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2008 In Japanese Music
The following is an overview of the year 2008 in Japanese music. It includes notable awards, lists of number-ones, yearly best-sellers, albums released, groups established and disestablished, deaths of notable Japanese music-related people as well as any other relevant Japanese music-related events. For overviews of the year in music from other countries, see 2008 in music. Events *December 31 – 29th NHK Kōhaku Uta Gassen Awards *May 30 – 2008 MTV Video Music Awards Japan *December 30 – 50th Japan Record Awards Number-ones *List of Oricon number-one albums of 2008, Oricon number-one albums *List of Oricon number-one singles of 2008, Oricon number-one singles *List of Hot 100 number-one singles of 2008 (Japan), Hot 100 number-one singles Best-sellers Artists The best-selling music artist in Japan in 2008 by value of sales, including sales of records and of DVDs and Blu-rays, according to Oricon, was Exile (Japanese band), Exile, with . Albums The following is a list of th ...
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2008
File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; the 2008 Sichuan earthquake kills over 87,000; a destroyed Georgian T-72 tank during the Russo-Georgian War; the Trident Hotel in Mumbai was the site of the November 2008 Mumbai attacks;a line of detritus in a backyard made during the December, 2008 resulting from the Kingston Fossil Plant coal fly ash slurry spill ; Poster in Pristina celebrating the 2008 Kosovo declaration of independence, Independence of Kosovo from Serbia., 300x300px, thumb rect 0 0 200 200 Subprime mortgage crisis rect 200 0 400 200 Cyclone Nargis rect 400 0 600 200 2008 Summer Olympics rect 0 200 300 400 2008 Kosovo declaration of independence rect 300 200 600 400 2008 Sichuan earthquake rect 0 400 200 600 Kingston Fossil Plant coal fly ash slurry spill rect 200 400 ...
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Heart Station
''Heart Station'' is the seventh studio and fifth Japanese-language album by Japanese–American recording artist Hikaru Utada. It was released on March 19, 2008 by EMI Music in Japan, and globally on March 26, 2008. It is Utada's eighth consecutive studio album to be fully written and produced by her, with the help of her father Teruzane Utada and long-time collaborator Miyake Akira through the production. Recorded between 2006 and 2008, it was worked on whilst she was recording her ninth studio and second English-language studio album, ''This Is the One'' (2009). With the album artwork photographed by Japanese photographer Mitsuo, ''Heart Station'' was released in two formats: a physical CD, and as a digital download. Upon its release, ''Heart Station'' received very positive reviews from most music critics. Many of them commended the production and song writing, alongside Utada's musical direction and vocal performance. However, minor criticism was aimed towards the lack of i ...
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Kumi Koda
, known professionally as , is a Japanese singer from Kyoto, known for her urban and R&B songs. After debuting with the single "Take Back" in December 2000, Koda gained fame in March 2003 when the songs from her seventh single, "Real Emotion/1000 no Kotoba", were used as themes for the video game ''Final Fantasy X-2''. Her popularity grew with the release of her fourth studio album ''Secret'' (2005), her sixteenth single "Butterfly" (2005), and her first greatest hits album '' Best: First Things'' (2005), reaching the number-three, number-two, and number-one spots respectively. Though her early releases presented a conservative, quiet image, she has become a fashion leader among young women, setting trends such as the ero-kakkoii style. In 2006 and 2007, Oricon named Koda as the top selling artist of the year. Life and career Early life Koda was born into a family of musicians. Her grandfather was a Shakuhachi master and her mother was a Koto teacher; she is the older ...
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Kingdom (Koda Kumi Album)
''Kingdom'' is the sixth studio album by Japanese singer-songwriter Kumi Koda. It was released on January 30, 2008, a week after her single '' anytime''. The album debuted at No. 1 on the Oricon Weekly Charts with sales of 421,302. It remained on the charts for thirty-three weeks. The album was released in four editions: CD, CD+DVD, CD+2DVD and CD+2DVD+Poster, with limited editions of all versions carrying the bonus track ''Black Cherry.'' Kingdom has been certified triple platinum by RIAJ for shipment of 750,000 copies in Japan. Information ''Kingdom'' is Japanese singer-songwriter Koda Kumi's sixth studio album and tenth album overall. It was released on January 30, 2008, a little over a year after her previous studio album, ''Black Cherry.'' The album was her fourth consecutive album to claim the No. 1 spot on the Oricon Albums Charts, continuing her streak, which began in early 2005 with her '' Best ~first things~'' album. It contained new material and was her first album to ...
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Sakanaction
, stylised as sakanaction, are a Japanese rock band from Sapporo, Hokkaido. Their music is a fusion of alternative rock, electronic, pop, and new wave styles. The band consists of five members: Ichiro Yamaguchi, Motoharu Iwadera, Ami Kusakari, Emi Okazaki, and Keiichi Ejima. The name Sakanaction is a portmanteau of "''sakana''" (Japanese for "fish") and "action". In the band's own words, their name reflects a wish to act quickly and lightly, like fish in the water, without fearing changes in the music scene.Official Site Profile
retrieved 2009-01-03
Their records consistently reach the top 10 positions on Japan's charts.


Members

* ** Born in

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Night Fishing (album)
''Night Fishing'' (stylized as ''NIGHT FISHING'', ) is the second studio album by Japanese band Sakanaction. It was released on January 23, 2008, through Victor Entertainment's BabeStar Label. The album primarily features music written by vocalist Ichiro Yamaguchi since the release of their debut album ''Go to the Future'' (2007). Compared to their debut album, which compiled songs that the band had already written, the majority of the songs on ''Night Fishing'' were written specifically for the release. The album was an attempt by the band to find a better balance between popular music and underground, and was an album where the members wanted to incorporate more of their own personal styles; which caused the members to disagree over its content much more than on their debut album. The album was preceded by the digital singles "Word", "Sample" and " Night Fishing Is Good", all released in December 2007. Out of these, "Sample" was chosen as the main promotional track for the album ...
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Guilty (Ayumi Hamasaki Album)
''Guilty'' (capitalized as ''GUILTY'') is the ninth studio album by Japanese recording artist Ayumi Hamasaki. It was released on January 1, 2008 by Avex Trax. ''Guilty'' marks Hamasaki's ninth consecutive album to be fully produced by Japanese producer and manager Max Matsuura, while she contributes to the album as the lead vocalist, background vocalist, and songwriter to all songs. Recorded in Japanese with minor phrases in English, ''Guilty'' is a rock album with numerous musical elements such as pop rock, heavy metal, synthrock, and power ballad melodies. ''Guilty'' was recorded in Japan and the United States of America, making it Hamasaki's third album recorded in the US. Additional production and mastering was handled in both Japan and the US. Five different formats were released to promote the album; a standalone CD, a CD and DVD bundle, a photo book package, a limited edition Playbutton, and a digital release worldwide. Three different artworks were issued for the album's ...
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Greeeen
Greeeen (stylized as GReeeeN) is a Japanese vocal group from Kōriyama in Fukushima Prefecture, comprising the all-male four members: HIDE, navi, 92 (read as "kuni"), and SOH. They made their debut with Universal Music in 2007. Their logo image is of a mouthful of teeth, and the four "e" indicate the number of members and the dentition that you can see when you smile because of all of them were graduated from the Faculty of Dentistry. The sound production is handled by HIDE's older brother JIN, a former guitarist of Pay money To my Pain. According to their website at Universal Music Japan, their catch phrase is "Rock 'n' Breakbeats with four microphones". One notable characteristic is that none of the members have ever shown their faces in the public sphere as a part of GReeeeN, whether in their promotional videos, CDs, television performances, or the Internet. In their only performance on TV-U Fukushima's music show Music Bar Palo Palo (broadcast on January 19, 2007), the group ...
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Dreams Come True (band)
is a Japanese pop band formed in 1988, comprising Miwa Yoshida (lead vocals) and Masato Nakamura (bass). Founding member Takahiro Nishikawa (keyboards) left in 2003 to pursue a solo career. Dreams Come True has sold more than 50 million records worldwide. Their fifth album, ''The Swinging Star'' (1992), was the first Japanese album to sell more than three million copies, and for several years was the highest-selling Japanese-language album of all time. Nakamura composed the music for the Sega Mega Drive games '' Sonic the Hedgehog'' (1991) and ''Sonic the Hedgehog 2'' (1992). History Vocalist Miwa Yoshida, bassist Masato Nakamura, and keyboardist Takahiro Nishikawa formed Dreams Come True in 1988. The band is commonly known as DCT (Dreams Come True) and sometimes referred to as . Their first album sold more than one million copies in Japan. Their fifth, ''The Swinging Star'' (1992), was the first Japanese album to sell over three million copies, and for several years was the b ...
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Ayumi Hamasaki
is a Japanese singer, songwriter, record producer, actress, model, spokesperson, and entrepreneur. By 2002, Hamasaki had earned the nickname "Empress of J-pop" due to her popularity in Japan and throughout Asia. Due to her success and relevance throughout her career, she is considered one of the top solo female artists of the Heisei era, both for her influence on various fashion trends and the music industry. Born and raised in Fukuoka, Fukuoka Prefecture, Hamasaki moved to Tokyo at 14 in 1993 to pursue a career in singing and acting. In 1998, under the tutelage of Avex CEO Max Matsuura, Hamasaki released her debut single " Poker Face"Oricon does not count '' Nothing from Nothing'', released by Nippon Columbia, among Hamasaki's albums. and debut major-label album '' A Song for XX''. The album debuted at the top of the Oricon charts and remained there for five weeks, selling over a million copies. This rapid rise to fame is typically attributed, among other factors, to her un ...
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