Friends III

Friends III
Friends III
EP by B'z
Released	December 8, 2021
Recorded	2021
Genre	Soft rock
Length	24:57
Label	Vermillion
Producer	Tak Matsumoto
B'z chronology

Friends III is the sixth mini-album by the Japanese rock duo B'z. It was released on December 8, 2021.^[1] It's a concept album and is a sequel to their previous mini-album, Friends II, released in 1996.

The mini-album came in three editions: a standard edition, a first press edition with a DVD featuring a re-recording of their song "Itsuka no Merry Christmas" from their fourth mini-album, Friends, and a special Live Friends box featuring the standard edition with a glass, which was only available to those who purchased live tickets and was only sold through B'z Club-Gym.^[1]

The mini-album debuted at number one on both the Oricon weekly albums chart and on the Billboard Japan Hot Albums chart.^[2]^[3]

Background

During the COVID-19 pandemic, guitarist Tak Matsumoto went back and forth between Japan and the United States. During a mandatory isolation after returning to Japan, he decided to make one song a day. The songs produced matched up to the style of the past Friends mini-albums, which led Matsumoto to propose producing a third entry into the series, to which vocalist Koshi Inaba agreed.^[4]^[5]

Track listing

All lyrics are written by Koshi Inaba; all music is composed by Tak Matsumoto

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Harunohi"	0:35
2.	"Season End (シーズンエンド, Season End)"	4:38
3.	"Midarechiru (ミダレチル, Scatter in Pieces)"	3:53
4.	"Friends III"	2:02
5.	"Butterfly"	3:54
6.	"Konna Toki Take Anata ga Koishii (こんな時だけあなたが恋しい, I Miss You Only at Such Times)"	4:40
7.	"Grow & Glow"	5:19
Total length:		24:57

Limited Edition DVD

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Itsuka no Merry Christmas (いつかのメリークリスマス, That One Merry Christmas)" (Friends III Edit)

Charts

Chart (2021)	Peak position
Japanese Albums (Oricon)^[6]	1
Japanese Hot Albums (Billboard Japan)^[3]	1

Certifications


Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Japan (RIAJ)^[7]	Gold	100,000^{^}
^{^} Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

^ ^a ^b "B'z、コンセプトアルバム『FRIENDS III』収録詳細およびアートワーク公開". BARKS (in Japanese). 22 October 2021. Retrieved 2021-10-27.
^ "2021年12月06日～2021年12月12日オリコン週間アルバムランキング". ORICON NEWS (in Japanese). Retrieved 2021-12-22.
^ ^a ^b "Billboard Japan Hot Albums 2021/12/20". Billboard Japan (in Japanese). Retrieved 22 December 2021.
^ "B'z、25年ぶりコンセプトアルバム『FRIENDS III』を今冬リリース＋＜LIVE FRIENDS＞を11月2DAYS開催". BARKS (in Japanese). 17 October 2021. Retrieved 2021-10-27.
^ "B'z、25年ぶり続編『FRIENDSIII』今冬発売『LIVEFRIENDS』開催も決定". ORICON NEWS (in Japanese). Retrieved 2021-10-27.
^ "FRIENDS III | B'z". ORICON NEWS (in Japanese). Retrieved 2021-12-22.
^ "Japanese album certifications – B'z – Friends III" (in Japanese). Recording Industry Association of Japan.
^ 編集部. "レコ協12月ゴールドディスク認定発表、トリプル・プラチナ認定にSnow Man". MusicVoice (in Japanese). Retrieved 2022-12-20.

[:0-1] "B'z、コンセプトアルバム『FRIENDS III』収録詳細およびアートワーク公開". BARKS (in Japanese). 22 October 2021. Retrieved 2021-10-27.

[2] "2021年12月06日～2021年12月12日オリコン週間アルバムランキング". ORICON NEWS (in Japanese). Retrieved 2021-12-22.

[:1-3] "Billboard Japan Hot Albums 2021/12/20". Billboard Japan (in Japanese). Retrieved 22 December 2021.

[4] "B'z、25年ぶりコンセプトアルバム『FRIENDS III』を今冬リリース＋＜LIVE FRIENDS＞を11月2DAYS開催". BARKS (in Japanese). 17 October 2021. Retrieved 2021-10-27.

[5] "B'z、25年ぶり続編『FRIENDSIII』今冬発売『LIVEFRIENDS』開催も決定". ORICON NEWS (in Japanese). Retrieved 2021-10-27.

[6] "FRIENDS III | B'z". ORICON NEWS (in Japanese). Retrieved 2021-12-22.

[JapanB'zFriends_IIIalbumCertRef-7] "Japanese album certifications – B'z – Friends III" (in Japanese). Recording Industry Association of Japan.

[8] 編集部. "レコ協12月ゴールドディスク認定発表、トリプル・プラチナ認定にSnow Man". MusicVoice (in Japanese). Retrieved 2022-12-20.

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