Pandora (musical duo)
Pandora | |
---|---|
Origin | Japan |
Genres | |
Years active |
|
Labels | |
Members |
Pandora is a Japanese electronic music superduo, consisting of Tetsuya Komuro of TM Network and Globe and Daisuke Asakura of Access, formed in 2017.
They received a No. 2 hit with "Be the One", which was the main theme for Kamen Rider Build. The duo was only together for six months before Komuro's retirement forced them to suspend their activities. However, Komuro later resumed his career in 2021, and Pandora reformed in 2025.
History
[edit]2017–2018: Formation and initial run
[edit]Tetsuya Komuro and Daisuke Asakura had worked together for years. Asakura was a support member for Kumoro's band TM Network from 1987 to 1992, and the two had a teacher-apprentice relationship, with Asakura even calling Komuro "sensei".[1] Throughout 2017, pictures of the two together were going around online, which led to speculation they were working together. On July 13, a trailer was uploaded to Komuro's social media pages titled "DA / TK Digital Orchestra", which led to further speculation from both fans and media outlets about a collaboration.[2] Finally, on July 31, Pandora's formation was officially announced, with only the name and a photo of the two being shown off. It was explained that the concept of the group is like a "box", where it's "filled with new entertainment through collaborations with vocalists, art, and technology."[2]
Two days later, on August 2, it was announced they would be providing the main theme for the TV drama Kamen Rider Build, titled "Be the One", which featured Filipino singer Beverly.[3] A short music video was released for the song on August 31, three days before the series' premiere on September 3.[4] They held their first live concert on September 16 at Ultra Japan 2017, which featured the first full performance of "Be the One" with Beverly.[5][6] They later performed the song again at the Kamen Rider x Super Sentai Live & Show 2018 festival on January 24, 2018, which was the day the single was released physically.[7][8] The song peaked at No. 2 on both the Oricon Weekly Singles Chart and the Billboard Japan Hot 100.[9][10]
On January 19, 2018, Komuro announced his retirement after having an affair.[11] Despite that, on January 25, the duo announced their first mini-album, Blueprint, which would feature new mixes of "Be the One" and the B-side, "Proud of You", and also two new songs, "Shining Star" and "Aerodynamics".[12] It was released on February 7 and peaked at No. 9 on the Oricon Weekly Albums Chart and No. 12 on the Billboard Japan Hot Albums chart.[13][14] The duo played two Billboard Live shows, one in Tokyo on January 26 and one in Osaka on February 3;[15] the Osaka show would be both Pandora's and Komuro's last live performance at the time.[16] The duo made their first television appearance, and last appearance overall at the time, on February 6 on Uta-Con.[17] After that, the duo stopped activities.
2025–present: Reformation
[edit]Komuro officially came out of retirement in 2021 but focused his efforts at that time on TM Network, who had reformed, and producing for other artists.[18] Finally, on January 17, 2025, Pandora officially announced a reunion seven years after they disbanded, with their first show, titled Pandora Live 2025 -Open the Box-, being held on February 28 at Zepp DiverCity in Tokyo.[19][20] On May 28, a Blu-ray of the performance was released, which included the performance of a new song, "336".[21]
Discography
[edit]Extended plays
[edit]Title | EP details | Peak chart positions | |
---|---|---|---|
JPN [22] |
JPN Hot [23] | ||
Blueprint |
|
9 | 12 |
Singles
[edit]Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Sales | Certifications | Album | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
JPN [22] |
JPN Hot [23] | |||||
"Be the One" | 2018 | 2 | 2 | JPN: 100,000 | Blueprint |
Videos
[edit]Title | Album details | Peak chart positions |
---|---|---|
JPN [22] | ||
Pandora Live 2025 -Open the Box- | 10 |
References
[edit]- ^ "小室哲哉&浅倉大介、師弟ユニット結成 "PANDORA"の箱開ける". Oricon News (in Japanese). 2017-07-31. Retrieved 2025-06-12.
- ^ a b "小室哲哉&浅倉大介がユニット結成! PANDORA="箱"から新しいエンタテインメントを発信 | Daily News". Billboard Japan (in Japanese). 2017-07-31. Retrieved 2025-06-12.
- ^ "小室哲哉&浅倉大介から成るPANDORA『仮面ライダービルド』主題歌でBeverlyをフィーチャー | Daily News". Billboard Japan (in Japanese). 2017-08-02. Retrieved 2025-06-04.
- ^ "PANDORA×Beverly、MVで初共演". Barks (in Japanese). 2017-08-31. Retrieved 2025-06-04.
- ^ "<ULTRA JAPAN 2017>最終発表にPANDORA、KOHH、SALU、ゆるふわギャングら". Barks (in Japanese). 2017-08-31. Retrieved 2025-06-04.
- ^ "PANDORA、初パフォーマンス。Beverlyもサプライズ出演". Barks (in Japanese). 2017-09-18. Retrieved 2025-06-04.
- ^ "仮面ライダー&スーパー戦隊の"お祭り"に小室&浅倉×Beverly、三浦大知、松岡充ら". 音楽ナタリー (in Japanese). 2017-10-29. Retrieved 2025-06-04.
- ^ "小室哲哉×浅倉大介「PANDORA」、初のミニALをリリース". Barks (in Japanese). 2018-01-25. Retrieved 2025-06-04.
- ^ "オリコン週間 シングルランキング 2018年01月22日~2018年01月28日". Oricon News. Archived from the original on 2022-10-19. Retrieved 2025-06-03.
- ^ "J-Pop Duo KinKi Kids Tops Japan Hot 100 as PANDORA Shoots to No. 2". Billboard. 2018-01-31. Retrieved 2025-06-05.
- ^ "小室哲哉が引退を発表". 音楽ナタリー (in Japanese). 2018-01-19. Retrieved 2025-06-13.
- ^ "PANDORA(小室哲哉&浅倉大介)ミニAL『Blueprint』発売決定! 引退発表した小室の最新サウンド | Daily News". Billboard Japan (in Japanese). 2018-01-25. Retrieved 2025-06-13.
- ^ "Blueprint | PANDORA". Oricon News (in Japanese). Retrieved 2025-06-13.
- ^ "Billboard Japan Hot Albums 2018/02/14". Billboard Japan (in Japanese). Retrieved 2025-06-13.
- ^ "小室哲哉×浅倉大介の新ユニット"PANDORA"が2018年1月より東阪ビルボードライブ公演開催 | Daily News". Billboard Japan (in Japanese). 2017-11-01. Retrieved 2025-06-13.
- ^ "PANDORA(小室哲哉×浅倉大介)音楽のあらゆる魅力と可能性を見せた夜……最後の曲は「永遠と名づけてデイドリーム」 | Daily News". Billboard Japan (in Japanese). 2018-02-09. Retrieved 2025-06-13.
- ^ "小室哲哉×浅倉大介「PANDORA」、初のテレビ出演". Barks (in Japanese). 2018-02-06. Retrieved 2025-06-13.
- ^ "TM NETWORKが6年ぶり再起動 配信ライブで新曲披露へ 小室哲哉が完全復帰「音楽をやらせてください」". Oricon News (in Japanese). 2021-10-01. Retrieved 2025-06-13.
- ^ "小室哲哉×浅倉大介の伝説ユニット・PANDORAが7年ぶり始動 "パンドラ"の箱が2・28に再び開く". Oricon News (in Japanese). 2025-01-17. Retrieved 2025-06-13.
- ^ "小室哲哉と浅倉大介のユニットPANDORAが再始動、西川貴教とBeverlyをゲストに迎えライブ開催". 音楽ナタリー (in Japanese). 2025-01-17. Retrieved 2025-06-13.
- ^ "小室哲哉×浅倉大介「PANDORA」、新曲「336」ライブ映像&ライブBlu-ray詳細を公開". Barks (in Japanese). 2025-04-25. Retrieved 2025-06-13.
- ^ a b c "PANDORAの作品". Oricon News (in Japanese). Retrieved 2025-06-17.
- ^ a b "PANDORA | Artist". Billboard Japan (in Japanese). Retrieved 2025-06-17.
- ^ "Digital Certifications". Recording Industry Association of Japan (in Japanese). Retrieved 2025-06-17. Enter "Pandora" in the field "アーティスト", then hit "検索" to access all digital certifications.