as you maybe know, BUMP OF CHICKEN is very very famous and popular
JPOP band here in JAPAN.
http://www.bumpofchicken.com/ (JPN)
BUMP OF CHICKEN is a Rock group from Sakura, Chiba, Japan. Their members are Fujiwara Motoo, Masukawa Hiroaki, Naoi Yoshifumi, and Masu Hideo. Since their inception in 1994, they have released fourteen singles and five albums. They are a popular group in Japan; every release since their third single, Tentai Kansoku, has charted in the top ten on the Oricon Weekly Charts. Their music has been used in various video games and as theme songs for movies and television shows in Japan.
The members first met in kindergarten and were classmates throughout their primary and secondary education. BUMP OF CHICKEN's first performance was in 1994, during their ninth grade cultural festival, playing a cover of The Beatles' version of Twist and Shout. In 1996, their song, DANNY, won an award on 96TFM.
In 1999, BUMP OF CHICKEN released their first album, FLAME VEIN, on HIGH LINE RECORDS. Later that year, they released their first single, "LAMP". In 2000, they released THE LIVING DEAD, their final release on HIGH LINE. They also held their first live tour, "Tsuaa Pokiiru", during March and April.
Later in 2000, the group switched to TOY'S FACTORY, releasing their first single on the label, "Diamond", in September. BUMP OF CHICKEN's first big success occurred when their single, "Tentai Kansoku", appeared on the Oricon Weekly Charts in 2001. They held two live tours, "Star Porking Tours 2001" beginning in March and "SURF PORKIN'" beginning in July. In October, they released "Harujion".
They released their first album on TOY'S FACTORY, jupiter, in February 2002 and was their first number one on the Oricon Weekly Charts. In the summer of 2002, their music was featured on the Japanese TV drama, "TENTAI KANSOKU", giving them more exposure. At the end of 2002, the group released the single "Snow Smile". 2003 saw the release of the double A-side single "Lost Man/sailing day". "sailing day" was used as the ending theme to the animated movie, One Piece: Dead End Adventure".
The beginning of 2004 saw a slew of re-releases. "Arue", from their album FLAME VEIN, was released as a single in March. They re-released their first two albums in April. FLAME VEIN received an extra song and was re-released as FLAME VEIN +1. THE LIVING DEAD received no modifications. In July, the group released "Only Lonely Glory", which became their first single to chart at number one on the Oricon Weekly Charts. A month later, they released their fourth album, Yggdrasil, which was their second album to reach number one on the Oricon Weekly Charts. Shortly after, they released "Sharin no Uta", from Yggdrasil, as a single.
In 2005, BUMP OF CHICKEN released two singles, "Planetarium" and "supernova/Karma". Karma was used as the theme song for Namco's "Tales of the Abyss. The band's next single, "Namida no Furusato" was used in a commercial for Lotte Airs. It became the group's second number one single. In 2007, they released the singles "Hana no Na" and "Mayday" on the same day. The two singles reached number one and two respectively on the Oricon Weekly Charts. BUMP OF CHICKEN released their second latest album, orbital period, on December 19, 2007.Their latest album is "present from you", released on June, 18, 2008. This album is a compilation of b-sides and other non-album tracks.
(by wikipedia)
# BUMP OF CHICKEN (YouTube)
http://itunes.com/bumpofchicken
