Lost in a Reverie » Arashi/嵐

NHK announces musical line-up for 62nd Kohaku Uta Gassen

Fiona — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 17:03:12 +0000

Fans have been waiting a long time to hear which artists will appear on NHK’s 62nd ‘Kohaku Uta Gassen‘, and that list has finally been revealed!

Just a few minutes ago, the names were announced through a live stream on Kohaku’s official website. Check out the list below to see if your favorite artists will be at the most highly-anticipated event of the year!

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Red Team (Female)

aiko
Ashida Mana
Ayaka
Angela Aki
Ikimonogakari
Ishikawa Sayuri
AKB48
KARA
Kawanaka Miyuki
Kanda Sayaka
Koda Kumi
Godai Natsuko
Kobayashi Sachiko
Sakamoto Fuyumi
Shiina Ringo
Shoujo Jidai
Tendou Yoshimi
Natsukawa Rimi
Nishino Kana
Perfume
Hamasaki Ayumi
Matsuda Seiko
Matsutouya Yumi
Mizuki Nana
Mizumori Kaori
Wada Akiko

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White Team (Male)

Akikawa Masafumi
Arashi
Itski Hiroshi
Inawashirokos
EXILE
NYC
Kitajima Saburou
Gou Hiromi
Suzuki Fuku
SMAP
Sen Masao
Tohoshinki
TOKIO
Tokunaga Hideaki
AAA
Nagabuchi Tsuyoshi
Ishida Toshiyuki
Hikawa Kiyoshi
Hirai Ken
FUNKY MONKEY BABYS
Fukuyama Masaharu
flumpool
Hosokawa Takashi
Porno Graffitti
Mori Shinichi
Yuzu
L’arc~en~Ciel

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The ‘Kohaku Uta Gassen’ is the biggest end-of-the-year music event in Japan, where female and male artists compete against each other in front of a panel of judges.

Arashi and Inoue Mao will be this year’s hosts. AKB48 became the official supporters for the show for the first time, and are featured on Kohaku’s official website, counting down the days to the show.

From Tokyohive

This year’s lineup has so many idols compared to previous ones. It took Arashi a decade to appeared on Kohaku, I’m guessing NHK really wants to wheel in the ratings with popular artists. It’s just not what is use to be…., but I’m still looking forward to it, especially my beloved boys and Mao-chan.

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Arashi donates 300 million yen to disaster relief

Fiona — Wed, 09 Nov 2011 15:40:57 +0000

It’s been revealed that popular group Arashi has donated about 300 million yen (approximately $3,841,229 USD) to Iwate, Miyagi, and Fukushima, the areas affected by the Tohoku earthquake.

A portion of the donation includes the members’ royalties from their book “Nippon no Arashi : pocket version” which was released back in June. As reported last fall, “Nippon no Arashi” is based on the Arashi members’ trip throughout Japan, and it was first privately donated to 40,000 elementary, junior high, and high schools nationwide. Then the book was released to the public, due to the high demand, and has sold about 420,000 copies. The 300 million yen also includes the profits from the publishing company, as well as the sales of the charity goods from the charity event “Arashi no Wakuwaku Gakkou” which was held at the Tokyo Dome for three days back in June.

The donation was made directly to each prefecture on November 2nd (100 million yen or around $1.28 million USD per a prefecture).

From Tokyohive

SUGOI, the original Japanese article had also mentioned that a portion of donations were from the boys’ own pockets! So proud of them, they always seem to surprise us on their generosity and kindness. I hope they never ever change as their fame increases, I am truly proud to be an Arashi fan!

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What defines Arashi?

Fiona — Fri, 04 Nov 2011 13:40:12 +0000

After being a fangirl for over 3+ years, this was definitely not a hard one to answer. There are so many elements which defines Arashi who they are — their friendship, personality, dedication, perseverance and diversity.

Arashi’s bond and close-knit are extremely rare among bands now-in-days. They genuinely care and enjoy spending time for one another…with so much love and respect, utterly pure friendship. I truly love the fact they are the best of friends (more like brothers), willingness to share the same spotlight and appreciate one another. Their natural chemistry and unity can be seen especially during their performances and singing.

Another aspect of Arashi is their unique personalities. Five different individuals with five different charisma, this what makes them so special. Their caring, generous and down-to-earth nature makes them a lovable and wholesome group; they are guys that you would like to hang out and chat with. The fusion of Riida’s tranquility, Sho-kun’s intelligence, Aiba-chan’s tenderhearted, Nino’s mischievousness and Jun-kun’s seriousness creates a vibrant and beautiful pentagon.

Arashi’s utmost dedication and perseverance contribute to their continuous success. Their years of struggles and overcoming many obstacles truly showcases their hardwork, I applauded them for their commitment, patience, and endurance. I love how the boys have matured together in the last 12 years, they are quite inspiring and amazing.

Diversity also defines Arashi, I do not recall any other band that provides such variety and color. We have Oh-chan who is an artist; Sho-kun is a newscaster and writes his own rap lyrics; Aiba works as a part-time zookeeper for a variety show; Nino is a professional magician and Jun-kun is a talented actor. This is only alongside of their variety show hosting and MCs. Arashi is an extremely well-rounded and exceptional group. Due to their solo works, each member stands out as an individual as opposed to other bands. In most cases, there is only one or two members become popular while the rest fade into the background.

Arashi is truly an astounding group of five who brings smiles and energy, as well as, amazing songs, performances, variety shows and drama.

Have an awesome weekend everyone!

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Happy Arashi Day!

Fiona — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 20:06:26 +0000

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Arashi travels around Japan for NHK’s special program

Fiona — Fri, 28 Oct 2011 14:51:49 +0000

Arashi have donned their traveling gear once again for a special NHK program called “Arashi no Asu ni Kakeru Tabi“. It’s a special documentary that seeks to rediscover the will and strength of the Japanese people. Consequently, the members travel all over the nation, interviewing outstanding individuals who possess great potential in shepherding Japan’s future.

Ninomiya Kazunari visits a soy sauce brewery in Yuasa-cho, Wakayama, which has more than 170 years of history. He commented, “We were able to learn about the numerous people, skills, traditions, and ties in Japan. We would like everyone to feel how wonderful it was.”

Leader Ohno Satoshi introduces “Eager”, the local hero of Onagawa town in Miyagi prefecture. He also meets the people from Onagawa’s Commerce and Industry section, who continues to hold hero shows for local kids even after the Tohoku earthquake.

Matsumoto Jun visits a small factory in Kawaguchi-city, Saitama, which makes bags and small articles that are loved by stars all over the world. He investigates the background behind these beloved items.

As for Sakurai Sho, he flies to Toyama-city, Toyama, where he meets a 25-year-old lady who chose to work for her parents’ farm. It’s an unusual decision for modern times, and so he seeks to discover her reason to farm.

Finally, Aiba Masaki visits Kashima-city, Saga, where he partakes in “Mutsukake fishing”, which is a unique way to fish the mudskippers in the Ariake Sea. He tackles the challenge of tideland fishing, and encounters a young man who’s apparently the first successor in 30 years for this old fishing tradition.

“Arashi no Asu ni Kakeru Tabi” will air on November 23rd at 7:30 PM JST.

From Tokyohive

Another reason to love Arashi, the boys are so willing to be out and about with their fans. I look forward to this, seems interesting and might learn something new, always do.

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Arashi releases short PV for Meikyu Love Song

Fiona — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 13:13:44 +0000

The clocks (and everyone’s watches) are counting down until Arashi’s new single is released. So far they have teased us with a full audio sneak peak and now a preview for their PV!

This has got to be one of the more funnier Arashi PV’s, back to the “Kitto Daijoubu” comedy. The PV features the boys at their silliest, battling and making epic escapes while still looking very cool. Check out the preview but be warned once you watch, you’ll only want to watch more!

From Jpopasia.com

I’m mecha excited and cannot wait for the full version. The theme of the PV is unique and cute, the boys also look awesome, especially Jun-kun’s hair.

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Inoue Mao, Arashi to host 62nd Kouhaku Uta Gassen

Fiona — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 16:29:06 +0000

On Wednesday, NHK announced the hosts for the 62nd Kouhaku Uta Gassen. Arashi will be in charge of the White Team for the second year in a row, while actress Inoue Mao will take care of the Red Team. Announcer Abe Wataru will join them as a general host for his third consecutive year.

This is Inoue’s first time hosting a television show. She was chosen due to the success of the morning drama series “Ohisama,” just like Matsushita Nao was chosen as a host last year after her big break in the morning drama “Gegege no Nyoubou.”

It was announced earlier this month that the theme for this year’s Kouhaku Uta Gassen is “1231 Ashita wo Utaou,” and that AKB48 and Terry Ito are serving as the “support team.”

The 62nd Kouhaku Uta Gassen will take place from 7:15pm to 11:45pm on December 31.

From Tokyograph

Quite exciting, ne! Mao-chan and the boys are a perfect combination, I wonder what they will have in stored for us, cannot wait to see.

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Arashi’s new Japan Airlines CM

Fiona — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 12:43:54 +0000

Just came across this and had to share:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T0gZd1X5WGI

This was simply fun, cute and care-free, I wish I could fly the boys too. They look gorgeous in their autumn attires ne! Riida and his huge senbon was expected, but I still had a good chuckle.

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“Special classes” with Arashi at the Tokyo Dome

Fiona — Tue, 28 Jun 2011 15:10:16 +0000

Popular group Arashi held a charity event, “Arashi no Wakuwaku Gakkou“, for disaster relief at the Tokyo Dome!

As tokyohive reported previously, each Arashi member became a “teacher” by turns and gave the “students” lectures, making the Tokyo Dome like a big classroom.
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The event was held for three days from June 24th to 26th, when it was originally scheduled for Arashi’s live concerts, however, considering its electricity consumption, they changed the plan to a charity event. Usually their concerts use 2000 kilowatts, but for the event, they reduced it to 830 kilowatts.

The lectures by the members were based on things that are important to consider for Japan now. Ninomiya Kazunari’s lecture was about human body structure and taught the “students” the meaning of living. Matsumoto Jun gave a lecture about electricity and energy. For this lecture, all members tried the generation of electricity using bicycles. They showed the power that the members saved while getting all sweaty only lasted for 8 seconds when used by a hair dryer. Matsumoto commented, “I hope it made everybody realize how important the electricity was.”

On the other hand, Aiba Masaki showed his cooking skills on the stage, and taught how foods are delivered to the consumers. He pointed out the large amount of food leftovers in Japan and said, “The way of solving the food shortage is to not waste foods.“ Sakurai Sho’s lecture was titled as “Pachi Pachi no Jugyou”, which taught the importance of praising somebody, and Ohno Satoshi gave a lecture about how miraculous his encounters with people were. Ohno stated, “Words are the biggest device to create a link between people. Everybody, please tell ‘Arigatou’ a lot to your precious people.”
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At the beginning of the event, the fans were just screaming at Arashi, however, they gradually started to devour the lectures, and there were fans who were taking notes on the lectures.

With this big success, Arashi members said that they would like to hold this kind of event again.

The event pulled a total of 225,000 people in three days, and they will donate 200 million yen (approximately 2,486,943 USD) through Marching J.

From Tokyo and Sanspo

I really hope that a DVD will be released, kind of missing their old variety shows. They are always entertaining and educational to watch, having the boys becomes senseis are a plus. Arashi is truly RE(MARK)ABLE; they define the word, IDOL, in so many unique ways.

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Arashi sells a total of over five million DVDs

Fiona — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 12:34:15 +0000

This week, Arashi released their live DVD “ARASHI 10-11 TOUR “Scene”~Kimi to Boku no Miteiru Fuukei~ DOME+,” selling 539,000 copies in the first week, putting them on top of the 6/27 Weekly Oricon Chart. Up until then, Arashi sold 4.74 million copies of their DVDs and now including their latest DVD they’ve broken the 5 million threshold and have sold a total of 5,282,000 copies. Because of this remarkable feat, Arashi become the first artist to sell over 5 million DVDs!

The group currently holds the top spot for “Artist with the most DVDs sold”. The number two spot is held by Morning Musume with 2,695,000 copies.

Arashi’s DVD is a recording of the last performance of their tour which took place from August 2010 until January 2011. The DVD also includes the music video and making video to their new song “Mada Minu Sekai e” as well as a project by the members called “Arashi’s Training Camp” and a long interview.

From Tokyohive

Sugoi ne, that’s what you call “creating a storm!!” Omedetou Arashi, my fangirl heart is swelling with pride.

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