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Difference between revisions of "UVERworld"

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'''UVERworld''' is a [[J-Rock]] band on [[index.php?title=gr8! Records&action=edit|gr8! Records]] under the [[Sony Music Entertainment|Sony]] label, whose members originally came from [[Shiga]], [[Kansai]]. TAKUYA∞ is the main force behind UVERworld because he writes the music, is the vocalist, and is able to play all of the instruments himself. The general sound of UVERworld is a mix of rock and pop with the occasional rap interlude thrown in by TAKUYA∞. Their name is a name they coined themselves (by combining 'über' and 'over') and to them means 'Crossing over their own world'. The band is most recognized for their hit songs [[D-Tecno Life|D-tecnoLife]], [[Shamrock|SHAMROCK]], [[Kimi no Suki na Uta]], [[Colors of the Heart]] and [[Hakanaku mo Towa no Kanashi]].
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'''''UVERworld''''' is a fusion band consisting of five members all originating from Kusatsu, Shiga, Japan. They are signed to gr8! Records under the [[Sony Music Entertainment|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 [[Mobile Suit Gundam 00]].  
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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==
 
==Members==
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* [[Shintarou (UVERworld)|Shintarou]] (真太郎) (drums, formerly from [[Double Impact]])
 
* [[Shintarou (UVERworld)|Shintarou]] (真太郎) (drums, formerly from [[Double Impact]])
  
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==Information==
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==Independent era==
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The band was originally formed in June 2002, and had seven members. However, the saxophonist and the vocalist left after this period, and the band decided on a new name. UVERworld was originally called 'Sangoku Road' (さんごくロード) (Mix of 'sound', 'Goku' (極, 'very') and road). Though they had been around as a band for some time, UVERworld only broke into the mainstream in 2005 when they debuted under [[Sony Records]] with the hit song [[D-Tecno Life|D-tecnoLife]] that was used as the second opening to the anime [[BLEACH (manga)|BLEACH]]. Due to the extreme attention received from the anime, the single debuted at #4 on Oricon charts and even broke into the [[2005 Oricon Top 100 Singles|Top 200 singles list]] for 2005 by selling 103,104 units.
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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 offical 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''.
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TAKUYA∞ was originally unhappy with the vocals for the song and asked to re-record them. Even after the single version was released, he was not satisfied and released a further 'album' version.
 
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UVERworld's second single, [[Chance! (UVERworld)|CHANCE!]], was not as successful as it's predecessor. Though it reached #5 on Oricon charts (due to it being used as the CM song and opening theme for the PSP game [[Wikipedia:Bleach (manga)|BLEACH ~Heat the Soul 2~]]) the single quickly slipped from the charts and not making much of a mark. The band's third single, [[Just Melody|just Melody]], faired even poorer at #17 as there was no tie-up for the single. Soon after the release of their third single, UVERworld's debut album [[Timeless (UVERworld)|Timeless]] was released, breaking the top 10 at #5 on the charts and selling app. 60,000 units.
 
  
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UVERworld once again graced the anime scene again by having their fourth single, [[Colors of the Heart]], used as the third opening theme for the popular anime [[Wikipedia:Blood+t|BLOOD+]]. This single reached an even higher position than their debut single, at #3. The first week sales for this single (39,000) were larger than the total singles for both [[Chance! (UVERworld)|CHANCE!]] and [[Just Melody|just Melody]] (which had either four or seven months more time on the market).
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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.  
  
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Their fifth single, entitled [[Shamrock|SHAMROCK]], was used as the theme song to the dorama [[Dandori. ~Dance Drill~|Dandori. ~Dance☆Drill~]] (ダンドリ。), and was released in August. This proved to be an even bigger hit than Colors of the Heart; selling roughly 10,000 more copies in its first week (though despite this was three positions lower than Colors of the Heart reached).
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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∞ .
  
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UVERworld once again released a new single in November, titled [[Kimi no Suki na Uta]], a ballad song used as the theme song to the variety show [[Koisuru Hanikami!]]. The single debuted at the exceedingly high position of #2 (their highest charting single yet). A live DVD, named [[Live at Shibuya-AX (from Timeless Tour 2006)|LIVE at SHIBUYA-AX (from Timeless TOUR 2006)]], was released on December 20th, 2006. At the same time, [[The Songs for Death Note the Movie ~The Last Name Tribute~|The songs for DEATH NOTE the movie ~the Last name TRIBUTE~]] was released, featuring [[~Nagare Kuukyou This World|~Nagare・Kuukyou・THIS WORD (D.N.version)]] by UVERworld. Their new album, [[Bugright|BUGRIGHT]], was released February 21st, 2007. This album featured previous singles, [[Colors of the Heart]], [[Shamrock|SHAMROCK]], and [[Kimi no Suki na Uta]], as well as [[~Nagare Kuukyou This World|~Nagare・Kuukyou・THIS WORD]].
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==UVERworld era==
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The first single from UVERworld, [[D-Tecno_Life|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.
  
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Three months after the release of [[Bugright|BUGRIGHT]] their 7th single, [[eWndscape|endscape]], was released. It was used as the first opening theme song for the anime adaptation of [[Wikipedia:Toward the Terra|Terra e...]] and debuted at #4 selling 45,070, UVERworld's highest amount of copies sold in the first week for a single. Their 8th single [[Shaka Beach ~Laka Laka La~]] debuted at #2 and has so far sold over 46,000 copies.
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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 royalities. 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.
  
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They later went on to preform the opening theme to the J-Drama Hataraki Man, based on the manga of the same name. The 10th single from the band was used as the 4th opening to the anime [[Wikipedia:D.Gray-Man|D.Gray-Man]].
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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, Tite Kubo has exrpessed his continuing interest in them ever since they worked on BLEACH. The band has also found itself garnering fans in the form of muscians such as [[Chiaki Kuriyama]], Maki Nishiyama, and [[T.M. Revolution]].
  
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They released their fifth album, LAST, in 2010, the lead single, GOLD, was given two PVs, one being the first 3-D Japanese PV and the most expensive Japanese PV to date.
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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 J-Drama 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.
  
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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 jankenpo 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.
 
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Revision as of 15:51, 26 October 2010

UVERworld promoting Qualia (2010)

UVERworld is a fusion band consisting of five 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 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

Independent era

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 offical 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

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 royalities. 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, Tite Kubo has exrpessed his continuing interest in them ever since they worked on BLEACH. The band has also found itself garnering fans in the form of muscians such as Chiaki Kuriyama, Maki Nishiyama, 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 J-Drama 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 jankenpo 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 "GOLD" (2010)

Albums

Singles

DVD / VHS

Other / Compilation

External Links

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