The Pillows

Formed in 1989 in Hokkaido, Japan, the pillows enjoyed moderate success in the 1990s before breaking into the mainstream during the late 2010s, an era that found the band charting Top 10 hits like "Tokyo Bambi," "New Animal," and "Ameagari ni mita Maboroshi." Vocalist Sawao Yamanaka, guitarist Yoshiaki Manabe, drummer Shinichiro Sato, and bassist Kenji Ueda debuted with the album Moon Gold in 1991. White Incarnation followed in 1992, along with Kool Spice in 1994 and Living Field in 1995. 1997's Please Mr. Lostman was the band's first album to reach the Oricon Albums chart, where it peaked at number 57. During the years that followed, records like Runners High (1997), Smile (2001) and Penalty Life (2003) all reached the Top 40. Good Dreams reached number 20 in 2004, marking the band's first time in the Top 20. The album also featured the pillows' first Top 40 single, "Sono Mirai wa Ima," which was followed by 15 additional Top 40 hits during the next 15 years. Pied Piper, the pillows' 2008 release, featured a pair of Top 10 singles, and the band remained commercially successful with releases like 2010's "Rodeo Star Mate" (a number 12 hit), 2011's "Comic Sonic" (number 19), and 2014's "About a Rock 'n' Roll Band" (number 18). Although the band took a hiatus after 2018's Rebroadcast, the pillows continued to reach the Japanese charts, with the 2001 track "Ride On Shooting Star" reaching number 54 on the country's Top 100 Deezer chart in 2023.