is a Japanese pop boy band managed by

Vision Factory , operating as Rising Production, is a Japanese talent agency. It largely works with musical talent, but has branched out in recent years to include actors and comedians. The company came into prominence after the widespread successes of musical ...

and signed to the

Pony Canyon , also known by the shorthand form , is a Japanese mass media publishing company founded on October 1, 1966. The company publishes mainly physical home media on compact discs, including music, films and TV shows and video games. It is affi ...

label since 2000. The group consists of Ryohei Chiba and Keita Tachibana;

Ryuichi Ogata , also known monomously as Ryuichi or Dravil, is a Japanese singer, rapper, and guitarist. In 2001, he rose to fame as a member of the Japanese boy band W-inds as the group's dancer, back-up vocalist, and rapper. In addition to his activities wit ...

left the group in 2020. Tachibana is the lead singer of the group, while Chiba and Ogata provide backing vocals and rap. W-inds released their debut single, "Forever Memories", in 2001. They were named "Best New Artists" at the

Japan Cable Awards are an annual set of music awards, sponsored by the . The awards are presented annually since 1968 and are based on requests from the audience received by cable broadcasters. The awards is finished in 2017, Kiyoshi Hikawa, who is a Japanese enk ...

and

Japan Record Awards is a major music awards show, held annually in Japan that recognizes outstanding achievements in the Japan Composer's Association. Until 2005, the show aired on New Year's Eve, but has since aired every December 30 on TBS Japan at 6:30 P.M JST ...

for the release of "Paradox." In addition to selling 5 million copies of CDs in Japan, W-inds has earned numerous awards and accolades from China, Hong Kong, and South Korea.

History

Pre-debut

In 2000, Keita Tachibana from

Fukuoka is the sixth-largest city in Japan, the second-largest port city after Yokohama, and the capital city of Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. The city is built along the shores of Hakata Bay, and has been a center of international commerce since anc ...

passed the Starlight Auditions hosted by Vision Factory and was signed onto their label. In the same year, Ryohei Chiba and

, who attended the same dance school in Sapporo, passed dance auditions to join the group. The three moved to

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and List of cities in Japan, largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, ...

to live together, and in November, began street performances in

Yoyogi Park is a park in Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan. It is located adjacent to Harajuku Station and Meiji Shrine in Yoyogikamizonochō. The park is a popular Tokyo destination, especially on Sundays when it is used as a gathering place for Japanese rock music ...

and

Shibuya Shibuya (wikt:渋谷, 渋谷wikt:区, 区 ''Shibuya-ku'') is a Special wards of Tokyo, special ward in Tokyo, Japan. As a major commercial and finance center, it houses two of the busiest railway stations in the world, Shinjuku Station (southern ...

to promote their activities. Prior to their major label debut in 2001, approximately 8,000 people came to watch.

2001–2002: ''1st Message'' and ''The System of Alive''

On March 14, 2001, W-inds released their first single, "Forever Memories", selling 216,590 copies. On June 17, they held their debut showcase at Asahikawa Medical University Medic Festival in

Hokkaido is Japan's second largest island and comprises the largest and northernmost prefecture, making up its own region. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaidō from Honshu; the two islands are connected by the undersea railway Seikan Tunnel. The lar ...

. On July 4, 2001, their second single, titled "Feel the Fate", was released and their official website launched on the same day. Filming for the promotional video took place on June 7 and the song was performed live at the international tournament in Yoyogi on August 2, where 7,000 people came to watch. Later that year, W-inds made their first appearance in the movie ''Star Light'', which premiered on October 7 at the Ikebukuro Theater. The movie also featured their third single, "Paradox", which was released on October 17, 2001. Filming for the promotional video took place on September 3. For ''Paradox'', w-inds. was awarded "Best New Artists" in the 43rd

. On December 19, 2001, W-inds's first album, ''

1st Message The discography for the Japanese people, Japanese boy band w-inds. consists of 40 singles and 13 studio albums since their major label debut in 2001. Albums Studio albums Compilation albums Remix albums Singles As lead artist As featur ...

'', was released and debuted at #1 on the

Oricon , established in 1999, is the holding company at the head of a Japanese corporate group that supplies statistics and information on music and the music industry in Japan and Western music. It started as, which was founded by Sōkō Koike in ...

Weekly Albums Charts. For the first time, Chiba and Ogata appeared on some of the song tracks. In 2005, Ogata recalled being unsure with the idea at the time, as both of them generally had little experience in rapping and singing. On February 6, 2002, W-inds released a behind-the-scenes DVD titled ''Private of W-inds'', which charted at #3 on the ''

'' Weekly DVD Chart. The DVD was the best-selling male

idol Idol or Idols may refer to: Religion and philosophy * Cult image, a neutral term for a man-made object that is worshipped or venerated for the deity, spirit or demon that it embodies or represents * Murti, a point of focus for devotion or medit ...

DVD for nine years until 2011. On February 20, 2002, W-inds released their fourth single, titled "Try Your Emotion", which peaked at #2 on the weekly charts. Their fifth single, "Another Days", was released on May 22, 2002, and was used as the song to a commercial from Family Mart. Shortly after, W-inds collaborated with

Lead Lead is a chemical element with the symbol Pb (from the Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a heavy metal that is denser than most common materials. Lead is soft and malleable, and also has a relatively low melting point. When freshly cu ...

Flame A flame (from Latin '' flamma'') is the visible, gaseous part of a fire. It is caused by a highly exothermic chemical reaction taking place in a thin zone. When flames are hot enough to have ionized gaseous components of sufficient density they ...

, and

Folder 5 Folder 5 (also spelled Folder5) (フォルダファイヴ ''Forudafaivu'') were a five-girl Japanese pop idol group on the Avex Trax music label. The group's music was known for its Eurobeat style. The band's music was produced by Takashi Kim ...

with the single "World Needs Love", released under the collective name Earth Harmony. During the summer, their sixth single, "Because of You" on August 21, 2002, and was the first single apart from their first album to have Ogata rapping. November 13, 2002 saw the release of their seventh single, "New Paradise". In the same year, w-inds. had their first nationwide tour for their first album, ''1st Message''. They extended their fanbase by briefly performing in

Shanghai Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flowin ...

, China, as part of their tour. In addition to their activities, w-inds. made a brief cameo in the movie ''Nurse no Oshigoto The Movie'' as three soccer players. At the end of 2002, w-inds. released their second album, ''

The System of Alive The discography for the Japanese boy band w-inds. consists of 40 singles and 13 studio albums since their major label debut in 2001. Albums Studio albums Compilation albums Remix albums Singles As lead artist As featured artist Prom ...

'' on December 18, 2002. Similar to 2001, they promoted it at their Christmas fanclub event. Additionally, they gained the opportunity to perform at

Kōhaku Uta Gassen , more commonly known simply as ''Kōhaku'', is an annual New Year's Eve television special produced by Japanese public broadcaster NHK. It is broadcast live simultaneously on television and radio, nationally and internationally by the NHK net ...

for the first time, where they sang "New Paradise."

2003–2007: Expansion across Asia

w-inds. released their eighth single, "Super Lover (I Need You Tonight), on May 21, 2003. On August 21, 2003, they released "Love Is Message", with a musical style that was a departure from the former's dance beat nature. On October 29, 2003, they released "Long Road". In 2004, Vision Factory included Taiwan as one of their locations for the Prime of Life tour. Following that, w-inds. made their debut in Taiwan, and the tickets for their concert there sold out within 23 minutes, which set a record in Taiwan for "the artist with the fastest selling tickets." They became the only Japanese group invited to perform on the MTV Mandarin Awards in September 2006. In 2006, w-inds. made an appearance on Mnet KM Music Festival, a music awards show in

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korean Peninsula and sharing a land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed by the Yellow Sea, while its eas ...

they were the first Japanese artists to ever appear on the show. w-inds. also took part in a China-Japan music festival in 2006. In March 2007, the group flew to

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

to participate in another China-Japan music festival along with two other Japanese artists. On July 2, 2007 w-inds. joined the Pop Rock Gala in celebrating the 10th anniversary of the establishment of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. On this visit they picked up ten awards, accumulated from the years since their debut. During the end of their ''Thanks'' tour, held from the summer of 2007 to the end of the year, w-inds. revealed their upcoming single, "Boogie Woogie 66", and filmed their promotional video at the concerts. w-inds.' 22nd single, "Love Is the Greatest Thing", was released on July 4, 2007, as the theme song for the Japanese release of ''

Shrek the Third ''Shrek the Third'' (also known as ''Shrek 3'') is a 2007 American computer-animated comedy film loosely based on the 1990 picture book '' Shrek!'' by William Steig, produced by DreamWorks Animation and distributed by Paramount Pictures. The se ...

''. The song was sampled from De Souza's "Guilty", and peaked at #4, selling 34,416 copies.

2008–2011: ''Seventh Ave.'', ''Another World'', 10th anniversary

In addition to their first double A side, "Everyday/Can't Get Back", in 2008, on May 13, 2009, w-inds. released another double A side, titled "Rain Is Fallin'/Hybrid Dream". "Rain Is Fallin'" was a collaboration and featured rap verses from

G-Dragon Kwon Ji-yong (; born August 18, 1988), also known by his stage name G-Dragon (지드래곤), is a South Korean rapper, singer-songwriter, record producer, entrepreneur and fashion designer, known as the " King of K-pop". G-Dragon is the recipi ...

from Big Bang, while "Hybrid Dream" was used as the theme song for the program ''Countdown Document Byo-Yomi!'' for the month of May. The single peaked at #2 and sold 48,577 copies. From the summer of 2009 to the end of the year, w-inds. toured venues in Japan with the Sweet Fantasy Tour; in November, the tour extended to Taiwan and Hong Kong. The Hong Kong show pulled in a crowd of 8,000 people. Halfway throughout the tour, the concert held at Kanagawa, Omiya had to be truncated due to Tachibana falling ill. W-inds released another double A-side single " New World/Truth (Saigo no Shinjitsu)" on December 9, 2009. The single debuted at #2 on the Oricon Weekly Charts. "Truth (Saigo no Shinjitsu)" was composed by the American singer and songwriters

Ne-Yo Shaffer Chimere Smith (born October 18, 1979), known professionally as Ne-Yo, is an American singer, songwriter, actor, dancer, and record producer. He gained fame for his songwriting abilities when he penned Mario's 2004 hit " Let Me Love You ...

and B. Howard, who acknowledged their talent after coming across their act. The promotional video for "Truth (Saigo no Shinjitsu)" was filmed during W-inds' stay in Hong Kong for the Sweet Fantasy Tour. The b-side to the single was titled "Tribute" and was a tribute to

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over a ...

2012–present: ''Blue Blood'', ''Timeless'', and ''100''

In 2012, W-inds took a brief hiatus to focus on their own individual projects. During this time, Tachibana relaunched his solo career, Chiba performed in dance showcases with Kenzo from

Da Pump is a Japanese boy band made up of lead vocalist, Issa Hentona and MCs Ken Okumoto, Yukinari Tamaki and Shinobu Miyara. The band formed as students at Okinawa Actors School in 1996. They made their debut on the Avex Trax subsidiary avex tune un ...

, and Ogata formed the rock band All City Steppers. On October 31, 2013, W-inds returned with the single "A Little Bit." On June 1, 2020, Ogata withdrew from the group due to psychosomatic disorder.

Musical style

From their debut, w-inds.' musical style was mainly bubblegum pop, as it was the trend at the time. Tachibana, whose parents are both DJs, listened to American music growing up. Their sixth single, ''Because of you'', was even mentioned to have an "American style" to it. From 2003 onward, w-inds. moved on from lighthearted pop beats into more mellow ballads with mature lyrics in accordance to their growing image. At the end of 2008, w-inds. transitioned into dance beats.

Other activities and endorsements

w-inds. hosted a long-running radio show titled , which lasted from 2001 to 2008. From 2003 to 2007, they appeared in commercials fo
Bourbon Gum
with each new single playing in every new commercial. In 2002, manga artist Natsume Hirose wrote and illustrated a manga titled , which starred w-inds. as side characters. The manga lasted for three volumes and was serialized in ''

Bessatsu Margaret , or for short, is a shōjo manga magazine published monthly in Japan by Shueisha since 1964. Serializations Current *''Fujishiro-san Kei'' – Yuki Nojin *'' Ima Koi: Now I'm in Love'' – Ayuko Hatta *''My Special One'' – Momoko Kōda * ...

''.

Discography

Studio albums * ''1st Message'' (2001) * ''The System of Alive'' (2002) * ''Prime of Life'' (2003) * ''Ageha'' (2005) * ''Thanks'' (2006) * ''

Journey Journey or journeying may refer to: * Travel, the movement of people between distant geographical locations ** Day's journey, a measurement of distance ** Road trip, a long-distance journey on the road Animals * Journey (horse), a thoroughbred ra ...

'' (2007) * ''Seventh Avenue'' (2008) * ''Another World'' (2010) * ''Move Like This'' (2012) * ''Timeless'' (2014) * ''Blue Blood'' (2016) * ''Invisible'' (2017) * ''100'' (2018) Compilation albums * ''W-inds BesTracks'' (2004) * ''W-inds Single Collection Best Eleven'' (2008) * ''W-inds 10th Anniversary Best Album: We Dance For Everyone'' (2011) * ''W-inds 10th Anniversary Best Album: We Sing For You'' (2011)

Filmography

Films

Radio

Publications

# W-inds: First Pictorial (30 September 2001) # W-inds "Move!" (18 January 2002) # W-inds The Stage! (20 September 2002) # W-inds Keita – 1st personal photobook (1 November 2002) # W-inds Ryohei – 1st personal photobook (22 November 2002) # W-inds Ryuichi – 1st personal photobook (6 December 2002) # W-inds Meets Junon (13 September 2003) # W-inds Tour (8 October 2004) # W-inds Live Tour "Ageha" The Document (28 October 2005) # W-inds Vacanza (4 August 2006) # Triangle: W-inds Meets Junon 2 (26 October 2007)

Tours

* W-inds 1st Live Tour: 1st Message * W-inds: The System of Alive Tour 2003 * W-inds: Prime of Life Tour 2004 * W-inds Live Tour 2005: Ageha * W-inds Live Tour 2006: Thanks * W-inds Live Tour 2007: Journey * W-inds Live Tour 2008: Seventh Ave. * W-inds Live Tour 2009: Sweet Fantasy * W-inds Live Tour 2010: Another World * W-inds 10th Anniversary: Three Fourteen * W-inds Best Live Tour 2011 Final at Nippon Budokan * W-inds Live Tour: Awake at Nippon Budokan * W-inds Live Tour 2014: Timeless * W-inds Live Tour 2015: Blue Blood * W-inds 15th Anniversary Live Tour 2016: Forever Memories