Generasia would not be possible without tokyograph and all the wonderful people who've contributed over the past 15 years. Thank you!

SCANDAL (band)

SCANDAL promoting LUMINOUS (2024)

SCANDAL is a Japanese pop-rock girl band from Osaka, Japan. Formed in August 2006 by four high school girls, they started playing street lives until they were noticed and signed to the indie label Kitty Records. In 2008, they released three singles and a mini-album while performing shows in the United States, France, and Hong Kong. That October, SCANDAL released their major debut single, "DOLL", under EPIC Records Japan.

The band has performed the theme songs for many anime, including "Shoujo S" for BLEACH, "Shunkan Sentimental" for Hagane no Renkinjutsushi FULLMETAL ALCHEMIST and "Yoake no Ryuuseigun" for Pokémon. With numerous overseas performances and anime theme songs, SCANDAL has built a considerable international fanbase.[1][2]

On December 24, 2018, it was announced the band had created their own private label "her" and would release content under it in spring 2019.

Members

Labels

Sub-Units

Information

Indie Career

SCANDAL promoting "Doll" (2008)

SCANDAL was formed in August 2006 by four high school girls. The girls, HARUNA, MAMI, TOMOMI, and RINA, met in an Osaka vocal and dance school called CALESS.[3][4] Shortly thereafter, they started performing street lives every weekend at Shiroten in Osaka Castle Park. Soon, they started getting offers from clubs in Osaka and Kyoto.

SCANDAL signed with indie label Kitty Records and released three singles exclusive to Tower Records in 2008. The first, "Space Ranger", ranked #2 on the Tower indie charts and the other two, "Koi Moyou" and "Kagerou", ranked #1.[3] In March, they embarked on the Japan Nite US tour 2008, touring six major cities in the United States. They also performed at Sakura-Con, one of the largest anime conventions in the United States. In July, they preformed in front of 10,000 people at France's Japan Expo and also at Hong Kong's Ani-Com in August. SCANDAL concluded their indie career with the release of their first mini-album, YAH! YAH! YAH! HELLO SCANDAL ~Maido! SCANDAL Desu! Yah Yah Yah!~.

Major Debut

SCANDAL promoting "Shoujo S" (2009)

2008 continued to be an eventful year for SCANDAL. In October, they made their major debut on EPIC Records Japan with the single "DOLL". It gave them more exposure, including appearances on mainstream music television shows like MUSIC STATION.[5] The band released their second major single "SAKURA Goodbye" in March 2009 to commemorate MAMI and TOMOMI's high school graduation.[6] The song is a new version of their indie song, "SAKURA", only heard live.[7] The following month, their then upcoming third major single "Shoujo S" was used as the tenth opening theme for the anime BLEACH. This brought their popularity up even higher as the single ranked #6 on the Oricon charts when it was released two months later in June.[8]

On October 14th, SCANDAL released their fourth major single, "Yumemiru Tsubasa" which was followed with their major debut album, BEST★SCANDAL, the next week. The album ranked #5 on the Oricon weekly chart, making them the first girl band since ZONE to have a debut album chart in the top five.[9] In December, SCANDAL embarked on their first one-man tour. Concluding the year, the band won a New Artist Award at the 51st Nihon Record Taisho, but lost the Best New Artist Award to BIGBANG.

SCANDAL promoting "SCANDAL Nanka Buttobase" (2010)

2010 began with SCANDAL's fifth major single in February, "Shunkan Sentimental". It was used as the fourth ending theme for the anime Hagane no Renkinjutsushi FULLMETAL ALCHEMIST. The following month, they embarked on a spring tour, SCANDAL ~Shunkan Sakura Zensen TOUR~ 2010 SPRING. Prior to its start, the band conducted a Twitter poll to choose a song to cover for the tour. The winner was "secret base ~Kimi ga Kureta Mono~", which was chosen out of over 600 candidates.[10] In June, SCANDAL released a pop tune for summer, "Taiyou to Kimi ga Egaku STORY", followed by their first original ballad, "Namida no Regret", in July.

Between the end of July and the beginning of August, SCANDAL traveled to Hong Kong. The band performed for the third consecutive year at the Animation-Comic-Game Hong Kong convention and held their first one-man live concert in Hong Kong, which sold out.[11] SCANDAL was also featured on the cover of the Hong Kong magazine re:spect music magazine, and their previously released single "Taiyou to Kimi ga Egaku STORY" reached #1 on the RTHK J-pop chart.[1] Earlier in the year, they were awarded a bronze newcomer award by RTHK, similar to the Hong Kong Grammys.[1]

After returning to Japan, SCANDAL released their second album, TEMPTATION BOX, on August 11. The album debuted at #3 on the Oricon weekly chart, making them the first girl band to have an album chart in the top three in over a year since chatmonchy's Kokuhaku.[12] The album was also released in 42 other countries worldwide.[2]

Later in August, SCANDAL provided the theme, insert, and ending songs for the animated film Loups=Garous, which premiered on the 28th in most of Japan. The songs were "Midnight Television", "KOSHI-TANTAN", and "Sayonara My Friend", respectively.[13] The band also appeared as themselves, marking their big-screen debut as a band. They were shown in a musical performance scene that was created with the help of motion capture, providing a realistic representation of the band's movements.[14] Each member also had a role voicing a minor character.[15]

Two months following TEMPTATION BOX, SCANDAL released their eighth major single, "SCANDAL Nanka Buttobase", on October 6, 2010. The title track was written and composed by the husband-and-wife duo Aki Yoko and Uzaki Ryudo, who are known for creating many songs for Yamaguchi Momoe.[16] The limited edition DVDs contains performances from the band's first television show, Shiteki Ongaku Jijou, which ran for 13 episodes from July to September 2010. In November, SCANDAL released a cover mini-album called R-GIRL's ROCK!. It features songs by female artists that they respect from the last three decades, including their cover of "secret base ~Kimi ga Kureta Mono~" from May. RINA undertook her first lead vocal on the song "Sunny Day Sunday".[17]

SCANDAL promoting "Haruka" (2011)

SCANDAL continued into 2011 with their ninth major single on February 9. Titled "Pride", the song was used as the second ending theme for the anime STAR DRIVER Kagayaki no Takuto. The single also includes the tracks "CUTE!", a collaboration with Sanrio's Cinnamoroll, and "Emotion", their first song that was written solely by a band member.[18] Their tenth major single, "Haruka", was released on April 20. The title track was used as the theme song for the animated film Tofu Kozou, while the song "Satisfaction" was later used as the promotional song for the release of Windows 8. This was followed by their eleventh major single, "LOVE SURVIVE", as well as their third studio album BABY ACTION. They also embarked on their first Asian Tour, performing to sell out crowds in Hong Kong, Taiwan and Singapore.

2012 proved to be a year of firsts for SCANDAL. The title track of their twelfth single, "HARUKAZE", was used as the the opening theme for the anime BLEACH. The following month, they released their first Best Of album, SCANDAL SHOW, as well as holding their first concert at the Nippon Budokan, thus becoming the fastest girl band to perform there since their debut. In July, they released their thirteenth major single, "Taiyou Scandalous". This single marked the first official release of their subunits, Dobondobondo (MAMI x TOMOMI) and Almond Crush (HARUNA x RINA). This was followed by their fourteenth major single, "Pin Heel Surfer", and their fourth major album, Queens Are Trumps -Kirifuda wa Queen-. With this release, they became the first girl band to achieve four consecutive top 5 positions in the Oricon Weekly charts. They also held a concert in Malaysia in December, becoming the first Japanese band to hold a solo concert there.

SCANDAL started 2013 by fulfilling one of their biggest dreams they had since their formation by performing in their hometown at the Osaka Jo Hall in March. Later that month they also performed to sellout crowds on their 2nd Asian Tour in Indonesia, Singapore and Thailand. During this period they also announced their fourteenth major single "Awanai Tsumori no, Genki de ne" released in May, with the title track being used as the theme song for the movie "Ore wa Mada Honki Dashitenai Dake". Then they performed their summer live tour "SCA wa Mada Honki Dashitenai Dake". In August, they released their 16th single "Kagen no Tsuki", with the song "Kimi to Mirai to Kanzen Douki" being used as part of a collaboration with a robot project called "ROBOT SCANDAL".

Setlist Tracks

SCANDAL has performed songs that have not appeared on any of their releases. These tracks are:

Original Songs
Covers
  • "Time Machine ni Onegai" (タイムマシンにおねがい; Wish for a Time Machine) – Performed at their one-year anniversary acoustic live in October 2009[25] and during their first one-man tour in December 2009.[26] It is a Sadistic Mika Band cover and it was a tribute to the late Kato Kazuhiko (a member of that band). It was also performed early in their career in 2006.[27]
Collaborations

Trivia

The "SCANDAL" sign
  • The band's name originates from a sign near STUDIO BROTHERZ., a studio where they practiced in their early days. The studio is on the sixth floor of a building shared with other businesses, namely adult shops. The girls decided to choose the biggest sign among the shops, "SCANDAL" (スキャンダル), as the name for their band.[35]
  • In a January 2011 episode of the NHK program J-MELO, SCANDAL was revealed as the number-one requested artist from males worldwide.
  • The prop guitars and bass that were used for the rain scenes in the "Shoujo S" PV and MUSIC STATION performance were later destroyed in the BEST★SCANDAL photobook. In March 2011, the remains were auctioned for charity on the website MOBAOKU.[36][37]

Japanese Discography

SCANDAL promoting "Taiyou Scandalous" (2012)
SCANDAL promoting "Awanai Tsumori no, Genki de ne" (2013)
SCANDAL promoting "Yoake no Ryuuseigun" (2014)
SCANDAL promoting "Sisters" (2015)
SCANDAL promoting "Take Me Out" (2016)
SCANDAL promoting SCANDAL (2017)
SCANDAL promoting HONEY (2018)
SCANDAL (2019)
SCANDAL promoting "SPICE" (2020)
SCANDAL promoting "eternal" (2021)
SCANDAL promoting MIRROR (2022)
SCANDAL promoting "Line of sight" (2023)

Studio Albums

Best Albums

Mini-Albums

Singles

Split Singles

Digital Downloads

Video Releases

Concerts / Live
Music Video Collections
Documentary

Compilations / Others

European Discography

Best Albums

Concerts

Tours

One-Man Lives

International

Works

SCANDAL promoting NIKE TERMINATOR (2008)

Films

Television

Radio

Internet

Commercials

  • [2009] Recochoku
  • [2012] Stylee Sparkling
  • [2012] Windows 8
  • [2012] Stylee Sparkling
  • [2013] Stylee Sparkling
  • [2016] ABC-Mart
  • [2016] Fettuccine Gummi
  • [2017] Bourbon Corporation

Endorsements

  • [2008] NIKE TERMINATOR "PLAY HARD"
  • [2009] CECIL McBEE
  • [2010] CONOMi
  • [2010] 109 MEN'S
  • [2011] Zippo "Zippo girl"
  • [2012] Zippo "Zippo girl"
  • [2013] Famima.com "SCANDAROUX"
  • [2013] glamb "12 Emerging Artists"
  • [2015] ABC-Mart
  • [2015] h.ear × WALKMAN
  • [2016] Fettuccine Gummi
  • [2016] VANS
  • [2017] rockin'star
  • [2017] Bourbon Corporation

Books

Best SCANDAL Score.jpg Temptation Book.jpg Temptation Box Score.jpg Baby Action Score.jpg Girls Be Scandalous.jpg SCANDAL SHOW Score.jpg Queens are Trumps Score.jpg Encore Show Score.jpg HELLO WORLD Score.jpg

Facts

  • Friends with Stereopony.
  • Friends with ORESKABAND.
  • HARUNA and MAMI both loves Dragonball.
  • HARUNA and MAMI tend to tap their left leg and swing their guitars in the same rhythm while playing songs.
  • HARUNA and RINA went to see a Prince of Tennis musical (TeniMyu).
  • Loves Bleach, One Piece and K-On!.
  • Studied at Caless Vocal & Dance School. Met at the main branch at Osaka.
  • They all like guys with an "S-Type" personality.
  • They spent only a year and a half (from mid-2006) learning to play their respective musical instruments before they started performing on a regular basis.

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 "SCANDAL香港放送局RTHKのJ-POPチャートで1位を獲得!". mFound entertainment. 2010-09-03. Retrieved 2010-09-03.
  2. 2.0 2.1 "SCANDAL、2ndアルバムが世界42カ国で発売決定". Natalie. 2010-09-03. Retrieved 2010-09-03.
  3. 3.0 3.1 SCANDAL プロフィール. Retrieved 2009-10-16.
  4. CALESS VOCAL & DANCE SCHOOL - キャレス出身アーティスト. Retrieved 2010-04-08.
  5. "出演者ラインナップ 2008/10/24". MUSIC STATION. Retrieved 2009-10-16.
  6. "メンバー2名も今春卒業!制服ガールズバンドSCANDALが卒業ソングを熱唱 Web De-View". 2009-03-04. Retrieved 2009-10-16.
  7. "スキャンダル アメリカ村TV年越しParty 07-08 SCANDAL #3 kissfm". YouTube. Retrieved 2009-10-16.
  8. "2009年07月第1週のシングルランキング情報". Oricon. Retrieved 2009-10-16.
  9. "SCANDALが女性バンド7年ぶりの快挙達成". BARKS. 2009-10-28. Retrieved 2010-04-08.
  10. "SCANDAL版「secret base~君がくれたもの~」配信決定". Natalie. 2010-04-20. Retrieved 2010-04-25.
  11. "SCANDAL、アジア最大級アニメフェスで5000人を動員". Natalie. 2010-08-04. Retrieved 2010-09-03.
  12. "ツイッターで「集まれ~」で500人!SCANDALが東京タワーでサプライズライブ". BIGLOBE. 2010-08-18. Retrieved 2010-09-03.
  13. "SCANDAL&京極夏彦、先行上映会で“映画化”の裏側激白". Natalie. 2010-07-28. Retrieved 2010-08-07.
  14. "SCANDAL、京極夏彦原作の近未来ミステリーでアニメキャラに". BARKS. 2010-05-07. Retrieved 2010-06-13.
  15. "SCANDAL ×『ルー=ガルー』 SCANDALアフレコに挑戦!". Loups=Garous SCANDAL Interview. 2010-04-09. Retrieved 2010-05-08.
  16. "阿木燿子・宇崎竜童の黄金コンビが幻の楽曲をSCANDALに提供". BARKS. 2010-09-23. Retrieved 2011-02-07.
  17. Nishibiro Tomokazu (2010-11-17). "ナタリー - (Power Push) SCANDAL". Natalie. Retrieved 2011-02-07.
  18. EPIC Records Japan / Kitty (2010-12-20). "SCANDAL 9th Single Pride 2011.02.09リリース !!". Retrieved 2010-12-26.
  19. "Japan Expo 9eme Impact (2008) - SCANDAL - Extraits Concert". Dailymotion. 2008-07-20. Retrieved 2010-06-06.
  20. "Scandal "Ashita no Ashita" 明日のアシタ". YouTube. 2010-05-11. Retrieved 2010-06-06.
  21. "2009.08.16 新世紀アニソンSP". MUSIC JAPAN. Retrieved 2010-04-14.
  22. 22.0 22.1 22.2 "【ANIMAX MUSIX FALL 2010】2010/11/3 全てのアニメミュージックを愛する者に捧げる、夢の祭典!『ANIMAX MUSIX FALL 2010』レポート!". OH. 2010-11-10. Retrieved 2010-11-29.
  23. "May'nら人気歌手が集結『ANIMAX MUSIX-SPRING 2010-』". Anican. 2010-06-03. Retrieved 2010-11-29.
  24. RINA (2010-12-25). "BEST☆X'mas2~イブやでっ!~". SCANDALblog『超SCANDAL』. Retrieved 2010-12-26.
  25. "思い出の曲…SCANDAL、加藤和彦さんの楽曲披露". NTV NEWS 24. 2009-10-25. Retrieved 2010-06-06.
  26. "SCANDAL、熱狂の初ワンマンツアー東京公演で新曲披露". Natalie. 2009-12-13. Retrieved 2010-04-14.
  27. "キャレス初のGIRLS BAND". 2006-08-21. Retrieved 2010-04-14.
  28. 28.0 28.1 "2010/5/16 世界に羽ばたくアニメミュージック&アーティストが集結! 『ANIMAX MUSIX SPRING 2010』Day2レポート!". OH. 2010-05-20. Retrieved 2010-11-29.
  29. RINA (2012-12-24). "BEST☆Xmas4". SCANDALblog『超SCANDAL』. Retrieved 2013-01-21.
  30. RINA (2013-12-24). "BEST★X'mas5". SCANDALblog『超SCANDAL』. Retrieved 2014-02-04.
  31. "06月02日(日)のゲストは、アリスの皆さん×SCANDALの皆さん". Fuji TV. Retrieved 2013-06-02.
  32. "09/10/17 THE ALFEE / 真心ブラザーズ / ゴスペラーズ / 中川翔子 / SCANDAL // ムッシュかまやつ". Fuji TV. Retrieved 2010-10-07.
  33. "09/05/30 郷ひろみ×SPEED×いきものがかり×MiChi×SCANDAL". Fuji TV. Retrieved 2010-10-07.
  34. "09/10/24 THE ALFEE / 真心ブラザーズ / ゴスペラーズ / 中川翔子 / SCANDAL". Fuji TV. Retrieved 2010-10-07.
  35. "SCANDAL - 制服は、私達の戦闘服! - インタビュー". Excite. 2008-10-01. Retrieved 2011-03-22.
  36. "TOKYO MX「クイズ!先端tic!」出演!&「モバオク」出品!". Sony Music Entertainment. 2011-03-19. Retrieved 2011-03-22.
  37. "TOKYO MX 連動 モバオク! スペシャルオークション! 第3弾 SCANDAL". Archived from the original on 2011-03-25. Retrieved 2011-03-25.
  38. "ウワサの女子高校生バンド フランス席巻!". hotexpress. 2008-07-08. Retrieved 2010-05-27.

External Links