Oricon Top 10 CD Single and Album Daily Charts (JAPAN): AKB48 takes the #1 spot on the Singles Charts, Ayumi Hamasaki takes the #1 spot on the Album Charts (12.29.10)
December 30, 2010 by J!-ENT · Leave a Comment
It’s new release Wednesday! Which artist or band took the #1 spot for Japan’s Oricon CD Single Daily Charts and Oricon Album Daily Charts?
Buy the #1 CD Single & Album from CDJAPAN or YesAsia.com:
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NOTE: AKB48 takes the #1 spot, Hey! Say! JUMP at #2 and Kobukuro at #3.
- AKB48 – Chance no Junban
- Hey! Say! JUMP – Arigatou ~Seikai no Doko ni Itemo~
- Kobukuro – Ryusei
- URATA NAOYA feat. Ayumi Hamasaki – Dream ON
- AKB48 – Heavy Rotation
- Girl’s Generation – Gee
- Kana Uemura – Toire no Kami-Sama
- AKB48 – Beginer
- JUJU – Kono yoro wo tomete yo
- Superfly – Eyes On Me
As for the #1 Indies release on the Oricon Indies Daily Charts, the #1 indie song in Japan goes to VAMPS for “MEMORIES”.
For Oricon Weekly Chart Rankings, please click here.
SOURCE: Data was translated from Oricon CD Single Daily Charts
ORICON TOP 10 ALBUM DAILY CHARTS
NOTE: Ayumi Hamasaki takes the #1 spot for “Love Songs”, Ikimonogakari jumps to #2 and Bump of Chicken stays at #3
- Ayumi Hamasaki – Love songs
- Ikimonogakari – Ikimongakari~Members BEST Selection~
- BUMP OF CHICKEN – COSMONAUT
- Mr. Children – SENSE
- Girl’s Generation – HOOT
- KARA – Girls Talk
- Masaharu Fukuyama – THE BEST BANG!!
- Hikaru Utada – Utada Hikaru SINGLE COLLECTION VOL. 2
- Various Artists – DJ KAORI’S JMIX IV
- mothy – Aku no Okoku ~Evils Kingdom~
For rankings comparison, please compare to Oricon’s NINKI Poll predictions for Album Sales.
VAMPS rocks New York! (Photos by Takayuki Okada) – Concert Report by Mimi – J!-ENT Interviews and articles
October 11, 2010 by Mimi · Leave a Comment
VAMPS is a star duo project of Oblivion Dust guitarist K.A.Z and L’Arc-en-Ciel vocalist Hyde. The fairly new side project that launched in February 2008 has been an interest for fans of the duo. On October 9th, the band rocked the crowd in New York at the Roseland Ballroom in Irving Plaza.
VAMPS put on a really fantastic show. The band had really great energy and seemed to be in fine form, and they both looked and sounded great. They packed in quite a lot for the setlist, with a good mix including VAMPS songs drawing from their latest album “Beast”, as well as songs from their first album and a few from HYDE’s solo work. HYDE had the audience in the palm of his hand during his MCs, rousing the crowd up and feeding off of their energy. He also played into the VAMPS persona with some lines like, “I’m hungry… I want to eat some CRAZY AMERICANS!!” which had the audience going wild.
Also of note is the fact that the band played “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds.” It is one of HYDE’s solo tracks, I’m very glad they played it as it was especially apropos given they were playing their show in New York on John Lennon’s 70th birthday. The band also played the VAMPS cover of Shampoo’s “Trouble”, which is a fantastic up tempo rock cover. All in all they played a tight tight show, very well done VAMPS!!
Here are photos from the concert courtesy of Takayuki Okada.
VAMPS will be performing at the following locations around the world in October:
October 12 – SALA APOLO, Barcelona, Spain
October 16 – Espace La Grande Arche, Paris, France
October 23-24 – INTL. Gymnastics Center, Shanghai, China
November 6 – Teatro Caupolican, Santiago, Chile
Japanese Rock Legends, VAMPS @ Roseland in NY on Oct.09
September 29, 2010 by J!-ENT · 2 Comments
VAMPS NY CONCERT OCT. 9TH, SAT. 8PM ROSELAND BALLROOM, NYC
VAMPS, the legends of Japanese Rock are coming back to the US for their first World Tour this fall! Though the star duo project by Hyde (L’Arc-en-Ciel) and K.A.Z ( Oblivion Dust) is only 3 years old, their music and fans are going strong with their energetic live performance. VAMPS will be stopping in NYC on Oct. 9th!
VAMPS NYC TICKET INFOABOUT VAMPS
HYDE Singer/songwriter for the legendary Japanese band l’Arc~en~Ciel, HYDE also began a simultaneous solo career in 2001. Finally feeling free from any musical limitation, Hyde then invested himself in the composition of what would become the most exhausting album of his whole career, ROENTGEN (2002). But in 2004, the stirring sound of Roentgen would be left in the wake of the brutal and rough album, 666. Hyde then gave birth to FAITH (2006), resulting from all of his influences.
Faith also marked HYDE’s most extensive collaboration with K.A.Z to date. The collaboration of the latter during the composition of the songs of that third album would become the climax of Hyde’s solo career, and underline the beginning of a true musical friendship.
The creation of VAMPS – which symbolized the end of HYDE’s solo career, while placing K.A.Z into the spotlight – represented an enormous shift for both artists.
Fortunately, Japanese audiences were very receptive and it showed in the form of sold-out shows, packed arenas, and chart topping sales. Now with their second full album, BEAST, just released, and VAMPS LIVE 2010 World Tour starting in less than 2 months, VAMPS continues to go even further, exploring new musical territories! K.A.Z The multi-talented K.A.Z formed the alternative rock band Oblivion Dust in 1996, before joining the band, hide with Spread Beaver, in 1998. Pushing his own boundaries even further, in 2001 K.A.Z worked with Tetsu from the band l’Arc~en~Ciel on his solo project Tetsu69.
His artistic vision continued to expand in 2002 with pop sensation Anna Tsuchiya when they teamed-up for the band, Spin Aqua, releasing 3 singles and an album titled, Pisces. Around the same time, the famous guitarist then accepted to become co-producer for HYDE’s second solo album 666. Turning into a labor of love, K.A.Z then accompanied HYDE on the tour and pair became even closer. Not long after, HYDE and K.A.Z began working on a new project together that grew beautifully, and powerfully, into VAMPS!
VAMPS LIVE 2010 WORLD TOUR September 26 – TWTC Nangang Exhibition Hall, Taipei, Taiwan October 1 – Avalon Hollywood, Los Angeles, U.S.A. October 3 – Great American Music Hall, San Francisco, U.S.A. October 9 – Roseland Ballroom, New York, U.S.A. October 12 – SALA APOLO, Barcelona, Spain October 16 – Espace La Grande Arche, Paris, France October 23-24 – INTL. Gymnastics Center, Shanghai, China November 6 – Teatro Caupolican, Santiago, Chile
J!-ENT Interviews the Japanese Rock Band VAMPS by Wynne Ip
July 1, 2009 by rabi · 2 Comments
Be ready to get bitten! Because VAMPS is coming to the U.S.
Popular Japanese rock band VAMPS has planned a 10-city tour in the United States, beginning with New York on July 11, 2009, and ending with Los Angeles on August 1.
The 2-member band, which consists vocalist/guitarist HYDE (L’Arc~en~Ciel), and guitarist K.A.Z (Oblivion Dust), was officially formed in 2008. But the two have been working together on HYDE’s solo work since 2003. Their first tour “VAMPS LIVE 2008″ was played in various Zepp live houses throughout Japan – a total of 46 sold-out shows over a span of three months.
Not only are they touring the U.S. in 2009, their first self-titled album, which was released on June 10th in Japan, was also simultaneously released in the United States via iTunes.
But this is not their first time performing in America. Back in July 2006, K.A.Z has accompanied HYDE in his solo tour “FAITH” as his guitarist, performing four sold-out shows in California.
In addition to the planned tour, VAMPS will also be stopping by Otakon the day after their performance on Thursday, July 16th at Baltimore’s SONAR. They’ll be answering fans’ questions and signing autographs at Otakon, a convention of the “otaku generation”, dedicated to everything anime, manga, and all facets of Asian pop culture! Otakon is one of the largest convention of its kind in the United States.
J!-ENT’s Wynne Ip was recently given the opportunity to interview VAMPS prior to their arrival in the U.S.
VAMPS (L-R): K.A.Z and HYDE
J!-ENT: Your fans in the United States are probably familiar with your music. But to those who are new to VAMPS, how would you describe your musical style?
HYDE: SEX BLOOD ROCK N’ ROLL!
K.A.Z: We both went through the golden age of Rock n’ Roll in the 80s and 90s, so we have absorbed various tastes. I think we created my own mixture by going though that era.
J!-ENT: Many of us are aware that the two of you collaborated on HYDE’s solo work and HYDE’s 3rd solo album “FAITH” in 2006. How did the idea to officially form a band come about? Who suggested it first, and how long did it take for you to decide? And why did you decide to form a 2-member band?
HYDE: Since HYDE’s second album, I have worked together with K.A.Z. When working together, I was thinking it would be fun to work with him, but let’s see how it goes… but his existence became so important to me that I decided to share one name with him, rather than using my own name.
K.A.Z: At first, I was a bit anxious while being excited about the idea. I was wondering what other people would think when my songs are created with HYDE as VAMPS’ songs. But I didn’t need to worry—It has been just fun.
J!-ENT: Who came up with the name “VAMPS” and why did you decide to go with this name?
HYDE: It’s from vampire. I love vampires. I like mysterious women, too [laugh]. I like horror.
J!-ENT: On June 10, 2009, VAMPS has released its self-titled debut album. What can we find in “VAMPS” that we cannot find from your previously collaborated album “FAITH”?
HYDE: We have more fun with sounds, say, sound effects. We created music especially for cool lives, so we have a lineup of good live songs.
K.A.Z: The fun part of this album is that it’s VAMPS’ first one [laugh].
HYDE: I think I am making the music that I used to dream of making in my teens. When I started the band, I liked hard-core bands with some horror taste. I feel like I am expressing the stuff I felt back then—maybe not really hard core.
J!-ENT: Can you highlight some of your favorite tracks on this album for us?
HYDE: SEX BLOOD ROCK N’ ROLL!
K.A.Z: I love them all! If I have to choose one, maybe “COSMOS.”
J!-ENT: Are there any interesting stories you can reveal to us during the production of this album?
HYDE: K.A.Z. likes spicy foods very much, but he is not good at handling them, so it was funny to see him screaming while eating.
J!-ENT: What was the inspiration behind covering songs such as “Life On Mars?”, “TROUBLE” on your recent singles, as well as “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds”?
HYDE: God.
J!-ENT: Now that you are returning in July for “VAMPS Live 2009 U.S.A. Tour”, what made you want to come back to play in front of your U.S. fans again?
HYDE: Four lives in America were fabulous. That’s why we could come this time again.
J!-ENT: You are stopping at ten different American cities from coast to coast with venues of different capacities. When did you first start planning for this tour? How did you decide to tour these specific cities?
HYDE: Since the 2006 tour, we have anticipated this kind of tour.
K.A.Z: There are many places I’ve never been, so I look forward to visiting every city.
J!-ENT: In your mind, what would be a successful “VAMPS Live 2009 U.S.A. Tour”?
HYDE: I’m excited to visit cities for the first time and try new things. First of all, I look forward to lives in front of the American audience.
K.A.Z: I can feel how much American audiences enjoy the live. Their cheering voices are so loud! We get excited by that.
J!-ENT: We had asked some of your fans to send us some questions and comments for VAMPS. Mariko from San Francisco wanted to know if HYDE’s part as Kei in “Moon Child” has anything to do with the name “VAMPS”. She wanted to know if HYDE and K.A.Z believe whether real vampires exist.
HYDE: I love vampires and an intrigued by their never-ending lives.
J!-ENT: Jess from Ottawa, Canada, wanted to know what you think, if any, are the advantages and disadvantages for Asian artists to break into the North American market. What are your biggest challenges so far in this regard?
HYDE: I see more Japanese-American musicians, so I guess the music scene has been changing, but we don’t get the same treatment as American artists yet. There is no point of doing the same things that American bands are doing. I believe our band will be appreciated — judging from my own sensibility. Without living in America or lots of passion, it’s difficult for Japanese to obtain English skills. I might want to live there…
K.A.Z: Of course the language is important, but I don’t think you can’t make music without learning the local language. Because it’s music that counts.
J!-ENT: Last but not least, please say a few words to those who are coming to watch your shows in the U.S.
HYDE: Can’t wait to see you! Wait for a little bit more; I will bite your neck!
K.A.Z: Let’s have a fun party!
For VAMPS Live 2009 U.S.A. tour schedule, please see http://vampsliveusa.com/.
VAMPS official website: http://www.vampsxxx.com/
VAMPS official MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/vampsofficial
VAMPROSE: http://www.vamprose.com/For J!-ENT’s previous articles on HYDE, please check out http://j-entonline.com/INTERVIEWS/HYDE/
Purchase the following VAMPS merchandise:
