1998 J-Friends – 明日が聴こえる / Children’s Holiday
明日が聴こえる / Children’s Holiday is the debut single by the special Japanese charity supergroup J-FRIENDS, released on January 21, 1998. The group was formed to provide financial aid to children affected by the 1995 Great Hanshin Earthquake in Kobe. It brought together all members from three major Johnny & Associates groups of that era: TOKIO, V6, and KinKi Kids.
The supergroup united three major idol groups from Johnny & Associates: TOKIO, V6, and KinKi Kids, featuring a total of 13 members. It was released as a unique double 8cm CD single package, which was highly unusual for the Japanese music market at the time. The single debuted at #1 on the Oricon charts, selling over 500,000 copies in its first week. All proceeds were donated to the Kobe City Board of Education to support local children.
The sweeping ballad ‘Children’s Holiday’ was written and composed specifically for the group by Michael Jackson.
Tracks
1 明日が聴こえる (Tetsuro Oda, Goro Matsui) 05:00
2 明日が聴こえる (Instrumental) (Tetsuro Oda) 04:55
3 Children’s Holiday (Goro Matsui, Michael Jackson) 04:21
J-Friends
TOKIO
| Vocals | Shigeru Joshima |
| Vocals | Taichi Kokubun |
| Vocals | Masahiro Matsuoka |
| Vocals | Tomoya Nagase |
| Vocals | Tatsuya Yamaguchi |
| Vocals | Lindsey Webster |
V6
| Vocals | Masayuki Sakamoto |
| Vocals | Hiroshi Nagano |
| Vocals | Yoshihiko Inohara |
| Vocals | Go Morita |
| Vocals | Ken Miyake |
| Vocals | Junichi Okada |
KinKi Kids
| Vocals | Koichi Domoto |
| Vocals | Tsuyoshi Domoto |
Musicians
1 明日が聴こえる
| Bass | Doug Grigsby |
| Drums | Lil’ John Roberts |
| Drums (programming) | James Allen |
| Drums (programming) | Michael Jackson |
| Guitar | Brett Garsed |
| Guitar | Charles Fearing |
| Keyboards | Steve Porcaro |
| Keyboards | Brad Buxer |
| Keyboards | Michael Jackson |
| Keyboards | Geoff Grace |
| Synthesizer | Steve Porcaro |
| Synthesizer | Brad Buxer |
| Synthesizer | Michael Jackson |
| Synthesizer | Geoff Grace |
| Programming | Brad Buxer |
| Programming | Geoff Grace |
| Programming | Doug Grigsby |
| Percussion | Paulinho Da Costa |
| Vocals | J-Friends |
3 Children’s Holiday
| Bass | Doug Grigsby |
| Drums | Lil’ John Roberts |
| Drums (programming) | James Allen |
| Drums (programming) | Michael Jackson |
| Guitar | Brett Garsed |
| Guitar | Charles Fearing |
| Keyboards | Steve Porcaro |
| Keyboards | Brad Buxer |
| Keyboards | Michael Jackson |
| Keyboards | Geoff Grace |
| Synthesizer | Steve Porcaro |
| Synthesizer | Brad Buxer |
| Synthesizer | Michael Jackson |
| Synthesizer | Geoff Grace |
| Programming | Brad Buxer |
| Programming | Geoff Grace |
| Programming | Doug Grigsby |
| Percussion | Paulinho Da Costa |
| Vocals | J-Friends |
Musicians
Suzukake Children’s Choir (Tracks 1, 3)
Cello – Anne Karam, Cecilia Tsan, Doug Davis (Track 3)
Violin – Armen Garabedian, Endre Granat, Frances Moore, Gary Kuo, Jean Hugo, Joel Derouin, Karen Jones, Liane Reynolds, Marisa McLeod, Murray Adler, Olivia Tsui, Joe Ketendjian, Ron Clark, Tiffany Hu (Track 3)
Liner Notes
Producer – Brad Buxer, Mick Guzauski (Track 3)
Arranged By – Kouichi Korenaga (Track 1)
Arranged By (Backing Vocals) – Hiroaki Suzuki, Osamu Hikita (Track 1)
Arranged By – Geoff Grace, Brad Buxer, Michael Jackson (Track 3)
Conductor – Jorge Del Barrio (Track 3)
Engineer – Nobuhisa Kawabe, Takahiro Nochimura, Yasuyuki Hara, Yuji Ohshima, Bobby Brooks, Hiroshi Shitamiya, Kenji Matsunaga, Maki Kosugi, Norihiko Ebihara, Tal Miller, Toshio Misu, Yasuyuki Hara
Assistant Engineers – Eiji Kameda, Manabu Yokota, Eiji Kameda, Hiroichi Akikubo, Keiko Yamashita, Linda Nilsson, Manabu Yokota, Tom Bender
Mastered By – Vlado Meller
Mixed By – Maki Kosugi (Track 1)
Mixed By – Mick Guzauski (Track 3)
Orchestrated By (Strings) – Jorge Del Barrio (Track 3)
Art Direction – Katsuya Uehara
Mastered At Sony Music Studios
Mixed At Mixer’s Lab
Recorded At Johnny’s Studio
Recorded At Planet Kingdom
Recorded At On Air Azabu Studio
Recorded At Burnish Stone Recording Studio
Recorded At Bunkamura Studio
Recorded At M-Bar Studio
Recorded At Sound Inn Studio
Recorded At Studio Sound Valley
Recorded At The Gallery, Sherman Oaks, CA
Recorded At Ocean Way Recording
Recorded At Barking Doctor Recording
Recorded At Mixer’s Lab
Recorded At On Air Azabu Studio
Recorded At Planet Kingdom
Recorded At Birdie House
Phonographic Copyright J-Friends Project
Copyright J-Friends Project