Deen is a Japanese popular music

J-pop

, an abbreviation for Japanese pop, is a musical genre that entered the musical mainstream of Japan in the 1990s. Modern J-pop has its roots in 1960s music, such as The Beatles, and replaced kayōkyoku in the Japanese music scene...

 band, formed in 1993. Members frequently changed until the release of first album, and from there Deen had 4 members, vocalist Shuichi Ikemori, keyboardist and leader Koji Yamane, guitarist Shinji Tagawa and drummer Naoki Utsumoto. In January 2000, Utsumoto left the group. The band has sold over 15 million compact disc

Compact Disc

The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,...

s.

History

In the "Being

Being (company)

, d.b.a. Being Giza Group, is a Japanese private entertainment conglomerate based in Tokyo's Roppongi district, founded on November 1, 1978 by musician Daiko Nagato. Being Inc. and its subsidiaries are the main supplier of theme music for the anime series Case Closed. As of May 2011, 77 theme tunes...

" agency, Show Wesugi (original vocalist with Wands

Wands (band)

was a Japanese rock band formed in 1991 as a three-member group. The band, throughout nine years of activity, had two vocalists, guitarists and keyboardists. Show Wesugi , Hiroshi Shibasaki , Kousuke Oshima are the original member of the band. Shinya Kimura joined them after Oshima separate early...

) and Tetsurō Oda

Tetsurō Oda

is a Japanese composer, record producer, and singer-songwriter.In the 1990s, Oda composed a number of hit songs such as B.B.Queens' "Odoru Pompokolin", Zard's "Makenaide", and Noriko Sakai's "Aoi Usagi"....

 made song "Konomama Kimidake wo Ubaisaritai" (lit. "Now, I want to make off with only you"). The group was formed for singing this song. The band debuted by the single on March 10, 1993. The single was certified a million-seller by the Recording Industry Association of Japan

Recording Industry Association of Japan

The Recording Industry Association of Japan is an industry trade group composed of Japanese corporations involved the music industry...

 (RIAJ). Their 1994 song "Hitomi Sorasanaide" (lit. "Don't Avert Your Eyes"), written by Izumi Sakai

Izumi Sakai

, born 6 February 1967 in Kurume, Japan – 27 May 2007 was a Japanese Pop singer, song writer, and member of the group Zard.- Biography :Born in Kurume, Fukuoka, Japan, Sakai grew up in Hadano, Kanagawa. Her father was a driving instructor, and she had a younger brother and younger sister...

 and Tetsurō Oda, reached number-one position on the Japanese 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. Their first album Deen was also certified a million-seller by RIAJ.

The group originally seemed to be just a project, but they began to perform live concerts in 1996. They also began to release their self-produced singles, but their sales declined. Their 1997 song "Yume de Aru Youni" (lit. "hope that it will be a dream"), written by themselves, was adopted by Tales of Destiny

Tales of Destiny

is a video game in the RPG genre published for the PlayStation console by Namco on December 23, 1997 in Japan, selling 1,139,000 copies. Tales of Destiny's characteristic genre name is...

. It was no longer able to reach Top 10 on the Oricon charts. But for fans, this song remained most popular over a decade.

In 1998, the band partly moved to BMG Japan under the Berg label, which consisted of the "being" agency artists. Since their 1999 single "Just One", almost all singles has been produced by them, but Utsumoto left Deen in 2000. They introduced classical music

Classical music

Classical music is the art music produced in, or rooted in, the traditions of Western liturgical and secular music, encompassing a broad period from roughly the 11th century to present times...

 into their music. In 2002, they released a cover version

Cover version

In popular music, a cover version or cover song, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...

 of Kyu Sakamoto

Kyu Sakamoto

was a Japanese singer and actor, best known outside of Japan for his international hit song "Sukiyaki", which was sung in Japanese and sold over 13 million copies...

's "Miagete Goran Yoru no Hoshi o", featuring solo violinist Diana Yukawa

Diana Yukawa

is an Anglo-Japanese solo violinist. She has had two solo albums with BMG Japan, one of which opened to #1.-Early life:Diana Yukawa was born in Tokyo, Japan to English ballet dancer Susanne Bayly and Japanese banker Akihisa Yukawa one month after her father died in the 1985 Japan Airlines Flight...

. They began to call their style "Neo-AOR

Album-oriented rock

Album-oriented rock is an American FM radio format focusing on album tracks by rock artists.-Music played:Most radio formats are based on a select, tight rotation of hit singles...

" after album Pray.

The band completely moved from the "being" agency to BMG Japan in 2003. Their next album Utopia, released on November 5, 2003, enlisted the help of Al Schmitt

Al Schmitt

Al Schmitt is a recording engineer and record producer.-Early career:Schmitt grew up in New York City. After serving in the U.S. Navy he began working at Apex Recording Studios at the age of 19. In the late 1950's Schmitt moved to Los Angeles and became a staff engineer at Radio Recorders on Santa...

. In 2006, baseball manager Bobby Valentine

Bobby Valentine

Robert John "Bobby V" Valentine is an American professional baseball manager and former player who is currently the manager of the Boston Red Sox. He previously managed the Texas Rangers and New York Mets as well as the Chiba Lotte Marines in Japan...

 participated in the music video of their song "Diamond".

On June 8, 2008, they performed their first live concert at the Nippon Budokan

Nippon Budokan

The , often shortened to simply Budokan, is an indoor arena in central Tokyo, Japan.This is the location where many "Live at the Budokan" albums were recorded...

. On December 10, 2008, they released the single "Eien no Ashita" (lit. "Eternal Tomorrow"), adopted by Tales of Hearts

Tales of Hearts

is the eleventh mothership title in the Tales series exclusively for the Nintendo DS, which was released on December 18, 2008 in Japan. Tales of Hearts characteristic genre name is...

. The single debuted at #6 on the Oricon weekly single charts. It was their highest position after 1996.

Singles

• 'Konomama Kimidake wo Ubaisaritai' (10 March 1993)
• 'Tsubasa wo Hirogete' (17 July 1993)
• 'Memories' (22 September 1993)
• 'Eien wo Azuketekure' (28 November 1993)
• 'Hitomi Sorasanaide' (22 June 1994)
• 'Teenage dream' (27 March 1995)
• 'Mirai no Tame ni' (19 June 1995)
• 'Love Forever' (11 December 1995)
• 'Hitori ja Nai' (15 April 1996) (Dragon Ball GT's ending theme song)
• 'Sunshine on Summer Time' (1 July 1996)
• 'Sugao de Waratteitai' (5 August 1996)
• 'Kimi ga Inai Natsu' (27 August 1997) (Detective Conan's 4th Ending theme song)
• 'Yume de Aru Youni' (17 December 1997) (Tales of Destiny
  Tales of Destiny
  is a video game in the RPG genre published for the PlayStation console by Namco on December 23, 1997 in Japan, selling 1,139,000 copies. Tales of Destiny's characteristic genre name is...
  
  's theme song)
• 'Toi Sora de' (18 February 1998)
• 'Kimi Sae Ireba' (27 May 1998) (Cooking Master Boy's 3rd opening song)
• 'Tegotae no Nai Ai' (18 November 1998)
• 'Toi Toi Mirai he' (25 March 1999)
• 'Just One' (23 July 1999)
• 'My Love' (3 November 1999)
• 'Power of Love' (19 April 2000)
• 'Kanashimi no Mukogawa' (15 November 2000)
• 'Miagete Goran Yoru no Hoshi o' featuring Diana Yukawa
  Diana Yukawa
  is an Anglo-Japanese solo violinist. She has had two solo albums with BMG Japan, one of which opened to #1.-Early life:Diana Yukawa was born in Tokyo, Japan to English ballet dancer Susanne Bayly and Japanese banker Akihisa Yukawa one month after her father died in the 1985 Japan Airlines Flight...
  
   (30 January 2002)
• 'Yume de Aetara' (22 May 2002)
• 'Birthday eve Dareyorimo Hayai Ai no Uta' (2 October 2002)
• 'Tsubasa wo Kaze ni Nosete -fly away-' (2 April 2003) - A special first print had a movie of 'Birthday eve Dareyorimo Hayai Ai no Uta' at a live performance in Shibuya Kokaido on December 29, 2002
• 'Taiyō to Hanabira' (13 August 2003) - A special first print had a promotional movie of 'Tsubasa wo Kaze ni Nosete -fly away-'
• 'Yutopia ha Miterunoni' (1 October 2003) - A special first edition had three additional movie clips
• 'Reru no Nai Sora he' (28 April 2004) - A special first edition had an 8 song DVD album of a live performance in Seoul
• 'Strong Soul' (30 June 2004) - A special first edition had a two song and movie in additional DVD.
• 'Ai no kane ga sekai ni hibikimasu youni' (22 December 2004) - Deen with Yuka Kamebuchi & The Voices of Japan
• 'Konomama Kimidake wo Ubaisaritai/Tsubasa wo Hirogete' (26 October 2005)
• 'Starting Over' (24 May 2006)
• 'Diamond' (2 August 2006)
• 'Eien no Ashita' (10 December 2008) (Tales of Hearts
  Tales of Hearts
  is the eleventh mothership title in the Tales series exclusively for the Nintendo DS, which was released on December 18, 2008 in Japan. Tales of Hearts characteristic genre name is...
  
  theme song)
• 'Celebrate' (29 April 2009)
• 'Negai' (4 November 2009)
• 'coconuts feat. kokomo' (14 July 2010)
• 'Brand New Wing' (6 April 2011)

Classics

• 'Classics One White Christmas Time' (November 25, 1999)
• 'Classics Two Sepia Aki Zakura -more & more-' (September 13, 2000)
• 'Classics Three Pastel Yume no Tsubomi' (April 25, 2007)
• 'Classics Four Blue Smile Blue' (August 22, 2007)

Albums

• Deen (14 September 1994)
• I wish (9 September 1996)
• DEEN Singles + 1 (18 March 1998)
• The Day (16 December 1998)
• Need Love (24 May 2000)
• Ballads in Blue : The greatest hits of DEEN (6 June 2001)
• Waon -Songs for children- (6 March 2002)
• Pray (20 November 2002)
• Utopia (5 November 2003) - A special first print with two making movies in USA
• Road Crusin (18 August 2004) - A special first print with a 6 movie clips in a DVD
• DEEN The Best Kiseki (23 November 2005)
• Diamonds (11 October 2006)
• DEEN The Best Classics (25 December 2007)
• DEEN PERFECT SINGLES + (4 June 2008)
• DEEN at Budokan ~15th Anniversary Greatest Singles Live~ (3 September 2008)
• NEXT STAGE (25 March 2009)
• LOVERS CONCERTO (2 December 2009)
• Crawl (28 July 2010)
• ALL TIME LIVE BEST (24 November 2010)
• Another Side Memories〜Precious Best〜 (24 November 2010)
• Graduation (15 June 2011)

VHS

• Deen Live Joy Special Yokohama Arena (21 June 2000)
• on&off -tour document of 'need love- (6 June 2001)
• on&off -tour document of unplugged live & recordings- (20 November 2001)
• Greatest Clips 1993-1998 (2 April 2003)
• Greatest Clips 1998-2002 (2 April 2003)

DVD

• Deen Live Joy Special Yokohama Arena (6 June 2001)
• on&off -tour document of 'need love- (6 June 2001)
• on&off -tour document of unplugged live & recordings- (20 November 2001)
• Greatest Clips 1993-1998 (2 April 2003)
• Greatest Clips 1998-2002 (2 April 2003)