W-inds (ウィンズ, Uinzu, pronounced "winds" and stylized as w-inds.) is a Japanese popboy band managed by Vision Factory and signed to the Pony Canyon label since 2000. The group consists of Ryohei Chiba and Keita Tachibana; Ryuichi Ogata left the group in 2020. Tachibana is the lead singer of the group, while Chiba and Ogata provide backing vocals and rap.
W-inds released their debut single, "Forever Memories", in 2001. They were named "Best New Artists" at the Japan Cable Awards and Japan Record Awards for the release of "Paradox." In addition to selling 5 million copies of CDs in Japan, W-inds has earned numerous awards and accolades from China, Hong Kong, and South Korea.
In 2000, Keita Tachibana from Fukuoka passed the Starlight Auditions hosted by Vision Factory and was signed onto their label. In the same year, Ryohei Chiba and Ryuichi Ogata, who attended the same dance school in Sapporo, passed dance auditions to join the group. The three moved to Tokyo to live together, and in November, began street performances in Yoyogi Park and Shibuya to promote their activities. Prior to their major label debut in 2001, approximately 8,000 people came to watch.
2001–2002: 1st Message and The System of Alive
On March 14, 2001, W-inds released their first single, "Forever Memories", selling 216,590 copies. On June 17, they held their debut showcase at Asahikawa Medical University Medic Festival in Hokkaido.[1] On July 4, 2001, their second single, titled "Feel the Fate", was released and their official website launched on the same day.[1] Filming for the promotional video took place on June 7[1] and the song was performed live at the international tournament in Yoyogi on August 2, where 7,000 people came to watch.[1] Later that year, W-inds made their first appearance in the movie Star Light,[2] which premiered on October 7 at the Ikebukuro Theater.[1] The movie also featured their third single, "Paradox", which was released on October 17, 2001. Filming for the promotional video took place on September 3.[1] For Paradox, w-inds. was awarded "Best New Artists" in the 43rd Japan Record Awards.
On December 19, 2001, W-inds's first album, 1st Message, was released and debuted at #1 on the Oricon Weekly Albums Charts. For the first time, Chiba and Ogata appeared on some of the song tracks. In 2005, Ogata recalled being unsure with the idea at the time, as both of them generally had little experience in rapping and singing.[1]
On February 6, 2002, W-inds released a behind-the-scenes DVD titled Private of W-inds, which charted at #3 on the Oricon Weekly DVD Chart. The DVD was the best-selling male idol DVD for nine years until 2011.[3] On February 20, 2002, W-inds released their fourth single, titled "Try Your Emotion", which peaked at #2 on the weekly charts. Their fifth single, "Another Days", was released on May 22, 2002, and was used as the song to a commercial from Family Mart. Shortly after, W-inds collaborated with Lead, Flame, and Folder 5 with the single "World Needs Love", released under the collective name Earth Harmony. During the summer, their sixth single, "Because of You" on August 21, 2002, and was the first single apart from their first album to have Ogata rapping. November 13, 2002 saw the release of their seventh single, "New Paradise".
In the same year, w-inds. had their first nationwide tour for their first album, 1st Message. They extended their fanbase by briefly performing in Shanghai, China, as part of their tour. In addition to their activities, w-inds. made a brief cameo in the movie Nurse no Oshigoto The Movie as three soccer players.[4]
At the end of 2002, w-inds. released their second album, The System of Alive on December 18, 2002. Similar to 2001, they promoted it at their Christmas fanclub event. Additionally, they gained the opportunity to perform at Kōhaku Uta Gassen for the first time, where they sang "New Paradise."
2003–2007: Expansion across Asia
w-inds. released their eighth single, "Super Lover (I Need You Tonight), on May 21, 2003. On August 21, 2003, they released "Love Is Message", with a musical style that was a departure from the former's dance beat nature. On October 29, 2003, they released "Long Road".
In 2004, Vision Factory included Taiwan as one of their locations for the Prime of Life tour. Following that, w-inds. made their debut in Taiwan, and the tickets for their concert there sold out within 23 minutes, which set a record in Taiwan for "the artist with the fastest selling tickets." They became the only Japanese group invited to perform on the MTV Mandarin Awards in September 2006.
In 2006, w-inds. made an appearance on Mnet KM Music Festival, a music awards show in South Korea they were the first Japanese artists to ever appear on the show.
w-inds. also took part in a China-Japan music festival in 2006. In March 2007, the group flew to Beijing to participate in another China-Japan music festival along with two other Japanese artists. On July 2, 2007 w-inds. joined the Pop Rock Gala in celebrating the 10th anniversary of the establishment of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. On this visit they picked up ten awards, accumulated from the years since their debut.
During the end of their Thanks tour, held from the summer of 2007 to the end of the year, w-inds. revealed their upcoming single, "Boogie Woogie 66", and filmed their promotional video at the concerts.
w-inds.' 22nd single, "Love Is the Greatest Thing", was released on July 4, 2007, as the theme song for the Japanese release of Shrek the Third. The song was sampled from De Souza's "Guilty", and peaked at #4, selling 34,416 copies.
2008–2011: Seventh Ave., Another World, 10th anniversary
In addition to their first double A side, "Everyday/Can't Get Back", in 2008, on May 13, 2009, w-inds. released another double A side, titled "Rain Is Fallin'/Hybrid Dream". "Rain Is Fallin'" was a collaboration and featured rap verses from G-Dragon from Big Bang, while "Hybrid Dream" was used as the theme song for the program Countdown Document Byo-Yomi! for the month of May.[5] The single peaked at #2 and sold 48,577 copies.
From the summer of 2009 to the end of the year, w-inds. toured venues in Japan with the Sweet Fantasy Tour; in November, the tour extended to Taiwan and Hong Kong. The Hong Kong show pulled in a crowd of 8,000 people. Halfway throughout the tour, the concert held at Kanagawa, Omiya had to be truncated due to Tachibana falling ill.[6]
W-inds released another double A-side single "New World/Truth (Saigo no Shinjitsu)" on December 9, 2009. The single debuted at #2 on the Oricon Weekly Charts.[7] "Truth (Saigo no Shinjitsu)" was composed by the American singer and songwriters Ne-Yo and B. Howard, who acknowledged their talent after coming across their act.[7][8] The promotional video for "Truth (Saigo no Shinjitsu)" was filmed during W-inds' stay in Hong Kong for the Sweet Fantasy Tour. The b-side to the single was titled "Tribute" and was a tribute to Michael Jackson.[7]
2012–present: Blue Blood, Timeless, and 100
In 2012, W-inds took a brief hiatus to focus on their own individual projects. During this time, Tachibana relaunched his solo career, Chiba performed in dance showcases with Kenzo from Da Pump, and Ogata formed the rock band All City Steppers. On October 31, 2013, W-inds returned with the single "A Little Bit."
On June 1, 2020, Ogata withdrew from the group due to psychosomatic disorder.[9]
Musical style
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From their debut, w-inds.' musical style was mainly bubblegum pop, as it was the trend at the time. Tachibana, whose parents are both DJs, listened to American music growing up.[1] Their sixth single, Because of you, was even mentioned to have an "American style" to it. From 2003 onward, w-inds. moved on from lighthearted pop beats into more mellow ballads with mature lyrics in accordance to their growing image. At the end of 2008, w-inds. transitioned into dance beats.
Other activities and endorsements
w-inds. hosted a long-running radio show titled w-inds.' Windy Street (ウィンズのWindy Street, Uinzu no Windy Street), which lasted from 2001 to 2008. From 2003 to 2007, they appeared in commercials for Bourbon Gum, with each new single playing in every new commercial.[10]
In 2002, manga artist Natsume Hirose wrote and illustrated a manga titled Tokyo Style Bomb (東京スタイル爆弾, Tōkyō Sutairu Bakudan), which starred w-inds. as side characters. The manga lasted for three volumes and was serialized in Bessatsu Margaret.[11]
They performed the theme song for the Japanese version of Shrek the Third, called "Love is the Greatest Thing".[12][13][14]
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