News

B’z have started their “route 2020” campaign for the year, by updating their website with a special design. The sign posts suggest that there are further announcements to come this year! And the distance between the sign posts could mean the time interval between individual announcements…?

Or is B’z planning to do another U.S. tour given the “Route 66” themed website? Tell us your predictions in the comments!

News

In a surprise announcement, B’z have revealed that their latest tour B’z LIVE-GYM 2019 -Whole Lotta NEW LOVE- is going to be released on home video in 2020. Details regarding the contents of the release are yet to be unveiled. The same goes for the release date.

For the moment, you can enjoy a teaser of the show featuring footage of “Tsuwamono Hashiru”.

News

A belated happy new year to everyone! As usual, B’z posted their new year message on the official fanclub website. In the video, Tak and Koshi recount their activities from last year, such as their new album, B’z tour and side activities.

For 2020, Tak and Koshi have planned solo activities. INABA/SALAS will be returning this year with tour dates already announced. The upcoming INABA/SALAS tour will be supported by a new album that will be announced in due time. Tak has also begun work on a solo project last year — tour and album will probably be announced soon.

But what about B’z activities? Tak and Koshi tell us that they will also be providing us with B’z material this year — possibly around the time of the Summer Olympic/Paralympic Games in Japan. And don’t forget the B’z LIVE-GYM 2019 home video that will for sure be released this year!

Below you can watch the new year video message released to B’z fanclub members. A brief summary is given in this article.

News

The 2019 LIVE-GYM “Whole Lotta NEW LOVE” has kicked off at Kagoshima Arena with the first of a full summer of shows. It was preceded by B’z SHOWCASE 2019 –Makaitenshow– earlier in the week with the same setlist. It’s unknown how many songs will alternate through the tour but we will keep you updated!

All of the tour’s goods have been revealed as well, including T-shirts and all tour-specific specialty items here.

The full setlist is posted below along with tallies on when each song was last played live.

News

The twenty-first B’z album NEW LOVE has debuted at the top of the Oricon charts with 207,000 physical copies. Though not led by a single (a first for them) and with the continued decline of physical sales for non-idol groups, the album outsold 2017’s DINOSAUR and almost matched EPIC DAY without television appearances or extensive marketing.

Oricon reports B’z album sales are now at 46,872,000. This extends the record for Most Albums Sold and Most Number-One Albums with their eighteenth consecutive studio album and twenty-ninth top album overall (when factoring in compilations and mini albums).

If you’re on the fence, check out three music videos from the B’z YouTube Channel:

News

The band has successfully released their 21st album, marking the start of a new era for B’z: New members, new touch, new sound. Just to be clear, though: B’z still sounds like B’z.

As usual, B’z has released a message for their fans on the day of the album release:

Extensive Interview with BARKS

Following the release of NEW LOVE, music magazine BARKS has published an extensive interview with B’z regarding the new album as well as the time leading up to the new album.

The interview reveals why Koshi has struggled with some shows during the 2019 HINOTORI tour. He has got asthma, which makes it hard for him to breathe — up to the point where it is difficult for him to sing at all. This put Koshi, who always strives for the best, in a very difficult situation. He started wondering what makes a good show. Is it a good show when fans go home having enjoyed the performance? No, Koshi says that he just simply wasn’t able to do what he wanted to do. And that had quite the mental effect on him until the end of the tour.

This tour also marks the end of an era. As previously announced, long time support members Shane Gaalaas, Barry Sparks, Yoshinobu Ohga and Takanobu Masuda were replaced with new faces. “We were thinking about making changes for quite some time now”, Tak Matsumoto says. They were thinking about advantages and disadvantages of making the changes, but ultimately the urge to set a new impulse won. “There wasn’t a problem with our support members, it was just part of the process”, Matsumoto adds.

With their new album NEW LOVE released, B’z will embark on a Japan-wide tour starting with a warm-up gig on June 4 entitled SHOWCASE 2019 -Makaitenshow-. The main leg of the tour kicks off on June 8 at the Kagoshima Arena. Koshi Inaba and Tak Matsumoto are looking forward to bringing a new groove to the stage with their new supporting band members.