SMILE

SMILE, formed in November 2006 and consisted of the members of the session band Radio Taisou: vocalist Kasumi, Nana on guitar and bassist Tsubasa. The line-up was soon completed with drummer Yuugi.

This young group worked hard from the very beginning. In January their debut single SMILExSMILE was released, promoted by a really funny PV. Soon after, the next two singles hit the stores, Namida iro in March and Zettai Summer in July. From September 3rd to October 10th, SMILE went on a nationwide one-man tour entitled 【SMILE¥1~】 in fifteen locations, gaining more and more popularity with each performance.

The musicians didn’t slow their pace the next year. On January 16th they released three singles at once: LG, Sayonara, watashi no aishita hito and -beLIeVE-, whose covers refer to the popular game rock-paper-scissors. The title song from Sayonara, watashi no aishita hito was used as an ending theme for the programme "Hobby World Keikaku." In May, an album consisting of the band's best hits, entitled darlin’, celebrating the first year of the group’s existence, was available for purchase. After releasing their seventh single, Kaensha ~boomerang~, the band went on another quite lengthy one-man tour for two months, which included 36 locations, across Japan.

At the end of 2008, they started a unique release campaign and within a month three new mini-albums hit the stores, showing how well the band’s music had matured. SMILE also didn’t forget about their foreign fans – the group introduced themselves to them on the Visual-Kei DVD magazine Vol.2. The members spoke of their concept as a band and their career plans. The DVD also contained some live footage of the band performing.

Unfortunately, the band's promising career didn’t last long. In early 2009 the group made an announcement about disbanding, cheering fans with the last album Saigo no wagamama, which was the second compilation of previously released songs.

However, SMILE’s members haven’t dropped their dreams about music. Kasumi was trying, with some success, to start a solo career. He played a few concerts with Yuugi as a support drummer and released the single Re-name and album ZeitgeisT. But the vocalist quickly saddened his fans with the news that he decided to take a break from music. To wipe the tears, Radio Taisou, now THE Radio Taisou, and SMILE reactivated for one concert, which took place on March 23rd, 2010.

Kasumi, however, has returned to the music scene and will be performing, both with THE Radio Taisou and with other musicians at various events arranged by the band's current label Dear Dolce. These events will be held on six consecutive days from August 29th to September 3rd, to coincide with the vocalist's birthday.

Guitarist Nana and bassist Tsubasa are currently playing in session bands, while drummer Yuugi is in the promising young group CODE7203-KineSicS.