Scandal (Japanese band)

Infobox musical artist
Name = Scandal


Img_capt = Scandal, in an autograph session during their US tour.
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Origin = Osaka,Japan
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Genre = Rock, Pop
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Years_active = 2006–Present
Label = Tower Records
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URL = [http://www.scandal-4.com]
Current_members = Haruna Ono (vocals, guitar)
Tomomi Ogawa (bass, vocals)
Mami Sasazaki (guitar,vocals)
Rina Suzuki (drums,vocals)
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Scandal is a Japanese pop group. Proclaiming themselves as "The Most Powerful Japanese Girlie Pop Rock", they are comprised 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.

Career [ [http://www.purpleskymagazine.com/exclusive/japannite08/#04 Purple Sky Magazine's Interview with Scandal] ]

The four girls came together as music-loving high school friends to form Scandal, and decided to write and play their own songs while juggling their regular school lives. As time went on, the group started to get offers from clubs and music halls around Osaka and Kyoto.

Eventually, more than one hundred fans began to consistently attend every single live performance Scandal performed on Tokyo's streets, and the band began to take wide-spread public notice throughout Japan. 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, a cultural hub in Japan. It was during this time that record label Tower Records 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 Tower, and SCANDAL started to become more mainstream.

Their first indie single was released on March 3, 2008 in celebration of Girl's Day, which sold out throughout Japan and has a hard time being kept in stock due to high demand. In in order to alleviate the fan's troubles in getting this album, the single was released on both the US and Japanese iTunes Music Store on April 9, 2008. Two more singles (in CD form) have been released in the months following.

Right after their first release, Scandal left Japan to go on their first international tour, "Japan Nite US Tour 2008", followed by two concerts at the Japanese cultural and anime convention, "Sakura-Con 2008" from March 16 to March 30.

Scandal's music has been featured in a number of movies and television shows including their second single, "Koi Moyo", being the main theme of the movie "Corazon de Melon", and their first single, "Space Ranger", being the opening to "Kyoto Sports Weekly".

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 on a series of promotional videos on the band's website.

The group currently is making plans for a summer tour and further singles to release in the coming year.

Discography

Singles

*Note that each indie single released to date has included a bonus DVD containing exclusive footage of the group.

Mini Albums

"Japan Nite 2008" US Tour

*03/16/2008 Knitting Factory, New York City, New York
*03/17/2008 TT The Bears, Boston Massachusetts
*03/18/2008 The Empty Bottle, Chicago, Illinois
*03/19/2008 Denver, Colorado
*03/20/2008 Hi Dive, Seattle, Washington
*03/21/2008 San Francisco, California
*03/23/2008 Knitting Factory, Los Angeles
*03/28/2008 Sakura-Con: Washington State Convention and Trade Center, Seattle, Washington
*03/30/2008 Sakura-Con: Washington State Convention and Trade Center, Seattle, Washington

References

External links

* [http://www.scandal-4.com/] - Official Website (Japanese/English)
* [http://www.myspace.com/scandal4] - Official "SCANDALblog" (Japanese/English)