is an all-female Japanese rock band formed in Osaka in 2006. Although all four members have provided lead vocals, their primary roles are Haruna on vocals and rhythm guitar, Mami on lead guitar, Tomomi on bass guitar, and Rina on drums. With numerous overseas performances and anime theme songs, Scandal has built a considerable international fanbase."SCANDAL香港放送局RTHKのJ-POPチャートで1位を獲得！ ". mFound entertainment. 2010-09-03. Retrieved 2010-09-03."SCANDAL、2ndアルバムが世界42カ国で発売決定". Natalie. 2010-09-03. Retrieved 2010-09-03. The band has been voted by fans across the world into the top ten of the "Most-Requested Artists" category of the J-Melo Awards every year since 2010, taking first place in 2014.
Formed in August 2006 by four high school girls, Scandal played live street performances until they were noticed and signed to the indie label Kitty Records. In 2008, they released three singles and a mini-album while simultaneously touring the United States, France, and Hong Kong. That October, Scandal released their major debut single, "Doll", on Epic Records Japan. The band has performed the theme songs for several anime series, including "Shōjo S" and "Harukaze" for Bleach, "Shunkan Sentimental" for Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, "Pride" for Star Driver, and "A.M.D.K.J." for GeGeGe no Kitarō.
History
Indie career
Scandal was formed in August 2006 by four high school girls. The girls, Haruna, Mami, Tomomi, and Rina, met in an Osaka vocal and dance school called Caless.SCANDAL プロフィール . Retrieved 2009-10-16.CALESS VOCAL & DANCE SCHOOL - キャレス出身アーティスト. Retrieved 2010-04-08. Shortly thereafter, they started performing live performances every weekend at Shiroten in Osaka Castle Park. Soon, they started getting offers from clubs in Osaka and Kyoto. The band's name originates from a sign near Studio Brotherz, a studio where they practiced in their early days. The studio was on the sixth floor of a building shared with other businesses, namely adult shops. The girls decided to choose the biggest sign among the shops, , as the name for their band."SCANDAL - 制服は、私達の戦闘服！ - インタビュー". Excite. 2008-10-01. Retrieved 2011-03-22.
In 2008, Scandal signed with indie label Kitty Records and released three singles exclusive to Tower Records. The first, "Space Ranger", ranked #2 on the Tower indie charts and the other two, "Koi Moyō" and "Kagerō", ranked #1. "Koi Moyō" was also used as the theme song for the movie Corazon de Melon. On April 29, they performed at Show-Ya's all-female music festival Naon no Yaon. In March, they embarked on the Japan Nite tour, touring six major cities in the United States, including an appearance at SXSW. They also performed at the Sakura-Con anime convention. In July, they performed in front of 10,000 people at France's Japan Expo and also at Hong Kong's Animation-Comic-Game Hong Kong in August. Scandal concluded their indie career with the release of their first mini-album, Yah! Yah! Yah! Hello Scandal: Maido! Scandal Desu! Yah Yah Yah!.
Major debut
In October 2008, Scandal made their major debut on Epic Records Japan with the single "Doll". It gave them increased exposure, including appearances on mainstream music television shows like Music Station."出演者ラインナップ 2008/10/24 ". Music Station. Retrieved 2009-10-16. The band released their second major single "Sakura Goodbye" in March 2009 to commemorate Mami and Tomomi's high school graduation."メンバー2名も今春卒業！制服ガールズバンドSCANDALが卒業ソングを熱唱 Web De-View". 2009-03-04. Retrieved 2009-10-16. The song was a new version of their indie song, "Sakura", which had previously only been performed live."スキャンダル アメリカ村TV年越しParty 07-08 SCANDAL #3 kissfm". YouTube. Retrieved 2009-10-16. The following month, their third major single "Shōjo S" was used as the tenth opening theme for the anime Bleach. The single ranked #6 on the Oricon charts when it was released two months later in June."2009年07月第1週のシングルランキング情報". Oricon. Retrieved 2009-10-16.
On October 14, Scandal released their fourth major single, "Yumemiru Tsubasa" which was followed with their major debut album, Best Scandal, the next week. The album ranked #5 on the Oricon weekly chart, making them the first girl band since Zone to have a debut album chart in the top five."SCANDALが女性バンド7年ぶりの快挙達成". BARKS. 2009-10-28. Retrieved 2010-04-08. In December, Scandal embarked on their Scandal First Live: Best Scandal tour in 2009. Concluding the year, the band won a New Artist Award at the 51st Japan Record Awards, but lost the Best New Artist Award to Korean boy group Big Bang.
2010 began with Scandal's fifth major single in February, "Shunkan Sentimental". It was used as the fourth ending theme for the anime Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood. The following month, they embarked on a spring tour, Scandal: Shunkan Sakura Zensen Tour 2010 Spring. Prior to its start, the band conducted a Twitter poll to choose a song to cover for the tour. The winner was "Secret Base (Kimi ga Kureta Mono)", which was chosen out of over 600 candidates."SCANDAL版「secret base～君がくれたもの～」配信決定". Natalie. 2010-04-20. Retrieved 2010-04-25. In June, Scandal released a pop tune for summer, "Taiyō to Kimi ga Egaku Story", followed by their first original ballad, "Namida no Regret", in July.
Between the end of July and the beginning of August, Scandal traveled to Hong Kong. The band performed for the third consecutive year at the Animation-Comic-Game Hong Kong convention and held their first one-man live concert in Hong Kong, which sold out."SCANDAL、アジア最大級アニメフェスで5000人を動員". Natalie. 2010-08-04. Retrieved 2010-09-03. Scandal was also featured on the cover of the Hong Kong magazine re:spect music magazine, and their previously released single "Taiyō to Kimi ga Egaku Story" reached #1 on the Radio Television Hong Kong J-pop chart. Earlier in the year, they were awarded a bronze newcomer award by RTHK.
After returning to Japan, Scandal released their second album, Temptation Box, on August 11. The album debuted at #3 on the Oricon weekly chart, making them the first girl band to have an album chart in the top three in over a year since Chatmonchy's Kokuhaku."ツイッターで「集まれ～」で500人！SCANDALが東京タワーでサプライズライブ". BIGLOBE. 2010-08-18. Retrieved 2010-09-03. The album was also released in 42 other countries worldwide.
Later in August, Scandal provided the theme, insert, and ending songs for the animated film Loups=Garous, which premiered on the 28th in most of Japan. The songs were "Midnight Television", "Koshi-Tantan", and "Sayonara My Friend", respectively."SCANDAL&京極夏彦、先行上映会で"映画化"の裏側激白". Natalie. 2010-07-28. Retrieved 2010-08-07. The band also appeared as themselves, marking their big-screen debut as a band. They were shown in a musical performance scene that was created with the help of motion capture, providing a realistic representation of the band's movements."SCANDAL、京極夏彦原作の近未来ミステリーでアニメキャラに". BARKS. 2010-05-07. Retrieved 2010-06-13. Each member also had a role voicing a minor character."SCANDAL ×『ルー=ガルー』 SCANDALアフレコに挑戦！". Loups=Garous SCANDAL Interview. 2010-04-09. Retrieved 2010-05-08.
Two months following Temptation Box, Scandal released their eighth major single, "Scandal Nanka Buttobase", on October 6, 2010. The title track was written and composed by the husband-and-wife duo Yoko Aki and Ryudo Uzaki, who are known for creating many songs for Momoe Yamaguchi."阿木燿子・宇崎竜童の黄金コンビが幻の楽曲をSCANDALに提供". BARKS. 2010-09-23. Retrieved 2011-02-07. The limited edition DVDs contains performances from the band's first television show, Shiteki Ongaku Jijō, which ran for 13 episodes from July to September 2010. In November, Scandal released a cover mini-album called R-Girl's Rock!. It features songs by female artists that they respect from the last three decades, including their cover of "Secret Base (Kimi ga Kureta Mono)" from May. Rina undertook her first lead vocal on the song Sunny Day Sunday.Nishibiro Tomokazu (2010-11-17). "ナタリー - (Power Push) SCANDAL". Natalie. Retrieved 2011-02-07.
Scandal continued into 2011 with their ninth major single on February 9. Titled "Pride", the song was used as the second ending theme for the anime Star Driver: Kagayaki no Takuto. The single also includes the tracks "Cute!", a collaboration with Sanrio's Cinnamoroll, and "Emotion", their first song that was written solely by a band member.EPIC Records Japan / Kitty Inc. (2010-12-20). "SCANDAL 9th Single Pride 2011.02.09リリース !! ". Retrieved 2010-12-26. Their tenth major single, "Haruka", was released on April 20. The title track was used as the theme song for the animated film Tofu Kozou, while the song "Satisfaction" was later used as the promotional song for the release of Windows 8. This was followed by their eleventh major single, "Love Survive", as well as their third studio album Baby Action. They also embarked on their first Asian Tour, performing to sold-out crowds in Hong Kong, Taiwan and Singapore.
2012 proved to be a year of firsts for Scandal. The title track of their twelfth single, "Harukaze", was used as the 15th and final (at the time) opening theme for the anime Bleach. The following month, they released their first compilation album, Scandal Show, as well as holding their first concert at the Nippon Budokan. In July, they released their thirteenth major single, "Taiyō Scandalous". This single marked the first official release of their subunits, Dobondobondo (Mami and Tomomi) and Almond Crush (Haruna and Rina). This was followed by their fourteenth major single, "Pin Heel Surfer", and their fourth major album, Queens Are Trumps: Kirifuda wa Queen. With this release, they became the first girl band to achieve four consecutive top 5 positions in the Oricon Weekly charts. They also held a concert in Malaysia in December, becoming the first Japanese band to hold a solo concert there.
Scandal started 2013 by performing in their hometown at the Osaka-jō Hall in March. The tickets sold out in just five minutes. Later that month they also performed to sellout crowds on their 2nd Asian Tour in Indonesia, Singapore and Thailand. During this period they also announced their fourteenth major single "Awanai Tsumori no, Genki de ne" released in May, with the title track being used as the theme song for the movie Ore wa Mada Honki Dashitenai Dake. They also took part in some music festivals like Kawaii!! Matsuri 2013 at Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium, and Rock in Japan Festival 2013 at Hitachi Seaside Park. Then they performed their summer live tour "Ska wa Mada Houki Dashitenai Dake". In August, they released their 16th single "Kagen no Tsuki", with the song "Kimi to Mirai to Kanzen Douki" being used as part of a collaboration with a robot project called "Robot Scandal". Their fifth studio album, Standard, was released on October 2, 2013.
2014 was a milestone in Scandal's career. Their sixth studio album released on December 3, 2014, Hello World, was the first album fully written by the band members themselves, and their first released internationally by label JPU Records.JPU Records. "SCANDAL - HELLO WORLD listing". It debuted at #3 on the Oricon chart, selling over 35,000 copies in its first week, and spawned the singles "Departure" and "Image". Their eighteenth major single, "Yoake no Ryuuseigun", was used as the ending theme to Pokémon the Movie: Diancie and the Cocoon of Destruction and reached #1 on Billboard Japan Hot Animation.
From April to May 2015, the band completed their first major Scandal World Tour 2015 "Hello World", selling out concerts in major cities across the world including Paris, London, Essen, Singapore, Taipei, Chicago, Los Angeles, Anaheim, Mexico City and Hong Kong. They followed this up with the Scandal Arena Tour 2015–2016 "Perfect World" in Japan from December 2015 to January 2016, during which they recorded their sixth live DVD at Nippon Budokan, Tokyo.