Puzzle (Kanjani Eight album)
Encyclopedia
is the third full-length album released by the Japanese
boyband Kanjani Eight
. Puzzle was released almost two years after the release of their second album, KJ2 Zukkoke Dai Dassō
. There were two versions of this release, a regular edition and a CD+DVD
limited edition. First press of the regular edition came with a photobook containing pictures from the making of the unit promotional video
s, the normal edition came with member solos, and the limited edition CD+DVD came with a DVD documenting the making of the album, creation of the units, and music videos for each unit.
The music's style is, again, unlike its predecessor. Out of all the albums released by the group, "Puzzle" is considerably the most "modern" sounding album of the bunch compared to KJ1 F.T.O
which was primarily an 80s era pop sound and to KJ2 Zukkoke Dai Dassou's 70s era pop sound. The album is well diverse, with a blended balance of R&B, pop, rock, and slow ballads that present the group in a more mature, "boyband", sounding nature than their more notorious "comedy" sound. Jouya Uenaka of The Inazuma Sentai returned to write for the album, producing the group's biggest to date, "Musekinin Hero
", as well as writing every rock song on the album.
Kanjani Eight had a more creative control over the album, selecting from around 60 demos to sing for the album. Nishikido had personally requested Kazuyoshi Saito to write the title track of the album for the group.
The member solos were all written and/or composed by the group themselves as well as for the special units for the album. The units themselves were picked out through a game of Jan Ken Pon during the night of their NTV
Best Hit Artist 2008 performance.
Japanese people
The are an ethnic group originating in the Japanese archipelago and are the predominant ethnic group of Japan. Worldwide, approximately 130 million people are of Japanese descent; of these, approximately 127 million are residents of Japan. People of Japanese ancestry who live in other countries...
boyband Kanjani Eight
Kanjani Eight
is a seven-member Japanese boy band from Japan's Kansai region. They are managed by the multimedia talent agency, Johnny & Associates, and signed to Imperial Records. The group was formed in 2002 and made their CD debut in 2004 as "Johnny's modern enka group", though after the year 2006, their...
. Puzzle was released almost two years after the release of their second album, KJ2 Zukkoke Dai Dassō
KJ2 Zukkoke Dai Dassō
is the second full length album released by the Japanese boyband Kanjani Eight. The album was released with three different versions, two limited editions and one regular edition. The regular edition release of the album and both limited edition releases came with a bonus CD featuring the member...
. There were two versions of this release, a regular edition and a CD+DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
limited edition. First press of the regular edition came with a photobook containing pictures from the making of the unit promotional video
Music video
A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...
s, the normal edition came with member solos, and the limited edition CD+DVD came with a DVD documenting the making of the album, creation of the units, and music videos for each unit.
The music's style is, again, unlike its predecessor. Out of all the albums released by the group, "Puzzle" is considerably the most "modern" sounding album of the bunch compared to KJ1 F.T.O
KJ1 F.T.O
KJ1 F·T·O is the first full length album released by the Japanese boyband Kanjani Eight.The album features a full 14 tracks that dabble in generic Pop, Rock, and Enka...
which was primarily an 80s era pop sound and to KJ2 Zukkoke Dai Dassou's 70s era pop sound. The album is well diverse, with a blended balance of R&B, pop, rock, and slow ballads that present the group in a more mature, "boyband", sounding nature than their more notorious "comedy" sound. Jouya Uenaka of The Inazuma Sentai returned to write for the album, producing the group's biggest to date, "Musekinin Hero
Musekinin Hero
is the ninth single released by the Japanese boyband Kanjani8. The single was the first that featured three separate versions since the release of Kan Fu Fighting. The two limited edition singles featured different B-side tracks and DVDs of their unit and band performs from the 2009 Summer Concert...
", as well as writing every rock song on the album.
Kanjani Eight had a more creative control over the album, selecting from around 60 demos to sing for the album. Nishikido had personally requested Kazuyoshi Saito to write the title track of the album for the group.
The member solos were all written and/or composed by the group themselves as well as for the special units for the album. The units themselves were picked out through a game of Jan Ken Pon during the night of their NTV
Nippon Television
is a television network based in the Shiodome area of Minato, Tokyo, Japan and is controlled by the Yomiuri Shimbun publishing company. Broadcasting terrestrially across Japan, the network is commonly known as , contracted to , and abbreviated as "NTV" or "AX".-Offices:*The Headquarters : 6-1,...
Best Hit Artist 2008 performance.
CD 1
CD 2
Charting
| Chart | Week # | Peak position |
Sales/ shipments |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oricon General Album Top 10 | 1 | 1 | 212,058 |