is selling rather well, although sales are beginning to slow down. Nonetheless, it has crossed 250k, a feat that he has not achieved since Utabaka. SUPPORT KENKEN PEOPLE!
KIRA☆KIRA KEN PAPER Vol. 7
Friday, March 7, 2008
LOADS to report for this issue of KKKP, so let's just get started shall we?
Ken's official website has been revamped for
FAKIN' POP, and you can find previews for all 13 songs at the discography section. And you can get to see a bigger version of the album cover too, so do go take a look.
Ken is also nominated for Best Male Video at the MTV VIDEO MUSIC AWARDS JAPAN 2008. The PV got nominated for Best Video is of course,
fake star (I mean, MTV, sex, fake star...). Nonetheless, do vote for him since his chances of winning aren't very good, considering his competition (Ne-yo and SEAMO amongst them). However, it is not sure as to whether one living outside of Japan can vote or not (or whether their votes count), so try your luck I suppose. You can vote
[HERE].
Speaking of the VMAJ08, AAA also got nominated for Best Buzz Asia with their PV for MIRAGE. So good luck to them as well I suppose? They're attending the ceremony, so I'm guessing... they've already won. But that's just my guess.
And here's a nice little schedule box of the upcoming TV appearances for our dear Kenken.
03/07 - Bokura no Ongaku ("Ken Hirai Works")
03/09 - Music Lovers (Hitomi wo Tojite, Shashin, Canvas and possibly POP STAR)
03/12 - SONGS (POP STAR, Hitomi wo Tojite, Shashin and Canvas)
03/14 - Music Station (Shashin)
03/21 - Bokura no Ongaku ("Ken Hirai x Tomokazu Miura")
Loads to look forward to it seems. Hopefully it'll result in more sales.
Ken's song
UPSET in his upcoming album will be used in a
CM for LG's L705iX phone. It's some new swanky looking shiny phone, so if you're really THAT hardcore a fan, go buy one. Ken looks stoned. He and Nissy are snorting the same thing. xD
And lastly, Oricon's NINKI (popularity) numbers have been released for
FAKIN' POP's debut week. NINKI numbers basically show how well-anticipated by the public a certain release is. Here are the points.
Albums
#1 - Ken Hirai (FAKIN' POP) - 250.00
#2 - Kou Shibasaki (Single Best) - 85.80
#3 - GARNET CROW (LOCKS) - 55.20
That's pretty good points right there, so maybe! Finally! He will have a release that breaks 200000! I mean, after
UTABAKA, NONE of his releases has hit the golden 200k (best being
Elegy with 118k), and some barely crosses 30k (
Canvas with 32k). Which is just really sad. So Kenken fans, BUY BUY BUY! xD
Labels: Hirai Ken, Ken News
KIRA☆KIRA KEN PAPER Vol. 6
Sunday, March 2, 2008
Hirai Ken came out victorious in the "Best Male Artist" category at the annual TOKIO HOT 100 Awards, which was organized yearly by Sapporo Beer and J-WAVE.
I'm not too sure how I feel about this prize. After all, a beer company gave him the prize... One might consider how drunk they were when choosing the winner. xD
Nonetheless, CONGRATULATIONS KEN-CHAN! It's nice to see you winning some prizes even though your sales are none-too-fantastic! xD
[Edit]
And yet another picture.
Labels: Hirai Ken, Ken News
KIRA☆KIRA KEN PAPER Vol. 5
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
The tracklist for FAKIN' POP is already out on HMV, and here it is.
1. POP STAR
2. Kimi wa SU.TE.KI♡ (君はス･テ･キ♡)
3. Kimi no Suki na Toko (君の好きなとこ)
4. Canvas (キャンバス)
5. Pain
6. fake star
7. Upset
8. Utsukushii Hito (美しい人)
9. Elegy (哀歌(エレジー))
10. Twenty! Twenty! Twenty!
11. By(e) My Melody (バイマイメロディ)
12. Itsuka Hanareru Hi ga Kite mo (いつか離れる日が来ても)
13. Shashin (写真)
Certain online retailers are listing this album with a first press bonus, but I won't put too much hope on it. If it is true, then it would most likely be a sticker as was announced on a few sites a long time ago.
Also, Ken will appear in next week's Music Fair 21, performing the songs Hitomi wo Tojite, Canvas, Kimi wa SU.TE.KI and Cry & Smile. Here's some pictures from the website.
Looks like it's going to be a great show. Can't wait!
A few online retailers are beginning to list Ken's latest DVD, which is set for release on the same day as the album.
Here's some details:
Ken Hirai Films Vol.9
2,940 yens (tax in)
DFBL-7110
2008/03/12
1. POP STAR
2. By(e) My Melody (バイマイメロディー)
3. Elegy (哀歌(エレジー))
4. Kimi no Suki na Toko (君の好きなとこ)
5. fake star
6. Canvas (キャンバス)
So far, it's only up for preorder at Amazon.co.jp, and no first press edition has been announced as usual.
Labels: Hirai Ken, Ken News
KIRA☆KIRA KEN PAPER Vol. 4
Thursday, February 14, 2008
I needed a decent name for my Hirai Ken news posts, so here I have named it "KIRA☆KIRA KEN PAPER"! Yay for cute name. Admit it, it's cute.
Anyways, Hirai Ken news!
Hirai Ken has already finished filming for his PV for
Canvas, and it has been reported that the filming took place in his alma mater. The PV stars Nakamura Yuri, who is an actress I have never heard of before, but she is still pretty nonetheless.
The scheduled date for Hirai Ken's long-awaited album is set for the 12th of March, with the title of the album being "
FAKIN' POP". Currently, only 5 songs have been confirmed, which includes
POP STAR,
By(e) My Melody,
Elegy,
Kimi no Suki na Toko and
fake star. The album will contain 13 songs. So far only one edition has been announced and there seems to be no first press announced this time around too. You might want to try your luck and order early though, since it seems that he always has unannounced first presses.
AND! Isn't the cover of the album just PRICELESS. Sigh~ What kind of 36 year-old would act so bloody cute on his album cover. Sigh~
Also, the PV of Canvas has aired on 15th February and is already available for download on JPS.
Dates have also been released for Ken's 2008 live tour. Here they are:
5/2（金）･･･日本武道館
5/11（日）･･･三重ｻﾝｱﾘｰﾅ
5/18（日）･･･広島ｸﾞﾘｰﾝｱﾘｰﾅ
5/24（土）･･･旧ﾚｲﾝﾎﾞｰﾎｰﾙ
6/1（日）･･･真駒内ｱｲｽｱﾘｰﾅ
6/8（日）･･･神戸ﾜｰﾙﾄﾞ記念ﾎｰﾙ
6/14（土）･･･ｻﾝﾄﾞｰﾑ福井
6/17（火）･･･大阪城ﾎｰﾙ
6/20（金）･･･静岡ｴｺﾊﾟｱﾘｰﾅ
6/22（日）･･･ﾎｯﾄﾊｳｽｽｰﾊﾟｰｱﾘｰﾅ
6/29（日）･･･ｱｽﾃｨ徳島
7/6（日）･･･ﾏﾘﾝﾒｯｾ福岡
7/13（日）･･･さいたまｽｰﾊﾟｰｱﾘｰﾅ
7/20（日）･･･宜野湾海浜公園野外劇場
BAH I WANT TO WATCH THE ONE SCHEDULED ON MY BIRTHDAY.
Labels: Hirai Ken, Ken News
KIRA☆KIRA KEN PAPER Vol. 3
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
Hirai Ken stars in the latest Lipton CM, in which he sings his new song
"君はス・テ・キ♡" (
Kimi wa SU.TE.KI ♡). Be prepared for a shock though, the song is NOTHING like you'd expect it to be. Think Energizer bunny gone very wrong. There's also a making-of video, which is nothing much really. He just says how nice the drink is (duh, you're endorsing it silly) and then he gets to celebrate his birthday with the crew. And they gave him flowers, which I suppose is just really apt. xD
[Click here to watch the CM & Making Of]If you're lazy to watch it, here's some screencaps of the CM. The video was rather LQ so these aren't very clear either.
And these are from the making-of.
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[Edit]Ok, so now Yahoo! News Japan has posted ANOTHER video too. This is a different making of video with a different interview and slightly longer footage of Hirai Ken's Birthday thingo at the back.
Watch out for the part before he blows the candles out where he says "I'm going to fuu ok?". He's such a little boy. xD *shakes head*
He also tries to say "Hai" when he is smiling (like =D kind of smile), which makes it sound like "HEH". xD
Also, Ken's song
"写真" (
Shashin), which has no scheduled release date yet, is used for the JRA CM. You can listen to a one minute clip of his song in the CM.
Labels: Hirai Ken, Ken News
KIRA☆KIRA KEN PAPER Vol. 2
Thursday, January 31, 2008
Just a little update on Hirai Ken's latest single. The official tracklist has already been released and here it is:
1. キャンバス (Canvas)
2. 君はス・テ・キ (Kimi wa SU.TE.KI)
3. Cry&Smile!!
4. キャンバス (Piano version)
5. キャンバス (Instrumental)
6. 君はス・テ・キ (Instrumental)
Also, it is FINALLY up for preorder on all major online stores, so here are some links if you're looking for them.
Do note that this single will not have a first press (as was initially reported) but rather will be a LIMITED EDITION, so be sure to preorder early!
Ok so it's not longer going to be Limited Edition, and I don't really know whether there will be a First press. So, er.... take your chances. xD
Labels: Hirai Ken, Ken News
KIRA☆KIRA KEN PAPER Vol. 1
Friday, January 25, 2008
No other English blog (I think) covers Hirai Ken news on a regular basis, so I think I should start posting up stuff on him.
The cover for Hirai Ken's latest single Canvas / Kimi wa Su.Te.Ki is already out, along with a promotional picture.
(Cover on the left, promo picture on the right) It looks absolutely revolting. Can't he even give us a decent cover? I've already said this on JPM's forums, but it
looks like some fan saw Hirai Ken, whipped out her phone, snapped a picture and threatened death upon the producers to use it as a cover.
Let's hope my information is wrong and he comes up with a better cover.
Other basic information about this single:
NEW SINGLE
キャンバス(Canvas)/君はス・テ・キ (Kimi wa su.te.ki)
DFCL-1400 (CD)
2008/2/20
1,223 Yen (tax in)
1. キャンバス (Canvas)
2. 君はス・テ・キ (Kimi wa su-te-ki)
3. Cry&Smile!!
4. キャンバス (Piano version)
5. キャンバス (Instrumental)
6. 君はス・テ・キ (Instrumental)
This single hasn't been very well-received by the fans so far, much due to these songs being very ordinary sounding. Add on to that the cover that has been released, I'm not seeing very good odds for Hirai Ken here. The only selling factor is probably it being the theme song for Honey & Clover (Hachimitsu to Clover). You can take a listen to the song [HERE].
Still on Hirai Ken, he has been chosen to sing the theme song for the movie "Ano Sora wo Oboeteru", which stars Yutaka Takenouchi and Miki Mizuno as a couple that faces a tragic accident (ANOTHER accident? The Japanese are sadistic). The song is titled "Itsuka Hanareru Hi ga Kite mo" and you can hear a bit of it
[HERE]. No release date has been confirmed yet.
This song is much better than Canvas and all those other songs, so that's a start at least.
So yes, this is the start of me covering Hirai Ken news on a regular basis, until I get sick of him, which I doubt I will anytime soon.
Also, I saw this item on ebay and just snatched it up so quickly.
I'm a happy fan. xD
Labels: Hirai Ken, Ken News
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* Kenken's films vol.9 has been announced too, set to be release on the same day as his single. The DVD will contain the PVs of 6 songs - POP STAR, Bye My Melody, Elegy, Kimi no Suki na Toko, fake star and Canvas. It also contains a multi-angle thingy for Elegy, so I suppose that's worth looking out for... or not. [PREORDER IT HERE!]
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Just a little update on Hirai Ken's latest single. The official tracklist has already been released and here it is:
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