Rankings

Most Viewed Artist Profiles

Preview 01. Ayumi Hamasaki

With a string of successive hits, live and television appearances, model and spokesperson gigs, and interviews, Ayumi Hamasaki has reigned as Japan's undisputed queen of pop since before the turn of...

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Preview 02. Dir en grey

Dir en grey are one of the newer generation of "visual-kei" bands, and a leading contender to be the first to break internationally in a major way. The band formed in February 1997 from the...

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Preview 03. Gackt

One of the best-known figures in Japanese history is Minamoto no Yoshitsune, the brave but doomed 12th-century warrior who exemplifies the archetype of the bishonen - a young man of extraordinary,...

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Preview 04. Haruna Ono

Birthplace: Aichi Prefecture Blood type: A Height: 153 cm

HARUNA, the eldest among the group and also serves as the leader. A girl who had a passion for dancing and dreamed of...

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Preview 05. Mami Sasazaki

Sasazaki Mami has the best guitar skills among the girls, and serves as the lead guitarist in SCANDAL. She often amazes fans that come to see them live with her dexterity and skill with the electric...

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Preview 06. Rina Suzuki

RINA, the youngest among the group and serves as the drummer. A girl that always has a smile painted on her face when performing – showing that performing and music is nothing but love. She’s...

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Preview 07. Malice Mizer

Depending on your point of view, Malice Mizer were either one of the most ridiculous or most brilliant of Japan's "visual-kei" bands. The group, whose name is said to be based on the notion...

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Preview 08. Tomomi Ogawa

Birthplace: Hyogo Prefecture Blood type: A Height: 157 cm

TOMOMI, the bass and writer of majority of their songs. Like HARUNA, she also dreamed of becoming a dancer but rock n’ roll opened...

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Preview 09. Yutaka Ozaki

Death sells. That's the cynical conclusion one reaches when looking at the career of tragic Japanese rock 'n' roller Yutaka Ozaki. Since he died at age 26 on April 25, 1992, Ozaki has become mythologized...

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Preview 10. Maximum the Hormone

Maximum the Hormone live up to their name, a full-on punk band with feral, provocative music. Maximum the Hormone was formed in 1998 in the suburbs of Tokyo. The group currently consists of Ryo-kun...

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Preview 11. Kyu Sakamoto

Kyu Sakamoto has the distinction of being the only Japanese artist to ever to score a #1 hit internationally. His song "Ue o Muite Aruko", known outside Japan as "Sukiyaki", went...

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Preview 12. One Ok Rock

One Ok Rock (stylized as ONE OK ROCK) is a Japanese rock band formed in 2005, composed of four members, Taka, Toru, Ryota, and Tomoya. It originally contained a fifth member, Alex, but...

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Preview 13. Chage and Aska

Chage and Aska were THE J-pop success story in the late '80s and early '90s. The two natives of Fukuoka Prefecture first came to the public's attention by winning the 1979 Yamaha Popular Song Festival,...

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Preview 14. Aya Hirano

Aya Hirano is a seiyū and J-pop singer who has had roles in several anime, visual novels, and TV commercials in Japan. She is contracted to Space Craft Produce, a branch of Space Craft Group for her...

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Preview 15. L'Arc~en~Ciel

L'Arc-en-Ciel is not a "visual-kei" band. Repeat - not a "visual-kei" band. Not at all. Just a straightahead rock band. That message bears repeating because the band vehemently...

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Preview 16. Polysics

The matching jumpsuits and spaceman shades immediately recall Devo, but Polysics pump out music in a bionic new wave punk style that has mutated into something uniquely their own. Founded in Tokyo...

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Preview 17. Scandal

Proclaiming themselves "The Most Powerful Japanese Girlie Pop Rock", the band Scandal comprises four high school girls from Osaka: Haruna Ono (vocals, guitar), Tomomi Ogawa (bass, vocals),...

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Preview 18. BoA

South Korean female vocalist BoA, who made her Japanese debut in May 2001 with the single "ID; Peace, is unusual in that she's a star both in her home country and in Japan. BoA was born on Nov....

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Preview 19. Tokyo Jihen

Tokyo Jihen, officially translated as Tokyo Incidents, is the vehicle of iconic singer/songwriter/guitarist Ringo Shena. Aggressively billed as a "real band", and including Shena's accomplished...

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Preview 20. Glay

Glay is possibly the most popular of Japan's "visual-kei" acts (rivaled only by Luna Sea, L'Arc-en-Ciel, and X ), and are definitely one of the most successful rock groups in the country....

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