Greeeen

Greeeen (stylized as GReeeeN) is a Japanese pop rock/hip hop/breakbeat vocal group from Kōriyama in Fukushima Prefecture, comprising the all-male four members Hide, Navi, Kuni (written as "92"), and Soh. They made their debut with Universal Music in 2007. Their logo image is of a mouthful of teeth, and the four Es indicate the number of members. The sound production is handled by Hide's older brother JIN, a former guitarist of Pay money To my Pain.[1] According to their website at Universal Music Japan, their catch phrase is "Rock 'n' Breakbeats with Four Microphones".[2]

GReeeeN
A silhouette of the members of Greeeen (2010).
Background information
Origin	Kōriyama, Japan
Genres	Pop rock, hip hop, breakbeat
Years active	2002–present
Labels	Nayutawave Records (2007–2014) Zen Music (2014–present)
Associated acts	JIN
Website	greeeen.co.jp
Members	Hide Navi 92 Soh

One notable characteristic is that none of the members have ever shown their faces in the public sphere as a part of GReeeeN, whether in their promotional videos, CDs, television performances, or the Internet. In their only performance on TV-U Fukushima's music show Music Bar Palo Palo (broadcast on January 19, 2007), the group even went as far as censoring their faces during the performance. GReeeeN cites keeping their professional lives in dentistry compatible with their musical ventures as the reason, but one of the members, Hide, has hinted that after all of the members pass the prefectural examination in dentistry and receive permission from the directors of the hospitals they work for, the group may consider a public appearance.

All members studied at the dentistry department at Ohu University in Koriyama City, (Fukushima Prefecture) and the group debuted while still in school in 2007. In 2019, they were named as 'Frontier Ambassadors' for the city.[3]

The members' identities are still unknown, as their faces have never been made public. At first, the group stated that they would wait until all of the members passed the exam before revealing their faces, but in 2009 they indicated that they will still keep their identities secret to avoid any interference with their careers as dentists.

History

Formation and career beginnings

Hide began his music career as a member of a Japanese hardcore band in his junior high school. Hide and Navi formed duo "GReeeN" (The name was three e's sequence at that time) in 2002. Their music was influenced under Western rock bands such as Sublime and Sugar Ray. However, the group was renamed "Greeeen" in 2004 when 92 and Soh joined the group. Soh was a fan of hip hop and reggae. 92 came from Okinawa Prefecture and had his musical roots in Okinawan music.

2006–2007: Debut and career breakthrough

After the group independently released their self-titled EP, Greeeen on February 14, 2006, Universal Music Japan recruited them in March 2006. They were signed under Nayutawave Records, a subsidiary label of Universal Music Japan. They debuted with the single "Michi" on January 24, 2007.

"Ai Uta" was released as their third single on May 16, 2007. It debuted and peaked at #2 on the Oricon Daily Singles Chart. It debuted at #8 on the Oricon Weekly Singles Chart and eventually peaked at #2 in its sixth week on the weekly chart. The song was certified Two Million by the Recording Industry Association of Japan (RIAJ) for 2,000,000 full-track ringtone digital downloads (Chaku-Uta Full).[4]

Their debut album, A, Domo. Hajimemashite, was released on June 28, 2007. It debuted at #2 on the Oricon Weekly Albums Chart. The album was certified Triple Platinum by RIAJ for shipment of 750,000 copies.[5]

2008–2009: Rise of popularity, Bareeeeeeeeeen

"Kiseki" was released as their seventh single on May 28, 2008, and was used as a theme song for the drama, Rookies. It topped the Oricon Weekly Singles Chart and sold over 500,000 copies. The song was also certified Two Million by the RIAJ for 2,000,000 full-track ringtone digital downloads (Chaku Uta Full).[6] The song topped the Billboard Japan Hot 100 Year-End 2008 Chart.[7] The song was certified Four Million by RIAJ for 4,000,000 single track downloads.[8]

Their second album A, Domo. Ohisashiburi Desu. was released on June 25, 2008, and debuted at #1 on Oricon Weekly Albums Chart, beating out Ayaka's second album Sing to the Sky (2008). The album was certified Million by RIAJ for shipment of one million copies.[9]

Greeeen and Back-On formed supergroup Bareeeeeeeeeen, which released single "Ashiato" on October 1, 2008.

Their follow-up singles "Tobira", "Ayumi", "Setsuna" and "Haruka" were certified Gold by RIAJ for shipments of 100,000 copies each.[9][10][11][12] Their song "Haruka" debuted at the number-one position on the RIAJ Digital Track Chart.[13] The song was certified Million by RIAJ for 1,000,000 full-track ringtone digital downloads (Chaku Uta Full).[14]

Their third album Shio, Koshō was released on June 10, 2009, and debuted at #1 on the Oricon Weekly Albums Chart with the first-week sales of over 452,000 copies. It became their second album to be certified Million by RIAJ.[15]

On June 29, 2009, the Guinness World Records certified their song "Kiseki" as the "best selling download single in Japan" with the full-track ringtone download sales of 2,301,674 copies of May 24, 2009.[16]

Greeeen released their greatest hits double album Ima Made no A Men, B Men Dest!? on November 25, 2009. On November 5, 2009, an article of Nikkan Sports suggested that GReeeeN would disband after the release of the album.[17] Hide wrote on his blog that the rumours were false. On November 5, the official statement by Universal Music Japan also said that the report was false and that GReeeeN would still be releasing music after the release of the album Imamade no A Men, B Men Desuto!?.[18]

It was announced that Greeeen would be teaming up with Hudson Soft to create music for 2009 DS game.[19] Hudson x GReeeeN Live!? DeeeeS!? was released on April 1, 2010 as their collaboration effort with Hudson Soft.[20]

2011: Return in music

"Every" was released at Chaku-Uta on April 12, 2011, as their first song since "Haruka" (2009). It was used for Asahi Beer commercials.[21] The song was included as a B-side for their single, "Hana Uta" released on June 22, 2011.

"Green Boys" was released on May 6, 2011, and was used as the theme song for the NHK documentary show Athlete no Tamashii.[21] It was part of the Green Boys Project to help the victims of the 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami.

Discography

Studio albums

Title	Album details	Peak chart positions		Certifications [22]	Sales [23]
		JPN [24]	TWN EA [25]
Ā, Domo. Hajimemashite	Released: June 28, 2007 Format: CD Label: Nayutawave	2		RIAJ: 3x Platinum	JPN: 578,000
Ā, Domo. Ohisashiburi Desu.	Released: June 25, 2008 Format: CD, CD+DVD Label: Nayutawave Records	1		RIAJ: Million	JPN: 902,000
Shio, Koshō	Released: June 10, 2009 Format: CD, CD+DVD Label: Nayutawave Records	1		RIAJ: Million	JPN: 1,006,000
Utautai ga Uta Utai ni Kite Uta Utae to Iu ga Utautai ga Uta Utau dake Utaikire ba Uta Utau keredomo Utautai dake Uta Utaikirenai kara Uta Utawanu!?	Released: June 27, 2012 Format: CD, CD+DVD Label: Nayutawave Records	2		RIAJ: Platinum	JPN: 209,000
Iine!(´・ω・｀)☆	Released: June 19, 2013 Format: CD, CD+DVD Label: Nayutawave Records	3		RIAJ: Gold
Ima kara Oyayubi ga Kieru Tejina Shimasu.	Released: August 06, 2014 Format: CD, CD+DVD Label: Nayutawave Records	2		RIAJ: Gold	JPN: 57,000
En	Released: September 14, 2016 Format: CD, CD+DVD Label: Zen Music	4			JPN: 48,000
UreD	Released: April 11, 2018 Format: CD, CD+DVD Label: Zen Music	3			JPN:
Dai Ku	Released: September 25, 2019 Format: CD, CD+DVD Label: Zen Music	8	2		JPN: 16,478[26]

Compilation albums

Title	Album details	Peak chart positions	Certifications [22]	Sales [23]
		JPN [24]
Ima Made no A Men, B Men Dest!?	Released: November 25, 2009 Format: 2CD, 2CD+8cmCD Label: Nayutawave	1	RIAJ: 3x Platinum	JPN: 558,000
C, D Dest!?	Released: June 24, 2009 Format: CD, CD+DVD Label: Zen Music	2	RIAJ: Gold
ALL SINGLeeeeS 〜& New Beginning〜	Released: January 24, 2017 Format: 2CD, 2CD Label: Zen Music	1	RIAJ: Gold

Live albums

Title	Album details	Peak chart positions	Sales [23]
		JPN [24]
AB DEST!? TOUR!? 2010	Released: May 26, 2010 Format: 3CD Label: Nayutawave Records	10	JPN: 22,000

Singles

Title	Year	Peak chart positions			Certifications [22]	Sales [23]	Album
		JPN Oricon [27]	JPN Hot 100 [28][upper-alpha 1]	RIAJ Digital Tracks [29][upper-alpha 2][upper-alpha 3]
"Michi" (道, Road)	2007	39	N/A	27*		JPN: 27,000	Ā, Domo. Hajimemashite
"High G.K Low (Hajikero)" (HIGH G.K LOW ～ハジケロ～, Let's Burst)"		97		—		JPN: 2,000
"Ai Uta" (愛唄, Love Song)		2		1*	RIAJ (physical): Platinum RIAJ (ringtone): 3x Million RIAJ (cellphone): 2x Million RIAJ (PC): 2x Platinum	JPN: 256,000
"Hito" (人, People)		8		6*	RIAJ (physical): Gold	JPN: 40,000	Ā, Domo. Ohisashiburi Desu.
"Be Free/Namidazora" (BE FREE/涙空, Sky of Tears)	2008	6	1 —	5* 8*		JPN: 47,000
"Tabidachi" (旅立ち, Trip)		10	23	11*		JPN: 47,000
"Kiseki"		1	1	1*	RIAJ (physical): 2x Platinum RIAJ (ringtone): 3x Million RIAJ (cellphone): 2x Million RIAJ (PC): 3x Platinum RIAJ (digital): 4x Million	JPN: 558,000
"Ashiato" (足跡, Footprints) Collaboration with Back-On as Bareeeeeeeeeen		7	6	2*		JPN: 35,000	Non-album single
"Tobira" (扉, Door)		2	3	3*	RIAJ (physical): Gold RIAJ (cellphone): Gold	JPN: 87,000	Shio, Koshō
"Ayumi" (歩み, Walk)	2009	2	2	1*	RIAJ (physical): Gold RIAJ (ringtone): 3x Platinum RIAJ (cellphone): Platinum RIAJ (PC): Gold	JPN: 124,000
"Setsuna" (刹那, Moment)		4	4	1*	RIAJ (ringtone): Million RIAJ (cellphone): 2x Platinum RIAJ (digital): 3x Platinum	JPN: 97,000
"Haruka" (遥か, Far Off)		2	1	1	RIAJ (physical): Gold	JPN: 145,000
"Good Lucky!" Collaboration with Becky as Goocky (グッキー, Gukkī)	2011	12	17	18		JPN: 16,000	Utautai ga Uta Utai ni Kite Uta Utae to Iu ga Utautai ga Uta Utau dake Utaikire ba Uta Utau keredomo Utautai dake Uta Utaikirenai kara Uta Utawanu!?
"Hana Uta" (花唄, Flower Song)		7	5	7		JPN: 22,000
"So Ra Shi Do" (ソラシド, Sol La Si Do)		10	13	6		JPN: 19,000
"Koibumi (Love Letter)" (恋文〜ラブレター〜, Love Letter (Love Letter))		9	3	2		JPN: 29,000
"Misenai Namida wa, Kitto Itsuka" (ミセナイナマダハ、きっといつか, The Tears I Can't Show, Surely Someday)	2012	6	4	1		JPN: 40,000
"Orenji" (オレンジ Orange)		8	4	1		JPN: 18,000
"Oh Meiwaku" (OH 迷惑, Oh Trouble)		13	17	15		JPN: 8,000
"Yuki no Ne" (雪の音, Sound of Snow)		6	4	N/A			Iine!(´・ω・｀)☆
"Sakura color" (桜color, Cherry Color)	2013	7	7
"Icarus"		8	9
"Heroes"		12	19
"Itoshikimi e" (愛し君へ, To my beloved)		14	12				Ima kara Oyayubi ga Kieru Tejina Shimasu.
"Bokura no Monogatari" (僕らの物語, Our story)		16	6
"Aisubeki Ashita, Isshun to Issho o" (愛すべき明日、一瞬と一生を)	2014	8	10
"Sakamoto"	2015	35	57				En
"Yume" (夢, Dream)	2016	22	19
"Hajimari no Uta" (始まりの唄, Beginning Song)		27	23
"beautiful days"		43	23
"Akatsuki no Kimi ni" (暁の君に)		36	45				ALL SINGLeeeeS 〜& New Beginning〜
"Tetote to Tentoten" (テトテとテントテン) Collaboration with Whiteeeen	2017	25	31
"harou Kagerou" (ハローカゲロウ, Hello Ephemera)	2018	14	5				UreD
"Okuru Kotoba" (贈る言葉)		18	17
"Yakusoku" (約束, Promise) Collaboration with No title	2019	26	42
"Hoshikage no Yell" (星影のエール)	2020	5
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. "*" denotes a recording that charted on the monthly RIAJ Chaku-uta Reco-kyō Chart.

Awards

Japan Gold Disc Awards

Year	Nominee / work	Award	Result
2007	Greeeen	New Artist of the Year	Won[30]
	"Ai Uta"	Chaku-Uta Song of the Year	Won[30]
2008	"Kiseki"	The Best 10 Single	Won
		Chaku-Uta Song of the Year	Won
	"A, Domo. Ohisashiburi Desu."	The Best 10 Album	Won
2009	"Haruka"	Song of the Year	Won
	"Shio, Koshō"	The Best 5 Album	Won
	"Ima Made no A Men, B Men Dest!?"	The Best 5 Album	Won

Japan Record Awards

Year	Nominee / work	Award	Result
2009	Shio, Koshō	Best Album	Won[31]
		Album Award	Won[32]

Student Voice Awards

Year	Nominee / work	Award	Result
2008	"Kiseki"	Best Ringtone	Won[33]

Yahoo! Music Awards

Year	Nominee / work	Award	Result
2008	"Ai Uta"	Works category	Won[34]

Films

Year	Film	Director	Screenwriter	Distributor
2017	キセキ -あの日のソビト- (KISEKI Sobito of That Day)	Atusi Kanesige	Hirosi Saito	Toei(JPN)
2019	愛唄 -約束のナクヒト- (Ai Uta Nakuhito of Promise)	Taisuke Kawamura	GReeeeN/Tadasi Shimizu	Toei(JPN)

Video Game

A Mobiclip powered videogame based on the band called HUDSONxGReeeeN Live!? DeeeeS!? (HUDSON×GReeeeN ライブ!? DeeeeS!?) was developed and released by Hudson Soft in April 1st, 2010. [35]

Notes

1. The Japan Hot 100 was established in February 2008.
2. The RIAJ "Reco-kyō" monthly ringtone chart is a depreciated chart that ran from 2006 until 2009.
3. The RIAJ Digital Track Chart is a depreciated chart that ran from 2009 until early 2012 and tracked full-length cellphone downloads.

References

1. ＧＲｅｅｅｅＮプロデューサーがデビュー (in Japanese). Nikkan Sports. 2009-06-26. Retrieved 2009-10-29.
2. "Biography" (in Japanese). Universal Music Japan. Archived from the original on 2009-10-26. Retrieved 2009-11-20.
3. "フロンティア大使のプロフィール等|郡山市公式ウェブサイト". www.city.koriyama.lg.jp (in Japanese). Retrieved 2020-02-25.
4. レコード協会調べ　8月度有料音楽配信認定 (in Japanese). RIAJ. Retrieved 2009-10-21.
5. ゴールド等認定作品一覧　2011年11月 (in Japanese). RIAJ. Retrieved September 21, 2017.
6. レコード協会調べ　1月度有料音楽配信認定 (in Japanese). RIAJ. Retrieved 2009-10-21.
7. "GReeeeN、ビルボード年間チャートで1位" (in Japanese). Barks. 2008-12-12. Retrieved 2008-12-15.
8. 有料音楽配信認定作品一覧　2015年7月 (in Japanese). RIAJ. Retrieved September 21, 2017.
9. ゴールド等認定作品一覧　2008年12月 (in Japanese). RIAJ. Retrieved 2009-06-11.
10. ゴールド等認定作品一覧　2009年1月 (in Japanese). RIAJ. Retrieved 2009-06-11.
11. ゴールド等認定作品一覧　2009年3月 (in Japanese). RIAJ. Retrieved 2009-06-11.
12. ゴールド等認定作品一覧　2009年5月 (in Japanese). RIAJ. Retrieved 2009-06-11.
13. "RIAJ Digital Track Chart between May 20, 2009 and May 26, 2009" (in Japanese). RIAJ. Archived from the original on October 10, 2014. Retrieved 2009-10-22.
14. レコード協会調べ　10月度有料音楽配信認定 (in Japanese). RIAJ. Retrieved 2009-11-20.
15. ゴールド等認定作品一覧　2009年6月 (in Japanese). RIAJ. Retrieved 2009-09-16.
16. "GReeeeN『キセキ』ギネスブックに登録！" (in Japanese). Excite Music. 2009-07-03. Retrieved 2009-10-22.
17. ＧＲｅｅｅｅＮ解散報道を所属事務所とレコード会社が否定 (in Japanese). Sankei Shimbun. 2009-11-05. Archived from the original on November 8, 2009. Retrieved 2009-11-09.
18. ＧＲｅｅｅｅＮのＨＩＤＥ、解散報道に怒り (in Japanese). Sankei Sports. 2009-11-05. Archived from the original on November 8, 2009. Retrieved 2009-11-09.
19. "人気ボーカルグループGReeeeNと　ハドソンがコラボレーション!!" (Portable Document Format) (in Japanese). Hudson Soft. 2009-06-10. Retrieved 2009-06-18.
20. "HUDSON×GReeeeN ライブ!? DeeeeS!?". www.nintendo.co.jp (in Japanese). Retrieved 2017-09-21.
21. "GReeeeN releases first new song in two years". Tokyohive. April 14, 2011. Retrieved September 20, 2017.
22. 一般社団法人 日本レコード協会. RIAJ. Retrieved 2017-09-05.
23. オリコンランキング情報サービス「you大樹」. Oricon. Retrieved 2010-08-07. (subscription only)
24. GReeeeNのアルバム作品. oricon ME inc. Retrieved 2017-09-05.
25. "風雲榜:玫瑰大眾購物網". 2019-10-04. Archived from the original on 2019-10-04. Retrieved 2019-10-06.
26. 週間 CDアルバムランキング 2019年10月07日付 [Weekly CD Album Ranking on October 7, 2019] (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved October 2, 2019.
27. GReeeeNのシングル作品. oricon ME inc. Retrieved 2017-09-05.
28. "GReeeeN - Chart history: Japan Hot 100". Billboard. Retrieved 2017-09-05.
29. 有料音楽配信チャート (in Japanese). RIAJ.
30. "EXILE wins Gold Disc award". Tokyograph. 2008-03-04. Retrieved 2010-01-21.
31. レコ大各賞発表　ＥＸＩＬＥなど11組が大賞候補 (in Japanese). Sponichi Annex. 2009-12-01. Archived from the original on 2009-12-04. Retrieved 2010-01-21.
32. "51st Japan Record Awards announced". Tokyograph. 2009-12-01. Retrieved 2010-01-21.
33. "Student Voice Awards: Oguri wins again". Tokyograph. 2008-08-28. Retrieved 2010-01-21.
34. "Yahoo! Music Awards 2007". Tokyograph. 2008-02-21. Retrieved 2010-01-21.
35. HUDSON×GReeeeN ライブ!? DeeeeS!?, Japanese Nintendo software description

External links

• Official website (in Japanese)
• Public Website by Universal Music Japan (in Japanese)