Takahiro Morita
Encyclopedia
One Ok Rock is a Japan
ese rock band formed in 2005, composed of four members: Taka
, Toru, Ryota, and Tomoya. They originally consisted of fifth member, Alex, but he has left the group since.
The band had various singles that entered the Oricon
charts, catapulting them as one of the most promising artists in the Japanese rock scene. They have released four albums as of 2010, and with the success of their latest album Niche Syndrome they solidified their J-rock status in Japan and across the globe.
dance group, Heads, to learn the Bass and asked Alex to join. After seeing Taka, a vocalist, perform in a cover band, Toru saw him as the best possible candidate for a vocalist in their band, and insisted that he join. Tomoya, the last member to join, joined One Ok Rock as a drummer in 2007. Tomoya had played with the band on all their albums but only became an official member when they debuted.
The band's name, One Ok Rock, came from "one o'clock," the time that the band used to practice on weekends. However, noticing that the Japanese language
made no distinction between r's and l's, they changed "o'clock" to "o'crock" (or "o'krock") which then was separated to become "ok rock".
After Alex left the band in May 2009, the band released the single "Kanzen Kankaku Dreamer" on February 3, 2010. It was featured 9th in the Weekly Oricon
Charts. They released their fourth studio album titled Niche Syndrome on June 9, 2010. Their next single "Answer Is Near" was released on February 16, 2011.
The band released their first double A-side single "Re:make/No Scared" on July 20, 2011, the latter song being the main theme for the Black Rock Shooter
videogame.
The band's fifth album, Zankyo Reference
is scheduled to be released on October 5, 2011.
. Prior to debuting with One Ok Rock, he was a member of NEWS
, a Japanese Music Group under Johnny's Entertainment. is the guitarist of the group. He also contributes some vocals. He was a member of the hip-hop dance group Heads. is the bassist of the group. He was also a member of Heads. is the drummer of the group.
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese rock band formed in 2005, composed of four members: Taka
Takahiro Morita
One Ok Rock is a Japanese rock band formed in 2005, composed of four members: Taka, Toru, Ryota, and Tomoya. They originally consisted of fifth member, Alex, but he has left the group since....
, Toru, Ryota, and Tomoya. They originally consisted of fifth member, Alex, but he has left the group since.
The band had various singles that entered the Oricon
Oricon
, established in 1999, is the holding company at the head of a Japanese corporate group that supplies statistics and information on music and the music industry in Japan. It started as , which was founded by Sōkō Koike in November 1967 and became known for its music charts. Oricon Inc...
charts, catapulting them as one of the most promising artists in the Japanese rock scene. They have released four albums as of 2010, and with the success of their latest album Niche Syndrome they solidified their J-rock status in Japan and across the globe.
History
The foundation for One Ok Rock began when Toru Yamashita, then a high school student, wanted to start a band. Toru told his friend Ryota Kohama, who had been a fellow member of hip hopHip hop
Hip hop is a form of musical expression and artistic culture that originated in African-American and Latino communities during the 1970s in New York City, specifically the Bronx. DJ Afrika Bambaataa outlined the four pillars of hip hop culture: MCing, DJing, breaking and graffiti writing...
dance group, Heads, to learn the Bass and asked Alex to join. After seeing Taka, a vocalist, perform in a cover band, Toru saw him as the best possible candidate for a vocalist in their band, and insisted that he join. Tomoya, the last member to join, joined One Ok Rock as a drummer in 2007. Tomoya had played with the band on all their albums but only became an official member when they debuted.
The band's name, One Ok Rock, came from "one o'clock," the time that the band used to practice on weekends. However, noticing that the Japanese language
Japanese language
is a language spoken by over 130 million people in Japan and in Japanese emigrant communities. It is a member of the Japonic language family, which has a number of proposed relationships with other languages, none of which has gained wide acceptance among historical linguists .Japanese is an...
made no distinction between r's and l's, they changed "o'clock" to "o'crock" (or "o'krock") which then was separated to become "ok rock".
After Alex left the band in May 2009, the band released the single "Kanzen Kankaku Dreamer" on February 3, 2010. It was featured 9th in the Weekly Oricon
Oricon
, established in 1999, is the holding company at the head of a Japanese corporate group that supplies statistics and information on music and the music industry in Japan. It started as , which was founded by Sōkō Koike in November 1967 and became known for its music charts. Oricon Inc...
Charts. They released their fourth studio album titled Niche Syndrome on June 9, 2010. Their next single "Answer Is Near" was released on February 16, 2011.
The band released their first double A-side single "Re:make/No Scared" on July 20, 2011, the latter song being the main theme for the Black Rock Shooter
Black Rock Shooter
is a 2010 Japanese original video animation produced by Yutaka Yamamoto's studio Ordet, written by Nagaru Tanigawa and Shinobu Yoshioka, and directed by Shinobu Yoshioka. The 50-minute OVA is based on the song of the same name by Supercell and its accompanying music video with illustrations by...
videogame.
The band's fifth album, Zankyo Reference
Zankyo Reference
is the fifth full-length album by the Japanese band ONE OK ROCK. It was released on October 5, 2011.- Track Listing :...
is scheduled to be released on October 5, 2011.
Members
is the main vocalist of the group. He is the son of Shinichi MoriShinichi Mori
is a Japanese male enka singer and composer, who also sings folk and pop music. Nishinippon Shimbun claims that his total sales of gramophone records and CDs has been over 90 million copies....
. Prior to debuting with One Ok Rock, he was a member of NEWS
NeWS
NeWS was a windowing system developed by Sun Microsystems in the mid 1980s. Originally known as "SunDew", its primary authors were James Gosling and David S. H. Rosenthal...
, a Japanese Music Group under Johnny's Entertainment. is the guitarist of the group. He also contributes some vocals. He was a member of the hip-hop dance group Heads. is the bassist of the group. He was also a member of Heads. is the drummer of the group.
Former members
- Alexander Onizawa (born March 19, 1988 in San Francisco) was the guitarist of the group alongside with Toru, until he left in May 2009 after being arrested on charges of groping.
Albums
| Year | Information | Oricon Oricon , established in 1999, is the holding company at the head of a Japanese corporate group that supplies statistics and information on music and the music industry in Japan. It started as , which was founded by Sōkō Koike in November 1967 and became known for its music charts. Oricon Inc... charts |
|
|---|---|---|---|
| Weekly |
Sales | ||
| 2007 | Zeitakubyō
|
15 | 26,000 |
| 2008 | Beam of Light Beam of Light Beam of Light is the second album by the Japanese band One Ok Rock, released on May 28, 2008. It reached seventeenth place on the Oricon weekly chart and charted for four weeks.-Track listing:# # # "100%"# "Abduction-Interlude"# #... |
17 | 13,000 |
| Kanjō Effect
|
13 | 22,000 | |
| 2010 | Niche Syndrome
|
4 | 26,000 |
| 2011 | Zankyo Reference Zankyo Reference is the fifth full-length album by the Japanese band ONE OK ROCK. It was released on October 5, 2011.- Track Listing :... |
2 | 66,011 |
EPs
| Year | Title | Oricon charts | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Weekly |
Sales | ||
| 2006 | One Ok Rock
|
— | — |
| Keep It Real
|
102 | 4,700 |
Singles
| Year | Title | Chart positions | Oricon sales |
Album | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oricon Oricon , established in 1999, is the holding company at the head of a Japanese corporate group that supplies statistics and information on music and the music industry in Japan. It started as , which was founded by Sōkō Koike in November 1967 and became known for its music charts. Oricon Inc... Singles Charts |
Billboard Billboard (magazine) Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis... Japan Hot 100 Japan Hot 100 The Japan Hot 100 is a music singles chart in Japan. It is compiled by Billboard and Hanshin Contents Link ever since February 2008. The chart is updated every Wednesday at billboard-japan.com and every Thursday at billboard.com .... * |
RIAJ RIAJ Digital Track Chart The is chart ranks the best selling digital singles in Japan, provided by the Recording Industry Association of Japan since April 2009. The chart measures cellphone downloads .... digital tracks* |
||||
| 2007 | 48 | — | — | 15,000 | Zeitakubyō | |
| 43 | — | — | 9,200 | |||
| 29 | — | — | 6,700 | |||
| 2008 | † | — | — | — | — | Beam of Light Beam of Light Beam of Light is the second album by the Japanese band One Ok Rock, released on May 28, 2008. It reached seventeenth place on the Oricon weekly chart and charted for four weeks.-Track listing:# # # "100%"# "Abduction-Interlude"# #... |
| † | — | — | — | — | Kanjō Effect | |
| 2010 | 9 | 45 | 53 | 17,000 | Niche Syndrome | |
| ‡ | — | — | 98 | — | ||
| 2011 | "Answer Is Near" (アンサイズニア) | 6 | 13 | 27 | 37,000 | Zankyo Reference Zankyo Reference is the fifth full-length album by the Japanese band ONE OK ROCK. It was released on October 5, 2011.- Track Listing :... |
| 2011 | "Re:make/NO SCARED" | 6 | 10 | 21 | 46,000 | |
"—" denotes releases that did not chart. † Radio singles. ‡ Released as a rental CD at Tsutaya. |
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