UVERworld

UVERworld promoting ENIGMASIS (2023)

UVERworld is a fusion band consisting of six members all originating from Kusatsu, Shiga, Japan. They are signed to gr8! Records under the Sony music label. The band was formed in 2004 after the disbanding of Sangoku Road, a band that consisted of many of the same members. Though not the biggest sellers, the band has found immense success, managing to release all but two singles placing within the top 5 Oricon weekly charts and obtaining the top spot with their twelfth single, "Hakanaku mo Towa no Kanashi", the first opening to the second season of the anime Mobile Suit Gundam 00.

The name UVERworld is a term coined by the members of the band, combining the words über and over with world to form a phrase that means "crossing above the world". Before the band name was decided, their agent thought ○ ○ world and OVERunder would make suitable names for them. The band's official fanclub is called NEO SOUND WAVE and its members the NEO sound CREW.

Members

• TAKUYA∞ - Vocals, Programming
• Katsuya (克哉) - Guitar
• Akira (彰) - Guitar
• Nobuto (信人) - Bass
• Shintarou (真太郎) - Drums
• SEIKA (誠果) - Manipulator & Sax

Information

Independent Era

Sangoku Road in 2002

UVERworld originally started out as a band called Sangoku Road in 2000 with seven members including two vocalist. TAKUYA at the time was known as ACE ∞ trigger, the second vocalist was known as Alice Ice and was said to have "screaming vocals". Alice Ice did not remain with the band for too long, having left by the time the first indie CD was released. The band also contained a member named Seika, who played "sax-rock" for the band and was responsible for booking live shows that the band played in that era, he was seen as the first leader of the band. Though he is not an official member of UVERworld, Seika has participated in various songs for them and serves as back-up member for the band during some live shows. Despite sighting musical differences as a reason for not joining UVERworld, Seika and the band continue a close friendship. Some of the songs they were known to have produced as Sangoku Road were B-FLAT, for the next generation, and Vocal Tick.

After Sangoku Road was signed to an independent label that was part of Sony, the members were taken in on interviews asking about their aspirations. TAKUYA∞ stated that his greatest wish was to play at the Budokan Performance Area, a wish that would come true on December 5th, 2008, when the band played for a sold out crowd. When asked about it, the president of Sony Music stated the he was surprised as he did not believe the band would hold such appeal.

During their October 2004 live in Osaka, sponsored by BAYSIDE FM radio, Sangoku Road announced that they would be breaking up. UVERworld was formed shortly after and Ace ∞ triger renamed himself TAKUYA∞ .

UVERworld Era

UVERworld promoting "D-tecnoLife" (2005)

The first single from UVERworld, "D-tecnoLife", was previewed in February of 2005 as it was the second opening theme to the anime series BLEACH. It was released on June 7th, 2005, the single was an early success for the band, placing 4th on the weekly Oricon music charts and managing to sell over 100,000 copies by the end of the year. The single continued to sell well, ultimately earning itself the spot of the 99th best selling single of the year in Japan.

A mascot character named UVER-chan, officially dubbed the sixth member of the band, was created and featured on the CD jackets for the first three singles and album released by the group. The members of the band have stated that the motif behind the character is "the happiness of music", a character that represents the joy they all get from making music. Since it was an original character designed by an outside artist, Sony decided to drop it after a while because of royalties. The band has since adopted a self designed UVERworld logo, a circular shape with the letters "U" and "W" overlaid on top of each other, the logo was first seen with the release of "GO-ON", the thirteenth single from the band.

Though the general fan base of UVERworld is seen to be females ranging from ten to twenty years of age, there have been many male fans of the band as well. Sakurada Dori has called them his favorite band, Kubo Tite has expressed his continuing interest in them ever since they worked on BLEACH. The band has also found itself garnering fans in the form of musicians such as Kuriyama Chiaki, Nishiyama Maki, and T.M. Revolution.

UVERworld has continued to have varied success since their debut, having all but two of their singles place in the top 5 on the music charts in their first week of release, but having those singles drop fast and having only released a single number one. Despite this, the band has managed to maintain consistent sales and improved live sales, selling out Budokan and various other venues. They have released singles for Dramas as well as various prime-time anime and other products. The PV for their single "GOLD" was the first 3-D Japanese music video, as well as the most expensive to date. In December 2010, the band will have another wish come true as they are to play the final show in their "LAST TOUR" at the Tokyo Dome. This will be considered the first "one man live" from the band.

In addition to their success, the band members themselves remain a close knit group that consider themselves each other's family. Up until around the release of PROGLUTION, the members of UVERworld all lived together in a four room home. Despite there only being four rooms, there were five members of the band and they would often play Rock-paper-scissors to decide who would sleep in the living room for any given week. They were known to play tricks on the member sleeping out in the living room quite often. In 2008, TAKUYA∞ moved out into a two floor home. TAKUYA states that he did this to ease up the living situation of having five people in four rooms as well as being able to create a studio on the second floor of his home that he dubbed the "core ability room". Despite moving out, it has been stated by band members that TAKUYA∞ seems to spend even more time at their home than he did when he lived there.

Discography

UVERworld promoting "Kimi no Suki na Uta" (2006)

UVERworld promoting "Shaka Beach ~Laka Laka La~" (2007)

UVERworld promoting "Koishikute" (2008)

UVERworld promoting AwakEVE (2009)

UVERworld promoting "NO.1" (2010)

UVERworld promoting "BABY BORN & GO / KINJITO" (2011)

UVERworld promoting "7th Trigger" (2012)

UVERworld promoting "Nano・Second" (2013)

UVERworld promoting Ø CHOIR (2014)

UVERworld promoting "Boku no Kotoba de wa Nai Kore wa Bokutachi no Kotoba" (2015)

UVERworld promoting "WE ARE GO / ALL ALONE" (2016)

UVERworld promoting "DECIDED" (2017)

UVERworld promoting "GOOD and EVIL / EDEN e" (2018)

UVERworld promoting UNSER (2019)

UVERworld promoting "AS ONE" (2020)

UVERworld promoting 30 (2021)

Studio Albums

• [2006.02.15] Timeless
• [2007.02.21] BUGRIGHT
• [2008.01.16] PROGLUTION
• [2009.02.18] AwakEVE
• [2010.04.14] LAST
• [2011.06.01] LIFE 6 SENSE
• [2012.11.28] THE ONE
• [2014.07.02] Ø CHOIR
• [2017.08.02] TYCOON
• [2019.12.04] UNSER
• [2021.12.22] 30
• [2023.07.19] ENIGMASIS

Best Albums

• [2009.12.09] Neo SOUND BEST
• [2018.07.18] ALL TIME BEST
• [2018.07.18] ALL TIME BEST -FAN BEST- (EXTRA EDITION) (Digital)

Live Albums

• [2014.03.19] Queen's PARTY at Nippon Budokan (Digital)
• [2015.05.27] UVERworld Live at Kyocera Dome Osaka (Digital)
• [2015.09.23] UVERworld KING'S PARADE at Yokohama Arena (Digital)
• [2016.07.27] UVERworld KING'S PARADE at Kobe World Hall (Digital)
• [2018.03.14] UVERworld KING'S PARADE 2017 Saitama Super Arena (Digital)
• [2019.07.10] UVERworld QUEEN'S PARTY at Nippon Budokan 2018.12.21 (Digital)
• [2019.07.10] UVERworld KING'S PARADE at Yokohama Arena 2018.12.21 (Digital)

Other Albums

• [2022.07.20] INSTRUMENTALS-∞ (Instrumental Best)

Singles

• [2005.07.06] D-tecnoLife
• [2005.10.26] CHANCE!
• [2006.01.25] just Melody
• [2006.05.17] Colors of the Heart
• [2006.08.02] SHAMROCK
• [2006.11.15] Kimi no Suki na Uta (君の好きなうた; Your Favorite Song)
• [2007.05.30] endscape
• [2007.08.08] Shaka Beach ~Laka Laka La~ (シャカビーチ~Laka Laka La~)
• [2007.11.14] Ukiyo CROSSING (浮世CROSSING; Fleeting Life CR0SSING)
• [2008.06.11] Gekidou / Just break the limit! (激動; Agitation)
• [2008.09.10] Koishikute (恋いしくて; I Love You)
• [2008.11.19] Hakanaku mo Towa no Kanashi (儚くも永久のカナシ; Fleeting and Everlasting Sorrow)
• [2009.08.05] GO-ON
• [2009.10.28] Kanashimi wa Kitto (哀しみはきっと; Sadness is Certain)
• [2010.03.31] GOLD
• [2010.09.15] Qualia (クオリア)
• [2010.11.24] NO.1
• [2011.04.06] MONDO PIECE
• [2011.05.11] CORE PRIDE
• [2011.12.14] BABY BORN & GO / KINJITO
• [2012.03.28] 7th Trigger
• [2012.08.29] THE OVER
• [2012.12.26] REVERSI
• [2013.08.14] Fight For Liberty / Wizard CLUB
• [2013.12.18] Nano・Second (ナノ・セカンド)
• [2014.06.18] Nanokame no Ketsui (7日目の決意)
• [2015.05.27] Boku no Kotoba de wa Nai Kore wa Bokutachi no Kotoba (僕の言葉ではない これは僕たちの言葉; They Are Not My Words, They Are Our Words)
• [2015.08.26] I LOVE THE WORLD
• [2016.07.27] WE ARE GO / ALL ALONE
• [2017.02.01] Itteki no Eikyou (一滴の影響)
• [2017.07.12] DECIDED
• [2018.05.02] ODD FUTURE
• [2018.11.07] GOOD and EVIL / EDEN e (EDENへ)
• [2019.02.27] Touch off
• [2019.10.16] ROB THE FRONTIER
• [2020.03.04] AS ONE
• [2021.03.10] HOURGLASS
• [2021.06.02] NAMELY
• [2021.11.24] AVALANCHE
• [2022.08.17] Pygmalion (ピグマリオン)
• [2024.03.06] Eye's Sentry

Collaboration Singles

• [2021.09.01] Raichoue / SOUL (来鳥江)

Digital Singles

• [2014.06.25] IMPACT
• [2015.05.13] Boku no Kotoba de wa Nai Kore wa Bokutachi no Kotoba (TV size) (僕の言葉ではない これは僕たちの言葉)
• [2015.08.12] I LOVE THE WORLD -short edition-
• [2016.07.11] WE ARE GO (short ver.)
• [2017.01.11] Itteki no Eikyou Short Ver. (一滴の影響)
• [2018.04.07] ODD FUTURE short ver.
• [2018.08.25] EDEN e (Short Version) (EDENへ)
• [2019.01.11] Touch off (Short Version)
• [2019.10.11] ROB THE FRONTIER (Short ver.)

Special Singles

• [2007.02.13] Link (凛句)

Video Releases

Concerts / Live

• [2006.12.20] LIVE at SHIBUYA-AX (from Timeless TOUR 2006)
• [2008.10.01] PROGLUTION TOUR 2008
• [2009.04.29] UVERworld 2008 Premium LIVE at Nippon Budokan
• [2009.09.30] AwakEVE TOUR 09
• [2011.07.06] LAST TOUR FINAL at TOKYO DOME
• [2012.04.04] UVERworld 2011 Premium LIVE on Xmas
• [2013.01.30] UVERworld Yokohama Arena
• [2013.11.06] UVERworld KING'S PARADE Zepp DiverCity 2013.02.28
• [2014.09.24] UVERworld KING'S PARADE Nippon Budokan 2013.12.16
• [2015.04.15] UVERworld LIVE at KYOCERA DOME OSAKA
• [2015.09.30] UVERworld KING'S PARADE at Yokohama Arena
• [2016.06.08] UVERworld 15&10 Anniversary Live LIMITED EDITION
• [2016.06.08] UVERworld 15&10 Anniversary Live 2015.09.03
• [2016.06.08] UVERworld 15&10 Anniversary Live 2015.09.06 Queen's Party
• [2016.11.02] UVERworld PREMIUM LIVE on Xmas 2015 at Nippon Budokan
• [2018.03.14] UVERworld KING'S PARADE 2017 Saitama Super Arena
• [2019.01.16] UVERworld TYCOON TOUR at Yokohama Arena 2017.12.21
• [2019.07.10] UVERworld KING'S PARADE at Yokohama Arena 2018.12.21
• [2019.07.10] UVERworld QUEEN'S PARTY at Nippon Budokan 2018.12.21
• [2020.07.01] UNSER TOUR at TOKYO DOME 2019.12.19
• [2020.09.16] KING'S PARADE Otoko Matsuri FINAL at Tokyo Dome 2019.12.20 (男祭り)

Music Videos Collection

• [2010.07.07] UVERworld Video Complete-act.1- first 5 years
• [2014.03.19] UVERworld Video Complete -act.2-
• [2021.04.21] UVERworld Video Complete -act.3-

Documentary

• [2013.04.17] UVERworld DOCUMENTARY THE SONG

Compilations / Other

• [2005.11.01] JPOP CD2 (#2 D-tecnoLife)
• [2006.08.23] Dandori. ~Dance☆Drill~ Original Soundtrack (#17 SHAMROCK (piano version), #18 SHAMROCK (Drama version))
• [2006.10.25] BLOOD+COMPLETE BEST (#6 Colors of the Heart)
• [2006.12.03] BLEACH THE BEST (#4 D-tecnoLife)
• [2006.12.20] The songs for DEATH NOTE the movie ~the Last name TRIBUTE~ (#4 ~Nagare・Kuukyou・THIS WORD (D.N.version))
• [2007.10.03] Toward the Terra Original Soundtrack 2 (#55 endscape (TV size))
• [2008.03.26] 39 Anime x Music Collaboration '02-'07 (Disc 3 #1 Colors of the Heart, Disc 3 #9 endscape)
• [2008.09.24] D.Gray-man COMPLETE BEST (#9 Gekidou)
• [2008.12.17] D.Gray-man Original Soundtrack 3 (#5 Gekidou (TV size))
• [2009.04.01] Mobile Suit Gundam 00 ORIGINAL SOUNDTRACK 04 (#28 Hakanaku mo Towa no Kanashi you -Anime Ver.-)
• [2009.07.08] GUNDAM 00 COMPLETE BEST (#6 Hakanaku mo Towa no Kanashi)
• [2010.02.24] GUNDAM SONGS 145 (Disc 9 #6 Hakanaku mo Towa no Kanashi)
• [2010.06.25] GUNDAM 00 Festival 2009-2010 "A trailer for the trailblazer"
• [2011.01.26] Zenbu Koi ga Kanau Uta ~Kashi Densetsu~ (#6 Kimi no Suki na Uta)
• [2011.09.28] "Ao no Exorcist" Original Soundtrack 2 (#17 CORE PRIDE (TV size))
• [2016.11.23] AK-69 - DAWN (#3 "Forever Young" feat. UVERworld)
• [2018.06.20] AK-69 - Musou Collaborations -The undefeated- (#2 "ONE LIFE" feat. UVERworld, #8 "Forever Young" feat. UVERworld)

Publications

Books

• [2011.09] COREstory,COREability,COREhistory

Band Scores

• [2009.02] Timeless
• [2012.06] Band Score "7th Trigger" UVERworld
• [2012.08] Band Score Piece "Hakuchuumu" UVERworld
• [2012.09] Band Score "THE OVER" Song by UVERworld

Calendars

• [2010.01] UVERworld 2010 OFFICIAL CALENDAR
• [2010.11] UVERworld 2011 OFFICIAL CALENDAR
• [2011.11] UVERworld 2012 OFFICIAL CALENDAR

Magazines

• [2009.12.xx] Arena 37 Degree 2010 January Issue (Feature)
• [2010.12.xx] MASSIVE 1 (Feature)
• [2011.02.xx] ARENA37 Degree March 2011 Issue (Feature)
• [2011.03.xx] ARENA37 Degree April 2011 Issue (Feature)
• [2011.08.xx] MUSIQ? SPECIAL OUT of MUSIC Vol.15 October 2011 Issue (Feature)
• [2011.09.xx] PATi PATi October 2011 Issue (Feature)
• [2011.09.xx] BACKSTAGE PASS 2011 November (Feature)
• [2011.10.xx] PATi PATi November 2011 Issue (Feature)

External Links

• Official Website
• Sony Music Official Profile
• Official Staff Blog
• Official Youtube
• Official VEVO