Back Number

Japanese three-piece band

This article is about the Japanese music group. For the album by Dean & Britta, see Back Numbers.

Back Number

Origin| Gunma Prefecture, Japan
Genres|

* Rock[1]
* pop rock[2]
* j-pop[3]

Years active| 2004 (2004)–present
Labels|

* Idolsmith Recordings
* Universal Sigma

Members|

* Iyori Shimizu
* Kazuya Kojima
* Hisashi Kurihara

Past members|

* Makio Saito

Website| backnumber.info

Back Number (バックナンバー, Bakku Nambā) is a Japanese rock power trio formed in 2004. The group consists of Iyori Shimizu (lead vocals and guitar), Kazuya Kojima (bass guitar and backing vocals), and Hisashi Kurihara (drums). The group signed to independent record label Idolsmith Recordings in 2009 and released their debut EP Nogashita Sakana (逃した魚, Fish Set Free) (2009) and studio album Ato no Matsuri (あとのまつり, Too Late) (2010). They signed to Universal Sigma in 2011.

The group's biggest hit is "Christmas Song" [ja], which peaked at number-one for three weeks on the Japan Hot 100 chart,[4][5][6] and was later certified million by the Recording Industry Association of Japan. Their first compilation album, Encore (2016), reached number one on the Billboard Japan Hot Album for two consecutive weeks in 2016 and also ranked number five on the Oricon yearly best-selling album chart of 2017.[7] In 2018, back number successfully held a Dome Tour titled “stay with you”, including a 2-night-concert in Tokyo Dome. All tickets for 5 concerts are sold out within 2 hours, mobilized over 45,000 guests per concert.

## Members

[edit]

Current members

* Iyori Shimizu – lead vocals, guitar (2004–present)
* Kazuya Kojima – bass guitar, backing vocals (2005–present)
* Hisashi Kurihara – drums (2006–present)

Former members

* Makio Saito – guitar, backing vocals (2006–2007)

## History

[edit]

In 2004, the band was formed by Iyori Shimizu in Gunma prefecture. The band was named "back number" because of a girl who had dated Shimizu in high school, dated another bandman. To her, Shimizu is an ex-boyfriend, a "back number". He wanted to make a "cooler" band than that guy's band with a hope that the girl might come back to him. It took two years for the band to come to shape with other members (not the current members) in line. Then some disagreements were born and other members' work priorities got in the way. The person who was in charge of the bass at that time wanted to quit and then joined Kazuya Kojima, who is a childhood friend of Shimizu and is now the current bassist. With Kojima joining, the band's activities were continued but this time, it was the drummer who wanted to withdraw from the band. While looking for another drummer, Shimizu heard that the band of the guy who had taken his girlfriend had disbanded. Hisashi Kurihara, who was the drummer of that band and also went to the same high school as Kazuya, was recruited into back number and has been in charge of the drum since then. After that, the guitarist withdrew and the band was left with its current line-up till now.

In November 2004, the band first performed live at Isezaki DUSTBOWL.

Since 2005, voluntary live performances were held annually in November (until 2007), following the release of the demo CD.

In 2007, the band performed a one-man live show, mobilized over 150 people and the tickets were sold out. In the same year, the band was chosen as the semi-best rocker (second place) from more than 100 bands at the band audition "ROCKERS 2007" sponsored by FM Gunma, which is a gateway for the northern Kanto band. It became a topic in the local media.

In April 2008, their regular radio program "PIZZA SMALL WORLD" started broadcasting at the radio station FM TARO for an area of Ota City, Gunma Prefecture (broadcast ended in March 2014). In June 2008, the band won a qualifying competition from among 500 pairs of entries at the Shonan Music Festival Opening Act Audition and secured an appearance at the large outdoor festival Shonan Music Festival Vol. 2.

On February 18, 2009, the band released their first mini album, Nogashita Sakana, and became HMV push item "HOT PICKS", TOWER RECORDS push item "Tawareko Men" for the first time, selected as power play of FM station and Sony Ericsson CS commercial song, the band then was widely known throughout the country. On May 27, Tawareko, a back number free live with HMV as the co-ownership was held at SHIBUYA-BOXX, and more than 500 people joined, which exceeded the capacity of the regular entry. In June, the band finished a tour at the Ferrari Temple Park Outdoor Stage in Isezaki City with a crowd of 500 people. After that, the band also positively appeared in events such as "SAKAE-SPRING", "MINAMI WHEEL", "TREASURE", "MUSIC CUBE" all over the country, school festival, install alive, etc.

On June 2, 2010, released their first full-length album, Ato no Matsuri.

On April 6, 2011, the band made their major debut with the single "Hanabira".

On September 7, 2013, the band held a one-man live "back number live at Nippon Budokan - stay with us-" at Nippon Budokan.

From April 2014, the band was appointed as a regular personality of Nippon Broadcasting "All Night Nippon" on every Tuesday. On September 14, 2014, at the Yokohama Arena, the first arena performance "love stories tour 2014 - Yokohama love story 2 ~" was held.

On December 15, 2015, their fifth album, Chandelier, reached first place on the Oricon chart for two consecutive weeks.

On December 28, 2016, the band released their own all-time best album, Encore, which reached number one on the Billboard Japan Hot Album for two consecutive weeks.

On December 20, 2017, the band released 17th single, TMabataki , which reached number one on the Recochoku Weekly Download Charts for two weeks.[8]

## Discography

[edit]

### Albums

[edit]

List of albums, with selected chart positions  Title  | Details  | Peak  | Sales  | Certifications

|
|
|
|

JPN
[9][A]
Nogashita Sakana |

* Type: Extended play
* Released: June 2, 2010
* Label: Idolsmith Recordings
* Format: CD

| 132  |  |
Ato no Matsuri |

* Type: Studio album
* Released: June 2, 2010
* Label: Idolsmith Recordings
* Format: CD

| 55  |  |
Super Star |

* Type: Studio album
* Released: October 26, 2011
* Label: Universal Sigma
* Format: CD

| 4  |  |

* RIAJ: Gold

Blues |

* Type: Studio album
* Released: November 21, 2012
* Label: Universal Sigma
* Format: CD · CD/DVD

| 7  |  |

* RIAJ: Gold

Love Story |

* Type: Studio album
* Released: March 26, 2014
* Label: Universal Sigma
* Format: CD · CD/DVD

| 2  |  |

* RIAJ: Gold

Chandelier |

* Type: Studio album
* Released: December 9, 2015
* Label: Universal Sigma
* Format: CD · CD/DVD

| 1  |

* JPN: 359,000[17]

* RIAJ: Platinum

Encore |

* Type: Greatest hits album
* Released: December 28, 2016
* Label: Universal Sigma
* Format: CD · CD/DVD

| 2  |

* JPN: 853,000[B][18]

* RIAJ (physical): 2× Platinum
* RIAJ (download): Gold

Magic |

* Type: Studio album
* Released: March 27, 2019
* Label: Universal Sigma
* Format: CD · CD/DVD · CD/Blu-ray

| 1  |

* JPN: 361,000[C][19]

* RIAJ: Platinum[20]

Humor |

* Type: Studio album
* Released: January 17, 2023
* Label: Universal Sigma
* Format: CD · CD/DVD · CD/Blu-ray

| 1  |

* JPN: 140,025[21]

* RIAJ: Platinum[22]

### Independent production

[edit]

| Release date  | Title

|
|

1st  | November 2005  | Gift×Life
2nd  | November 2006  | then Fish
3rd  | November 2007  | Distance Knock Tender

### Singles

[edit]

List of singles, with selected chart positions  Title  | Year  | Peak chart positions  | Physical Sales (JPN)  | Certifications  | Album

|
|
|
|
|

JPN Oricon | JPN Hot
"Hanabira"  | 2011  | 45  | 13  | 3,000  |  | Super star
"Hanataba"  | 18  | 3  | 13,000  |

* RIAJ: 3× Platinum (download)
* RIAJ: 2× Platinum (streaming)

"Omoidasenaku Naru Sono Hi Made"  | 24  | 1  | 5,000  |

* RIAJ: Gold (download)

"Koi"  | 2012  | 24  | 12  | 7,000  |

* RIAJ: Gold (download)
* RIAJ: Platinum (streaming)

| blues
"Nichiyoubi"  | 24  | 9  | 7,000  |

* RIAJ: Gold (download)
* RIAJ: Gold (streaming)

"Watagashi"  | 14  | 3  | 9,000  |

* RIAJ: Gold (download)
* RIAJ: Platinum (streaming)

"Aoi Haru"  | 14  | 4  | 10,000  |

* RIAJ: Platinum (download)
* RIAJ: Gold (streaming)

"Takane no Hanako-san"  | 2013  | 11  | 3  | 15,000  |

* RIAJ: 3× Platinum (download)
* RIAJ: 3× Platinum (streaming)

| Love story
"Fish"  | 2014  | 4  | 5  | 21,000  |
"Tsunaida te Kara"  | 9  | 6  | 11,000  |

* RIAJ: Gold (download)
* RIAJ: Gold (streaming)

"Heroine"  | 2015  | 6  | 2  | 43,000  |

* RIAJ: 2× Platinum (download)
* RIAJ: 2× Platinum (streaming)[23]

| Chandelier
"Sister"  | 9  | 5  | 32,000  |

* RIAJ: Gold (download)
* RIAJ: Gold (streaming)

"Tegami"  | 4  | 2  | 29,000  |

* RIAJ: Gold (download)
* RIAJ: Gold (streaming)

"Christmas Song"  | 2  | 1  | 100,000  |

* RIAJ: Gold (physical)
* RIAJ: Million (download)
* RIAJ: 3× Platinum (streaming)

"Boku no Namae wo"  | 2016  | 6  | 1  | 33,000  |

* RIAJ: Gold (download)
* RIAJ: Gold (streaming)

| Encore
"Happy End"  | 5  | 4  | 59,000  |

* RIAJ: 2× Platinum (download)
* RIAJ: 2× Platinum (streaming)

"Mabataki"  | 2017  | 5  | 2  | 61,000  |

* RIAJ: 2× Platinum (download})
* RIAJ: Platinum (streaming)

| Magic
"Dai Fusekai"  | 2018  | 3  | 2  | 45,000  |

* RIAJ: Platinum (download)
* RIAJ: Gold (streaming)

"Old Fashion"  | 4  | 1  | 65,000  |

* RIAJ: 2× Platinum (download)
* RIAJ: Platinum (streaming)

"Happy Birthday"  | 2019  | 4  | 2  | 45,000[24] |

* RIAJ: 2× Platinum (download)[25]
* RIAJ: 2× Platinum (streaming)

"Kiiro"  | 2021  | 3  | 2  | 26,000  |

* RIAJ: Platinum (streaming)

| Humor

### Digital singles

[edit]

List of digital singles, with selected chart positions  Title  | Year  | Peak chart positions  | Certifications  | Album

|
|
|
|

Japan Hot 100
[26]
"Kuroi Neko no Uta"  | 2016  | 12  |  | Encore
"Emerald"  | 2020  | 7  |

* RIAJ (download): Gold
* RIAJ (streaming): Platinum

| Humor
"Kaito"  | 2021  | 3  |

* RIAJ (download): Gold
* RIAJ (streaming): 2× Platinum

"Suiheisen"  | 2  |

* RIAJ (download): Platinum
* RIAJ (streaming): Diamond

"Velvet no Uta"  | 2022  | 13  |

* RIAJ (streaming): Platinum[27]

"I Love You"  | 5  |

* RIAJ (download): Gold
* RIAJ (streaming): 2× Platinum

"Kaiju no Size"  | 2023  | 16  |  | Non-album singles
"Fuyu to Haru"  | 2024  | 9  |

* RIAJ (streaming): Gold

"Atarashii Koibitotachi ni"  | 1  |

### DVD

[edit]

| Release date  | Title  | Highest rank (Oricon)

|
|
|

1st  | February 25, 2015  | "Love stories tour 2014 ~ Yokohama love story 2 ~" | 3
2nd  | November 15, 2017  | "All Our Yesterdays TOUR 2017 at SAITAMA SUPER ARENA" | 1
3rd  | March 25, 2020  | "NO MAGIC TOUR 2019 at Osaka-jo Hall" | 2
4th  | October 11, 2023  | "in your humor tour 2023 at Tokyo Dome" | 1

### Live tour

[edit]

* Bolded performances are additional performances.

Schedule  | Title  | Conference venue

|
|

December 6 - December 22  | Super Tour 2011 | 4 locations nationwide, 4 shows

December 06 Nagoya ell Fits All
December 08 Shinsaibashi MUSE
December 17 Tokyo TSUTAYA O-EAST
December 22 Fukuoka DRUM Be-1
March 16 - April 30  | Love is blind tour 2012 | 12 locations nationwide, 12 performances

March 16 Sapporo KRAPS HALL
March 18 Sendai HooK
March 30 Fukuoka DRUM LOGOS
April 01 Nagoya CLUB QUATTRO
April 04 Gunma CLUB FLEEZ
April 07 Hiroshima Namiki Junction
April 13 Osaka AKASO
April 15 Takamatsu DIME
April 19 Fukushima CLUB # 9
April 21 Niigata CLUB RIVERST
April 27 Tokyo SHIBUYA-AX
April 30 Tokyo Shibuya Public Hall
January 14 - March 30  | Back to the blues tour 2013 | 17 places nationwide, 19 performances

January 14 Chiba LOOK
January 15 Mito LIGHT HOUSE
January 17 Sendai Rensa
January 20 Sapporo PENNY LANE 24
January 26 Niigata LOTS
January 27 Toyama SOUL POWER
January 31 Kagoshima CAPARVO HALL
February 01 Kumamoto DRUM Be-9 V1
February 03 Okayama IMAGE
February 05 Hiroshima CLUB QUATTRO
February 07 Kochi X-pt.
February 09 Takamatsu Olive Hall
February 14 Gunma club FLEEZ
March 1 Fukuoka International Conference Hall Main Hall
March 03 Aichi Nagoya City Public Hall Great Hall
March 08 Osaka NHK Osaka Hall
March 09 Osaka NHK Osaka Hall
March 29–30 Tokyo Shibuya Public Hall
May 14 - September 23  | Love stories tour 2014 | 22 places nationwide, 24 performances

May 14 Gunma Ota Nita Cultural Center Aerith Hall
May 16 Gunma Isezaki City Cultural Center
May 18 Saitama Omiya Sonic City Hall Hall
May 23 Kagoshima Kagoshima Prefectural Cultural Center Baoshan Hall
May 25 Fukuoka Fukuoka Sun Palace
May 31 Okayama Okayama City Hall
June 1 Hiroshima Ueno Gakuen Hall
June 06 Shizuoka Act City Hamamatsu Great Hall
June 08 Hyogo Kobe International Hall Kokusai Hall
June 14 Hokkaido Sapporo Municipal Hall
June 20 Niigata Niigata Prefectural Civic Center
June 21 Mori Hall of Ishikawa Honda
June 28 Miyagi Tokyo Electron Hall, Miyagi
June 29 Iwate Morioka Civil Cultural Hall Great Hall
July 04–05 Osaka Orix Theater
July 13 Ehime Matsuyama City Hall Great Hall
July 15 Kagawa Sunport Hall Takamatsu Great Hall
July 19 Aichi Nagoya International Conference Center Century Hall
July 23 Tokyo Nakano Sun Plaza Hall
July 25 Tokyo NHK Hall
September 14th - 15th Kanagawa Yokohama Arena
September 23 Osaka Osakajo Hall
March 25 - June 7  | Urban Live Tour 2015 | 10 places nationwide, 16 performances

March 25–26 Niigata LOTS
March 31 - April 01 Sendai Rensa
April 03 Hokkaido Zepp Sapporo
April 08–09 Aichi Zepp Nagoya
April 13–14 Osaka Zepp Namba
April 17 Hiroshima BLUE LIVE
April 19 Fukuoka Zepp Fukuoka
April 23–24 Tokyo Zepp Tokyo
April 29 Okinawa Sakurazaka Central
June 06–07 Chiba Makuhari Messe Event Hall
January 24 - July 24  | Mirrorball and Chandelier Tour 2016 | 32 places nationwide, 39 performances

Hall performance

January 24 Chiba Ichikawa City Cultural Center Great Hall
January 28 Tokyo TAMASHIN RISURU Hall
February 04 Oita iichiko Grand Cita
February 06 Miyazaki Miyazaki citizens culture hall
If it is Nara, February 11th 100th anniversary hall
February 12 Mie Yokkaichi City Cultural Center First Hall
February 19 Hiroshima Ueno Gakuen Hall
February 21 Okayama Okayama City Hall
February 25 Kanagawa Kanagawa Prefectural Hall
February 28 Ibaraki Ibaraki prefectural prefectural cultural center
March 03 Hokkaido Nitori Cultural Hall
March 04 Hokkaido Asahikawa Citizens' Cultural Center Great Hall
March 12 Hyogo Kobe International Hall Kokusai Hall
March 13 Kyoto Rome Theater Kyoto
March 20 Niigata Niigata Prefectural Civic Center
March 21 Toyama Toyama Overdoor Hall
March 25 Shizuoka Shizuoka Citizens' Culture Center Great Hall
April 01 Ehime Matsuyama City Hall Great Hall
April 03 Kagawa alpha ANAUKUKI Hall big hall
April 08 Fukushima Koriyama Citizens' Cultural Center Great Hall
April 09 Nagano Hokuto Culture Hall
April 15 Miyagi Sendai Sun Plaza Hall
April 17 Aomori Link Station Hall Aomori
April 23–24 Okinawa Namura Hall
April 27 Saitama Omiya Sonic City Hall (transfer performance on March 27)
April 29 Gunma Baysia Culture Hall Great Hall

Arena performance

June 04–05 Aichi NGK Hall
June 18–19 Chiba Makuhari Messe International Exhibition Hall 9 - 11 Hall
June 29–30 Osaka Osakajo Hall
July 09 Fukuoka Marine Messe Fukuoka
July 10 Fukuoka Marine Messe Fukuoka
July 14–15 Tokyo Nippon Budokan
July 23–24 Gumma Yamada Green Dome Maebashi
February 25 - June 11  | Back number "All Our Yesterdays Tour 2017" | 15 places nationwide, 30 performances

February 25–26 Chiba Makuhari Messe International Exhibition Hall Makuhari Event Hall
March 03–04 Osaka Osakajo Hall
March 11–12 Fukui Sun Dome Fukui
March 18–19 Miyagi Sekisui Heim Super Arena
April 01–02 Ehime Ehime Prefecture Budokan
April 08–09 Kanagawa Yokohama Arena
April 15–16 Hyogo Kobe World Memorial Hall
April 22–23 Fukuoka Marine Messe Fukuoka
April 29–30 Niigata Toki Messe: Niigata Convention Center
May 05–06 Shizuoka Shizuoka Ecopa Arena
May 12–13 Hokkaido Hokkaido Prefectural Sports Center North Sea Yeah
May 17–18, Aichi NGK Hall
May 27–28 Hiroshima Hiroshima Green Arena
June 03–04 Saitama Saitama Super Arena
June 10–11 Okinawa Okinawa Convention Center Exhibition Building

## Awards

[edit]

* ROCKERS 2007 · Semi Best Rockers (2007)
* 4th CD Shop Awards · Finalist Award Super Star (2012)
* 5th CD Shop Awards · Finalist Award blues (2013)
* 7th CD Shop Awards · Finalist Award Love Story (2015)
* SPACE SHOWER MUSIC AWARDS \- BEST GROUP ARTIST (2016)[28]
* The 87th Drama Academy Award "Christmas Song" (2016)
* The 58th Japan Record Awards · Excellent Album Award Chandelier (2016)
* DAM annual karaoke request ranking · First place (2016)
* Uta-Net annual lyrics browsing artist ranking: First place (2016)
* 8th CD Shop Awards · Finalist Award Chandelier (2017)

## Notes

[edit]

1. ^ Sources for chart positions are as follows: Nogashita Sakana,[10] Ato no Matsuri,[11] Super Star[12] Blues[13] Love Story[14] Chandelier[15] Encore.[16]
2. ^ Combined sales figures for Encore: 674,183 (physical sales) + 187,158 (digital sales).
3. ^ Combined sales figures for Magic: 315,813 (physical sales) + 44,786 (digital sales).

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Taylor, Ronald (17 January 2016). "Rockers back number slide toward becoming the go-to band for TV drama theme tunes". The Japan Times. Retrieved 25 September 2018.
2. ^ "Japan's back number Shares '8-Year Engagement' Theme Song Video: Watch". Billboard. 29 November 2017. Retrieved 25 September 2018.
3. ^ "Japan's back number Delivers Solid First Dome Tour Set in Tokyo". Billboard. 16 August 2018. Retrieved 25 September 2018.
4. ^ "Billboard Japan Hot 100 2015/11/30". Billboard Japan (in Japanese). Retrieved January 9, 2016.
5. ^ "Billboard Japan Hot 100 2015/12/7". Billboard Japan (in Japanese). Retrieved January 9, 2016.
6. ^ "Billboard Japan Hot 100 2016/1/1". Billboard Japan (in Japanese). Retrieved January 9, 2016.
7. ^ "50th yearly chart of 2017, Oricon News" (in Japanese). 2017-12-23. Retrieved 2019-04-03.
8. ^ "Recochoku's weekly download charts for 12/20~12/26". Tokyohive. 6Theory Media, LLC. January 1, 2018. Retrieved January 1, 2024.
9. ^ back numberのアルバム作品. Oricon. Retrieved December 11, 2018.
10. ^ "逃した魚". Oricon. Retrieved December 11, 2018.
11. ^ "あとのまつり". Oricon. Retrieved December 11, 2018.
12. ^ "週間 アルバムランキング 2011年11月07日付". Oricon. Retrieved December 11, 2018.
13. ^ "週間 アルバムランキング 2012年12月03日付". Oricon. Retrieved December 11, 2018.
14. ^ "週間 アルバムランキング 2014年04月07日付". Oricon. Retrieved December 11, 2018.
15. ^ "週間 アルバムランキング 2015年12月21日付". Oricon. Retrieved December 11, 2018.
16. ^ "週間 アルバムランキング 2017年01月09日付". Oricon. Retrieved December 11, 2018.
17. ^
* "2015年 年間音楽ランキングを発表！". Oricon. December 23, 2015. Retrieved December 11, 2018.
* "【2016年 年間音楽＆映像ランキング】嵐が前人未到の記録達成！AKB48がシングル年間V7!!". Oricon. December 24, 2016. Retrieved December 11, 2018.
18. ^ "【第50回 オリコン年間ランキング 2017】嵐が総合売上5年連続首位、AKB48がシングル年間V8達成!". Oricon. December 23, 2017. Retrieved December 11, 2018.
19. ^ 週間 CDアルバムランキング 2019年04月08日付 [Weekly CD Album Ranking on April 8, 2019]. Oricon News (in Japanese). Retrieved April 3, 2019.
20. ^ "一般社団法人 日本レコード協会". www.riaj.or.jp. Retrieved 2019-05-19.
21. ^ 週間 CDアルバムランキング 2023年01月30日付 [Weekly CD Album Ranking on January 30, 2023] (in Japanese). Oricon. Archived from the original on January 25, 2023. Retrieved January 25, 2023.
22. ^ "Japanese album certifications – back number – Humor" (in Japanese). Recording Industry Association of Japan. Retrieved February 17, 2023. Select 2023年1月 on the drop-down menu
23. ^ "Japanese single streaming certifications – Back Number – Heroine (ヒロイン)" (in Japanese). Recording Industry Association of Japan. Retrieved June 26, 2022. Select 2022年5月 on the drop-down menu
24. ^ 週間 CDシングルランキング 2019年03月11日付 [Weekly CD Single Ranking for March 11, 2019]. Oricon Style (in Japanese). Retrieved March 6, 2019.
25. ^ "一般社団法人 日本レコード協会". www.riaj.or.jp. Retrieved 2019-05-19.
26. ^ Back Number digital singles on the Billboard Japan Hot 100:
* "Velvet no Uta": "Hot 100 [ 2022/09/07 公開]". Billboard Japan (in Japanese). Retrieved January 29, 2023.
* "Atarashii Koibitotachi ni": "Hot 100 [ 2024/07/24 公開]". Billboard Japan (in Japanese). Retrieved July 24, 2024.
27. ^ "Japanese single streaming certifications – Back Number – ベルベットの詩 (Velvet)" (in Japanese). Recording Industry Association of Japan. Retrieved January 29, 2023. Select 2022年12月 on the drop-down menu
28. ^ "SPACE SHOWER MUSIC AWARDS 2016【BEST GROUP ARTIST】にback numberがノミネート！". back number（バックナンバー）official web site (in Japanese). Retrieved 2019-04-30.

## External links

[edit]

* Official website (in Japanese)

Authority control databases: Artists |

* MusicBrainz

|