in a surprise move, I can't figure out why artists/labels would want to do that. And I find it extra strange that this happens to a Korean act since (I think) they tend to be more streaming-friendly as a rule.

[Xianghua]

When I was in high school I listened to the jrock band Alice Nine a lot.
I haven’t followed them in a long time, but they had a new year concert today. It was with an orchestra so I went because it sounded interesting.

Instead of the show opening on stage as usual, the spotlight shone on the doors of the entrance to the theater. Everyone turned around and we saw the band standing there and they walked down the aisles to the stage.

On my side of the aisle were the guitarist and bassist, who were AN ARMS LENGTH away from me. And it felt really surreal and weird! Like...I’m looking at them right next to me instead of looking at them through a computer screen.

Anyway I just had to put that strange feeling into words.

[Corvina]

The new Chanmina song is amazing!



Her last album just had a bunch of good (new) songs.
This sounds like a great start to her new EP.

[KarenPang]

LiSA today announced she has gotten married to voice actor Suzuki Tatsuhisa

Congrats to the newly married couple

[Bigtop]

^ That's one surprising news to hear! Fortunate enought that LiSA was able to appear in the Kouhaku before this happens.

Not to get confused, this is the popular anisong singer (not the m-flo member).

Congratulations! We wish them the best, and maybe someday we might see a new child or two sometime down the road!

[KarenPang]

The news did not surprised my sister cos there were already talk about this on them but nothing was outright confirmed til yesterday

Suzuki Tatsuhisa is part of OLDCODEX & many fellow voice actors and actresses already sent their congrats onlinr

[Bigtop]

I don't think anyone here at AHS cares about this - it may be better suited to the Stage48 forum - but Hirate Yurina, the ace of Keyakizaka46 (which is a sister group of Nogizaka46, which is derived from AKB48), suddenly left the group on Thursday. She was only 18 years old. Techi-san centered all eight singles that Keyakizaka46 released so far (dating back to April 2016 when she was only 14), but there has been concerns about her health, especially after what happened in the 2017 Kouhaku, when she and two other members - Suzumoto Miyu, who also announced graduation on the same day as Techi's resignation announcement, and Shida Manaka, who graduated early last year - fell after the group performed "Fukyouwaon" (4th single) twice, and put her and the entire group into a lot of scrutiny. While the management declined to reveal her reason why she left Keyakizaka46 (as a withdrawal rather than a graduation that we typically see in Japanese idol groups big and small, including AKB48, Nogizaka46, Hello! Project and even 'underground' acts), and she declined to comment further than the announcement before her Thursday night Girls Locks! segment of Tokyo FM's School of Lock!, people have been speculating that the combination of her previous health issues - sacroiliac joint instability, to be specific - and rumored disagreement between her and the management may have led to her withdrawal from the group. (EDIT: These reasons could be related, as she felt too much pressure and carried too much burden of being the absolute 'ace' position that she had, and combined with the health issues, I'm sure that may have been over the limit for her.)

Hirate was the lead actress in the movie "Hibiki" (as Hibiki herself, Akui Hibiki) last year.

(In addition to Hirate and Suzumoto leaving Keyakizaka46 on Thursday night, Oda Nana also graduated from the group, but unlike Hirate and Suzumoto, which was primarily health reasons, Oda was caught in a dating scandal during the summer of last year and has struggled with Keyakizaka46 since, and she is citing that and her focus on graduating from college as the reason why she is leaving the group. Sato Shiori, while not leaving Keyakizaka46 at the moment, also announced her intentions to go on hiatus as she focuses on overseas studies.)

It really stinks to see a group getting crippled by mismanagement. It's not the first time we saw a group as such, but for a group like Keyakizaka46, I don't know why the management has been betting a bit too much on Hirate Yurina, causing her to overwork during her tenure with the group. Hopefully we see brighter futures for both Keyakizaka46 (minus Techi) and Techi herself, maybe Techi can show off her own skills to her full potential while Keyakizaka46 regroups themselves moving forward with a mix of old (1st gen, some already graduated but some are still staying) and new (2nd gen, introduced just last year but already getting some work) faces. (EDIT: I'm hearing Techi might go solo sometime later this year! But she needs to get some rest before she goes back into action.)

(Keyakizaka46's last single that they released was back in February 2019. They were supposed to release one late last year or early this year with Hirate as center again, but with all these circumstances, it's pretty much delayed indefinitely at this point, while the management will have to review how they will have to move forward without her before pushing ahead for their long-delayed ninth single.)

[KarenPang]

Watched finished BREAKERZ LIVE TOUR 2019 -Seeking the Blue Bird-

I thought it was not the full concert that NTV+ aired on last Sat , surprised only the double encore footages was cut out as I expected a lot more footages will be excluded

Not only NTV+ aired the tour footages , they also includes an interview they did with the guys

Anyway BREAKERZ LIVE TOUR 2019 -Seeking the Blue Bird- is so kick ass & it proves on why I've supported them for so long now

SHINPEI was super hyper active from start until end xD

And times like this I always feel it's a real shame that the general public in Japan don't know that DAIGO in reality is a really talented musician and not a dumb airhead he constantly portray himself as so on TV :s

That said I so want the video release of BREAKERZ LIVE TOUR 2019 -Seeking the Blue Bird- now

[KarenPang]

Ever since DAIGO got married , everytime he appears on any ARASHI related shows he never fails to promote & talk about his stuff regarding his wife

That's so cute & the latest VS ARASHI episode is no exception

DAIGO & Keiko are the rare Japanese celebrity couples whose popularity got even higher after they got married and the general public generally approved of both of them together

[KarenPang]

Excited for the release of GRANRODEO Tribute Album “RODEO FREAK” in May !

I normally don't buy tribute albums but I probably will do that for GRANRODEO Tribute Album "RODEO FREAK"

Not just because SID , BREAKERZ & other artistes are participating in it but it's a rarity that I became a fan of an artiste after I in person watched their concert for the 1st time

[KarenPang]

Never thought I see the day that DAIGO star in a commercial together with his parents lmao

DAIGO should do that next with his wife ;D

And speaking about his wife , it's so weird DAIGO talked about her in a formal manner in line with Keiko's 2 CMs in promoting GLAY's upcoming new best album

That's not normal :p

[Bigtop]

So, yeah.

Leo Ieiri is going to release an EP (mini-album/single?) on the day I come to Japan ("Answer"; 22 April 2020).

That is, if the coronavirus situation isn't going to impede my travel plans late next month...

But if I do go to Japan, this could be my first CD I'll buy when I'm in Japan!

[Earth_maiden]

^I'm so excited for Leo's new EP! Lucky you if you can purchase it from Japan, she usually has extras for in store purchases, right?

[Bigtop]

Originally Posted by Earth_maiden

^I'm so excited for Leo's new EP! Lucky you if you can purchase it from Japan, she usually has extras for in store purchases, right?

I'll see if I can get a specific postcard that I want, because some of it are limited to certain stores.

[KarenPang]

flumpool at long last releasing their long awaited new album in May !

Sure hope Real will be on par if not better than their last album EGG . EGG was unexpectedly 1 if not flumpool's best studio album to date so it will be quite hard for flumpool to top things with Real

[KarenPang]

Shimura Ken passed away late night due to COVID-19

RIP to him

[KarenPang]

DAIGO & Kitagawa Keiko are going to be 1st time parents

DAIGO is going to be a dad for real , omg that's quite scary to think about lmao but congrats to them