BE:FIRST release BRUCE WAYNE feat. Flo Milli, ATL Jacob on July 31, 2026. Five months after drawing 100,000 people to a Tokyo stadium, the six-piece plays a 650-capacity New York theatre in October. How a Japanese boy group is entering the U.S. on a route that is not the K-pop playbook.
YAO unites ONE OK ROCK, Awich, CHICO CARLITO and Paledusk, with debut single 777 released on July 7, 2026. A look at the rock/hip-hop crossover, their global reach, and why these four aren't as random a pairing as they seem.
Ado has signed with WME, the agency behind Billie Eilish and Bruno Mars. From her 500,000-fan Hibana world tour to headlining Zipangu in LA and Lollapalooza in August, here's how Japan's faceless superstar is going global.
Ado topped Spotify's 2025 first-half ranking of Japan's most-streamed artists abroad, ending YOASOBI's four-year reign, yet without a single song in the overseas Top 10. Here's what that means.
Japanese nine-member group JO1 heads to North America this October for a five-city tour tied to its US debut EP. Here are the venues in Toronto, New York, Chicago, San Francisco and Los Angeles, and exactly how the tickets work.
X JAPAN has released never-before-seen 1989 Hibiya footage of Kurenai and X. Here's why fans treasure this exact show — from the famous +YOUR VOICE live single to the original TAIJI-era lineup.
New York-trained Japanese soul singer Nao Yoshioka releases her new album 'self' on July 17, with 13 artists from across the global soul scene, including Philadelphia legend Bilal. A world tour follows in October, with four Japan dates. Here is her journey from the Apollo Theater stage to the world, and a look at the Japanese soul scene most listeners abroad have never heard about.
BABYMETAL will headline Germany's Impericon Festival in Leipzig on June 26, 2026. We look at why a one-hour set matters, the band's tracks in Forza Horizon 6, and how far they have climbed in the European metal scene.
In a new Billboard JAPAN interview, sailor-uniformed quartet ATARASHII GAKKO! reflect on entering their 11th year. We unpack their 'hamidashi' philosophy, how they perform for crowds who don't speak Japanese, and the 12-year bond between four members, from their 88rising debut to Coachella and beyond.
Japan-born global group XG will throw the first pitch at Dodger Stadium on May 31. We break down the newly announced seven North American dates of the XG WORLD TOUR: THE CORE, from venues and tickets to the TikTok-and-Billboard fanbase that made an arena tour possible.
Yellow Magic Orchestra co-founder Haruomi Hosono will release his 23rd studio album 'Yours Sincerely' on September 11, 2026, via Ghostly International, and play his first U.S. shows in seven years: Radio City Music Hall in New York on September 16 and the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles on September 20, with Toro y Moi guesting in LA. Here's why a Japanese musician in his late seventies is one of the most quietly influential figures in global pop.