When I first heard their song which is SHUNKAN SENTIMENTAL played as the 4th end song in one of the best anime series which is full metal alchemist: brotherhood, I was like, awe-struck! The song was so good. So, I started researching about the song and the singers, and I couldn't believe it myself when I found out that it was an all-girls Japanese band. It was like, WOW! AN ALL-GIRLS BAND?! It's so cool. And so, I started idolizing them and listening to their songs. My classmates are starting to tell me that I'm really addicted with J-MUSIC and I said: "Yup! I love J-MUSIC! Most specially this band. They're so cool!"
And so, that's how I become so addicted with this band...
Here are more information about 'SCANDAL' and the 'BAND MEMBERS'
~SCANDAL~
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| SHUNKAN SENTIMENTAL |
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| SHOUJO S |
Scandal (stylized SCANDAL) is a Japanese pop group. Proclaiming themselves as “The Most Powerful Japanese Girlie Pop Rock”, they are composed of four high school girls from Osaka, Japan: Haruna Ono, Tomomi Ogawa, Mami Sasazaki, and Rina Suzuki. SCANDAL is very energetic, mostly due to the fact that Ono, the eldest and leader of the band, shares lead vocals with the other three members, in order to not have a focus on one girl in particular and to give each time in the limelight.
~Formation and Shiroten Days~
SCANDAL was formed in August 2006 by four high school girls. The girls, HARUNA, TOMOMI, MAMI, and RINA, met in an Osaka vocal and dance school. Shortly thereafter, they started performing street lives every weekend at Shiroten in Osaka Castle Park. Their popularity steadily began to grow and they started getting offers from clubs in Osaka and Kyoto.
Eventually, over one hundred fans began to consistently attend the live performances Scandal performed on Tokyo’s streets and in Shiroten, Osaka, causing the band to become noticed more in the eyes of the Japanese public. In August 2007, Scandal seized the opportunity to participate in a special event at Shibuya Club Asia, a highly recognized and respected club in Shibuya. It was during this time that record label Kitty Records (a subsidiary of Kitty Films) first asked the four girls if they would like to have their music recorded with them. Several months later, the girls had worked out a flexible independent agreement with Kitty in partnership with Tower Records, and SCANDAL started to become more mainstream.
~Indie Days~
SCANDAL signed with indie label Kitty Records and released three singles exclusive to Tower Records in 2008. The first, “Space Ranger”, ranked #2 on the Tower indie charts and the other two, “Koi Moyou” and “Kagerou”, ranked #1. In March, they embarked on the “Japan Nite US tour 2008″, touring six major cities in the United States. They also performed at “Sakura-Con”, one of the largest anime conventions in the United States. In July, they preformed in front of 10,000 people in France’s “Japan Expo” and also Hong Kong’s “Ani-Com” in August. SCANDAL concluded their indie career with the release of their first mini-album, YAH! YAH! YAH! HELLO SCANDAL ~ Maido! SCANDAL Desu! Yah Yah Yah!~.
~Debut~
2008 continued to be an eventful year for SCANDAL. In October, they made their major debut on EPIC Records Japan with their single “DOLL”. This has given them more exposure, including appearances on mainstream music television shows like MUSIC STATION. The group released their second major single “SAKURA Goodbye” in March 2009 to commemorate TOMOMI and MAMI’s high school graduation. The song is a new version of their indie song, “SAKURA”, only heard live. The next month, their then upcoming third single “ShoujoS” was used as the tenth opening theme for the anime BLEACH. This brought their popularity up even higher as the single ranked #6 on the Oricon charts when it was released two months later in June.
~Tie-ups~
SCANDAL’s music has been featured in a range of popular media: their first single, “Space Ranger”, is the opening to Kyoto Sports Weekly, and their second single, “Koi Moyou” is the main theme of the movie Corazon de Melon. Their song, “START”, is the theme song for Star Ocean: Second Evolution and is available on the game’s soundtrack. More recently,“DAYDREAM” was featured on a tribute album to the classic multi-genre Japanese band, Judy and Mary, and their song “ShoujoS” is the tenth opening of the anime series BLEACH.
They have also been featured in commercials, promoting a line of Cecil McBee cosmetics, for Nike, featuring four different colors of their footwear, and were chosen to represent Pocari Sweat in posters and in the promotional video for their song “BEAUTeen!!” as part of their summer 2009 campaign.
~Anime~
An interesting note about the group is the unique way in which they chose to promote themselves. Since they are fans of Japanese animation and manga, they wanted to be represented in animated form, turning each member into an animated character. The animated SCANDAL is featured on Japanese Television, and a series of promotional videos on the band’s website.
~Latest~
SCANDAL will be releasing their 4th single entitled “Yume Miru Tsubasa” on October 14 2009. The single contains the song Yumemiru Tsubasa as the A-side and featured their two tie-up songs BEAUTeen!! and DAYDREAM as B-sides. They have also released a promotional video for the A-side song.
On October 21, 2009 they will release their debut album which is entitled “BEST★SCANDAL”, a week after the release of their 4th single.
Meet The Members!
Name: Ono Haruna
Instruments: Vocals & Rhythm Guitar
Birthday: 1988/08/10
Birthplace: Aichi Prefecture
Blood type: A
Height: 153 cm
▪ Description ▪
HARUNA, the eldest among the group and also serves as the leader. A girl who had a passion for dancing and dreamed of becoming a dancer, but things changed when she met her co-members and eventually took on a rock n’ roll path. But the influence of dance stayed, the reason why some of their PV, choreography can be seen. HARUNA has the most powerful and deep voice that usually leads in their songs combined with the voices of the other 3 members
Name: Sasazaki Mami
Instruments: Lead Guitar & Vocal
Birthday: 1990/05/21
Birthplace: Aichi Prefecture
Blood type: AB
Height: 161 cm
▪ Description ▪
MAMI, the lead guitarist and serves that role very well. She has awesome and cool guitar skills that makes her fans more amaze. She appears serious and kinda dark in stage that is different from the other members, but it turns extremely opposite offstage – as she shows a very cheerful personality. Also among the group, she’s the biggest fan of Japanese Anime. She also has very noticeable solo parts in their songs because of her soft-punkish voice.
Name: Suzuki Rina
Instruments: Drums & Vocal
Birthday: 1991/08/21
Birthplace: Osaka
Blood type: B
Height: 160 cm
▪ Description ▪
RINA, the youngest among the group and serves as the drummer. A girl that always has a smile painted on her face when performing – showing that performing and music is nothing but love. She’s also a cheerful and bubbly person as seen in their live interviews with the reactions she shows. Also among the 4 of them, she is the most active in their blog, making sure that fans is always updated to her and the group.
Name: Ogawa Tomomi
Instruments: Bass & Vocal
Birthday: 1990/05/31
Birthplace: Hyogo Prefecture
Blood type: A
Height: 157 cm
▪ Description ▪
TOMOMI, the bass and writer of majority of their songs. Like HARUNA, she also dreamed of becoming a dancer but rock n’ roll opened a new path. Her dancing skills can be observed while performing with her amazing and graceful movements despite the fact that she is carrying a huge bass. TOMOMI has a very sweet and kinda “chipmunky” voice that is easy to like, together with HARUNA, their voices becomes a very perfect combo. She’s also the one that usually leads in solo parts of their songs
