Superfly is a Japanese rock act that debuted on April 4, 2007. Formerly a duo, the act now consists solely of lyricist and vocalist Shiho Ochi with former guitarist Kōichi Tabo still credited as the group's composer and part-time lyricist. Superfly's first two studio albums were certified double platinum by the

Recording Industry Association of Japan The is an industry trade group composed of Japanese corporations involved in the music industry. It was founded in 1942 as the Japan Phonogram Record Cultural Association, and adopted its current name in 1969. The RIAJ's activities include pr ...

, and their first four consecutive albums (the third being classified as a "single" by the group) all debuted at the top of 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 i ...

Weekly Album Charts, a first for a female recording artist in Japan in over seven years.

History

2003–2006: Formation

met in 2003 while they were students at

Matsuyama University is a private university in Matsuyama 270px, Matsuyama City Hall 270px, Ehime Prefectural Capital Building is the capital city of Ehime Prefecture on the island of Shikoku in Japan and also Shikoku's largest city. , the city had an estima ...

. They were both members of a music circle that covered songs by

Finger 5 was a Japanese pop group, initially composed of the four Okinawan Tamamoto brothers Kazuo, Mitsuo, Masao, Akira, and sister Taeko. Their greatest hit was . The Okinawa-based group performed catchy songs, wore matching outfits and had choreo ...

and

the Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the gritty, rhythmically dr ...

. In 2004, the group formed the blues band "Superfly", naming themselves after

Curtis Mayfield Curtis Lee Mayfield (June 3, 1942 – December 26, 1999) was an American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and record producer, and one of the most influential musicians behind soul and politically conscious African-American music.

's song " Superfly". The group split up in 2005, with only Ochi and Tabo remaining when they went to Tokyo to seek out a label.

2007–2008: ''Superfly''

After a battle between recording labels, the duo debuted on

Warner Music Group Warner Music Group Corp. ( d.b.a. Warner Music Group, commonly abbreviated as WMG) is an American multinational entertainment and record label conglomerate headquartered in New York City. It is one of the " big three" recording companies and th ...

with their 2007 single " Hello Hello". This was followed by their

Shibuya, Tokyo Shibuya (渋谷区 ''Shibuya-ku'') is a 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 half) and Shibuya Station. As of April 1, ...

Apple Store The Apple Store is a chain of retail stores owned and operated by Apple Inc. The stores sell various Apple products, including Mac personal computers, iPhone smartphones, iPad tablet computers, Apple Watch smartwatches, Apple TV digital me ...

performance and the subsequent EP '' Live from Tokyo''. On November 8, 2007, a few months after their second single "

Manifesto A manifesto is a published declaration of the intentions, motives, or views of the issuer, be it an individual, group, political party or government. A manifesto usually accepts a previously published opinion or public consensus or promotes a ...

" was released, Kōichi Tabo announced on their website that he stopped appearing on the stage to concentrate on composing the songs. Besides being active behind the scenes as Superfly's composer & arranger, Tabo has also written music for artists such as

Charice Pempengco Jake Zyrus (formerly known under the mononym Charice; born 10 May 1992) is a Filipino singer and television personality. In 2007, after some appearances on Philippine television, Zyrus sang on ''The Ellen DeGeneres Show'', and the followin ...

Mai Fukui is a Japanese singer-songwriter, signed on Avex Group's J-More label. She is known for singing the theme song for the video game ''Final Fantasy XIII-2'', ''Yakusoku no Basho''. She was nominated for Best New Artist at the 50th Japan Record A ...

Yuna Ito is an American-born former singer and actress who was active in Japan. She was born in Los Angeles and was raised in Hawaii. Ito made her musical debut in Japan with the single, " Endless Story", which was used as one of the theme songs for the ...

Maaya Sakamoto Maaya may refer to: * Maaya (given name) Maaya (written: 真綾 or 真礼) is a feminine Japanese given name. Notable people with the name include: *, Japanese singer-songwriter, actress and voice actress *, Japanese actress and voice actress *, ...

, BECCA,

Saki Fukuda is a Japanese actress and singer. She appeared in the 2009 live action film '' Yatterman'' as Yatterman 2 "Ai-chan." Filmography Film Television Anime *'' Crayon Shin Chan'' (2008) (Ep. 648) Awards 54th Television Drama Academy Awards: Be ...

, and

Asia Engineer Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...

. Later that month on November 28, 2007, Superfly released a single in collaboration with the Australian band Jet, titled " I Spy I Spy". Superfly's debut album '' Superfly'' was released on May 14, 2008, topping the Japanese

weekly album charts for two weeks. The release of the album was also celebrated with a free concert at

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 ...

in Tokyo. Following its release, Ochi, who has a great admiration for

Janis Joplin Janis Lyn Joplin (January 19, 1943 – October 4, 1970) was an American singer and musician. One of the most successful and widely known rock stars of her era, she was noted for her powerful mezzo-soprano vocals and "electric" stage presence. ...

, was given the chance to travel to San Francisco in 2008 where she travelled through

Haight-Ashbury Haight-Ashbury () is a district of San Francisco, California, named for the intersection of Haight and Ashbury streets. It is also called The Haight and The Upper Haight. The neighborhood is known as one of the main centers of the counterculture ...

and met up with

Sam Andrew Sam Houston Andrew III (December 18, 1941 – February 12, 2015) was an American musician, singer, songwriter, composer, artist and founding member and guitarist of Big Brother and the Holding Company. During his career as musician and composer ...

Big Brother and the Holding Company Big Brother and the Holding Company is an American rock band that formed in San Francisco in 1965 as part of the same psychedelic music scene that produced the Grateful Dead, Quicksilver Messenger Service, and Jefferson Airplane. After some in ...

as part of a documentary titled ''Following the Steps of Janis'' on

Music On! TV , also known as , is a Japanese music cable television network operated by , a subsidiary of Sony Music Entertainment Japan, Inc. (SMEJ). Its motto is We Believe in Music.

. Ochi also counts

Carole King Carole King Klein (born Carol Joan Klein; February 9, 1942) is an American singer, songwriter, and musician who has been active since 1958, initially as one of the staff songwriters at 1650 Broadway and later as a solo artist. Regarded as one ...

Maria Muldaur Maria Muldaur (born Maria Grazia Rosa Domenica D'Amato; September 12, 1942) is an American folk and blues singer who was part of the American folk music revival in the early 1960s. She recorded the 1973 hit song " Midnight at the Oasis" and has ...

, and

as some of her other favorite artists. In June and July, Superfly did a national tour titled the Rock'N'Roll Show 2008 Tour

2008–2009: Woodstock and ''Box Emotions''

In 2009, the asteroid 91907 Shiho was named after Ochi since it was discovered at the Kuma Kogen Astronomical Observatory in

Ehime Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located on the island of Shikoku. Ehime Prefecture has a population of 1,342,011 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of 5,676 km2 (2,191 sq mi). Ehime Prefecture borders Kagawa Prefecture to the northeast, T ...

, her home prefecture. April also saw the release of the '' Rock'N'Roll Show 2008'' DVD set from the band's 2008 tour stop at the

NHK Hall The NHK Hall is a concert hall located at the NHK Broadcasting Center, the main headquarters of Japan's public broadcaster NHK. The hall is the main venue for the NHK Symphony Orchestra, but it has also played host to other events, such as the 19 ...

. During the 2009

Heroes of Woodstock Tour The Heroes of Woodstock Tour was a North American concert tour celebrating the 40th anniversary of the 1969 Woodstock Festival. The tour featured several bands, most of which performed at the original Woodstock festival or feature members that p ...

for the tour's stop in

Bethel, New York :''This is the article about the Sullivan County, New York town. For the Dutchess County, New York hamlet, see Bethel, Pine Plains'' Bethel is a town in Sullivan County, New York, United States. The population was estimated at 4,255 in 2010. The ...

, the site of the original

Woodstock Festival Woodstock Music and Art Fair, commonly referred to as Woodstock, was a music festival held during August 15–18, 1969, on Max Yasgur's dairy farm in Bethel, New York, United States, southwest of the town of Woodstock, New York, Woodstock. ...

, Ochi joined

on stage and performed " Down on Me" and "

Piece of My Heart "Piece of My Heart" is a romantic soul love song written by Jerry Ragovoy and Bert Berns, originally recorded by Erma Franklin in 1967. Franklin's single peaked in December 1967 at number 10 on the ''Billboard'' Hot Rhythm & Blues Singles char ...

" as a follow up to the previous documentary. The third single from ''Box Emotions'', " Alright!!", was used as the opening theme to the Japanese television drama, ''Boss'', starring Yuki Amami, which began airing on April 16, 2009, as well as its second season which aired in 2011. Superfly's second studio album, ''

Box Emotions ''Box Emotions'' is the second studio album by Japanese pop-rock band Superfly, released on September 2, 2009. It debuted at the number-one spot on the Oricon weekly album charts, making Superfly the first female artist in six years, since Chito ...

'', was released on September 2, 2009, which she celebrated by holding a free live show at the

Roppongi Hills is a development project in Tokyo and one of Japan's largest integrated property developments, located in the Roppongi district of Minato, Tokyo. Constructed by building tycoon Minoru Mori, the mega-complex incorporates office space, apartm ...

arena, which hosted 4000 people. ''Box Emotions'' debuted at No. 1 on the Oricon weekly charts, with the first week sales of around 214,000 copies. For the Japanese

iTunes Store The iTunes Store is a digital media store operated by Apple Inc. It opened on April 28, 2003, as a result of Steve Jobs' push to open a digital marketplace for music. As of April 2020, iTunes offered 60 million songs, 2.2 million apps, 25,00 ...

Rewind of 2009, ''Box Emotions'' was the album of the year. Superfly went on tour from October through December to support the album in the "Superly Box Emotions 2009 Tour". Ochi has also teamed up with fashion designer Manami Kobayashi for the A.I.C (Another Important Culture) brand to create a line of

Woodstock Woodstock Music and Art Fair, commonly referred to as Woodstock, was a music festival held during August 15–18, 1969, on Max Yasgur's dairy farm in Bethel, New York, United States, southwest of the town of Woodstock. Billed as "an Aq ...

and

hippie A hippie, also spelled hippy, especially in British English, is someone associated with the counterculture of the 1960s, originally a youth movement that began in the United States during the mid-1960s and spread to different countries around ...

subculture themed clothing called "Cosmic Market".

2010: "Wildflower and ''Cover Songs: Complete Best''"

Superfly's first single since ''Box Emotions,'' titled " Dancing on the Fire", won Best Rock Video at the 2010

MTV Video Music Awards Japan The MTV Video Music Awards Japan (MTV VMAJ for short) are the Japanese version of the MTV Video Music Awards. Like the MTV Video Music Awards in the United States, in this event artists are awarded for their songs and videos through online votin ...

. April saw the release of '' Dancing at Budokan!!'', Superfly's second video album featuring the band's performance at the

Nippon Budokan The , often shortened to simply Budokan, is an indoor arena located in Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. It was originally built for the inaugural Olympic judo competition in the 1964 Summer Olympics. While its primary purpose is to host martial arts con ...

in 2009. Her first release of 2010, "Tamashii Revolution", was used as

NHK , also known as NHK, is a Japanese public broadcaster. NHK, which has always been known by this romanized initialism in Japanese, is a statutory corporation funded by viewers' payments of a television license fee. NHK operates two terrestr ...

2010 FIFA World Cup , image = 2010 FIFA World Cup.svg , size = 200px , caption = ''Ke Nako. (Tswana and Sotho for "It's time") Celebrate Africa's Humanity'It's time. Celebrate Africa's Humanity'' (English)''Dis tyd. Vier Afrika se mensd ...

theme song, and was released digitally on June 18, 2010. "Tamashii Revolution" was later included as a B-side on the single and cover album compilation "

Wildflower A wildflower (or wild flower) is a flower that grows in the wild, meaning it was not intentionally seeded or planted. The term implies that the plant probably is neither a hybrid nor a selected cultivar that is in any way different from the ...

" & '' Cover Songs: Complete Best 'Track 3''', which became Superfly's third album to debut at number 1 on the Oricon. On November 30, 2010, Superfly performed at the

Zepp The Zepp music halls are a group of Japanese music venues covering every area of the country. They play host to many international tours and are a popular stop among Japanese musicians. Each venue takes the Zepp name, along with the city in whic ...

Tokyo arena alongside a session band called "The Lemon Bats" (consisting of Mo'Some Tonebender's Kazuhiro Momo and Superfly's touring & recording guitarist Yoshiyuki Yatsuhashi on guitar, record producer Koichi Tsutaya on keyboard, Straightener's Hidekazu Hinata on bass, and Tatsuya Nakamura on drums) in a show called the ''Switch 25th Anniversary presents Superfly & The Lemon Bats Special Live "Rock'N' Roll Muncher"''. Performing as "Superfly & The Lemon Bats", Ochi performed covers of " Dr. Feelgood", "

Beat It "Beat It" is a song by American singer Michael Jackson from his sixth studio album, ''Thriller (Michael Jackson album), Thriller'' (1982). It was written by Jackson and produced by Jackson and Quincy Jones. Jones encouraged Jackson to include a ...

", "

Barracuda A barracuda, or cuda for short, is a large, predatory, ray-finned fish known for its fearsome appearance and ferocious behaviour. The barracuda is a saltwater fish of the genus ''Sphyraena'', the only genus in the family Sphyraenidae, which ...

", " White Room", "

I Saw Her Standing There "I Saw Her Standing There" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles written by Paul McCartney and John Lennon. It is the opening track on the band's 1963 debut UK album '' Please Please Me'' and their debut US album '' Introducing... The ...

", "

Land of a Thousand Dances "Land of a Thousand Dances" (or "Land of 1000 Dances") is a song written and first recorded by American rhythm and blues singer Chris Kenner in 1962. It later became a bigger hit in versions by Cannibal & the Headhunters and Wilson Pickett. A ve ...

", and " Born to Lose", in addition to covers of her own songs "Tanjō", "Manifesto", "Free Planet", "Alright!!", "

Rock and Roll, Hoochie Koo "Rock and Roll, Hoochie Koo" is a rock song written by American musician Rick Derringer. It was first recorded in 1970 by Johnny Winter and his band Johnny Winter And, of which Derringer was a member. In 1973, Derringer recorded a solo version, ...

", and "

Bitch Bitch may refer to: * A female dog or other canine * Bitch (slang), a vulgar slur for a human female Bitch or bitches may also refer to: Arts and media Film and television * ''The Bitch'' (film), a 1979 film starring Joan Collins * ''Bitch ...

2011: ''Mind Travel''

Superfly's song " Beep!!" was used as the theme for the film '' Manzai Gang'', and was on a double A-side single with " Sunshine Sunshine", a song used for the

KDDI () is a Japanese telecommunications operator formed on October 1, 2000 through the merger of DDI Corp. (Daini-Denden Inc.), KDD (Kokusai Denshin Denwa) Corp. (itself a former listed state-owned enterprise privatized in 1998), and IDO Corp. It ...

"Meet the Music 2011" campaign. It was intended that she was to perform "Sunshine Sunshine" live at the Okinawa Namura Hall in Naha,

Okinawa Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan. Okinawa Prefecture is the southernmost and westernmost prefecture of Japan, has a population of 1,457,162 (as of 2 February 2020) and a geographic area of 2,281 km2 (880 sq mi). Naha is the capital and largest cit ...

, on March 20, 2011, with the performance broadcast live over FM52 radio stations Tokyo FM,

J-Wave J-Wave is a commercial radio station based in Tokyo, Japan, broadcasting on 81.3 FM from the Tokyo Skytree to the Tokyo area. J-Wave airs mostly music, covering a wide range of formats. The station is considered the most popular among FM broad ...

, and FM Okinawa. This performance, however, was postponed due to the

2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami The occurred at 14:46 Japan Standard Time, JST (05:46 UTC) on 11 March. The Moment magnitude scale, magnitude 9.0–9.1 (M) Submarine earthquake, undersea megathrust earthquake had an epicenter in the Pacific Ocean, east of the Oshika Peni ...

. In response, Ochi recorded an

a cappella ''A cappella'' (, also , ; ) music is a performance by a singer or a singing group without instrumental accompaniment, or a piece intended to be performed in this way. The term ''a cappella'' was originally intended to differentiate between Ren ...

version of "Sunshine Sunshine" which she posted on her blog on March 18, 2011, and wrote the new song " You & Me", which she posted on her official blog four days later. "You & Me" was subsequently made available for purchase on the

iTunes iTunes () is a software program that acts as a media player, media library, mobile device management utility, and the client app for the iTunes Store. Developed by Apple Inc., it is used to purchase, play, download, and organize digital mu ...

, Recochoku, and wamo! digital music stores and all proceeds went to the

Japanese Red Cross The is the Japanese affiliate of the International Red Cross. The Imperial Family of Japan traditionally has supported the society, with the Empress as Honorary President and other imperial family members as vice presidents. Its headquarters i ...

's relief efforts in Tōhoku. By May, the song had raised ¥7,831,780 (approx. US$96.8k, €68k, or £59.4k) for the Red Cross. Superfly also had a national tour in 2011, visiting 32 cities and 35 venues. The tour, dubbed "Mind Traveler", supported the group's third studio album ''

Mind Travel ''Mind Travel'' is the third studio album by Japanese pop-rock band Superfly, the first studio album from the group fronted by Shiho Ochi in nearly two years. The record features guest musicians from Beat Crusaders, Losalios, and Mo'Some Tonebe ...

'', which was released on June 15, 2011. Superfly also held a free concert at the

Yokohama Red Brick Warehouse The is a historical building that is used as a complex that includes a shopping mall, banquet hall, and event venues. The complex, officially known as the , was originally used as customs buildings, and has two sections: Warehouse No.1 and No.2. ...

to celebrate the release, and did a free stream on

Ustream.tv IBM Watson Media (formerly Ustream and IBM Cloud Video) is an American virtual events platform company which is a division of IBM. Prior to IBM acquisition, it had more than 180 employees across San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Budapest offices. ...

. On June 21, 2011, ''Mind Travel'' topped the Oricon's weekly album charts having sold over 166,000 copies, making it Superfly's fourth consecutive album to debut at number 1, a feat not duplicated by a female artist since

Hikaru Utada , who is also known by the mononym Utada, is a Japanese-American pop singer, songwriter and producer. By 2010, Utada had become one of the most influential, and best-selling, musical artists in Japan. Born in the United States to Japanese parent ...

in 2004. In August 2011, Superfly announced that the band would go on an arena tour titled "Shout in the Rainbow!!", with shows at the

Saitama Super Arena is a multi-purpose indoor arena located in Chūō-ku, Saitama, Saitama Prefecture, Japan. It opened preliminarily on May 5, 2000, and then was officially opened on September 1 of the same year. Its maximum spectator capacity is 36,500, making i ...

, the

Nagoya is the largest city in the Chūbu region, the fourth-most populous city and third most populous urban area in Japan, with a population of 2.3million in 2020. Located on the Pacific coast in central Honshu, it is the capital and the most po ...

Nippon Gaishi Hall , formerly Nagoya Rainbow Hall, is an indoor sports arena located in Nagoya, Japan. From April 1, 2007, its name was changed to Nippon Gaishi Hall, to reflect the sponsorship of the NGK Insulators. The capacity of the arena is 10,000 people. The ...

, and the

Osaka-jō Hall is a multi-purpose arena located in the Kyōbashi area of Osaka, Japan. The hall opened in 1983 and can seat up to 16,000 people. Built on a site area of 36,351 square meters, part of its form uses stone walls, modeled after those of the Cast ...

. This news was followed by the release of the band's 14th single " Ai o Kurae", a song for their upcoming 4th album.

2012: ''Force''

In 2012, Superfly participated in the JAPAN UNITED event with MUSIC 30-member supergroup in recording a cover of

the Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...

' "

All You Need Is Love "All You Need Is Love" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles that was released as a non-album single in July 1967. It was written by John Lennon and credited to the Lennon–McCartney partnership. The song was Britain's contribution t ...

" to raise money for reconstruction efforts regarding the aftermath of the 2011 earthquake and tsunami. For the band's 5th anniversary, Superfly released the '' Shout in the Rainbow!!'' video album featuring performances from the band's December 2011 arena tour stop at Osaka-jō Hall. Limited editions of the video release included a CD featuring the previously unreleased track . While doing a special live broadcast on

Ustream IBM Watson Media (formerly Ustream and IBM Cloud Video) is an American virtual events platform company which is a division of IBM. Prior to IBM acquisition, it had more than 180 employees across San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Budapest offices. ...

and Nico Nico Douga to celebrate the ''Shout in the Rainbow!!'' release, Superfly announced that they would be releasing a fourth studio album titled ''

Force In physics, a force is an influence that can change the motion of an object. A force can cause an object with mass to change its velocity (e.g. moving from a state of rest), i.e., to accelerate. Force can also be described intuitively as a ...

'' on September 19, 2012. To commemorate the band's five-year anniversary, a special edition of the album including a bonus CD, a

vinyl Vinyl may refer to: Chemistry * Polyvinyl chloride (PVC), a particular vinyl polymer * Vinyl cation, a type of carbocation * Vinyl group, a broad class of organic molecules in chemistry * Vinyl polymer, a group of polymers derived from vinyl ...

copy of the album, and a commemorative poster Was released along with a standard single-CD edition, a limited two CD edition, and an edition exclusively released through

Lawson Lawson may refer to: Places Australia * Lawson, Australian Capital Territory, a suburb of Canberra * Lawson, New South Wales, a town in the Blue Mountains Canada * Lawson, Saskatchewan * Lawson Island, Nunavut United States * Lawson, Arkansas * ...

convenience stores. One week later, ''Shout in the Rainbow!!'' would top the Oricon's Blu-ray weekly rankings, making Superfly the fourth ever solo artist to top those charts. After a free live concert at Tokyo's Yoyogi Park with livecasts on various internet services on the release date, ''Force'' was supported by a 35-stop concert hall tour called "Superfly Tour 2012 'Live Force'", starting on October 26, 2012. Superfly has also recorded a duet with

Tortoise Matsumoto Tortoise Matsumoto (トータス松本 ''Tōtasu Matsumoto'', born December 28, 1966, as 松本敦 Atsushi Matsumoto) is the lead singer of the Japanese guitar group, Ulfuls. He has also had a couple of acting roles in TV dramas, starting with ''Nam ...

titled "

STARS A star is an astronomical object comprising a luminous spheroid of plasma held together by its gravity. The nearest star to Earth is the Sun. Many other stars are visible to the naked eye at night, but their immense distances from Earth ma ...

" which will be used by

Fuji Television JOCX-DTV (channel 8), branded as and colloquially known as CX, is a Japanese television station based in Odaiba, Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Owned and operated by the it is the key station of the Fuji News Network (FNN) and the Fuji Network ...

as its theme song for its broadcasts of the

2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, th ...

. It was released to

truetone A ringtone, ring tone or ring is the sound made by a telephone to indicate an incoming call. Originally referring to and made by the electromechanical striking of bells, the term now refers to any sound on any device alerting of a new incoming ...

distributing stores on May 11, 2012, and was released as a single on July 25, 2012. The release of "STARS" was followed by the double A-side single " Kagayaku Tsuki no Yō ni" / " The Bird Without Wings", with its title tracks used as the theme songs for the television drama ''Summer Rescue'' and the film '' Ushijima the Loan Shark'', respectively. ''Force'' sold 119,000 units in its first week, placing it at number 1 on the Oricon's Weekly charts, making Superfly one of only 4 female solo artists to have five consecutive number 1 debuts on the charts; she is included amongst

Namie Amuro Namie Amuro ( ; ja, 安室奈美恵, Amuro Namie, label=none; born September 20, 1977) is a Japanese former recording artist, producer, songwriter, dancer, model, actress and entrepreneur who was active between 1992 and 2018. A leading figure of ...

(fifth No. 1 in February 2000),

Mai Kuraki (born October 28, 1982) is a Japanese pop and R&B singer-songwriter and record producer. After releasing her US debut single " Baby I Like" in 1999, Kuraki signed with Giza Studio and released her Japanese debut single " Love, Day After Tomorro ...

(January 2004), and

(June 2006).

2013–2014: Fifth anniversary, ''Superfly Best'', "White Light"

The group announced it would release their first

best of A greatest hits album or best-of album is a type of compilation album that collects popular and commercially successful songs by a particular artist or band. While greatest hits albums are typically supported by the artist, they can also be creat ...

album on September 25, 2013. During this time, Superfly recorded "Starting Over" which is used by

J-WAVE J-Wave is a commercial radio station based in Tokyo, Japan, broadcasting on 81.3 FM from the Tokyo Skytree to the Tokyo area. J-Wave airs mostly music, covering a wide range of formats. The station is considered the most popular among FM broad ...

as the theme song for their 25th anniversary. The album was then announced to be simply titled '' Superfly Best'', and includes the 26 singles Superfly has released since their major debut and three new songs: "Starting Over", "Always", and "Bi-Li-Li Emotion". The album sold 157 thousand copies in its first week, earning the number 1 spot on the

. ''Superfly Best'' became Superfly's 6th consecutive number 1 album, making Shiho Ochi only the second solo female artist to achieve such a goal. In May 2014, Superfly was chosen to perform the theme song "

Live Live may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Live!'' (2007 film), 2007 American film * ''Live'' (2014 film), a 2014 Japanese film *'' ''Live'' (Apocalyptica DVD) Music * Live (band), American alternative rock band * List of album ...

" "for the sequel of the film adaptation of '' Ushijima the Loan Shark''. In September, Superfly performed the theme song for the '' Tales of Zestiria'' video game, titled "

White Light White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White on ...

". Superfly released their 18th single " Ai o Karada ni Fukikonde" in November 2014.

2015: ''White''

After the digital release of "White Light" in January 2015, it was announced that Superfly's 5th studio album, ''

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White ...

'', would be released on May 27, 2015.

2017: 10th Anniversary ''Love, Peace & Fire''

In April 2017, Superfly released the 10th Anniversary 3-CD greatest hits set ''Love, Peace, and Fire,'' which contained 39 songs selected from 127 tunes by fan voting. A condensed single-disc edition was released in December 2017, with an orchestral version of "Ai wo Komete Hanataba wo".

2020: ''0''

In January 2020, Superfly's sixth album ''0'' was released, which included "Ambitious", the theme song for the TBS drama '' Watashi, Teiji de Kaerimasu''. The album's limited edition also included a Blu-ray of selected songs from "Superfly Arena Tour 2019 '0'", filmed on October 27, 2019, at Saitama Super Arena.

2021: Transfer to Universal Sigma, upcoming seventh studio album

In April 2021,

Universal Music Japan , often referred to as just Universal Music Japan or UMJ, is a Japanese subsidiary of the Universal Music Group founded in 1990. It is the largest subsidiary for a foreign company in the country regarding music distribution. The company is resp ...

announced Superfly would transfer from Warner Music Japan to Universal Sigma. The first single under the label, "Voice", was released in April 2022. Superfly's second single "Dynamite" was released in May 2022. In July 2022, it was announced Superfly's song "Presence" would serve as the opening theme for ''

Aoashi is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Yūgo Kobayashi and based on a concept by Naohiko Ueno. It has been serialized in Shogakukan's ''seinen'' manga magazine ''Weekly Big Comic Spirits'' since January 2015. The series involv ...

''. A release date for the song has yet to be revealed. In August 2022, a remix of "Dynamite" by

R3hab Fadil El Ghoul ( ar, فضيل الغول; born 2 April 1986), performing under the stage name R3hab (stylized in all caps as R3HAB; pronounced "rehab"), is a Dutch-Moroccan disc jockey and music producer. Ranked at number 12 on the DJ Mag Top 1 ...

was released.

Discography

*'' Superfly'' (2008) *''

'' (2009) *''

'' (2011) *''

'' (2012) *''

'' (2015) * ''0'' (2020)

References

External links

Official Superfly Website (Japanese)Superfly｜Warner Music JapanOfficial YouTube ChannelSuperfly
– Facebook
Superfly_Official
(Superfly_staff) – Twitter
Tabo's Ramblings
– Koichi Tabo's Official Blog
Koichi Tabo's Official Website
{{Authority control Japanese rock music groups Musical groups established in 2007 2007 establishments in Japan People from Imabari, Ehime Musical groups from Ehime Prefecture Warner Music Japan artists Universal Music Japan artists