''The Hit Parade II'' is a

covers album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track or cassette), or digital. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th century as ...

Tak Matsumoto is a Japanese musician, songwriter and record producer. He is best known as the guitarist and main composer of the Rock music, rock duo B'z, the List of best-selling music artists in Japan, best-selling music act in their native Japan by certif ...

in conjunction with several guest artists. It was released on August 28, 2024, through

Vermillion Records Vermilion (sometimes vermillion) is a color family and pigment most often used between antiquity and the 19th century from the powdered mineral cinnabar (a form of mercury sulfide). It is synonymous with red orange, which often takes a modern ...

, more than 20 years after '' The Hit Parade''.

Background

In May 2024, the album announcement was made during his live tour Here Comes the Bluesman, with the official statement written few days later. The album features cover songs from the late Showa Period from artists such as

Off Course Off Course was a Japanese folk rock band formed by Kazumasa Oda and Yasuhiro Suzuki. They broke up after a farewell performance at the Tokyo Dome on February 26, 1989. Their most famous songs are "Sayonara" (さよなら), "YES-YES-YES", "Se ...

Hideki Saijo was a Japanese singer, composer, actor, drummer, voice actor, and television and radio show host. Due to his numerous pioneering achievements throughout Asia in the 1970s and 1980s, he is considered an icon amongst Shōwa era idols. With on- ...

and

Ann Lewis Ann C. Frank Lewis (born December 19, 1937) is an American Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party strategist. Lewis served as White House Communications Director in the Presidency of Bill Clinton, Clinton administration and in senio ...

. The album has been performed by young artists from Giza Studio such as Aoi Garnet, Z, Daishi Uehara from

Wands A wand is a thin, straight, hand-held stick of wood, ivory, or metal. Wand may also refer to: People *Bruce Wands, an American digital artist and educator *Günter Wand, a German orchestra conductor and composer *Hart Wand, an early white Americ ...

, Leon Niihama and well-known by public artist such as Teru from

Glay Glay (stylized in all caps) is a Japanese Rock music, rock band formed in Hakodate in 1988. The core four members, vocalist Teru (singer), Teru, guitarists Takuro (musician), Takuro and Hisashi (musician), Hisashi, and bassist Jiro (musician), ...

and

LiSA Lisa or LISA may refer to: People People with the mononym * Lisa (Japanese musician, born 1974), stylized "LISA" * Lisa, stagename of Japanese singer Lisa Komine (born 1978) * Lisa (South Korean singer) (born 1980) * Lisa (Japanese musician, b ...

Koshi Inaba is a Japanese singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. He is best known as the vocalist and lyricist of the rock duo B'z, the best-selling music act in their native Japan. He also has a successful solo career, with six studio albums and ...

and

Mai Kuraki (born October 28, 1982) is a Japanese pop and R&B singer. After releasing her US debut single " Baby I Like" in 1999, Kuraki signed with Giza Studio and released her Japanese debut single " Love, Day After Tomorrow" in 1999. In 2000, she rele ...

were the only ones, who reprised their previous roles in the album. The album was released in three formats: the regular edition, first-press edition and special limited edition. The special edition includes a Blu-ray Disc with partial live footage of the concert "Here Comes the Bluesman" with the guest vocals of Kuraki and Niihama.

Promotion

Singles

The first promotional cover single was "Blue Light Yokohama", originally performed by Ayumi Ishida and covered by

. The single was released on June 15, 2024. One week before, Matsumoto performed together with Kuraki on the music television program Music Fair. The second promotional single was "Kizudarake no Roller", originally performed by Hideki Saijo and covered by Leon Niihama. The single was released on July 13. The third promotional cover single was "Roppongi Shinju", originally performed by Ann Lewis, covered by LiSA. The single was released on July 25. All of the singles received a digital-only release.

Track listing

Charts

Release history

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hit Parade, The (Tak Matsumoto) 2020s covers albums 2024 albums 2020s Japanese-language albums Tak Matsumoto albums B Zone albums