Exile (Japanese band)

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Exile (エグザイル, Eguzairu^?) is a 14-member Japanese pop music band.

Current leader Hiro was originally in the band Zoo that split up in the mid-1990s. In 1999, he started a new group called J Soul Brothers, which later changed its name to Exile in 2001. (But the name of J Soul Brothers was later revived by Hiro again in 2007 when he helped to form another 7-member group under the new J Soul Brothers monicker.)

On artwork and promotional material, the band name is typeset in all capitals as "EXILE".

In November 2003, Exile remade Zoo's hit single "Choo Choo Train" and sold over a million copies. Exile's latest album, Exile Love, has sold exceptionally well, selling nearly 1.5 million copies in less than four months, it is currently the highest selling album of 2008. Exile's compilation album "Exile Ballad Best" sold nearly 1 million copies in its first week, making it the highest first week sales for an album in 2008. In 2009, Exile's song "The Next Door -Indestructible-" (The Japanese version is called "The Next Door") was featured as the theme of Street Fighter IV.

On March 1 2009, Exile and J Soul Brothers announced to merge as a 14-member group.

[edit] Members

[edit] Performers

• Hiro, real name Hiroyuki Igarashi (五十嵐 広行, Igarashi Hiroyuki^?) June 1, 1969 – leader of the group
• Makidai, real name Daisuke Maki (眞木 大輔, Maki Daisuke^?) October 27, 1975
• Matsu, real name Toshio Matsumoto (松本 利夫, Matsumoto Toshio^?), born May 27, 1975.
• Usa, real name Yoshihiro Usami (宇佐美 吉啓, Usami Yoshishiro^?), born February 2, 1977.
• Akira, real name Ryōhei Kurosawa (黒沢 良平, Kurosawa Ryōhei^?), born August 23, 1981 – was a member of Rather Unique and joined the group 2006 summer.

• Kenchi, real name Ken'ichirō Teratsuji (寺辻 健一郎, Teratsuji Kenichirou^?), born September 28, 1979.
• Keiji, real name Keiji Kuroki (黒木 啓司, Kuroki Keiji^?), born January 21, 1980.
• Tetsuya, real name Tetsuya Tsuchida (土田 哲也, Tsuchida Tetsuya^?), born February 18, 1981.
• Naoto, real name Naoto Kataoka (片岡 直人, Kataoka Naoto^?), born August 30, 1983.
• Naoki, real name Naoki Kobayashi (小林 直己, Kobayashi Naoki^?), born November 10, 1984.

[edit] Vocalists

• Atsushi, real name Atsushi Satō (佐藤 篤志, Satō Atsushi^?), born April 30, 1980.
• Takahiro, real name Takahiro Tazaki (田崎 敬浩, Tazaki Takahiro^?), born December 8, 1984 – the new vocalist chosen to replace Shun during the "Exile Vocal Battle Audition 2006: Asian Dream" summer audition.

[edit] Vocalists & Performers

• Nesmith, real name Nesmith Ryuta Karimu (ネスミス・竜太・カリム, Nesumisu Ryuta Karimu^?), born August 1, 1983.
• Shokichi, real name Shokichi Yagi (八木 将吉, Yagi Shokichi^?), born October 3, 1985.

[edit] Former member

• Shun, real name Shunsuke Kiyokiba (清木場 俊介, Kiyokiba Shunsuke^?), born January 11, 1980 – currently a solo artist under his real name.

[edit] Discography

[edit] Singles

[edit] Collaborations

[edit] Others

[edit] Albums

[edit] Studio albums

• ¹= Best selling album of 2008

[edit] Best of albums

^[2] Highest debut sales of any album in 2008.

[edit] Other albums

#	Title	Release Date	Peak Position	Sales
1	The Other Side of Ex Vol. 1	2003-09-10	#5	-
2	Appreciation to the Million Breakthrough (祝ミリオン・初回アルバム ３枚組 Box Set: Appreciation to the Million Breakthrough?)	2004-03-31	#55	-
3	Heart of Gold: Street Future Opera Beat Pops	2004-09-29	#1	460,000

[edit] References and footnotes

1. ^ Like Zoo's version of the song, Exile's "Choo Choo Train" also features a voice sample of D. Train's dance hit "Keep On".
2. ^ A single made up of the five 2006 summer audition finalists (under the name "Dreamers: Exile Vocal Battle Audition Finalist".

[edit] External links

• (Japanese) Exile's Official Website
• (Japanese) Scream – Official Glay x Exile "Scream" website

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