A lot happens in the world, but we're only interested in Speed, ne? ^_^ Well, check out this page for the latest news on Speed.
Well, technically, it was released two days ago. ^_^;;; Anyway, I have posted my thoughts and a semi-review to the Speed-chat and Geinou MLs. Check out the discography page for a link to my 'thoughts / semi-review' for my first love.
Oh yeah, I also did roumaji lyrics for anyone interested. Links to the lyrics on the discography page (just look at the track listings and you'll see beside it 'roumaji'. v(^_^)v
Yes, pretty much every Japanese drama contains an original soundtrack (a minimum of 1, but some series [read: Long Vacation] milk fans for all their worth! ^_^;;;) and LxIxVxE is no different. Not much can be said about the original soundtrack, but check out the discography page for the preliminary information I have on it. Note that this information is subject to change at any time from now up until the actual release. Come on, you know how these things work out. =)
Taken directly from my posts to Speed-chat ML and the Geinou ML, here it is in pre-formatted text for your enjoyment!
Here is an update to several of Speed's projects coming up. Seems like Configuration is on hold. It has been taken off of the release schedule. I'm guessing it will probably come out after Speed's 10th single comes out.
Speed's 10th single. The title is now "Breakin' out to the morning" and will be the theme song for the upcoming Fuji TV drama "Africa no Yoru" (African Nights). It is scheduled to come out sometime during the middle of May.
NOTE: The name of the Fuji TV drama seems to have been changed from "Koisuru Africa" to "Africa no Yoru." I did some research on it on the Fuji TV site in case you were wondering. =)
Okay, we now have a name, tentative, for Eriko with Crunch's 2nd single. Apparently the name is "Everyday, be with you" and will be either a tie-up song for a new Rohto G Lycee (Rise) CM or the theme song for a new TBS drama called "Kowai Douwa" (Scary Fairy Tale). Check the discography page for even more information! ^_^;;;
Well, for those of you with connections in Japan or access to Japanese TV, here are shows that are scheduled for airing in April. They feature Speed, in case you're wondering. =P Hehehe
Here's a tentative list of shows Speed, or members of Speed, will be appearing
on in April. Obviously there will be more shows since this is just what is known
at the moment; Hippare is definitely on there since Speed usually appears on every
show. ^_^;;;
April 1
BS Junior - NHK (?) BS2 - 20:00 ~ 20:54
Countdown All Hit - TBS - 19:00 ~ 20:54
April 2
Music Station Special - TV Asahi - 19:00 ~
April 3
Happening Taisho (?) '99 Spring!! - TBS - 19:00 ~20:54
ƒnƒvƒjƒ“ƒO‘åÜ'99t!!
(That's the Japanese title above in case I didn't translate it correctly. ^_^;;)
April 9
L*I*V*E - TBS - 21:00`21:54
April 15
Quick (?) Utaban - TBS - 20:54~21:00
Utaban - TBS - 21:00~21:54
Africa no Yoru - Fuji TV - 22:00~22:54
(This is the drama that Speed does only the theme song for)
April 16
Alive! Wide Music Jump (MJ) - Music Japan TV - 17:00~20:00
(¶!ƒƒCƒhMJ)
L*I*V*E - TBS - 21:00~21:54
April 17
Yomigaeru Kino - Nihon TV - 21:00~21:54
(‘h‚é‹à˜T)
April 21
Uta no Daijiten - Nihon TV - 20:00~20:54
(‰Ì‚̑厫ƒeƒ“)
April 23
L*I*V*E - TBS - 21:00~21:54
April 24
Yomigaeru Kino - Nihon TV - 21:00~21:54
(‘h‚é‹à˜T)
April 30
L*I*V*E - TBS - 21:00~21:54
Yep, you're not reading wrong, Taka-chan's drama *is* real! Read the post I sent to several Jpop MLs today below:
Yep, you're not reading wrong, Taka-chan's drama *is* real! Read the post I sent to several Jpop MLs today below:
As the subject says, Speed member, UEHARA Takako will have a role in an upcoming drama. Here is more detailed information on the drama. "NTV announced it's new April TV drama "The Waking Golden Wolf". (Starting April 17) on March 7 1999, in Tokyo Westin Hotel. SPEED member, UEHARA Takako and SMAP member, Shingo are starring in this TV drama. The story of this TV drama is about a young, office-worker (Shingo) who wants to seek revenge for the death of his brother so he trains himself to be a superhero, "the Golden Wolf". (the story is like Batman). Then, he meets this lonely, rich girl (Takako!!!) and they fall in love. (!?!). The ending is undecided." Sounds a bit corny, but it does star a member of SMAP and they are usually in comedy-type dramas, right? =) Oh well, I'm sure the story will be a bit funny.
Well, looks like Speed fans will be busy this coming April! ^_^; And here a lot of people were saying March is sad because it's such a slow month for Speed. Hah! It's just the calm before the storm people! You better camp outside your local Japanese video store to make sure you are able to rent copies of both LxIxVxE and Yomigaeru Kinookami!!! Who cares if it's not subtitled in English! Learn Japanese for the sole purpose of enjoying everything Speed! =D
Here is the information as posted on the Official TLC website:
TLC has a busy week ahead....they're winging their way to Japan for a whirlwind press tour on Friday! The junket begins Sunday March 7th local time....when TLC will be taping for an upcoming episode of the Japanese program HEY HEY HEY...and they'll be meeting with their Japanese counterparts, too! Asia's top selling female group Speed will have a meeting of the minds with TLC. On Monday and Tuesday, TLC will be interviewed by reporters from lots of different magazines, including Get On, Fine, Me Sister, and Woofin'. They'll also be on J-Wave radio and do some TV interviews. Wednesday sees them heading back home to the States!
I'm not sure of the exact date for this show, but I believe it will be on the same show where Takako makes her solo debut, which, I believe, is the March 22 show. I'll be sure to update the news if / when the date is confirmed.
Well, you folks may or may not know that Speed won some awards on the 13th Golden Disc Award Show in Japan. If you did know or if you're curious and you don't understand Japanese, here are translations of the acceptance speeches as translated by Brandon (yeah, the same one that is busy with work, etc.).
BTW, I'm going to make up a page with pictures from the award show so you folks can have some pictures to go with the translation below.
Said I'd do it, and so here they are... (note: the translations ain't the best (sorta rushed it ^^;), and I tried to get them as close to word-perfect as possible, but well... you'll at least get the general idea =P Also, I'm inserting a word or two to have it make more sense ^^;) Heh, sorry this was so late. I actually started writing this about 5 hours ago, but had to go help out with a talent show... For Song of the Year: Eriko: We may be receiving awards for 3 songs, but one song, "my graduation" was really last year's song to be sung, it's a good* song for the graduation season, Hitoe: Thank you very much, everyone. If I were to say what I think of Alive and the movie, our first major perfomance movie Andromedia, we were nervous and full of uneasiness, but it became an amazing and good memory. Thank you very much. Takako: Thank you very much. To be able to have 3 songs win like this is really a dream. All My True Love, after coming from Alive, was up tempo, and for a long time it's amazing the Promo Vid was received with such a spirit.** (the site-maintainer notes that a smile escapes from both Hitoechan and Erichan) Hiroko: Well, this time, 3 songs received an award, which is really pleasant. Thank you very much, to everyone from staff for helping us. We (SPEED) will do our best from here, thank you for today. (all the members wave to the audience with a smile) For Pop Album of the Year: Hiroko: Receiving many awards like this is really nice, thank you very much everyone. Eriko: Thank you very much. -------- *: Literally, it's "exactly", meaning "appropriate", but "good" makes enough sense in English =P **: This sentence was a bit odd to translate, so I slightly altered "came in" to "received"... essentially the same, really (to say that you got something (say, found it), in Japanese it's "te ni hairimashita" which literally means "entered into the hand", so I figured this was close enough... =P) Now then, this ain't a great translation, but you get the idea (with most of the words put in there... I probably should've spent more time on it, but ... just don't really have the time ^^; Hope this helps. Mata ne, - Brandon
Okay, I know folks were wondering what was up with Eriko with Crunch and Hiro... no new singles and no RIMIX album. Well, wonder no more because it appears that Eriko with Crunch is going to have a second single. There is no title as of yet, but I will inform everyone when I do find out the title. It is scheduled to come out sometime in April.
Here's something very interesting to read... the news I have read say something about "playing instruments. (guitar, piano)" I'm not exactly sure if this means she will play the guitar for this new single or if it is part of the kanji combination that means "2nd" release. I'll be sure to change / confirm this information when I find out more, but for now, just take it with a grain of salt. =)
Another tidbit is that this new song is going to be the tie-up song for a new Lotte G Rise CM. There were two kanji that I didn't know what they meant: »–ò I know that the first kanji is '-sei' as in "Nihon sei" or "made in Japan" and the second kanji is 'kusuri' as in "medicine"...not sure how those two come together. Couldn't find them in any of my dictionaries...maybe if I had a kanji dictionary, but I don't...yet! ^_^;;;
Please see the Discography page for more information.
Okay, just at the last minute, right before I was about to upload the updated files for Speed Tengoku, I came across some news regarding the dramas that Speed is either acting in or doing something related to it.
The first tidbit is that the TBS drama that is supposed to star Eri and Hitoe is now being called "LxIxVxE" and not "LIVE." Nothing else has changed as far as story and plot.
Second, the drama that Speed is supposed to do a theme song for is called "Koisuru Africa." It is going to start on April 15, 1999. It is a Fuji drama and will air on Thursdays at 10pm. Apparently, it has been decided that Speed will, in fact sing the theme song. I guess this makes the news of Eriko with Crunch's 2nd single and a 10th Speed single a bit more valid.
Well, those worried that Winter Emotion was cancelled, don't have anything to worry about anymore because Takako will be releasing a solo single (by herself) on March 25, 1999! Yes, you heard right, she is getting a solo single, but it's not going to be like Eri and Hiro's, because it is not a c/w song for a Speed song, it will be a single on its own. The title of the single is "my first love" and a sample can be heard during the House Foods "Black Tea Jelly" in which Takako debuted her solo project! Please see the Discography page for more information.
For those of you that don't follow Speed's daily lives (shame on you! ^_^;;;), you will be glad to know that Eri-chan has passed the test to enter high school! OMEDETOU ERI-CHAN!!!! v(^_^)v I believe it was announced on Hi! Speed de Ikou! (their radio program) around February 16-18.
Eri-chan, ganbaruzo! (Eri-chan, goodluck!) ^_^
Well, seems like there is never an end to rumors, but how is this for a really juicy one? It appears that Eri and Hitoe-chan are supposed to star in a TBS drama called "Live." It is supposed to start airing on Fridays at 9pm, in April. The main story of focuses on a brass band during high school. Not much is known at this moment, but apparently, the main focuses of the drama will be love and friendship. It is also rumored that Speed will sing the theme song.
I have not been able to confirm this news as no official announcement has made its way to the press, but if there is an official announcement, I will inform everyone!
Well, I have some bad news and I have some good news. I don't like ending on a bad note, so I'll give you the bad news first. It appears that Winter Emotion is no longer going to be released. It was supposed to be Speed's 9th single and Taka and Hitoe's first solo song, but it has been taken off the release schedule. It is now somewhere in limbo land. I'm personally hoping it'll come out, but I'm not betting any money on it.
The good news is that Speed *will* come out with a 9th single, with a release date close to the release date that was given to Winter Emotion. The 9th single is called Precious Time. Please see the Discography page for more information.
Okay, I've finally come across a confirmation for the name of Speed's 9th single. It is being called "Winter Emotion." The release date has also changed, but I can not confirm this change as of yet. The solo songs have not yet been named either. Please see the Discography page for more information.
Finally, after all these years, Speed will perform live in Okinawa for the first time since becoming Speed! ^_^ Wow, it's kind of amazing that they've never performed in Okinawa...then again, with the success that they've had, they really haven't had much time to spend in Okinawa since they are usually filming a PV somewhere, taping music shows, making appearances on shows, giving press announcements, going on tour, filming a movie (^_^;), etc.
The concerts will take place on January 14 and 15, 1999. I believe tickets were / are being sold through the Speed fan club, Speed Spirits.
Yes, I know this news is kind of old...saw it on Japanese Speed sites about 1-2 months ago. ^_^; Better late than never...get on the plane and head over to Okinawa!
Well, for those of you who were anxious to get Moment, it has finally come out...well, sure, this news is a bit late since it came out about 9 days ago. ^_^; Still, for those of you who want to get it, it's now available. See the information on Moment on the discography page. I've also included updated information on the flipbooks.
Well, Andromedia has finally been released on video!!! If you were dying to see it, now's your chance. It should be arriving in stores and rental shops any day now. I was too busy during the semester to get the translation of the script done and it's a bit hectic right now as well. Hopefully we'll be able to get the script done soon...
Well, they've finally officially announced the release date and information for Speed's Rise concert tour video. It seems I was pretty accurate with my guess for the date. It's coming out on January 20, 1999. See the What's new page for more information!
Speed's first best album 'Moment' will go on sale on December 16, 1998! Better run down to your local Jpop store to buy one! If you're lucky enough to get a first press, you'll also get a cool flipbook that shows Speed dancing. There are three types...you only get one. =( Check out the discography page for more information.
Well, it seems the producers of Speed don't want to give us a break because they are coming out with tons of Speed things in the months to come! Here's a brief run through of the Speed things that are coming out: Moment, RIMIX, Andromedia, Taka and Hitoe's solo maxi-single, Rise concert tour video, etc. See the What's new page for more information!
For those of you who can get NHK, whether it's via satellite, local Japanese programming, or tape, you might want to check out the "Document Nippon" feature that appears after the news and weather forcast on because they are going to do a "Super Idols: Junior High School students" documentary on Speed!!!
Once again, the date is November 7, 1998 at 3:10 - 4:00 pm EST.
Well, here's Speed's upcoming apperances on the following Japanese music shows! Looks like we'll finally see Hiro-chan perform Mitsumeteitai on Music Champ! Yatta!
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Major J-music programs (October 30- November 30)
(TV Program Schedule for the Tokyo Metropolitan area)
Data source: Gekkan Television, December 1998 issue
Note: Some guest performers listed below may change without notice.
More performers could be added without notice.
Your local TV station may air these TV programs on
a different date.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Music Station (TV Asahi), 8:00-9:00 p.m.
October 30: Speed, Chara, D-Shade, Johnny's Jr., Fayray
--------------------------------------------
Pop Jam (NHK General), 11:00-11:40 p.m.
-- Regular members: Bakusho Mondai, Emi Tsuge
October 31: (special, 2:10-3:30 a.m.): ELT, Takashi Sorimachi, Shazna
October 31: Shikao Suga, TM Revolution, Speed
November 21: Speed, Mayo Okamoto, D-Loop
--------------------------------------------
Count Down TV (TBS), 0:55-1:35 a.m.
November 1: Ami Suzuki, Speed
--------------------------------------------
Fun (NTV), 11:00-11:30p.m.
-- Regular members: Masataka Matsutoya, Norika Fujiwara, Koji Imada
November 6: Chage, Speed
--------------------------------------------
Hey! Hey! Hey! Music Champ (Fuji TV), 8:00-9:00 p.m.
-- Regular members: Downtown
November 9: Mr.Children, Eriko with Crunch (Eriko Imai)
November 16: Hiroko Shimabukuro
-- Eriko and Hiroko will appear not as a Speed girl, but as a solo singer.
--------------------------------------------
Music Jump (NHK BS-2), 6:00-7:00 p.m.
-- Regular members: Uno Kanda, D&D, Liberty Girls, Amika Hatta,
MJ-Party
November 1: Speed, Yuri Mari
Okay, I've got more news on the Andromedia video! The first set of copies will have some cool goodies that might just be worth the 16590‰~ askig price! Check out the Discography page for more information on what goodies are included!
Well, Speed is coming out with another photobook! This one will be centered around their Rise Concert Tour 1998. It will feature a poster and 2(?) Print Club stickers! Check out the Photobook page for pricing.
According to Speed R, the Andromedia movie is scheduled to come out on December 21, 1998. Start saving your money though... Check out the Discography page for pricing.
I've just found out what tracks with be on the "All My True Love" Maxi-single to be released on October 28, 1998. Check out the Discography page for a track listing and a picture of what the cover may look like.
Well, according to Ken, owner of the Japanese Entertainment Newsletter, Eri-chan is going to perform on a Pop Jam with a group called Crunch. Not much is known about the relationship between the two, but if anything surfaces, I'll be sure to post it here and on the Speed-chat ML.
Jpop/J-rock singers of an upcoming Pop Jam program
(October 26, 1998)
Data Source: NHK's official announcement (written in Japanese)
"Pop Jam" is NHK's popular Jpop music program.
Next dates aren't the dates when Pop Jam will be aired as a TV
program, but the dates when the live programs are actually performed
in NHK Hall of Shibuya. Remember that there is a time lag between the
date shown below and the date you see it on your local program.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
NHK Hall: address: Jin-nan 2-2, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo
(It's located about 600 meters south-west of Harajuku station)
October 26:
Guest Performers: TM Revolution, Hiro, Eriko with Crunch, Shoko Kitano,
pool bit boys, Maschera, Mayo Okamoto, Nanase Aikawa,
Ulfuls
(This live show will be aired in November as a NHK program)
--------------------------
Doors open at 6:00 p.m., start at 7:20 p.m., end at 9:30 p.m.
regular members: Bakusho Mondai (comedian boys band)
Tel: 03-3454-0200 (NHK Hoso Center Moyoushimono Jigyo-bu)
In order to enter the music hall, a reservation with postcard (of a
specified format) is required. For more, call NHK at 03-3454-0200.
* I got the news marked with an asterick ("*") from Ken-chan's Japanese Entertainment Newsletter with permission. Unfortunately, due to increasing work and some ungrateful folks on the Jpop ML, Ken-chan has stopped his J-Ent Newsletter. His cousin has started up the Geinou ML, but it is only open to former members of Ken-chan's J-Ent Newsletter so if you weren't a member, you can't join. =( Don't worry, if any Speed news is announced, I'll inform you, my loyal followers! ^_^;