is a Japanese pop boy band managed by Vision Factory and signed to the Pony Canyon label since 2000. The group consists of Ryohei Chiba and Keita Tachibana; Ryuichi Ogata left the group in 2020. Tachibana is the lead singer of the group, while Chiba and Ogata provide backing vocals and rap.
W-inds released their debut single, "Forever Memories", in 2001. They were named "Best New Artists" at the Japan Cable Awards and Japan Record Awards for the release of "Paradox." In addition to selling 5 million copies of CDs in Japan, W-inds has earned numerous awards and accolades from China, Hong Kong, and South Korea.
History
Pre-debut
In 2000, Keita Tachibana from Fukuoka passed the Starlight Auditions hosted by Vision Factory and was signed onto their label. In the same year, Ryohei Chiba and Ryuichi Ogata, who attended the same dance school in Sapporo, passed dance auditions to join the group. The three moved to Tokyo to live together, and in November, began street performances in Yoyogi Park and Shibuya to promote their activities.
2001–2002: 1st Message and The System of Alive
On March 14, 2001, W-inds released their first single, "Forever Memories", selling 216,590 copies. On June 17, they held their debut showcase at Asahikawa Medical University Medic Festival in Hokkaido. On July 4, 2001, their second single, titled "Feel the Fate", was released and their official website launched on the same day. which premiered on October 7 at the Ikebukuro Theater. On February 20, 2002, W-inds released their fourth single, titled "Try Your Emotion", which peaked at #2 on the weekly charts. Their fifth single, "Another Days", was released on May 22, 2002, and was used as the song to a commercial from Family Mart. Shortly after, W-inds collaborated with Lead, Flame, and Folder 5 with the single "World Needs Love", released under the collective name Earth Harmony. During the summer, their sixth single, "Because of You" on August 21, 2002, and was the first single apart from their first album to have Ogata rapping. November 13, 2002 saw the release of their seventh single, "New Paradise".
In the same year, w-inds. had their first nationwide tour for their first album, 1st Message. They extended their fanbase by briefly performing in Shanghai, China, as part of their tour. In addition to their activities, w-inds. made a brief cameo in the movie Nurse no Oshigoto The Movie as three soccer players.
At the end of 2002, w-inds. released their second album, The System of Alive on December 18, 2002. Similar to 2001, they promoted it at their Christmas fanclub event. Additionally, they gained the opportunity to perform at Kōhaku Uta Gassen for the first time, where they sang "New Paradise."
2003–2007: Expansion across Asia
w-inds. released their eighth single, "Super Lover (I Need You Tonight), on May 21, 2003. On August 21, 2003, they released "Love Is Message", with a musical style that was a departure from the former's dance beat nature. On October 29, 2003, they released "Long Road".
In 2004, Vision Factory included Taiwan as one of their locations for the Prime of Life tour. Following that, w-inds. made their debut in Taiwan. They became the only Japanese group invited to perform on the MTV Mandarin Awards in September 2006.
In 2006, w-inds. made an appearance on Mnet KM Music Festival, a music awards show in South Korea they were the first Japanese artists to ever appear on the show.
w-inds. also took part in a China-Japan music festival in 2006. In March 2007, the group flew to Beijing to participate in another China-Japan music festival along with two other Japanese artists. On July 2, 2007 w-inds. joined the Pop Rock Gala in celebrating the 10th anniversary of the establishment of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.
During the end of their Thanks tour, held from the summer of 2007 to the end of the year, w-inds. revealed their upcoming single, "Boogie Woogie 66", and filmed their promotional video at the concerts.
w-inds.' 22nd single, "Love Is the Greatest Thing", was released on July 4, 2007, as the theme song for the Japanese release of Shrek the Third. The song was sampled from De Souza's "Guilty", and peaked at #4, selling 34,416 copies.
2008–2011: Seventh Ave., Another World, 10th anniversary
In addition to their first double A side, "Everyday/Can't Get Back", in 2008, on May 13, 2009, w-inds. released another double A side, titled "Rain Is Fallin'/Hybrid Dream". "Rain Is Fallin'" was a collaboration and featured rap verses from G-Dragon from Big Bang, while "Hybrid Dream" was used as the theme song for the program Countdown Document Byo-Yomi! for the month of May. The single peaked at #2 and sold 48,577 copies.
From the summer of 2009 to the end of the year, w-inds. toured venues in Japan with the Sweet Fantasy Tour; in November, the tour extended to Taiwan and Hong Kong. The Hong Kong show pulled in a crowd of 8,000 people. Halfway throughout the tour, the concert held at Kanagawa, Omiya had to be truncated due to Tachibana falling ill.
W-inds released another double A-side single "New World/Truth (Saigo no Shinjitsu)" on December 9, 2009. The single debuted at #2 on the Oricon Weekly Charts. "Truth (Saigo no Shinjitsu)" was composed by the American singer and songwriters Ne-Yo and B. Howard, who acknowledged their talent after coming across their act. The promotional video for "Truth (Saigo no Shinjitsu)" was filmed during W-inds' stay in Hong Kong for the Sweet Fantasy Tour. The b-side to the single was titled "Tribute" and was a tribute to Michael Jackson.
Musical style
From their debut, w-inds.' musical style was mainly bubblegum pop, as it was the trend at the time. Tachibana, whose parents are both DJs, listened to American music growing up.
In 2002, manga artist Natsume Hirose wrote and illustrated a manga titled , which starred w-inds. as side characters. The manga lasted for three volumes and was serialized in Bessatsu Margaret.
They performed the theme song for the Japanese version of Shrek the Third, called "Love is the Greatest Thing".
Discography
Studio albums
- 1st Message (2001)
- The System of Alive (2002)
- Prime of Life (2003)
- Ageha (2005)
- Thanks (2006)
- Journey (2007)
- Seventh Avenue (2008)
- Another World (2010)
- Move Like This (2012)
- Timeless (2014)
- Blue Blood (2016)
- Invisible (2017)
- 100 (2018)
- 20XX: We Are (2021)
- Beyond (2023)
- Winderlust (2025)
Compilation albums
- W-inds BesTracks (2004)
- W-inds Single Collection Best Eleven (2008)
- W-inds 10th Anniversary Best Album: We Dance For Everyone (2011)
- W-inds 10th Anniversary Best Album: We Sing For You (2011)
Filmography
Films
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Year
! Title
! class="unsortable" | Notes
|-
| 2001
| Star Light
| Cameo
|-
| 2002
| Nurse no Oshigoto: The Movie
| Cameo
|-
| 2005
| W-inds.tv
| Documentary film; 37,614 copies sold
|-
|}
Radio
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Year
! Title
! class="unsortable" | Notes
|-
| 2000-2008
| w-inds.'s Windy Street
|
|-
|}
Publications
- W-inds: First Pictorial (30 September 2001)
- W-inds "Move!" (18 January 2002)
- W-inds The Stage! (20 September 2002)
- W-inds Keita – 1st personal photobook (1 November 2002)
- W-inds Ryohei – 1st personal photobook (22 November 2002)
- W-inds Ryuichi – 1st personal photobook (6 December 2002)
- W-inds Meets Junon (13 September 2003)
- W-inds Tour (8 October 2004)
- W-inds Live Tour "Ageha" The Document (28 October 2005)
- W-inds Vacanza (4 August 2006)
- Triangle: W-inds Meets Junon 2 (26 October 2007)
Tours
- W-inds 1st Live Tour: 1st Message
- W-inds: The System of Alive Tour 2003
- W-inds: Prime of Life Tour 2004
- W-inds Live Tour 2005: Ageha
- W-inds Live Tour 2006: Thanks
- W-inds Live Tour 2007: Journey
- W-inds Live Tour 2008: Seventh Ave.
- W-inds Live Tour 2009: Sweet Fantasy
- W-inds Live Tour 2010: Another World
- W-inds 10th Anniversary: Three Fourteen
- W-inds Best Live Tour 2011 Final at Nippon Budokan
- W-inds Live Tour: Awake at Nippon Budokan
- W-inds Live Tour 2014: Timeless
- W-inds Live Tour 2015: Blue Blood
- W-inds 15th Anniversary Live Tour 2016: Forever Memories
Awards and accolades
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
!Year
!Award
!Category
!Nominated work
!Result
|-
| rowspan="2" |2001
| 34th Japan Cable Awards
| rowspan="2" | Best New Artist Award
| rowspan="2" | "Paradox"
|
|-
| 43rd Japan Record Awards
|
|-
| rowspan="3" |2002
| 44th Japan Record Awards
| Gold Award
| "Because of You"
|
|-
| 39th Golden Arrow Award
| Music Newcomer Award
| W-inds
|
|-
| 16th Japan Gold Disc Award
| New Artist of the Year
| W-inds
|
|-
| 2003
| 45th Japan Record Awards
| Gold Award
| "Long Road"
|
|-
| rowspan="3" | 2004
| Yahoo! Hong Kong Buzz Music Awards
| Best International Group
| W-inds
|
|-
| rowspan="2" | IFPI Hong Kong Top Sales Music Awards
| Best Sales Release<br>
| Prime of Life
|
|-
| Best Sales Release<br>
| W-inds. BesTracks
|
|-
| Yahoo! Hong Kong Buzz Music Awards
| Best International Group
| W-inds
|
|-
| IFPI Hong Kong Top Sales Music Awards
| Best Sales Release<br>
| Ageha
|
|-
| rowspan="9" |2006
| 39th Japan Cable Awards
| Music Award
| W-inds
|
|-
| 47th Japan Record Awards
| Gold Award
| "Boogie Woogie 66"
|
|-
| MTV Student Voice Awards 2006
| Best Dance Artist Award
| W-inds
|
|-
| 2006 China and Taiwan Hito Popularity Music Award
| Best Pop Song
| "Kirei Da"
|
|-
| rowspan="2" | MTV Channel Mandarin Awards
| Most Popular Group<br>
| W-inds
|
|-
| Special Award<br>
| W-inds
|
|-
| Mnet KM Music Festival 2006
| Best Asia Pop Artist
| W-inds
|
|-
| Yahoo! Hong Kong Buzz Music Awards
| Best International Group
| W-inds
|
|-
| IFPI Hong Kong Top Sales Music Awards
| Best Sales Release<br>
| Thanks
|
|-
| rowspan="4" |2007
| 49th Japan Record Awards
| Gold Award
| "Love is the Greatest Thing"
|
|-
| MTV Student Voice Awards 2007
| Best Celebrity Student Voice Group Award
| W-inds
|
|-
| 18th RTHK International Pop Poll Awards
| Top Japanese Artist/Group
| W-inds
|
|-
| Yahoo! Hong Kong Buzz Music Awards
| Best International Group
| W-inds
|
|-
| rowspan="3" |2008
| IFPI Hong Kong Top Sales Music Awards
| Best Sales Release<br>
| Journey
|
|-
| 5th Asia Song Festival
| Best Asian Artist Award<br>
| W-inds
|
|-
| 50th Japan Record Awards
| Gold Award
| "Ame Ato"
|
|-
| rowspan="3" |2009
| IFPI Hong Kong Top Sales Music Awards
| Best Sales Release<br>
| Single Collection: Best Eleven
|
|-
| IFPI Hong Kong Top Sales Music Awards
| Best Sales Release<br>
| Seventh Ave.
|
|-
| rowspan="2" |2011
| IFPI Hong Kong Top Sales Music Awards
| Best Sales Release<br>
| Another World
|
|-
| 22nd RTHK International Pop Poll Award
| Top Japanese Gold Song
| "Addicted to Love"
|
|-
| 2012
| IFPI Hong Kong Top Sales Music Awards
| Best Sales Release<br>
| W-inds 10th Anniversary Best Album
|
|-
| 2013
| IFPI Hong Kong Top Sales Music Awards
| Best Sales Release<br>
| Move Like This
|
|-
| rowspan="2" | 2015
| IFPI Hong Kong Top Sales Music Awards
| Best Sales Release<br>
| Timeless
|
|-
| 19th China Music Awards
| Asian Most Influential Japanese Singer
| W-inds
|
|-
| rowspan="3" | 2016
| IFPI Hong Kong Top Sales Music Awards
| Best Sales Release<br>
| Blue Blood
|
|-
| rowspan="2" | 27th RTHK International Pop Poll Award
| Top Artist/Group<br>
| W-inds
|
|-
| Top Japanese Gold Song
| "In Love with the Music"
|
|-
| Top Japanese Gold Song
| "Boom Word Up"
|
|-
|}
See also
- List of bands from Japan
References
External links
- Official Website
- (English) Interview with W-inds about "New World／Truth～最後の真実～" at musicJAPAN+
- (English)w-inds. artist database+ at musicJapan+