On July 26, MANON released her new song come again (prod. Sam is Ohm). The track is a cover of m-flo’s 2001 hit come again, blending the classic club sounds of the early 2000s and MANON’s unique sound.

MANON has started to attract attention as a cultural icon, and her musical style is enhanced this time around by Producer/DJ Sam is Ohm, who has participated in several m-flo remix contests. He has also been highly regarded for his Konya wa Boogie Back cover project, inspired by Kenji Ozawa’s 60s hit. The new arrangement incorporates the heart of the 2000s hit while transforming its Y2K sound to fit modern trends.

A Y2K-inspired retro-futuristic music video is also available to watch on YouTube. The artwork and video were created by Dan, who works with MANON as a member of the girl’s creator collective bala.

On December 4, 2021, Kizuna Ai announced that she would be going on indefinite hiatus. Prior to her ‘sleep,’  the VTuber will hold her final online live event, ‘Kizuna AI The Last Live “hello, world 2022” on February 26, 2022. For those wanting to participate in the show, applications are now open!

Ai would like the performance to be held with as many people as possible–not only those who are active as VTubers, but also those who are interested in being active in the virtual space. And, of course, those who have supported her over the past five years!

Be sure to tune in to this final performance filled with virtual talent!

Get ready for your trip to Virtual Sanrio Puroland! For the first time ever, Sanrio is teaming up with U.S. company VRChat for an entirely virtual music festival, SANRIO Virtual Fes in Sanrio Puroland on December 11 and December 12, 2021. Guests will be able to enjoy the event using a VR Headset, a PC, or a smartphone. 

The concert space will feature both live and virtual artists (VTubers), as well as popular Sanrio characters in a massive five-story underground space beneath Virtual Sanrio Puroland. Participants will also be able to transform their avatar into the Sanrio character of their choice during the event! High-fiving other concert-goers will result in an explosion of Hello Kitty bows, and there will be plenty of surprises during the music performances, so don’t miss it!

The lineup for the event includes Kizuna AI, Hatsune Miku+PinocchioP, AKB48(Team8), CHiCO with HoneyWorks, Haneru Inaba, Kaede Higuchi, KMNZ, VALSHE, Hakushi Hasegawa, YuNi, Pasocom Music Club, Mom, Megu Shinonome, AMOKA, Yukichi Kasaku/men, LAUSBUB, and Kinu. Plenty of Sanrio characters will also make appearances, including Hello Kitty, Cinnomoroll, Kuromi, Cogimyun, and Hapidanbui. 

Who are you looking forward to seeing perform in this adorable virtual space?

©‘21 SANRIO　©’21 SANRIO　SP-M　© ‘21 SANRIO S/F・G 著作(株)サンリオ
©AKB48　©Kizuna AI　©BANDAI NAMCO Arts Inc.　 ©ANYCOLOR, Inc. Art by KEI　©Crypton Future Media, INC.

From her debut in 2016 until 2021, Kizuna Ai was the most subscribed VTuber on YouTube, and the one responsible for the term ‘Virtual YouTuber.’ Now, this legendary star will be holding a concert available to fans of Japanese culture around the world, while also showing off the beauty of a Japanese fireworks festival. The event will take place on Facebook’s Oculus, on the Venues app, on September 25, 2021 in Japan. Anyone who has an Oculus Quest can view the concert for free.

Oculus Venues is a VR video platform, allowing users to enjoy a variety of concerts, sporting events, and comedy shows from the front row. There’s no need to worry about grabbing expensive tickets or dealing with crowds when you can enjoy your favorite events from the comfort of your own home!

In January 2021, Kizuna Ai announced a contract with UTA (United Talent Agency), one of the four major agencies in the United States. In April and May, she went on her first virtual US tour. Under the theme of connecting with everyone in the world, Kizuna Ai is attempting this new challenge using Oculus to get closer to fans than ever before. As a guest artist, world-renowned performers HANABI will perform, blending traditional Japanese culture with cutting-edge technological art in this one-of-a-kind DJ-directed space.

Will you be tuning in to Kizuna Ai’s fireworks concert?

American singer Alaina Castillo released her debut album parallel universe pt. 1 on May 29. The Japanese release of the album includes the song down 4 u performed in collaboration with the world famous virtual YouTuber Kizuna AI.

After amassing hundreds of thousands of subscribers on YouTube, Alaina Castillo was noticed by RØMANS, the Grammy-nominated producer known for working with such artists as Alicia Keys, John Legend, Demi Levato, Lewis Capaldi, and others. Since 2019, Alaina has released a string of singles and as well as an EP. She also made it onto Spotify RADAR, an emerging artist program which helps up-and-coming artists with exposure. Her hit single just a boy was also picked up by V of BTS.

Alaina is a fan of Japanese anime and anime characters. In the music video for her single wishlist which dropped last year, Kizuna AI made an appearance. Alaina herself repaid the favour by performing as a guest at the final show of Kizuna AI’s ‘Virtual US Tour’ in New York on May 30. The two artists came together once more by performing down 4 u feat. Kizuna AI, a track sung in English and Japanese. Comments from excited fans around the world flooded into the live stream.

At the end of the show, the two danced to Kizuna AI’s AIAIAI feat. Yasutaka Nakata.

This marks Alaina’s first collaboration with another artist as well as Kizuna’s first collaboration with an artist from the US.

Alaina’s new album parallel universe pt. 1 features seven tracks including pocket locket, parallel universe, make it rain, and down 4 u.

Last week, an animated music video was released for the main theme song of the upcoming original anime film Human Lost. The song was written by m-flo and features vocals from Colombian Grammy Award-winning artist J Balvin.

It has since amassed over 200k views on YouTube, and has garnered worldwide attention, with fans praising the triple, no-borders collaboration between m-flo, J Balvin and the animated film.

The music video ranked at No. 2 on the iTunes Store, while the song made it into various Spotify playlists around the world, including New Music Friday in Asia, New Music Friday Latin in Latin America, and Tokyo Super Hits in Japan. The video has also made it onto TV in Columbia, which is the home country of J Balvin and m-flo’s own LISA. Rolling Stone described Balvin as having “made a name for himself by transcending borders, both of the national and musical variety.”

The music video was animated by internationally-acclaimed and award-winning animators Polygon Pictures, Inc and OLM Digital. The character design work for J. Balvin’s animated character was created by Yūsuke Kozaki.

Scenes of m-flo and J.Balvin are woven together with highlight scenes from the anime film Human Lost. The original animated feature film will be released in Japan on November 29, 2019. The film will be screened in the US ahead of the Japanese release on October 22 and 23 with the subtitled version rolling out on October 22 and the dubbed version on October 23.  which will hit US theatres on October 22, 2019.

J Balvin is one of the world’s top artists with over 50 million monthly listeners on Spotify and more than 30 million Instagram followers. He has also performed with other global superstars including Beyoncé, Justin Bieber and Selena Gomez. The song was released simultaneously worldwide on October 11.

©2019 HUMAN LOST Project

m-flo has just dropped a brand new music video featuring Grammy Award-winning artist J.Balvin. The music video for m-flo’s dynamic collaboration song HUMAN LOST feat. J. Balvin will be unveiled to the public on October 11 at 12am. It is expected to follow in the footsteps of its globally inspiring creators to become a worldwide sensation.

HUMAN LOST feat. J. Balvin/m-flo Music Video (Viewable from October 11 at 12am)

The entire music video was animated by world famous award-winning animators Polygon Pictures, Inc and OLM Digital. The outstanding character design work for J. Balvin’s animated character was created by Yūsuke Kozaki. 

Scenes of m-flo and J.Balvin have been woven together with highlight scenes from the acclaimed anime film Human Lost, which was released in Japan in July and will be released in Europe and the US in 2020 and features famous voice actor Mamoru Miyano. This video is packed with intense scenes that will make your heart thud. 

The song is a collaboration between the hit anime film Human Lost and the no.1 Latin urban music superstar J. Balvin. He is one of the world’s top artists with over 50 million monthly listeners on Spotify and more than 30 million Instagram followers. He has also performed with other global superstars including Beyoncé, Justin Bieber and Selena Gomez. Along with the release of the video, the song will also be released worldwide simultaneously and is expected to become a sensation in countries all over the world.

Kizuna AI recently performed at SUMMER SONIC 2019 on the RAINBOW Stage on August 18. She also interviewed various acts who performed at the music festival, including Yasutaka Nakata and Kyary Pamyu Pamyu. The full interview was posted on her YouTube channel.

SUMMER SONIC 2019 – Official Artist Interview vol.02: Yasutaka Nakata & Kyary Pamyu Pamyu

Kizuna AI released a cover of Kyary Pamyu Pamyu’s song Kizunami on August 16 which is taken from Kyary’s fourth studio album Japamyu which dropped back in September 2018. To celebrate the release of the new song, Kizuna AI appeared as a surprise guest on Yasutaka Nakata and Kyary Pamyu Pamyu’s set at SUMMER SONIC 2019 where her and Kyary performed Kizunami.

Below is a translated summary of the interview.

Kizuna AI: “Our first collaboration together! Was I okay…?”

Kyary: “I haven’t collaborated with that many people. It’s rare for me to sing with someone, but I was really happy with how it went!”

Kizuna AI: “Nakata, when did people start calling you Ouji [Prince]?”

Kyary: “He has a lot of out-there nicknames! [laughs]”

Yasutaka Nakata: “Battery Eater is another one [laughs]”

Kizuna AI: “What does ‘chumete‘ mean?” [Referencing a word taken from the chorus of Kizuna AI’s song AIAIAI, written and produced by Nakata]

Yasutaka Nakata: “That’s a secret! Because you can interpret it in many different ways.”

Kizuna AI: “What’s a word or occurrence [in music] that’s stuck with you the most, Kyary?”

Kyary: “Ninja Re Bang Bang. The title was originally ‘tentative.’ I feel it’s a mysterious word that anyone can get behind. Even when touring overseas everyone sings it together.”

Kizuna AI: “Finally, please give a message to your fans!”

Kyary: “It was so much fun getting to stand on stage together with Nakata. I hope we can do something together again!”

Kizuna AI: “Kyary, can you put these ears on?”

Kizuna AI has posted lots of other interviews from the festival on her YouTube channel too including with SHAED, SOFI TUKKER, Alan Walker, the telephones, and AI. Be sure to check them out.

Yasutaka Nakata is the internationally acclaimed architect of kawaii music and music producer of huge Japanese names such as Kyary Pamyu Pamyu and Perfume.

The DJ and music producer is known for having collaborated with a whole string of big artists, such as Kenshi Yonezu on the song NANIMONO as well as Charli XCX on Crazy Crazy. Despite having only just dropped his new song Pico Pico Tokyo (feat. Momo Mashiro) recently, he just released a new song entitled Kizunami (cover) for digital download on August 16. The track is a cover of Kyary Pamyu Pamyu’s song Kizunami taken from her fourth studio album Japamyu which Nakata Produced. It is covered by virtual talent Kizuna AI who has almost 2.7 million subscribers on her YouTube channel.

To celebrate the release of the new song, Kizuna AI appeared as a surprise guest on Yasutaka Nakata and Kyary Pamyu Pamyu’s set at SUMMER SONIC 2019 which was held in Tokyo and Osaka. In a very special collaboration, she sang the song alongside Kyary―the singer of the original track.

As with the Osaka show, the RAINBOW STAGE at the Tokyo concert had an admission limit due to how much music fans were anticipating this stage.

When the intro to Fashion Monster started playing as the first song of Yasutaka Nakata’s set, the crowd’s excitement went straight through the roof. But it didn’t stop there however, as it shot into the stratosphere when Kyary Pamyu Pamyu walked onto the stage, clad in a beautiful white outfit.

Nakata and Kyary’s set was an energetic amalgamation of song mash-ups and alternative arrangements, treating the crowd to familiar hit after hit. It reestablished Nakata’s status as a spearhead of the industry.

He joined Kyary in front of his DJ booth for CANDY CANDY and waved his hands left and right with the crowd to Kyary’s directions. The two of them rolled out even more big numbers including Invader Invader, PON PON PON and Ninja Re Bang Bang which also had fun new arrangements.

When the intro to Kizunami started up, Kizuna AI’s chorus entered the fray at which Kyary asked, “Whose voice is that?” Kizuna AI suddenly appeared on the giant LED screen at the back of the stage, and the crowd reacted instantly. She riled everyone up by calling “Summer Sonic!” before joining Nakata and Kyary in a dream collaboration.

The 19-song set was up with Mondai Girl and finally Oto no Kuni during which the crowd waved their towels in unison.

Kizuna AI’s cover of Kizunami is now available for digital download and is streaming on Spotify.

An archive of Kizuna AI’s birthday party event A.I. Party! 2019 ~ hello, how r u? ~, which was held at HY TOWN HALL in Tokyo on June 30, was posted onto her official YouTube channel on July 31 and is available to watch if you are a paid member of her channel. The party went down a storm where she also performed her newest song Sky High (Prod. Yunomi) live for the first time.

The event included live performances from Kizuna AI and guests, a game section with Kizuners (her fans), and more.

The full music video for Sky High (Prod. Yunomi), which was posted on YouTube last week, was also released on the iTunes Store and other digital platforms on July 31. The video shot up to No. 3 on the iTunes Store Japan music video charts. Her song AIAIAI (feat. Yasutaka Nakata) also peaked at No. 1 on the electronic charts.

With Kizuna AI set to perform at this year’s Summer Sonic Festival, her popularity and influence continues to surge.

Sanrio Puroland, Tokyo’s theme park home to Hello Kitty and her friends, has teamed up with music company Melody fair to create a very special one-night-only Halloween party called SPOOKY PUMPKIN 2019 〜PURO ALL NIGHT HALLOWEEN PARTY〜 which will take place on October 26.

This marks the 6th year of Puroland’s all-night event which never fails to sell out every ticket every single time. This year, there will be 4 live stages instead of the usual 3 allowing for even more exciting entertainment. There will be alcohol, performances from some big names in Japanese music, appearances from the Sanrio character cast, special openings of select park attractions and restaurants, and more for a truly unique club night experience you won’t find anywhere else.

The park will be decorated in all things Halloween, and guests must dress according to the dress code which is titled “Orange or Pumpkin.”

m-flo

chelmico

There is a huge list of artists are lined up with 40 expected to perform. The first batch have been announced already and includes Scha Dara Parr, m-flo, chelmico, Mom, BILLIE IDLE®, xiangyu, 4s4ki, DJ To-i (from DISH//), 掌幻と昴、LEGEND Of Densetsu a.k.a. Cypress Ueno, OTOTOY FRIDAY, Makita Sports、Poseidon Ishikawa, Shaka bose, JUN INAGAWA, Kubotakai, DJ DEVILMINTKIRYU, DJ yksb, and DJ Hello Kitty. The rest are to be announced at a later date.

There will also be a special pre-celebration for Hello Kitty’s birthday which is officially on November 1.

This fun all-night Halloween festival welcomes everybody include those who have never been to a music festival or club before.

Links to where you can buy tickets are listed below. If you buy them from Reco Ticket you’ll get the above-pictured exclusive Hello Kitty ticket.

Enjoy a Halloween party like no other this year at Sanrio Puroland.

©2019 SANRIO CO., LTD.

Kizuna AI’s newest song Sky High (Prod. Yunomi) was released on June 30 and its full music video just dropped over on the virtual idol’s official YouTube page. The song was written and produced by Yunomi.

​Kizuna AI’s 12th track to date, this marks her third song in collaboration with Yunomi following future base and new world. The powerful new anthem could be called a new phase for the virtual singer who has seen huge growth in such a short period of time with the release of her 9 singles across 9 weeks and performing her first solo show Kizuna AI 1st Live “hello, world” at the end of last year.

The music video takes a turn from her popular AIAIAI (feat. Yasutaka Nakata) music video which saw her performing alongside human dancers, and instead sees her performing on her own.

Two teaser videos were released for this new music video right before Kizuna’s 3rd birthday on June 30 which drew huge attention. The song was performed for the first time at her birthday party A.I. Party! 2019 〜 hello, how r u? 〜 on June 30. It shot straight to No. 1 on iTunes Store Japan’s electronic charts.

Yunomi has once again expressed Kizuna AI’s unique perspective in this exciting new music video.