7 things you need to know from Arashi’s YouTube live session

By Yian Lu

Last month, J-pop boy band Arashi surprised us with their unprecedented YouTube channel and online music. But the storm did not stop there.

Just a few days ago, they uploaded a short video on YouTube saying they would be hosting a YouTube live session at 10.30am (SGT) on Sunday (3 November). The date also marks their 20th anniversary since their CD debut in 1999.

In the list below, we have consolidated seven things you must know, which the five band members announced during the YouTube session.

1. Arashi have set up 5 social media accounts.

On top of their YouTube channel, Arashi have subsequently opened their official accounts on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and even Weibo. In their first post, they said, “We wanted to get closer to our fans across the world. Come along with us!!!!!”

You can check them out at the following handles:

Twitter — @arashi5official

Facebook — @arashi5official

Instagram — @arashi_5_official

TikTok — @arashi_5_official

Weibo — @arashi_5

2. All of Arashi's 64 singles will be available on online music stores.

Starting with A.RA.SHI, Love so sweet, Happiness, truth and Monster which are already on Apple Music, Spotify, Amazon Prime Music, the group will be adding the remaining 59 songs from their singles to these platforms. All of these songs, up till their latest single BRAVE, will be available from 3 November, 6pm (SGT).

3. Arashi will be releasing a new digital single Turning Up on 3 November.

In addition to the 64 singles, their upcoming 65th single titled Turning Up will also be available on online music stores from 6pm (SGT) on Sunday. The music video will also premiere on YouTube subsequently at 8pm (SGT). The idol group even leaked that they will be hosting an Arashi gathering-cum-chat session about 30 minutes before the premiere on YouTube. Fans can then watch the new music video together with Arashi.

4. Arashi will be visiting 4 cities on 10-11 November, Singapore included!

Over two days, the band will take a private jet to visit Jakarta, Singapore, Bangkok and Taipei. This will be the first time Arashi sets foot in Singapore as a group.

The press conference titled JET STORM is said to have the following schedule:

9 November — Tokyo -> Jakarta

10 November — Jakarta -> Singapore -> Bangkok

11 November — Bangkok -> Taipei -> Tokyo

While it is unclear what they will be announcing, fans are looking at the revival of the Arashi Around Asia tour which was held in 2006 at Bangkok, Taipei and Seoul, and in 2008 at Taipei, Seoul and Shanghai. The JET STORM press conference was also held in 2006 to promote their concerts in Thailand, Taiwan and South Korea.

5. There will be a live viewing of Arashi’s final concert for their 20th anniversary tour.

The live viewing will be held on Christmas Day from 6pm (JST) at all 328 Toho Cinemas in the 47 prefectures in Japan. Much to the dismay of international fans, the live viewing has restricted access to the members of their fan club, which is limited to fans with a Japan address.

6. Arashi will hold concerts at Tokyo’s new National Stadium on 15-16 May 2020.

No concrete details yet, but this will be the group’s first concert at the new National Stadium.

7. Arashi’s first concert at Beijing confirmed to be held next spring.

The details of the concert has yet to be released.

In view of their indefinite hiatus from the end of 2020, these are the list of events Arashi have come up with to thank their fans for their support all these years. One of the group member Jun Matsumoto clarified, “One of the reasons for making our music available online is to allow our fans to enjoy our songs at any time and not feel lonely during our hiatus.”