Winners of Music Awards Japan (MAJ) 2025 - Grand Ceremony (22 May 2025)

Here are the winners announced during the grand ceremony of Music Awards Japan 2025 on 22 May 2025:

Song of the Year: "Bling-Bang-Bang-Born" by Creepy Nuts

Artist of the Year: Mrs. GREEN APPLE

New Artist of the Year: tuki.

Album of the Year: "LOVE ALL SERVE ALL" by Fujii Kaze

Top Global Hit from Japan: "Idol" by YOASOBI

Best Song - Asia: "Supernova" by aespa

Best Viral Song: "Bling-Bang-Bang-Born" by Creepy Nuts

Best of Listeners' Choice - Japanese Song: "GOAT" by Number_i

Special Award - Korean Popular Music: "God of Music" by SEVENTEEN

Special Award - Chinese Popular Music: "Shao guan wo" by Zhou Shen

Special Award - Thai Popular Music: "Ghost" by Jeff Satur

Special Award - Indonesian Popular Music: "Bunga Hati" by Salma Salsabil

Special Award - Vietnamese Popular Music: "Tai Sinh" by Tung Duong

Special Award - Philippine Popular Music: "Raining in Manila" by Lola Amour

Best of Listeners' Choice - International Song: "Neva Play (feat. RM of BTS)" by Megan Thee Stallion

Best Japanese Hip Hop / Rap Artist: Creepy Nuts

Best Idol Artist / Group: Snow Man

MAJ Timeless Echo: Yazawa Eikichi

Karaoke of the Year - J-pop: "Lilac" by Mrs. GREEN APPLE

Karaoke of the Year - Enka / Kayokyoku: "Showa Katagi" by Tendo Yoshimi

Special Award - Oshi-katsu request Artist of the Year: Number_i

Song of the Year for Creators: "Idol" by YOASOBI

Winners of Music Awards Japan (MAJ) 2025 - Premiere Ceremony (21 May 2025)

The Music Awards Japan (abbreviated as MAJ), is a music awards show held by the Japanese music industry to honour music talents from Asia, Japan and the Western regions and introduce Asian music to the global audience. The awards are organized by the Japan Culture and Entertainment Industry Promotion Association (CEIPA) in collaboration with the Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI). CEIPA was founded by the five major music organizations of the Japanese music industry i.e. the Recording Industry Association of Japan (RIAJ), the Japan Association of Music Enterprises, the Federation of Music Producers Japan, the Music Publishers Association of Japan, and the All Japan Concert & Live Entertainment Promoter's Conference and is responsible for the organization, marketing and hosting of the Music Awards Japan.

The list of eligible works and artists was generated through an automatic system based on data from Oricon, Billboard Japan, GfK Japan, Luminate, Usen, Daiichi Kosho Company, JASRAC etc. The artist concerned must have released at least one work during the qualification period of 29 January 2024 to 26 January 2025. 

The nominees (up to 5 per category) were then decided by a panel from the Japanese music industry. An international panel then decided on the winner for each category. However, the following categories' nominees and winners were selected through a public voting exercise via Spotify:

• Best of Listeners' Choice: Japanese Song
• Best of Listeners' Choice: International Song

The winners for the inaugural edition of MAJ will be announced over two days i.e. during the premiere ceremony on 21 May and the grand ceremony on 22 May, both held at Rohm Theater in Kyoto.

* Note that the announcement website provides links to various streaming/download portals to listen to the winning songs.

* The delayed-live stream of the grand ceremony can be viewed here.

Here are the winners announced during the premiere ceremony:

Best Japanese Song: "Bling-Bang-Bang-Born" by Creepy Nuts

Best J-Rock Song: "SPECIALZ" by King Gnu

Best Japanese Hip Hop / Rap Song: "Bling-Bang-Bang-Born" by Creepy Nuts

Best Japanese R&B / Contemporary Song: "Automatic" by Utada Hikaru

Best Japanese Dance Pop Song: "Bling-Bang-Bang-Born" by Creepy Nuts

Best Japanese Alternative Song: "more than words" by Hitsujibungaku

Best Japanese Singer-Songwriter Song: "Kaiju no Hanauta" by Vaundy

Best Idol Culture Song: "Watashi no ichiban kawaii tokoro" by FRUITS ZIPPER

Best Anime Song: "Idol" by YOASOBI

Best Enka / Kayokyoku: "Kurenai no chou" by Yamauchi Keisuke

Best Revival Hit Song: "Peppermint Blue" by Ohtaki Eiichi

Best Cross-Border Collaboration Song: "Feelin' Go(o)d" by Fujii Kaze / A.G. Cook

Best Instrumental Song: "aruarian dance" by Nujabes

Best Vocaloid Culture Song: "Senbonzakura" by Kurousa

Best Music Video: "Idol" by YOASOBI

Best Dance Performance: "Otonablue" by Atarashii Gakko!

Best Viral Song: "Bling-Bang-Bang-Born" by Creepy Nuts

Top Japanese Song in Asia: "Lemon" by Yonezu Kenshi

Top Japanese Song in Europe: "Bling-Bang-Bang-Born" by Creepy Nuts

Top Japanese Song in North America: "Bling-Bang-Bang-Born" by Creepy Nuts

Top Japanese Song in Latin America: "Bling-Bang-Bang-Born" by Creepy Nuts

Best International Pop Song in Japan: "APT." by ROSE & Bruno Mars

Best International Rock Song in Japan: "feelslikeimfallinginlove" by Coldplay

Best International Hip Hop / Rap Song in Japan: "Not Like Us" by Kendrick Lamar

Best International R & B / Contemporary Song in Japan: "we can't be friends (wait for your love)" by Ariana Grande

Best International Alternative Song in Japan: "BIRDS OF A FEATHER" by Billie Eilish

Best K-pop Song in Japan: "Ditto" by NewJeans

Best Jazz Album: "Step Into Paradise - LIVE IN TOKYO -" by Yano Akiko x Hiromi

Best Classical Album: "Opus" by Sakamoto Ryuichi

Best Japanese Song Artist: Mrs. GREEN APPLE

Best J-Rock Artist: King Gnu

Best Japanese R & B / Contemporary Artist: Utada Hikaru

Best Japanese Dance Pop Artist: Atarashii Gakko!

Best Japanese Alternative Artist: Hitsujibungaku

Best Japanese Singer-Songwriter: Fujii Kaze

Largest Live Audience: WEST.

Best Radio-Break Song: "Ai ga issou mellow" by Rikon Densetsu

Best Dance / Electronic Song in association with JDDA: "Edison" by Suiyoubi no Campanella

Best DJ in association with JDDA: DJ Nobu

For some Japanese classic songs on New Year's Eve, how about watching "Toshiwasure Nippon no Uta" on TV Tokyo?

Trust TV Tokyo to buck the trend...again!

In recent years, it has been said that many music shows are catering to the young people only which inevitably means that veteran singers face limited performing opportunities as a result. For example, NHK's Kouhaku Utagassen has been criticised for its dwindling number of enka and kayoukyoku (Showa era pop music) singers in its annual lineup as it focuses on relatively newer and more popular Japanese and Korean artists.

And so for those who have no idea about the so-called "hot" artists these days or K-POP groups, TV Tokyo comes to their rescue.

There is this program called "Toshiwasure Nippon no Uta" (literally meaning "the songs of Japan to forget about the past year") which is aired every New Year's Eve over the past 55 years. Viewers can watch familiar faces belt out songs which "everyone should know" over 6 hours from 4pm to 10pm. 

Josei Jishin did an interview with the program's producer Hoshi Shunichi where he spoke about the show's stance and interesting titbits about what goes on behind the scenes. As such, I'm sharing the highlights of this interview so that you can know more about this show and how it tries to plug the gap in needs from viewers who seem to have been "forgotten".

- Hoshi joined TV Tokyo in 2000 and has worked on this show for a long time. Due to the fact that this program features a lineup of many big name singers, TV Tokyo which has a small workforce, mobilises its entire production staff to work on this program. Newbies would start off with being asked to call the singers to standby at the side of the stage and gradually take on more significant tasks.

- However, many young staff members do not know enka or kayoukyoku songs or the singers so they have to start off by learning about and remembering the faces of the singers. The funny thing is, it is difficult to remember everyone even with this pre-preparation and there have been many occasions where the staff is calling for a particular singer without realising that he/she is already standing beside the staff concerned!

- The show used to be broadcast live until 2014 but is now filmed in advance with a live audience and includes video inserts of past performances. This is in contrast with the Kouhaku or the Nippon Record Taisho which are broadcast live. 

The main reason why the broadcast format was changed is due to ratings. The TV station did their best to boost ratings while trying to keep the "live" format but to no avail. Surprisingly, by doing a pre-recorded show with past footage to enrich the content, the ratings actually went up.

- Back then when all 3 shows were live on New Year's Eve, there would be unexpected incidents such as those who were appearing on multiple shows being delayed due to reasons like traffic jams. It was often that the younger staff would have mixed up the faces of the singers and later found out that those who were supposed to be on stand-by had actually not arrived. When that happened, the staff had to adjust to these challenges in a flexible manner and change the appearance order if needed.

- As the production team already expects that they won't beat the NHK Kouhaku Utagassen in terms of ratings, the aim of the show is to provide a place where those who don't know the latest artists or K-POP can enjoy New Year's Eve listening to classics which almost everyone should know.

- In the past, the criteria in deciding the songs to be performed was partly based on the Kouhaku's lineup i.e. as long as it isn't a new song to be performed there, they could do it on their show. However, as times changed, the number of hit songs per year isn't as many as before and they tend to be songs which the older generations do not know. As such, the focus of the program changed to songs which are widely known across generations. This is also in line with their policy of featuring songs which you don't get to hear often in daily life so you should get to hear these classics to wrap up the year.

- Ironically though, as I mentioned before in a post about TV Tokyo's size and broadcast reach, the producer himself is unable to watch the program live at his hometown in Fukushima when he returns home for the holidays. And his family has the longstanding habit of watching Kouhaku on that night. As such, he hopes that they can broadcast this show via the Internet as soon as possible to reach these places where TV Tokyo's programs cannot be seen so that he can finally watch the show with his parents.

Source: Josei Jishin

Winners of the 35th Japan Gold Disc Awards (2021)

For the full list of winners and nominees, please refer to here. 

Artist of the Year
Japanese Music: ARASHI (2 years in a row, 7 times winning this award to date)
Western Music: QUEEN (3 years in a row, 4 times winning this award to date)

Best Asian Artist: BTS

Best Enka Artist: Hikawa Kiyoshi

New artist of the year

Japanese Music: SixTONES

Western Music: Jawsh 685

Asian: TOMORROW X TOGETHER

Album of the year

Japanese Music: [STRAY SHEEP] by Yonezu Kenshi

Western Music: [Chromatica] by Lady Gaga

Asian: [MAP OF THE SOUL: 7 ~ THE JOURNEY ~] by BTS

Single of the year

[Imitation Rain / D.D.] by SixTONES vs Snow Man

[D.D. / Imitation Rain] by Snow Man vs. SixTONES

Music video of the year

[ARASHI Anniversary Tour 5x20] by Arashi

[Steel Wheels Live] by The Rolling Stones

[BTS WORLD TOUR 'LOVE YOURSELF: SPEAK YOURSELF' - JAPAN EDITION] by BTS

Song of the year by downloads

Japanese Music: "I LOVE...] by Official Hige Dandism

Western Music: "Closer (Tokyo Remix) feat. Arata Mackenyu" by The Chainsmokers

Asian: "Dynamite" by BTS

Special Award: "Kosui" by Eito / LiSA

Winners of the 33rd Japan Gold Disc Award 2019

Here is the list of winners for the 33rd Japan Gold Disc Award 2019:

Artist of the Year
(Japanese music) Amuro Namie
(Western music) Queen

Best Asian Artist
BTS

Best Enka Artist
Hikawa Kiyoshi

New Artist of the Year
(Japanese music) King & Prince
(Western music) Alan Walker
(Asian music) SEVENTEEN

Album of the Year
(Japanese music) "Umi no Oh, Yeah!!" - Southern All Stars
(Western music) "Bohemian Rhapsody Original Soundtrack" - Queen
(Asian music) "FACE YOURSELF" - BTS

Single of the Year
"Teacher  Teacher" - AKB48

Song of the Year
(Japanese music) "Lemon" - Yonezu Kenshi
(Western music) "The Middle" - Zedd, Maren Morris, Grey
(Asian music) "Candy Pop" - TWICE

Best Music Video
(Japanese music) "namie amuro Final Tour 2018 ~ Finally ~" - Amuro Namie
(Japanese music) "ARASHI LIVE TOUR 2017-2018 untitled" - Arashi
(Japanese music) "Hey! Say! JUMP I/Oth Anniversary Tour 2017-2018" - Hey! Say! JUMP
(Western music) "From the Vault: No Security San Jose 1999" - The Rolling Stones
(Asian music) "2017 BTS LIVE TRILOGY EPISODE III THE WINGS TOURIN JAPAN ~ SPECIAL EDITION ~ at KYOCERA DO" - BTS

Special Award
"U.S.A." - DA PUMP

Source: Oricon

Oda Kazumasa to sing the theme song for TBS Spring 2018 drama "Black Pean"

Oda Kazumasa will be singing the theme song for TBS Spring 2018 drama "Black Pean" starring Ninomiya Kazunari which will begin its run from 22 April in the Sundays 9pm timeslot. The song titled "Kono michi wo" is Oda's first theme song for a TBS drama in 8 years since 2010's "Juui Dolittle" starring Oguri Shun. and his 15th drama theme song to date.

Oda revealed that when he got the offer to write the theme song, he already decided on which style to use for the melody. However, he was unsure of what lyrics to write until he repeatedly read the information he received and came up with the final concept which aims to convey the passion which the staff and cast have for the drama.

Utada Hikaru to sing the image song for TBS Spring 2018 drama "Hana nochi hare ~ Hanadan Next Season ~"

Utada Hikaru will be singing the image song for TBS Spring 2018 drama "Hana nochi hare ~ Hanadan Next Season ~" which will begin its run from 17 April in the Tuesdays 10pm timeslot. This is the first time in 11 years since Utada sang an image song for the Hanadan series since 2007's "Flavor of Life - Ballad Version -". Utada who is a fan of the original manga, was approached by the drama's producer to write and sing the image song which will be revealed for the first time in the pilot episode.

Source: Natalie

TOKIO's Joshima Shigeru to sing the theme song for TV Asahi Spring 2018 drama "Kaseifu no Mitazono 2" in his female persona

TOKIO's Joshima Shigeru will be singing the theme song for TV Asahi Spring 2018 drama "Kaseifu no Mitazono 2" starring fellow member Matsuoka Masahiro which will be shown from 20 April in the Fridays 11.15pm timeslot. However, he will be appearing in his female persona Shima Shigeko who is a 47-year-old singer created last August when "she" sang the song "Onna no sakamichi" written by "herself" which was the coupling song for TOKIO's single "Kumo". The theme song "Zaregoto" (Nonsense) will be included in "her" same-titled solo debut DVD to be released on 16 May and the first press limited edition comes with a calendar featuring her photos. For the first press normal edition, the Shigeko Zaregoto Sugoroku board game will be included.

Hoshino Gen to sing the theme song for new NHK morning drama "Hanbun, Aoi"

Hoshino Gen will be singing the theme song for the new NHK morning drama "Hanbun, Aoi" which will begin its run from 2 April at 8am from Mondays to Saturdays. The up-tempo song titled "Idea" was written by Hoshino specially for this drama which is in line with the story that describes how the heroine Suzume comes up with a great invention after suffering a setback in her initial dream of becoming a manga artist. This will be his first theme song for a NHK drama. Hoshino revealed that he was very excited when he got the offer and hoped that his song will be able to support everyone's morning together with the heroine who will show her strong energy and positiveness in the drama.

Sources: Nikkansports / Yomiuri Hochi / Sponichi

Nishino Kana to sing the theme song & insert songs for new movie "Tonari no Kaibutsu-kun"

Nishino Kana will be singing the theme song and insert song for new movie "Tonari no Kaibutsu-kun" starring Suda Masaki and Tsuchiya Tao which will be shown in cinemas from 27 April. This will be the first time in two years that Nishino is singing a movie's theme song since 2016's "Kodaike no Hitobito" and the first for her to have multiple songs used in the same movie. The theme song titled "You & Me" will be Nishino's first single released this year to mark her 10th anniversary since her debut (20 February) and is a love song with rap to present a girl's true thoughts while there will be as many as 5 insert songs featured in the movie including the 2010 release "Best Friend".

Nishino commented that she was very happy to be able to sing the songs for this movie and hoped that the audience would be reminded of the importance to reinforce the bonds they have with the important people in their lives after watching this movie.

Sources: Sanspo / Sponichi / Yomiuri Hochi

m-flo to sing the theme song for new movie "Kyounen no Fuyu, Kimi to wakare"

m-flo will be singing the theme song for new movie "Kyounen no Fuyu, Kimi to wakare" starring Iwata Takanori. The new song titled "never" marks the return of their former member LISA and was specially written for the movie. m-flo commented that even though the title appears unrelated to the movie, the song is different from the usual ballads and contains many elements of m-flo's style so they hoped that the viewers can get to hear the song as soon as possible.

Takehara Pistol to sing the ending theme song for TV Tokyo Winter 2018 drama "Byplayers ~ Moshimo meiwakiyaku ga Teleto asadora de mujintou seikatsu shitara ~"

Takehara Pistol will be singing the ending theme song for the upcoming TV Tokyo Winter 2018 drama "Byplayers ~ Moshimo meiwakiyaku ga Teleto asadora de mujintou seikatsu shitara ~" starring Endo Kenichi, Oosugi Ren, Taguchi Tomorowo, Matsushige Yutaka and Mitsuishi Ken which will begin its run from 7 February. This is the second time that Takehara is singing the ending theme for the drama series as his song "Forever Young" was also used in the first series. This time, his new song titled "Gomibako kara, Blues" will be performed in front of the main cast members during the ending credits. Takehara expressed his gratitude to be given the chance twice to sing the ending theme song for this drama series and said that the ending credits clip is meant to project the idea of singing this song about not giving up in front of a group of men who have never given up. The song will be released via online streaming portals from the same day the drama is broadcast.

Source: Natalie

Beverly to sing the theme song for FujiTV Winter 2018 drama "Kuragehime"

Beverly who is from the Philippines and made her debut in May 2017, will be singing the theme song for FujiTV Winter 2018 drama "Kuragehime" starring Yoshine Kyoko which will begin its run from January in the Mondays 9pm timeslot. This will be her first attempt at singing a theme song for a Getsuku drama but her 5th drama theme song to date even though she debuted less than a year ago. The ballad titled "A New Day" is based on the theme of love and will be released as a single on 28 February.

Sources: Sanspo / Sponichi

Ozawa Kenji to sing the theme song for new movie "River's Edge"

Singer-songwriter Ozawa Kenji will be singing the theme song for new movie "River's Edge" starring Nikaidou Fumi and Yoshizawa Ryo. This will be Ozawa's first movie theme song and the movie will be released in cinemas from February 2018. The song titled "Arpeggio (Kitto mahou no tunnel no saki)" was written specially for this movie after he was approached by the movie company and Okazaki Kyoko, his close friend of more than 20 years who is also the author of the original manga. Although the release date for the song is not confirmed, the lyrics are already available for viewing on Ozawa's official website "Hifumiyo" from 1 December. It was also revealed that the leads would be involved with the song in one way or another but the details have not been announced.

Sources: Sponichi / Eiga.com

Performing order and song list for the 68th NHK Kouhaku Utagassen

NHK announced the performing order and song list for the 68th Kouhaku Utagassen to be shown on New Year's Eve. Numbers in brackets indicate the number of times which the artist/group has appeared on Kouhaku including this year's performance. Note that Amuro Namie and Kuwata Keisuke's performance details are performing as special singers thus are neither in the red or white groups so their names are not mentioned here:

Mr.Children to sing the theme song for FujiTV Winter 2018 drama "Tonari no kazoku wa aoku mieru"

Mr.Children will be singing the theme song for FujiTV Winter 2018 drama "Tonari no kazoku wa aoku mieru" starring Fukada Kyoko and Matsuyama Kenichi which will begin its run from 18 January 2018 in the Thursdays 10pm timeslot. The ballad titled "here comes my love" was written specially by Mr.Children for this drama and describes the theme of moving forward towards hope while coping with insecurities and worries.

Sources: Nikkansports / Sanspo

Suda Masaki to sing the theme song for NTV Winter 2018 drama "Todome no Kiss"

Suda Masaki will be singing the theme song for NTV Winter 2018 drama "Todome no Kiss" starring Yamazaki Kento which begins its run from 7 January 2018 in the Sundays 10pm timeslot. This will be the first time that Suda is singing a drama's theme song and this will be released as a single on 21 February 2018. Suda will also be appearing in the drama as a mysterious musician.

Oda Kazumasa to sing the theme song for new movie "Sakamichi no Aporon"

Oda Kazumasa will be singing the theme song for new movie "Sakamichi no Aporon" starring Chinen Yuri, Nakagawa Taishi and Komatsu Nana which will be shown in cinemas from 10 March 2018. The movie which is based on the same-titled manga by Kodama Yuki, features Chinen as the lead character Nishimi Kaoru who is a shy 1st-year senior high school student and has to move to Sasebo, Nagasaki to live with his relatives after his father passed away. He meets his classmates Kawabuchi Sentaro (Nakagawa) who is feared by others for appearing to be a scary delinquent and Mukae Ritsuko (Komatsu) who is Sentaro's childhood friend and comes into contact with jazz piano which he grows to love. On the other hand, Kaoru finds himself caught in a love triangle as Ritsuko likes Sentaro who is in turn in love with Fukahori Yurika, a 2nd-year student in the same school.

List of artistes appearing on the 68th NHK Kouhaku Utagassen announced

Here is the list of artistes appearing on the 68th NHK Kouhaku Utagassen to be held on 31 December 2017 in alphabetical order. The numbers in brackets indicate the number of appearances to date on Kouhaku inclusive of this year:

Ninomiya Kazunari, Arimura Kasumi & Uchimura Teruyoshi to be the hosts for "68th NHK Kouhaku Utagassen"

Ninomiya Kazunari, Arimura Kasumi and Uchimura Teruyoshi will be the hosts for the "68th NHK Kouhaku Utagassen" due to be shown on New Year's Eve from 7.15pm to 11.45pm. This is the first time that Ninomiya will be the white team's host on a solo basis although he had done this with his fellow Arashi members five years in a row from 2010 to 2014. Arimura takes on the same post for the red team two years in a row. Last but not least, Uchimura is the main host for the programme which makes it a first for him although he had appeared as a member of music unit Pocket Biscuits in the 49th edition.