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TikTok's next idea: To find new K-pop and J-pop stars
TikTok wants to find the next BTS. The video sharing app, owned by Chinese internet giant ByteDance, is launching a talent contest aimed at discovering K-pop and J-pop acts. The auditions will take place within TikTok Spotlight: a new channel where users from Japan and Korea can upload their music videos to be judged by an all-star panel comprised of record labels, local musicians and hit-makers.
Japan's latest sensation is a cryptocurrency pop group
If you're starting a pop group in Japan, where giant rosters and virtual superstars are par for the course, how do you stand out? By tying yourself to something trendy -- and in 2018, that means cryptocurrency. Meet Kasotsuka Shojo (Virtual Currency Girls), a J-pop group where each of the eight girls represents one of the larger digital monetary formats. Yes, you're supposed to cheer for bitcoin or swoon over ethereum (what, no litecoin?). The group played its first concert on January 12th, and naturally you had to pay in cryptocurrency to be one of the few members of the general public to get in.
Babymetal will cute you to death in Rock Band 4
Earlier this summer, a trio of teenage rockers took the internet by storm with their unique blend of J-Pop effervescence and head-banging thrash metal beats. The band's star continues to rise with both a world tour and the announcement that their first hit, "Gimme Chocolate" is coming to Rock Band 4. The song will available as a bonus track beginning October 6th (which is when the game actually hits store shelves). Unfortunately, the track is exclusive to the Xbox One platform and needs to be reserved as part of the game's pre-order bundle.
Sega breaks out something called 'Project 575' with new trailers
Sega is launching a new something called Project 575. We assume it's a new game, since that's Sega's thing, but initial Japanese trailers leave a lot to imagination. They feature the silhouettes of girls in green and red, with background music that Siliconera identifies as work by Lamaze-P, a composer of Vocaloid music. The red silhouette calls herself Masaoka Azuki, while the green one is Kobayashi Maccha, the site mentions. Project 575 has an official page and related social networking hubs. A YouTube commenter mentions the J-pop group, Perfume, has a song called "575" – this could be wishful thinking from a fan, but added to the Lamaze-P song, we're getting a distinct music-based vibe from Sega here. See the second trailer, featuring just Masaoka Azuki (the red silhouette), below.
Tales of Graces F gracing American shores March 13
It's been a long time coming, but it looks like the wait is nearly over. Well, by "nearly" we mean "three months from now," but that's better than nothing, right? The Namco Bandai localization of Tales of Graces F will bring purple pigtails and J-Pop to North American PS3s on March 13, according to the latest trailer above. Now, there will be several points during this trailer where you will instinctively reach for the mute button on your keyboard, but we beg that you try and tough it out. Not because it's ultimately worth it, but because we had to listen to the whole thing, and we want you to suffer like we did.
Black Ops meets J-pop in Japanese commercial
This Japanese ad for Call of Duty: Black Ops, featuring Ravex and Namie Amuro's "Rock U", might seem to prove that J-pop and the military don't mix. But, then, the Japanese Coast Guard provides a pretty convincing argument to the contrary.
Chaos Rings trailer looks awesome
Just yesterday, we heard about this new Square Enix RPG due to come to the iPhone this year, and today, not only do we have official confirmation, but a first official trailer as well. And boy does it look great -- over in the console world, Final Fantasy's creators have been saying that they can't make them like they used to, because the newer HD technology just makes old-school artisanship tough to do. But a platform like the iPhone, with its built-in limits on graphical fidelity, might be just the place for the old-school vibe to live and thrive. 3D characters on 2D backgrounds? What appear to be turn-based battles against bosses and summons? A story featuring emo-haired heroes and J-pop ballads? Boy are we in. The Japanese version says "Available soon on the App Store," but we'll keep an eye on the other stores as well and let you know when this drops.
The DS Life: Vanilla Beans
Rena and Lisa make up Vanilla Beans, a Japanese pop idol duo with a fanciful style that separates them from typical J-pop groups. The two recently appeared at Tokyo's Shibuya Crossing to promote their new music single with an interesting publicity stunt -- dressed as retro flight attendants, they sat inside a window-fronted truck for passer-bys to watch and wonder, "What in the world are those strangely dressed girls doing in there?"Sitting inside a closed window display all day can get boring, but the two thoughtfully brought something to pass the afternoon.
Check out the track lists for Band Brothers DX
The Band Brothers DX website lists all the jammable tracks available in the rhythm title, including both downloadable and in-game songs. Since the list is in Japanese, we did our best to translate (read: search the internet for a translation), which we've posted after the break.For classical music lovers (like this blogger), the in-game song list is like a piece of cake wrapped in brownie batter. Everyone else may be a wee bit disappointed, though, as the tracks only include five J-pop songs among a plethora of Mozart and the like. To keep it interesting, the classical songs are remixed in different styles, like tango, Eurobeat, pop, jazz, and more. Some unique combinations include a reggae version of Beethoven's "Pathétique Sonata" and a Famicom version of Schubert's "The Trout" (click here and here to listen to them in their original classical styles).The list of downloadable songs is much more J-poppy, however, offering tracks like "Flavor of Life" by Utada Hikaru, which is the recurring theme of J-drama Hana Yori Dango. There are also a handful of anime songs to help tickle your J-fetish.If you want to see both of the translated song lists for Band Brothers DX, just click on past the break. Gallery: Band Brothers DX
Star Ocean: Second Evolution commercial gets Jpoppy
Most RPGs in Japan come with some super-sweet, super-catchy J-pop song. Square Enix's upcoming Star Ocean: The Second Evolution is no different. The all-girl band Scandal performs the theme song to this upcoming game with their number, "Start." Check it out.[Via PSPHyper]
PSP puzzlers featured in new season of The 1UP Show
I ran into Milky from 1UP a few times at DigitalLife, and during our video game musings, we discovered our mutual love of one thing... Lumines. The latest episode of The 1UP Show (PSP version also available) reveals some new footage and details from the upcoming music puzzler. The show reveals that J-Pop artist Mondo Grosso will headline the introductory track for the game, and it looks like a lot of fun. What isn't so fun are the new English language pop music video levels. The music doesn't mesh with the game, and the videos can be distracting, according to the Milkman. Interestingly, the graphics of this puzzle game have somehow become more beautiful. Gyuh? The rest of the episode goes to detail about the customization options in the new Lumines, and unlockables, and the new "harder" difficulty level. If that wasn't enough Mizuguchi love for you, Gunpey is featured on the episode, and there's nothing but praise for the game. With stylish good looks, a rockin' soundtrack, and some addictive puzzle gameplay, it appears that Gunpey is where PSP owners will flock to get a new puzzler fix, if Lumines feels too familiar for them. Interestingly, the show reveals that both Lumines and Gunpey have been delayed in Japan to 2007, meaning American gamers will be able to enjoy these very quirky Japanese-centric games months before the land of the rising sun. And the reason? Because PSP has become so overshadowed by the DS. Lumines II arrives in stores November 7.
