TK from Ling tosite sigure has announced his first-ever North American tour "ISO×0 NORTH AMERICA" across 6 cities in May-June 2026. With "unravel" — the Tokyo Ghoul OP — nearing 400 million Spotify streams, this landmark tour celebrates 15 years of solo artistry. Full dates, ticket info, and fan reactions from Japan and beyond.
BABYMETAL will curate the entire Sonic Stage at Summer Sonic 2026 as "SONIC METAL STAGE – Curated by BABYMETAL." This unprecedented move sees the 15th-anniversary kawaii metal unit taking artistic control of a stage at Japan's biggest urban rock festival, now celebrating its 25th year. With Billboard 200 Top 10 credentials, BABYMETAL is poised to reshape the summer festival landscape. Ticket info and lineup speculation included.
Ado — the anonymous Japanese singer who conquered the world without showing her face — has released "Vivarium," a self-written and self-composed song, alongside her autobiography. For the first time ever, her single cover features a real photograph of herself. From her closet recording days to global arena tours, this marks the biggest turning point in the 23-year-old's career.
KID PHENOMENON, a seven-member dance & vocal group from LDH JAPAN, has been selected to perform at SXSW 2026 in Austin, Texas, the legendary festival that launched Billie Eilish, Ed Sheeran, and Kendrick Lamar. Discover how their "TOKYO NEO POP" concept is charting a new path for Japanese artists going global.
Eve, the voice behind Jujutsu Kaisen's viral hit "Kaikai Kitan," teams up with Yorushika vocalist suis for "Kaze no Anthem," the opening theme of TV anime Witch Hat Atelier (premiering April 2026). This marks their third collaboration—a dream pairing for fans of both artists. Discover why this Eisner Award-winning manga adaptation is the most anticipated anime of the season.
SKY-HI's D.U.N.K. Showcase 2026 welcomes Filipino P-Pop stars SB19, BGYO, and Cup of Joe alongside Thailand's BUS for a three-day festival at K-Arena Yokohama. With BMSG trainees joining as opening act, this marks the biggest cross-border dance & vocal collaboration in the event's history.
Japanese group XG's "HYPNOTIZE" has topped Billboard Japan Songs charts in 7 countries simultaneously. Their debut full album 'THE CORE' also charted on Billboard 200, and their world tour kicked off with 60,000 fans across 3 sold-out nights in Yokohama. Discover how XG's "X-POP" vision is reshaping global music.
BABYMETAL will perform at Summer Sonic 2026 in both Tokyo and Osaka, curating the SONIC METAL STAGE on one day at each venue. This marks a historic convergence of BABYMETAL's 15th anniversary and Summer Sonic's 25th anniversary. Fresh off their Billboard 200 Top 10 debut, Japan's kawaii metal pioneers continue to reshape the global metal landscape.
Kenshi Yonezu's "IRIS OUT" has achieved 21 consecutive weeks at #1 on YouTube and Oricon streaming charts, setting the all-time solo artist record in Japan. With a peak of #5 on the Billboard Global 200 — the highest ever for a Japanese-language song — and a sold-out world tour drawing 440,000 fans, we explore how Japanese artists are reshaping global music streaming.
Japan-born global HIP HOP/R&B group XG has been named Coca-Cola Japan Ambassador for FIFA World Cup 2026, appearing in limited-edition soccer jerseys in a new web movie. From headlining Coachella to completing a 47-show world tour, discover how XG's unstoppable rise is bridging music, sports, and global brand power.
At just 25, multi-talented Japanese artist Vaundy has become the youngest male solo artist ever to headline a dome tour in Japan, selling out all 7 shows and drawing 350,000 fans. During his Tokyo Dome concert, he announced his first-ever Asia arena tour covering Seoul, Hong Kong, Taipei, and Shanghai. From posting songs on YouTube to dominating Japan's biggest stages in just 7 years — here's the story behind the phenomenon.
In May 2026, "Zipangu" — the largest Japanese-only music festival ever held on U.S. soil — will bring Ado, Atarashii Gakko!, Chanmina, HANA, MAN WITH A MISSION, Yuki Chiba, and 10-FEET to a 35,000-capacity venue near the Rose Bowl in LA. Following K-pop's KCON model, J-pop is now building its own global showcase infrastructure. We explore what this historic event means for J-pop's international expansion.
15 shows across five domes. About 490,000 fans. A new song called "Five", once a candidate for the group's name. The Kōhaku farewell that never was. And on May 31, 2026, at Tokyo Dome, ARASHI will close their 27-year story with their own hands. What they leave behind, what lives on, and the question they ask every fan. The final part of a 5-part series.
After the hiatus, five men walked separate paths — marriage, fatherhood, a samurai epic, an art-filled island retreat. Then came a company called "ARASHI Inc.," eighteen months of secret talks, and one video on May 6, 2025, where Ohno Satoshi showed his face for the first time in 1,587 days. Part 4 of a 5-part series.
Billboard Japan's "2025 Global Data Digest" analyzes Japanese music streaming data across 200+ countries. With J-POP holding a 2.52% global share (ranked 9th), the 71-page report examines how artists like Kenshi Yonezu and Creepy Nuts are breaking through internationally, the impact of anime tie-ups, and how world tours drive streaming numbers in different regions.
In June 2017, Ohno Satoshi told his four bandmates he wanted to leave. What followed was a year of talks, a 2.37-million-person farewell tour, a pandemic that stole their final year with fans, and one last night on December 31, 2020. Part 3 of a 5-part series on ARASHI's 27-year journey.
tuki., a Japanese high school singer-songwriter who keeps her face and real name hidden, held her very first live concert at Nippon Budokan — and set a Guinness World Record. All 8,503 tickets sold out instantly, earning the record for most tickets sold by a solo J-Pop artist at their debut public performance. From TikTok covers to over 1 billion streams, here's the story of the 16-year-old phenomenon who moved an arena to tears.
Charlie Puth's 4th album 'Whatever's Clever!' features a first-ever collaboration with Japan's Utada Hikaru on a track called "Home." Revealed right after his Super Bowl national anthem performance, the US-Japan dream pairing has fans buzzing worldwide. Here's the story behind this historic collab and how people are reacting.
Hana Yori Dango changed everything. Annual chart domination, six consecutive years at National Stadium, nine turns hosting Kohaku — ARASHI conquered every peak in Japanese entertainment for eleven golden years. But in 2017, at the very summit, a clock began ticking toward goodbye. Part 2 of a 5-part series.
In 1999, five teenagers were mocked at their debut on a cruise ship off Hawaii. From a 970,000-copy debut single to a career-low 140,000, free ticket giveaways, and 1% TV ratings — this is how ARASHI survived their darkest years. Part 1 of a 5-part series.