Scandal (Japanese band)

Scandal
Scandal at the House of Blues in Anaheim, California, 2015. From left to right: Tomomi, Haruna, Rina, Mami
Background information
Origin Miyakojima-ku, Osaka, Japan
Genres
Years active 2006–present
Labels
Associated acts
Website Official website
Members Haruna
Mami
Tomomi
Rina

Scandal (Japanese: スキャンダル, Hepburn: Sukyandaru, stylized as SCANDAL) is an all-female Japanese rock band from Osaka. Formed in August 2006 by four high school girls, they played live street performances until they were noticed and signed to the indie label Kitty Records. Although all four members have provided lead vocals, their primary roles are Haruna on vocals and rhythm guitar, Mami on lead guitar, Tomomi on bass guitar, and Rina on drums. In 2008, they released three singles and a mini-album while performing shows in the United States, France, and Hong Kong. That October, Scandal released their major debut single, "Doll", on Epic Records Japan.

The band has performed the theme songs for several anime, including "Shōjo S" and "Harukaze" for Bleach and "Shunkan Sentimental" for Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood. With numerous overseas performances and anime theme songs, Scandal has built a considerable international fanbase.[3][4]

History

Indie career

The sign in Osaka from which the band took their name.

Scandal was formed in August 2006 by four high school girls. The girls, Haruna, Mami, Tomomi, and Rina, met in an Osaka vocal and dance school called Caless.[5][6] Shortly thereafter, they started performing live performances every weekend at Shiroten in Osaka Castle Park. Soon, they started getting offers from clubs in Osaka and Kyoto. The band's name originates from a sign near Studio Brotherz, a studio where they practiced in their early days. The studio is on the sixth floor of a building shared with other businesses, namely adult shops. The girls decided to choose the biggest sign among the shops, "Scandal" (スキャンダル, Sukyandaru), as the name for their band.[7]

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 Moyō" and "Kagerō", ranked #1.[5] 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 performed in front of 10,000 people at France's Japan Expo and also at Hong Kong's Animation-Comic-Game Hong Kong 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!.

Major debut

Lead vocalist Haruna performing in France, 2008.

2008 continued to be an eventful year for Scandal. In October, they made their major debut on Epic Records Japan with the single "Doll". It gave them more exposure, including appearances on mainstream music television shows like Music Station.[8] The band released their second major single "Sakura Goodbye" in March 2009 to commemorate Mami and Tomomi's high school graduation.[9] The song is a new version of their indie song, "Sakura", only heard live.[10] The following month, their then upcoming third major single "Shōjo S" 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.[11]

On October 14, Scandal released their fourth major single, "Yumemiru Tsubasa" which was followed with their major debut album, Best Scandal, the next week. The album ranked #5 on the Oricon weekly chart, making them the first girl band since Zone to have a debut album chart in the top five.[12] In December, Scandal embarked on their Scandal First Live: Best Scandal tour in 2009. Concluding the year, the band won a New Artist Award at the 51st Japan Record Award, but lost the Best New Artist Award to Korean boy band Big Bang.

2010 began with Scandal's fifth major single in February, "Shunkan Sentimental". It was used as the fourth ending theme for the anime Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood. The following month, they embarked on a spring tour, Scandal: Shunkan Sakura Zensen Tour 2010 Spring. Prior to its start, the band conducted a Twitter poll to choose a song to cover for the tour. The winner was "Secret Base (Kimi ga Kureta Mono)", which was chosen out of over 600 candidates.[13] In June, Scandal released a pop tune for summer, "Taiyō to Kimi ga Egaku Story", followed by their first original ballad, "Namida no Regret", in July.

Between the end of July and the beginning of August, Scandal traveled to Hong Kong. The band performed for the third consecutive year at the Animation-Comic-Game Hong Kong convention and held their first one-man live concert in Hong Kong, which sold out.[14] SCANDAL was also featured on the cover of the Hong Kong magazine re:spect music magazine, and their previously released single "Taiyō to Kimi ga Egaku Story" reached #1 on the Radio Television Hong Kong J-pop chart.[3] Earlier in the year, they were awarded a bronze newcomer award by RTHK, similar to the Hong Kong Grammys.[3]

After returning to Japan, Scandal released their second album, Temptation Box, on August 11. The album debuted at #3 on the Oricon weekly chart, making them the first girl band to have an album chart in the top three in over a year since Chatmonchy's Kokuhaku.[15] The album was also released in 42 other countries worldwide.[4]

Scandal at Anime Festival Asia 2010 in Singapore.

Later in August, Scandal provided the theme, insert, and ending songs for the animated film Loups=Garous, which premiered on the 28th in most of Japan. The songs were "Midnight Television", "Koshi-Tantan", and "Sayonara My Friend", respectively.[16] The band also appeared as themselves, marking their big-screen debut as a band. They were shown in a musical performance scene that was created with the help of motion capture, providing a realistic representation of the band's movements.[17] Each member also had a role voicing a minor character.[18]

Two months following Temptation Box, Scandal released their eighth major single, "Scandal Nanka Buttobase", on October 6, 2010. The title track was written and composed by the husband-and-wife duo Yoko Aki and Ryudo Uzaki, who are known for creating many songs for Momoe Yamaguchi.[19] The limited edition DVDs contains performances from the band's first television show, Shiteki Ongaku Jijō, which ran for 13 episodes from July to September 2010. In November, Scandal released a cover mini-album called R-Girl's Rock!. It features songs by female artists that they respect from the last three decades, including their cover of "Secret Base (Kimi ga Kureta Mono)" from May. Rina undertook her first lead vocal on the song Sunny Day Sunday.[20]

Scandal continued into 2011 with their ninth major single on February 9. Titled "Pride", the song was used as the second ending theme for the anime Star Driver: Kagayaki no Takuto. The single also includes the tracks "Cute!", a collaboration with Sanrio's Cinnamoroll, and "Emotion", their first song that was written solely by a band member.[21] Their tenth major single, "Haruka", was released on April 20. The title track was used as the theme song for the animated film Tofu Kozou, while the song "Satisfaction" was later used as the promotional song for the release of Windows 8. This was followed by their eleventh major single, "Love Survive", as well as their third studio album Baby Action. They also embarked on their first Asian Tour, performing to sell out crowds in Hong Kong, Taiwan and Singapore.

Lead guitarist Mami performing at the House of Blues in Anaheim, California, 2015.

2012 proved to be a year of firsts for Scandal. The title track of their twelfth single, "Harukaze", was used as the opening theme for the anime Bleach. The following month, they released their first compilation album, Scandal Show, as well as holding their first concert at the Nippon Budokan. In July, they released their thirteenth major single, "Taiyō Scandalous". This single marked the first official release of their subunits, Dobondobondo (Mami x Tomomi) and Almond Crush (Haruna x Rina). This was followed by their fourteenth major single, "Pin Heel Surfer", and their fourth major album, Queens Are Trumps: Kirifuda wa Queen. With this release, they became the first girl band to achieve four consecutive top 5 positions in the Oricon Weekly charts. They also held a concert in Malaysia in December, becoming the first Japanese band to hold a solo concert there.

Scandal started 2013 by fulfilling one of their biggest dreams they had since their formation by performing in their hometown at the Osaka-jō Hall in March. Later that month they also performed to sellout crowds on their 2nd Asian Tour in Indonesia, Singapore and Thailand. During this period they also announced their fourteenth major single "Awanai Tsumori no, Genki de ne" released in May, with the title track being used as the theme song for the movie "Ore wa Mada Honki Dashitenai Dake". They also took part in some music festivals like KAWAii!! MATSURi 2013 at Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium, and Rock in Japan Festival 2013 at Hitachi Seaside Park. Then they performed their summer live tour "SCA wa Mada Houki Dashitenai Dake". In August, they released their 16th single "Kagen no Tsuki", with the song "Kimi to Mirai to Kanzen Douki" being used as part of a collaboration with a robot project called "ROBOT SCANDAL".

Yellow, Scandal's seventh album, was released on March 2, 2016. The band released the single "Take Me Out" on July 27, 2016 in celebration of their tenth anniversary. Scandal's eleventh anniversary concert on August 21, 2017 was recorded for the October 21 episode of the television show Storytellers. Their eighth studio album Honey was released in Japan on February 14, 2018, and in Europe on March 2. Honey peaked at number 3 on the Oricon weekly charts, thus extending their streak of being the only girl band to consecutively have their albums reach the top 5 of the charts to 8.

Band members

Haruna Ono (小野春菜, Ono Haruna) — lead vocals, rhythm guitar

  • Born: August 10, 1988
  • Hometown: Aichi, Japan
  • Guitar: Squier Telecaster Haruna HH Model (2012–), Fender Telecaster Thinline Deluxe (2010–)

Mami Sasazaki (笹崎まみ, Sasazaki Mami) — lead guitar, vocals

  • Born: May 21, 1990
  • Hometown: Aichi, Japan
  • Guitar: Fender American Standard Stratocaster HSS (2010–), Gretsch White Falcon Double Cutaway G6136DC (2010–), Squier Mami Jazzmaster (2012–), Gibson Custom Shop Les Paul Standard (2013–), ESP Italia Maranello Speedster II (2011–)

Tomomi Ogawa (小川ともみ, Ogawa Tomomi) — Bass guitar, vocals

  • Born: May 31, 1990
  • Hometown: Hyōgo, Japan
  • Bass: Fender American Standard Precision Bass (2010–), Fender Deluxe Active Precision Bass (2012–), Ernie Ball Music Man 20th Anniversary StingRay Bass (2013–), Fender American Deluxe Jazz Bass (2008–), Squier Tomomi Jazz Bass (2012–), Yamaha BB2024X (2012–)

Rina Suzuki (鈴木理菜, Suzuki Rina) — drums, keyboards, guitar, vocals

Tie-ins and promotions

Scandal, as represented in their animated form

Being fans of Japanese animation and manga themselves they wanted to be represented in animated form, turning each member into an animated character. The animated Scandal is featured on a series of promotional videos on the band's website.

Scandal's music has been featured in a range of popular media. Besides their aforementioned "Shōjo S" and "Shunkan Sentimental" singles, which were featured in the anime series "Bleach" and "Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood" respectively, their first single, "Space Ranger", was the opening to Kyoto Sports Weekly, and their second single, "Koi Moyō" was the main theme of the movie Corazon de Melon. Their song, "Start", is the theme of 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. Their single "Harukaze" was the 15th opening theme of Bleach. Scandal was the second artist to be in charge of more than one opening theme in Bleach (after Aqua Timez).

Scandal also provided the theme music to the animated movie, Loups=Garous.[22] The movie's insert song "Koshi-Tantan" was on their single "Taiyō to Kimi ga Egaku Story". Scandal also provided both the opening and ending themes for the movie, appearing in their animated form during a special musical performance scene.

They have also been featured in commercials, promoting a line of Cecil McBee cosmetics,[23] 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. In 2012, their song "Satisfaction" was used as the promotional song for the release of Windows 8, becoming the first Japanese artist to be chosen for the Windows commercial series. In 2016, their song "Love Me Do" was used as the CM song for the Fettuccine Gummi candy line manufactured by Bourbon. Later that year, they released a pair of shoes in collaboration with Vans as part of their 10th anniversary celebrations

Fan club

In October 2009, pamphlets were enclosed in the band's first album, Best Scandal, announcing the formation of "Club Scandal". Club Scandal is a cellphone-based fanclub with exclusive videos and interviews, behind the scenes bonus material, pictures, and up-to-the minute news on the band.

On August 21, 2010 (the 4-year anniversary of the band being founded), Scandal launched a separate, traditional mail-based fanclub alongside "Club Scandal", called "Scandal Mania".

When joining, one would receive an official membership card, a full color newsletter mailed to the member tri-annually, a special birthday message written by their favorite member (chosen at sign-up) and signed by the whole band, as well as perks such as getting advance notice on tickets to live events, and special live events only for members.

Discography

Concerts

Tours

Year Dates Event title
2008 Aug 18 - 29 Give me P.P. Tour 2008 Summer[24]
2009 Dec 04 - 24 Scandal First Live: Best Scandal 2009 (First One-Man Live Tour, ファーストワンマンライブツアー)
2010 Mar 23 - Apr 10 Scandal: Shunkan Sakurazensen Tour 2010 Spring (SCANDAL～瞬間サクラゼンセンTOUR～2010 SPRING)
2010 Sep 18 - Oct 02 Everybody Say Yeah!: Temptation Box Tour 2010 Zepp Tokyo ("Scandal Temptation Box Tour 2010": Yeah! tte Iei!, 「SCANDAL TEMPTATION BOX TOUR 2010」～YEAH!って言えいっ!～)
2011 May 3 - Jun 08 Scandal Live Tour 2011 "Dreamer"
2011 Oct 13 - Dec 01 Scandal Virgin Hall Tour 2011 "Baby Action"
2012 May 19 - Jun 17 Scandal "Live Ido Live" Tour 2012
2012 Oct 12 - Nov 22 Scandal Hall Tour 2012 "Queens Are Trumps: Kirifuda wa Queen" (SCANDAL HALL TOUR 2012「Queens are trumps-切り札はクイーン-」)
2013 Oct 19 - Dec 03 Scandal Hall Tour 2013 "Standard"
2014 No tour
2015 Jan 24 - May 29 Scandal World Tour 2015 "Hello World"
2015 - 2016 Dec 09 - Jan 13 Scandal Arena Tour 2015-2016 "Perfect World"
2016 Apr 13 - Jun 18 Scandal Tour 2016 "Yellow"
2016 Sep 10 - Sep 25 Scandal Tour 2016 "Yellow" In Europe
2017 Mar 11 - Jul 17 Scandal Japan Tour 2017 "47の都道府県ツアー"
2018 Mar 03 - May 25 Scandal TOUR 2018 HONEY
2018 Jun 10 - Jun 30 Scandal ASIA TOUR 2018 HONEY

One-man live performances

  • [2010.06.14] Ameagari no Kessan: Edo Hen "Zettai ni Makerarenai Tatakai ga Koko ni wa Aru" (雨上がりの決戦 ～江戸編～ 「絶対に負けられない戦いがここにはある」)
  • [2010.06.16] Ameagari no Kessan: Naniwa Hen~ "Zettai ni Makerarenai Tatakai ga Koko ni wa Aru" (雨上がりの決戦 ～浪速編～ 「絶対に負けられない戦いがここにはある」)
  • [2010.12.24] Scandal Special Live "Best Xmas 2"
  • [2011.07.09–2011.07.10] Scandal One-Man Live in Shikoku "Kyuu ni Kite Gomen." (SCANDAL ONE-MAN LIVE IN 四国 「急にきてゴメン。」)
  • [2011.12.22] Scandal Special Live "Best Xmas 3"
  • [2012.03.28] Scandal Japan Title Match Live 2012: Scandal vs Budokan
  • [2012.09.07-2012.09.09] Scandal Live "Kyu ni Kite Gomen." (SCANDAL LIVE 「急に来てゴメン。」)
  • [2013.03.03] Scandal Osaka-jo Hall 2013 "Wonderful Tonight"
  • [2014.06.22] Scandal Arena Live 2014 "360" at Osaka-jo Hall
  • [2014.06.28-29] Scandal Arena Live 2014 "Festival" at Yokohama Arena (Day 1 & 2)
  • [2015.12.09] Scandal Arena Tour 2015-2016 "Perfect World" at Kobe World Memorial Hall
  • [2015.12.23] Scandal Arena Tour 2015-2016 "Perfect World" at Nippon Gaishi Hall
  • [2016.01.12-13] Scandal Arena Tour 2015-2016 "Perfect World" at Nippon Budokan
  • [2016.08.21] Scandal 10th Anniversary Festival "2006-2016" at Osaka Izumiotsu Phoenix

International

Works

Documentaries

Films

Television

  • [2010.07.02–2010.09.24] Shiteki Ongaku Jijō (私的音楽事情)
  • [2011.07.08–present] Next Break!!

Radio

  • [2008.10.02–2009.10.01] Scandal no Doon. (SCANDALのド～ン。)
  • [2009.05.21–2012.03.31] Radio Sessions "Scandal Munasawagi no After School" (Radio Sessions「SCANDAL 胸騒ぎのAFTER SCHOOL」)
  • [2010.07.13–2010.12.28] FM OSAKA E-Tracks Selection

Internet

  • [2009.10.22] Scandal Summit Vol. 1 (SCANDALサミットVol.1)
  • [2010.02.03] Scandal Summit Vol. 2 (SCANDALサミットVol.2)
  • [2010.06.01] Scandal Summit Vol. 3 (SCANDALサミットVol.3)
  • [2010.08.24] Scandal Summit Vol. 4 (SCANDALサミットVol.4)
  • [2011.04.06] Nico Nico Namahoshou "Scandal Kinkyu Kaigi! (ニコニコ生放送『SCANDAL 緊急会議!』)
  • [2011.04.20] Nico Nico Namahoshou "Scandal Summit in Nico-sei" (ニコニコ生放送『SCANDALサミット in ニコ生』)
  • [2011.07.29] Nico Nico Namahoshou "Dokusen! Album Zenkyoku Senkou Shichou-kai Scandal no Pajama Party" (ニコニコ生放送『独占!アルバム全曲先行視聴会♪SCANDALのパジャマパーティー☆★』)
  • [2012.03.06] Best Album "Scandal Show" Hatsubai Kinen Tokuban "Scandal Summit in Ameba Studio" (BESTアルバム『SCANDAL SHOW』発売記念特番『SCANDALサミット IN AmebaStudio』)
  • [2012.07.11] Nico Nico Namahoshou "Scandal Summit "Taiyō Scandalous" Release Kinen! "Almond Crush" vs "Dobondobondo" (ニコニコ生放送『SCANDALサミット 『太陽スキャンダラス』リリース記念! "アーモンドクラッシュ"vs"どぼんどぼんど"』)

Books

  • [2009.11.26]Scandal Best Scandal Band Score (SCANDAL BEST★SCANDAL バンドスコア)
  • [2010.09.16] Temptation Book Scandal
  • [2010.12.28] Scandal Temptation Box Official Band Score (SCANDAL TEMPTATION BOX オフィシャル・バンド・スコア)
  • [2011.08.11] Band Score Scandal "Baby Action" (バンドスコア SCANDAL「BABY ACTION」)
  • [2011.10.13] Girls Be Scandalous!
  • [2012.03.28] Band Score Scandal "Scandal Show" (バンドスコア SCANDAL 「SCANDAL SHOW」)
  • [2012.10.14] Band Score Scandal "Queens Are Trumps: Kirifuda wa Queen" (バンドスコア SCANDAL 「Queens are trumps-切り札はクイーン-」)
  • [2013.02.06] Band Score Scandal "Encore Show" (バンドスコア SCANDAL 「ENCORE SHOW」)

References

  1. 1 2 AllMusic. SCANDAL | Biography & History
  2. ↑ "－平成生まれのｶﾞﾚｰｼﾞﾛｯｸﾊﾞﾝﾄﾞ『SCANDAL』参上!!－". Josei Jishin (in Japanese). 2009-05-28. Retrieved 2011-07-25.
  3. 1 2 3 "SCANDAL香港放送局RTHKのJ-POPチャートで1位を獲得！". mFound entertainment. 2010-09-03. Retrieved 2010-09-03.
  4. 1 2 "SCANDAL、2ndアルバムが世界42カ国で発売決定". Natalie. 2010-09-03. Retrieved 2010-09-03.
  5. 1 2 SCANDAL プロフィール. Retrieved 2009-10-16.
  6. ↑ CALESS VOCAL & DANCE SCHOOL - キャレス出身アーティスト. Retrieved 2010-04-08.
  7. ↑ "SCANDAL - 制服は、私達の戦闘服！ - インタビュー". Excite. 2008-10-01. Retrieved 2011-03-22.
  8. ↑ "出演者ラインナップ 2008/10/24". MUSIC STATION. Retrieved 2009-10-16.
  9. ↑ "メンバー２名も今春卒業！制服ガールズバンドSCANDALが卒業ソングを熱唱 Web De-View". 2009-03-04. Retrieved 2009-10-16.
  10. ↑ "スキャンダル アメリカ村TV年越しParty 07-08　SCANDAL　#3 kissfm". YouTube. Retrieved 2009-10-16.
  11. ↑ "2009年07月第1週のシングルランキング情報". Oricon. Retrieved 2009-10-16.
  12. ↑ "SCANDALが女性バンド7年ぶりの快挙達成". BARKS. 2009-10-28. Retrieved 2010-04-08.
  13. ↑ "SCANDAL版「secret base～君がくれたもの～」配信決定". Natalie. 2010-04-20. Retrieved 2010-04-25.
  14. ↑ "SCANDAL、アジア最大級アニメフェスで5000人を動員". Natalie. 2010-08-04. Retrieved 2010-09-03.
  15. ↑ "ツイッターで「集まれ～」で500人！SCANDALが東京タワーでサプライズライブ". BIGLOBE. 2010-08-18. Retrieved 2010-09-03.
  16. ↑ "SCANDAL＆京極夏彦、先行上映会で“映画化”の裏側激白". Natalie. 2010-07-28. Retrieved 2010-08-07.
  17. ↑ "SCANDAL、京極夏彦原作の近未来ミステリーでアニメキャラに". BARKS. 2010-05-07. Retrieved 2010-06-13.
  18. ↑ "SCANDAL　×『ルー=ガルー』　SCANDALアフレコに挑戦！". Loups=Garous SCANDAL Interview. 2010-04-09. Retrieved 2010-05-08.
  19. ↑ "阿木燿子・宇崎竜童の黄金コンビが幻の楽曲をSCANDALに提供". BARKS. 2010-09-23. Retrieved 2011-02-07.
  20. ↑ Nishibiro Tomokazu (2010-11-17). "ナタリー - (Power Push) SCANDAL". Natalie. Retrieved 2011-02-07.
  21. ↑ EPIC Records Japan / Kitty Inc. (2010-12-20). "SCANDAL 9th Single Pride 2011.02.09リリース !!". Retrieved 2010-12-26.
  22. ↑ "Loups-Garous Virtual Reality Werewolf Anime Film Green-Lit - News". Animenewsnetwork.com. 2009-10-06. Retrieved 2015-05-08.
  23. ↑ "【公式サイト】クレアボーテ ～CreerBeaute～ ［株式会社バンダイ］". Creerbeaute.co.jp. Archived from the original on 2015-05-18. Retrieved 2015-05-08.
  24. ↑ "ウワサの女子高校生バンド フランス席巻！". hotexpress. 2008-07-08. Retrieved 2010-05-27.

Further reading

  • Toole, Michael (6 May 2015). "Interview: Scandal". Anime News Network. Retrieved 8 May 2015.
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