KABUTO - Single



［Alexandros］ (AKA ［Champagne］) is a Japanese pop-rock, alternative rock and pop punk band from Tokyo. Current members Yoohei Kawakami (川上 洋平, Kawakami Yōhei, born June 22, 1982) — vocals, guitar (2007–present) Hiroyuki Isobe (磯部 寛之, Isobe Hiroyuki, born December 29, 1982) — bass guitar, chorus (2007–present) Masaki Shirai (白井 眞輝, Shirai Masaki, born December 12, 1982) — guitar (2007–present) Ib Riad — drums (2021–present) Support members Rose – keyboard (original group: The Led Snail) Mullon – guitar (original group: The Led Snail) Former members Hiroki Ishikawa (石川 博基, Ishikawa Hiroki, born September 22, 1982) — drums (2007–2010) Satoyasu Shomura (庄村 聡泰, Shōmura Satoyasu, born March 21, 1984) — drums (2010–2021) In 2001, Yoohei Kawakami formed the band 【 Champagne】 while studying at Aoyama Gakuin University, beginning musical activities with Hiroyuki Isobe, who was part of the original lineup. After several changes in members, the group—consisting of Kawakami, Shirai, Isobe, and then-drummer Ishikawa—made their official debut on January 20, 2010, with the release of Where’s My Potato? under RX-RECORDS. The name is originally written with normal brackets, due to formatting issues, the Japanese brackets are used in this text. On March 25, 2014, at the “Premium V.I.P. Party” held at EX THEATER ROPPONGI, they announced their name change from ［Champagne］ to ［Alexandros］. The change was made at the request of the Japan branch of the Comité Interprofessionnel du Vin de Champagne (C.I.V.C.). Three days later, on March 28, the band officially unveiled their new name during their first performance at Nippon Budokan. All works previously released under ［Champagne］ were reissued under the new name ［Alexandros］. On November 28, 2014, the band signed a global partnership deal with Universal Music. Their major debut came with the single Wataridori / Dracula La, released on March 17, 2015, through Universal Music Japan. The song “Wataridori,” which was also used as the theme for the film Akegarasu (Akegarasu: Dawn Crow), went on to surpass 100 million views on YouTube by August 7, 2019. In 2016, ［Alexandros］ performed at the SXSW Music Festival as part of the Japan Nite showcase. On November 9 of that year, their sixth studio album EXIST! reached No. 1 on the Oricon chart for the first time in the band’s career. Their music has since been featured widely across films, games, and anime. The Japanese version of The Legend of Tarzan used their song “Nawe, Nawe” as its theme. In 2018, “Mosquito Bite” was the theme for the live-action film adaptation of Bleach. That same year, the band also contributed the theme song “Arpeggio” and the ending theme “Your Song” to the Sega video game Judgment. In 2019, “PRAY” was chosen as the theme for the Japanese dub of Godzilla: King of the Monsters. “Senkō” was used as the theme for the 2021 film Mobile Suit Gundam: Hathaway’s Flash, including in promotional material and an animated music video released by the band. On March 14, 2018, ［Alexandros］ announced the upcoming release of their 16th single KABUTO (the title was unannounced at the time) and revealed they would change the band name stylization to all-uppercase ［ALEXANDROS］ . Kawakami later said on his regular radio show that this change was “just on a whim.” On August 16, 2018, they held their first outdoor one-act live concert, V.I.P. PARTY 2018, at ZOZO Marine Stadium. On June 19, 2019, drummer Satoyasu Shomura suspended live activities due to focal dystonia, with Ib Riad from BIGMAMA stepping in as support drummer. At the start of 2020, the band announced a new logo and reverted their stylization from ［ ALEXANDROS］ back to ［Alexandros］ . On January 24, 2020, they announced that Shomura would retire from the band following the release of their upcoming “best of” album, originally scheduled for May. The announcement was accompanied by a special YouTube livestream that evening featuring all members. However, the release was postponed to January 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which also delayed Shomura’s retirement. After another state of emergency in early 2021, both were postponed again to March. On April 10, 2021, Ib Riad, who had supported the band since 2019, officially joined as a full member. From 2020 to 2021, lead vocalist Yoohei Kawakami appeared as a guest vocalist on two songs by Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra for the Kamen Rider Saber TV drama. In 2024, ［Alexandros］ held their first self-produced festival, THIS FES ’24 in Sagamihara, on October 26–27 at the Sagamihara Gion Field—marking the 70th anniversary of the city’s establishment and the home region of Kawakami and Shirai. In 2025, Kawakami contributed to the original soundtrack of the Netflix series Glass Heart. The band’s name ［Champagne］ originally carried the meaning: “We want the musical intoxication to spread to everyone—the audience, the staff, and ourselves—and let all get drunk on the sound.” However, this was a later interpretation. The name was actually borrowed from Oasis’s song Champagne Supernova. Kawakami mentioned on his blog that he had first chosen the name in elementary school simply because he thought it “sounded cool.” When he later lived in Syria, he had already formed a band under the same name ［Champagne］ . Nicknames for the band include ドロス (“Dros”) and アレキ (“Areki”). They are signed to RX-Records and managed by UK Project. About the members: Yoohei Kawakami (川上 洋平, Kawakami Yōhei; born June 22, 1982) – vocals, guitar (2007–present) Graduated from the Faculty of Law of Aoyama Gakuin University. He is responsible for writing and composing almost all of the band’s songs. He grew up in Syria and sings in both English with a Middle Eastern accent and Japanese. Hiroyuki Isobe (磯部 寛之, Isobe Hiroyuki; born December 29, 1982) – bass guitar, backing vocals (2007–present) Also graduated from the Faculty of Law of Aoyama Gakuin University. He began playing the bass at age 15 after watching a friend play. Masaki Shirai (白井 眞輝, Shirai Masaki; born December 12, 1982) – guitar (2007–present) Graduated from the Professional Musician Department at SHOBI College of Music. Started a YouTube channel on April 16, 2020. On December 30, 2022, he announced that he got married in 2021 and had his first child in 2022. Ib Riad (リアド 偉武, Riado Ibu; born October 25, 1985) – drums (2021–present) Joined as a support member after the previous drummer, Satoyasu Shomura, went on hiatus in 2019. He left Bigmama in May 2020 and joined as a full member of 【 Alexandros】 on April 10, 2021. Former members Hiroki Ishikawa (石川 博基, Ishikawa Hiroki; born September 22, 1982) – drums (2007–2010) Left the band on March 1, 2010. Appeared in early music videos like “For Freedom” and is pictured on the back cover of the first album Where’s My Potato?. Satoyasu Shomura (庄村 聡泰, Shōmura Satoyasu; born March 21, 1984) – drums (2010–2021) Joined as an official member on April 1, 2010. From June 2019, he went on a hiatus from live performances due to focal dystonia. In January 2020, he announced his retirement with the release of the band’s best-of album in May 2020. His last live performance was on March 20–21, 2021, at Makuhari Messe, during the band’s 10th anniversary concert. In 2021, he launched a fashion project, Snack NGL, alongside fashion stylists and buyers. He also became a writer for an interview series called Kiki Mimi on the Pia website and app. In 2024, he joined Dr.DOWNER as a member. Support members: Rose – keyboard & Mullon – guitar are both members of The Led Snail Discography: Albums: Where's My Potato? I Wanna Go To Hawaii. Schwarzenegger Me No Do Karate. ALXD EXIST! Sleepless in Brooklyn But wait. Cats? PROVOKE Best ofs: Where's My History? Concept albums: Bedroom Joule Singles: city You're So Sweet & I Love You 言え spy Kill Me If You Can Starrrrrrr/涙がこぼれそう Forever Young Run Away/Oblivion Adventure/Droshky! ワタリドリ/Dracula La Girl A NEW WALL/I want u to love me Swan SNOW SOUND/今まで君が泣いた分取り戻そう 明日、また KABUTO Mosquito Bite Beast 閃光 Rock The World/日々、織々 SINGLE 1 SINGLE 2 SINGLE 3 Digital singles: Pray 月色ホライズン あまりにも素敵な夜だから Philosophy (18祭 Mix) 閃光 (Deluxe Edition) 無心拍数 閃光 (Live at よよたい) 閃光 (TeddyLoid Remix) VANILLA SKY todayyyyy Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.