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Another Massive Year for B'z | April 22, 2008 |
 As Japan's best-selling rock artists, B'z have no shortage of hits to choose from for a pair of compilation albums to mark their 20th anniversary. And their new single "Burn" has added to the list, entering the Oricon charts at No.1 this week. That extends their double record of 41 consecutive No.1 releases over 19 consecutive years. In this memorial year, they started a 17-city arena tour at the weekend, which will be followed by a 3-city stadium tour in September. And yesterday they announced a follow up to their 1998 release of a pair of hits albums - "Pleasure" and "Treasure" between them sold more than 9 million copies. "B'z The Best - Ultra Pleasure," which goes on sale June 18, includes no less than 12 million sellers and the 27 singles on the album have between them sold over 25 million copies. The album will come with a bonus mini album containing "Itsuka no Merry Christmas" and reworked versions of "Bad Communication" and "Pleasure." The first issue of the album will also include a 10-track live DVD that includes footage of the legendary Chiba Marine Stadium show in 2000, when they band performed outdoors during a thunder storm. The second album, "B'z The Best - Ultra Treasure," will be released in September and, like the 1998 version, will be made up of tracks requested by fans.
• Today's issue of women's weekly "Shuukan Josei" reveals that actor Kaname Jun (27) is dating a 23-year-old dental assistant. He is said to have met the Inamori Izumi lookalike through a friend and they've been dating for about six months, a relationship that both he and his agency have acknowledged. The tall and handsome Kaname made his acting debut as "Kamen Rider Agito" in 2001, but this is the first report of romance.
• Masi Oka (33), the Japanese actor who made a breakthrough on the U.S. drama series "Heroes," arrived back in Japan yesterday. A big comedy fan, he said he's excited about appearing with such major names as Tamori ("Waratte Iitomo, today) and Downtown ("Downtown DX," May 8) as he did the news and variety show circuit for the first time.
• Perfume, the pop trio of female university students, have seen their second album, "Game," enter the Oricon charts at No.1. They are just the second techno group to top the chart, following Yellow Magic Orchestra's "Uwakina Bokura" in 1983.
• British singer James Blunt (31) opened his brief Japan tour with a concert last night at the NHK Hall in Tokyo. He performed 17 songs including his 2005 breakthrough smash "You're Beautiful" and "Carry You Home," the theme for the Fuji TV drama "Aiba Monogatari."
• The latest series of "Gokusen" got off to a strong start on Saturday. Again starring Nakama Yukie (28) as the kick-ass high school teacher, the opening episode got an audience ranking of 26.4% in the Kanto region, according to Video Research.
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