SCANDAL (band)

SCANDAL promoting "SCANDAL Nanka Buttobase" (2010)
Left to right: MAMI, RINA, TOMOMI, HARUNA

SCANDAL is 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. Because of this, they have an international fanbase. That October, SCANDAL released their major debut single, "DOLL", under EPIC Records Japan.

Members

• HARUNA – Vocals, guitar
• MAMI – Guitar, vocals
• TOMOMI – Bass, vocals
• RINA – Drums, vocals

Information

SCANDAL promoting YAH! YAH! YAH! HELLO SCANDAL ~Maido! SCANDAL Desu! Yah Yah Yah!~ (2008)

SCANDAL promoting "BEAUTeen!!" (2009)

SCANDAL animated in Loups=Garous (2010)

Indie Career

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. 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. 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

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. The band released their second major single "SAKURA Goodbye" in March 2009 to commemorate MAMI and TOMOMI's high school graduation. The song is a new version of their indie song, "SAKURA", only heard live. 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.

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. 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.

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. 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. 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. Earlier in the year, they were awarded a bronze newcomer award by RTHK, similar to the Hong Kong Grammys.

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. The album was also released in 42 other countries worldwide.

Still in August 2010, SCANDAL provided the theme, insert, and ending songs for the animated film Loups=Garous. The songs were "Midnight Television", "KOSHI-TANTAN", and "Sayonara My Friend" respectively. The band also appeared as themselves, marking their big screen debut as a band and their professional debut as seiyuus. They appeared in a musical performance scene that was created with the help of motion capture, providing a realistic representation of the band's movements.

Setlist Tracks

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

Original Songs

• "Ashita no Ashita" (明日のアシタ; Tomorrow's Tomorrow) - Performed at Japan Expo 2008.

• "PLAY-BOY" - Performed live during their 2008 American tour and at Japan Expo 2008. It was also published on their MySpace, but it was deleted after their major debut.

• "SCANDAL no Theme" (SCANDALのテーマ; SCANDAL's Theme) - Performed during their 2008 American tour, their televised Mezamashi Live in August 2009, their first one-man tour in December 2009, and various small lives.

Covers

• "Don't say "lazy"" - Performed on the MUSIC JAPAN Shinseiki Anisong SP in August 2009. It is a cover of Sakurakou K-ON Bu's song of the same name.

• "Hajimete no Chuu" (はじめてのチュウ; First Kiss) - Performed on May 15, 2010 at the ANIMAX MUSIX event. It is a cover of Anshin Papa's song of the same name.

• "Koibito ga Santa Claus" (恋人がサンタクロース; My Lover Is Santa Claus) - Performed on the "~BEST★Xmas~" date of their first one-man tour in December 2009. It is a cover of Matsutoya Yumi's song of the same name.

• "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 and during their first one-man tour in December 2009. 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.

• "Touch" (タッチ) - Performed on May 16, 2010 at the ANIMAX MUSIX event. It is a cover of Iwasaki Yoshimi's song of the same name.

Discography

Albums

• [2009.10.21] BEST★SCANDAL
• [2010.08.11] TEMPTATION BOX

Mini-Albums

• [2008.08.08] YAH! YAH! YAH! HELLO SCANDAL ~Maido! SCANDAL Desu! Yah Yah Yah!~ (まいど!スキャンダルです!ヤァヤァヤァ!; We Are SCANDAL) (indie)
• [2010.11.17] TBA

Singles

• [2008.03.03] Space Ranger (スペースレンジャー) (indie)
• [2008.04.04] Koi Moyou (恋模様; Love Pattern) (indie)
• [2008.05.05] Kagerou (カゲロウ; Mayfly) (indie)
• [2008.10.22] DOLL
• [2009.03.04] SAKURA Goodbye (SAKURAグッバイ; Cherry Blossom Goodbye)
• [2009.06.17] Shoujo S (少女S; Girls)
• [2009.10.14] Yumemiru Tsubasa (夢見るつばさ; Dreaming of Wings)
• [2010.02.03] Shunkan Sentimental (瞬間センチメンタル; Sentimental Moment)
• [2010.06.02] Taiyou to Kimi ga Egaku STORY (太陽と君が描くSTORY; The Story that You and the Sun Drew)
• [2010.07.28] Namida no Regret (涙のリグレット; Tears of Regret)
• [2010.10.06] SCANDAL Nanka Buttobase (スキャンダルなんかブッ飛ばせ)

Digital Singles

• [2010.04.21] secret base ~Kimi ga Kureta Mono~ (secret base ～君がくれたもの～; secret base ~Things You Gave Me~)

DVDs

• [2010.06.30] SCANDAL FIRST LIVE -BEST★SCANDAL 2009-
• [2010.09.18] SCANDAL ANIME

Compilations / Others

• [2008.05.02] Star Ocean 2 Second Evolution Original Soundtrack (スターオーシャン2 セカンドエヴォリューション オリジナル・サウンドトラック) (#1 START)
• [2009.03.18] JUDY AND MARY 15th Anniversary Tribute Album (#8 DAYDREAM)
• [2010.03.24] Hagane no Renkinjutsushi FULLMETAL ALCHEMIST Original Soundtrack 2 (#29 Shunkan Sentimental (TV Size))
• [2010.07.28] Hagane no Renkinjutsushi FULLMETAL ALCHEMIST FINAL BEST (#8 Shunkan Sentimental)

Works

SCANDAL promoting NIKE TERMINATOR (2008)

Films

• [2010] Loups=Garous (ルー=ガルー)

Television

• [2010.07.02–2010.09.24] Shiteki Ongaku Jijou (私的音楽事情)

Radio

• [2008.10.02–2009.10.01] SCANDAL no Doon. (SCANDALのド～ン。)
• [2009.05.21–present] RADIO SESSIONS SCANDAL Munasawagi no AFTER SCHOOL (SCANDAL 胸騒ぎのAFTER SCHOOL)
• [2010.07.13–present] FM OSAKA E-Tracks Selection

Internet

• [2009.10.22] SCANDAL Summit Vol. 1 (SCANDALサミットVol.1)
• [2010.02.03] SCANDAL Summit Vol. 2 (SCANDALサミットVol.2)
• [2010.06.01] SCANDAL Summit Vol. 3 (SCANDALサミットVol.3)
• [2010.08.24] SCANDAL Summit Vol. 4 (SCANDALサミットVol.4)

Commercials

• [2009] Recochoku

Endorsements

• [2008] NIKE TERMINATOR "PLAY HARD"
• [2009] CECIL McBEE

Books

• [2009.11.26] SCANDAL BEST★SCANDAL BAND SCORE (SCANDAL BEST★SCANDAL バンドスコア)
• [2010.09.16] TEMPTATION BOOK SCANDAL

Concerts

Tours

• [2008.08.18–2008.08.29] SCANDAL ~Give me P.P. Tour 2008 Summer~
• [2009.12.04–2009.12.24] First One-Man Live Tour (ファーストワンマンライブツアー)
• [2010.03.23–2010.04.10] SCANDAL ~Shunkan Sakurazensen TOUR~ 2010 SPRING (SCANDAL～瞬間サクラゼンセンTOUR～2010 SPRING)
• [2010.09.18–2010.10.02] "SCANDAL TEMPTATION BOX TOUR 2010" ~YEAH! tte Iei!~ (「SCANDAL TEMPTATION BOX TOUR 2010」～YEAH!って言えいっ!～)

One-Man Lives

• [2010.06.14] Ameagari no Kessan ~Edo Hen~ "Zettai ni Makerarenai Tatakai ga Koko ni wa Aru" (雨上がりの決戦 ～江戸編～ 「絶対に負けられない戦いがここにはある」)
• [2010.06.16] Ameagari no Kessan ~Naniwa Hen~ "Zettai ni Makerarenai Tatakai ga Koko ni wa Aru" (雨上がりの決戦 ～浪速編～ 「絶対に負けられない戦いがここにはある」)

International

• [2008.03.16–2008.03.23] Japan Nite US Tour 2008 (United States)
• [2008.03.28–2008.03.30] Sakura-Con 2008 (United States)
• [2008.07.03–2008.07.06] Japan Expo 2008 (France)
• [2008.08.02] Animation-Comic-Game Hong Kong 2008 (Hong Kong)
• [2009.08.03] Animation-Comic-Game Hong Kong 2009 (Hong Kong)
• [2010.07.31] Animation-Comic-Game Hong Kong 2010 (Hong Kong)
• [2010.08.01] SCANDAL Live in Hong Kong 2010 (Hong Kong)
• [2010.11.14] ANIME FESTIVAL ASIA (Singapore)

External Links

• Official Website
• Official Blog
• Official MySpace
• Official Twitter
• Japanese Wikipedia: SCANDAL (日本のバンド)