One Ok Rock
The band's name comes from "one o'clock", the time that the band used to practice their music on weekends. They chose to play at one o'clock in the morning because it was cheaper to use the rehearsal space during such hours. However, noticing that the Japanese language made no distinction between R's and L's, "O'CLOCK" transformed into "O'CROCK" or "O'KROCK", which later transformed into "OK ROCK". In addition, One Ok Rock can be expressed as "10969" (wan-ō-ku-ro-ku). The band uses both Japanese and English lyrics in their songs. One Ok  Rock rose to international fame with their 2012 single "The Beginning" from their sixth album "Jinsei×Boku=", led them to concerts and music festivals outside Asia. Following the success, the band started to release their later albums in two versions (Japanese-English and full English) with 2 to 3 different tracks in each version. Their seventh studio album, "35xxxv", became their first album which charted on US "Billboard". It peaked at No. 11 on Heatseekers Albums, No. 43 on Independent Albums, No. 23 on the Hard Rock Albums, and No. 1 on the World Albums Chart. The band's eighth album , "Ambitions", debuted at No. 106 on the US "Billboard" 200 and international charts while incorporated more American pop and pop-rock. In 2019, the band adopted electronic and pop sound on ninth album "Eye of the Storm". One Ok Rock won Classic Rock Roll of Honour Awards for Eastern Breakthrough Male Band in 2016, and "Rock Sound" Awards for Best International Band in 2017 and Best Live Performance in 2018. The band was also nominated for two "Alternative Press" Music Awards – Best International Band in 2016 and Best Breakthrough Band in 2017. History. 2005–2006: Formation and earlier days. The foundation  for One Ok Rock began on July 29, 2005 when Toru Yamashita, then a high school student, wanted to start a band. He told his friend Ryota Kohama, a fellow member of the hip-hop dance group Heads, to learn the bass and asked Alexander Onizawa, who was their senior in school to join. He asked his classmate, Yu Koyanagi, to play drums. At that time, Takahiro Moriuchi was playing with another band, but Yamashita insisted that he join One Ok Rock instead. After signing with Amuse, Inc. Koyanagi left the band to pursue an acting career. Tomoya Kanki was  a student at the ESP (Musical Academy) and was already in a band that wasn't going well. He then joined One Ok Rock in 2006, and became an official member when they debuted in 2007. 2007–2009: Early releases and departure of Onizawa. Their debut single, "Naihishinsho", reached number 48 on the Oricon Charts and sold 15,000 copies. Their second single, Yume Yume, followed that success and charted at number 43. After those singles, they released their debut album "Zeitakubyō" in 2007 and had their first tour, the "Tokyo-Osaka-Nagoya Quattro Tour". They released their second album "Beam of  Light" in May 2008. In an interview with "Rockin'On Japan" magazine in June 2012, One Ok Rock said they didn't count this album as an album, but rather as a part of growing up as a band. When they made the album, they hadn't been in the right mood, but felt that they had to make it to grow as a band. The band came up with many sound sources and ended up making a punk album. The album's confused origins were the reason why they wouldn't play any songs from Beam of Light in live  performances until now. Shortly after releasing "Beam of Light", they performed a gig at Shibuya AX. On April 5, 2009, Onizawa was arrested for groping the leg of a twenty-one-year-old female student on a train. He admitted to the charges and the case was settled out of court. The band's next single, "Around the World Shounen", which was planned for a May 6 release as the theme song for the TV drama "GodHand Teru", and their nationwide tour were both cancelled. In May 2009, it was announced that One Ok Rock would continue on without Onizawa , who went back to the United States. Yamashita took his place as lead guitar, and the band re-arranged their songs to be played for one guitar. 2010–2012: "Niche Syndrome", music festivals, and "Zankyo Reference". With the new four-member formation, One Ok Rock released the single "Kanzen Kankaku Dreamer" on February 3, 2010. The song peaked at number nine on the "Oricon" Singles Chart in Japan. After four months, the band released their fourth studio album titled "Niche Syndrome". Released on June 9, 2010, the album peaked at number three on the Billboard's Top Albums Sales chart. For  the promotion of "Niche Syndrome", One Ok Rock embarked on the "This is my own judgement!" tour initially in five Zepp music halls across the nation in 6 days, starting Sendai, Osaka, Nagoya, Fukuoka and ending in a 2-day concert in Tokyo. The second part the tour took place at sixteen different venues until December 11, 2010. They held a final performance in Nippon Budokan, Tokyo on November 28, followed by the release of a concert DVD "This is My Budokan?!" on February 16, 2011. On August 6, 7 and 8, One Ok Rock headlined Rock in Japan Festival  and Summer Sonic Festival, followed by Rising Sun Rock Festival, Monster Bash, Treasure05X, Mad Ollie, Countdown Japan 2010/2011, and Radio Crazy. The band supported Pay Money to My Pain in their 2010 "Stay Real" tour, The Hiatus in their "Anomaly 2010" tour, and Totalfat in their "Overdrive" tour. On February 16, 2011, the band released the single "Answer is Near", later, from April to June of the same year, they performed the tour "Answer is Alive 2011". After that, One Ok Rock released their first double A-side single "" on July 20, 2011, one of which's songs was the  main theme for the "" video game. The band's fifth album, "Zankyo Reference", was released on October 5, 2011. One Ok Rock announced fourteen dates between November and December 2011 for the "Zankyo Reference Tour". The band also announced their final tour for this album as a two-day concert in Yokohama Arena on January 21 and 22, 2012. This was their first time playing in Yokohama Arena, the biggest venue in Kantō region. The concert was sold out with more than 24,000 attendees. Later, the documentary of the "Zankyo Reference Tour" and the performance from the second night in  Yokohama Arena was released on Blu-ray and DVD on May 30, 2012. During the year 2011, One Ok Rock headlined many music festivals, including Jisan Valley Rock Festival in South Korea. In July the band headlined Setstock 2011, followed by Rock in Japan Festival, Rising Sun Rock Festival, Summer Sonic Festival, Monster Bash, Sky Jamboree, and Space Shower's Sweet Love Shower. At the end of the year, they headlined Radio Crazy and Countdown Japan once more. The band declared their first overseas tour in "Start Walking The World" on May and June 2012, covering Japan, South Korea, Taiwan , and Singapore. They headlined Rock in Japan Festival on the main stage, as well as Summer Sonic 2012, and headlined Oga Namahage Rock Festival, Rising Sun Rock Festival, and Sweet Love Shower. Their next single, "The Beginning", was chosen as the theme song for the live action movie adaptation of the "Rurouni Kenshin" manga, and was released on August 22, 2012, reaching number 2 on the "Billboard" Japan Hot 100. Later, "The Beginning" won two awards - Best Rock Video from the 2013 MTV Video Music Awards Japan and a second award as Best Your Choice in Space Shower Music Video  Awards. 2013–2014: "Jinsei×Boku=", "Fool Cool Rock", and tours outside Asia. On January 9, 2013, One Ok Rock released the double single "Deeper Deeper/Nothing Helps", and hit 2nd place on the Oricon charts. The song "Nothing Helps" was used for the Japanese version of the video game "", and "Deeper Deeper" was used for the commercial of Suzuki Swift Sport in Japan. Their sixth full-length album "Jinsei×Boku=" was released on March 6, 2013, and managed to reach second place on the Oricon weekly chart. In October 2013 the band went on their first tour outside Asia and visited Europe for  five concerts. Four out of the five concerts in Europe were sold out almost immediately. On January 12, 2014, their album producer John Feldmann related that One Ok Rock had already started recording their forthcoming album. In February 2014 they visited the US to hold two concerts in New York and Los Angeles and added two more dates in Philadelphia and Toronto in May. They also performed at Rock on the Range in Columbus, Ohio, their first festival outside Asia. On May 16, the documentary film about their last Europe and Asia Tour, "Fool Cool Rock", was released and played  for a limited time of four weeks at select theaters. The film, directed by Hiroyuki Nakano, was released on DVD and Blu-ray in November 2014, with promotional screenings in Bangkok, Thailand, and Hong Kong. In June and July 2014 they joined Vans Warped Tour 2014 and performed in eighteen cities in North America. On July 30, 2014, One Ok Rock released the double A-side single "Mighty Long Fall/Decision", and while "Mighty Long Fall", was the theme song for the movie sequel of "Rurouni Kenshin" entitled "", the song "Decision" is the theme song for their documentary film "Foo  Cool Rock". The music video for "Decision" released on August 20, 2014, is a compilation of footage from their tours in Europe and Asia. In September 2014, the song "Heartache" became part of the ""'s soundtrack. Subsequently, in September 2014, One Ok Rock held a two-day stadium concert in Yokohama Stadium in front of 60,000 people called "Mighty Long Fall Live at Yokohama Stadium 2014". This was their first time performing in a stadium. One Ok Rock announced U.S., South American and European tours in late 2014. They performed at Knotfest, in both Japan and the United States, with  an additional two dates for the United States in October. At the end of October 2014, the band started their first tour in Latin America visiting five countries. On November 27, they were a guest performer in Hoobastank's Japan tour and returned their tour, this time in Europe, performing in ten more countries in December. 2014–2016: "35xxxv" and international success. On January 12, 2014, their album producer John Feldmann tweeted that One Ok Rock had already started recording their new album. Their first single from the forthcoming album, "Mighty Long Fall", was the theme song for the movie sequel  of "Rurouni Kenshin". One Ok Rock released the new single "Mighty Long Fall/Decision" on July 30, 2014. The song "Decision" is the theme song for their documentary film "FOOL COOL ROCK". The music video for "Decision" released on August 20, 2014, is a compilation of footage from their tours in Europe and Asia. They also revealed the theme song for another movie sequel of "Rurouni Kenshin" entitled "Heartache". In September 2014, One Ok Rock held a two-day stadium concert in Yokohama Stadium in front of 60,000 people called "Mighty Long Fall Live at Yokohama Stadium 2014". This was  their first time performing in a stadium. They played more than twenty songs, including three new songs and one cover of A Thousand Miles by Vanessa Carlton. One Ok Rock announced U.S., South American and European tours in late 2014. They performed at Knotfest, in both Japan and the United States, with an additional two dates for the United States in October. They visited Chile, Argentina, Brazil, Peru and Mexico for South America in November and France, Italy, Switzerland, Germany, Denmark, Sweden, the Netherlands, Belgium, United Kingdom and Russia in December. They performed alongside Ghost Town in the US and  UK, and with Tonight Alive and Mallory Knox for most dates in Europe. On November 27, they were a guest performer in Hoobastank's Japan tour. On October 9, 2014, the band announced that next album would be released in February 2015. The official website of the band was redesigned along with this announcement. Around December 16, 2014, the band revealed the cover and name of their new Japanese upcoming album, "35xxxv". The album peaked at #11 on "Billboard"s Heatseekers Albums. This chart is for new and upcoming musicians, which is usually a stepping stone towards the "Billboard" 200. On  the same week, it peaked at number 43 on "Billboard" Independent Albums. Then it peaked at number 23 on the "Billboard" Hard Rock Albums Chart and reached #1 on the "Billboard" World Albums Chart. In April 2015, they opened alongside Finch for Yellowcard's U.S. tour. Following that, the band returned to Japan for their extensive album tour starting from May to September. The final concerts included bands like Issues and Against the Current. In July 2015, One OK Rock officially announced that they have signed with Warner Bros. Records and planned to re-release "35xxxv" as a deluxe edition  containing all English tracks on September 25, 2015. The band was set to have a North American tour in fall 2015 with a few selected cities as headlining artists, but will spend the majority of their time as the opening act for All Time Low and Sleeping with Sirens. One Ok Rock also toured Europe and Asia to promote their album. On October 17, 2015, "35xxxv (Deluxe Edition)" debuted at No. 20 on "Billboard"s Heatseekers Albums and its highest peak position is at No. 17. One Ok Rock returned to Japan for their One Thousand Miles Tour 2016 concert along  with All Time Low and PVRIS. In early 2016, it was announced that One Ok Rock would open for Issues and Crown the Empire on the Monster Energy Outbreak Tour in to promote their English album in the U.S. They also continued to tour in Europe at different music festivals and solo shows. On March 11, 2016, the band released a new song "Always Coming Back" that was featured in NTT Docomo's phone commercial series, "Kanjou no Subete / Nakama". In mid-2016, One OK Rock joined 5 Seconds of Summer on the first North American leg of their Sounds Live  Feels Live World Tour. To commemorate the 10th anniversary of My Chemical Romance's album "The Black Parade", "Rock Sound" announced a special cover album, including One Ok Rock. The band covered the first track, "The End". On September 10 and 11, the band held a special live concert at Nagisaen, Shizuoka, Japan for a crowd of 110,000 spectators.. One Ok Rock also announced the digital single release of "Taking Off" on September 16, 2016, under Fueled by Ramen. The song was used as a theme song for the Japanese film "Museum" starring Shun Oguri. The movie debuted on November  12, 2016. Later at a special live concert, Taka announced that their 8th studio album would be released the following year following an album tour. On October 8, Sum 41 released Japanese edition of their album, "13 Voices", including the song "War" featuring Taka. Deryck Whibley from Sum 41 mentioned to Alternative Press Japan that "It was great to collaborate with Taka on our new song called War. I am a huge fan of his voice and of One Ok Rock and I think that our voices work very well together". 2016–2017: Signed to Fueled by Ramen and "Ambitions". After  signing with Fueled by Ramen on September 11, 2016, they released the lead single "Taking Off" from their eighth album, "Ambitions". The Japanese version of the album was released on January 11, 2017, with A-Sketch. The English version of the album was released on January 13, 2017, with Fueled by Ramen. "Ambitions" features collaborations from Avril Lavigne on the Japanese version of the album, Alex Gaskarth from All Time Low on the English version of the album, and the Australian band 5 Seconds of Summer on both. "Alternative Press" declared the collaboration song "Jaded" (with Alex Gaskarth) as the  best collaboration song of 2017. On November 13, 2016, NHK ("Nippon Hōsō Kyōkai", a Japan Broadcasting Corporation) held "ONE OK ROCK 18 Festival (18 FES)" where One Ok Rock and 1,000 youths (17 – 19 years old from the whole country) sang together on one stage. On November 18, 2016, One Ok Rock released "Bedroom Warfare", the second single from the album. The third single, "I was King", was released on December 15, 2016. On January 1, 2017, One Ok Rock opened a special site "WORLD AMBITIONS", in celebration of "Ambitions" released on January 11, 2017. WORLD AMBITIONS is a website  that visually represents images of "hope" being shared and spread from users around the world through the website and Twitter/Instagram. People from all over the world can upload pictures with yellow in it, symbolizing hope and connecting them all. Users can share their images through SNS (Twitter, Instagram). On January 9, 2017, the band released their single "We Are". In January 2017, the band went on their North American tour for 6 concerts. From February to May 2017, they will held 32 concerts in Japanese arenas. On February 9, 2017, the band released the limited CD single "Skyfall", which  was only sold during the "Ambitions" Japan Tour at the show venues. The CD contains 3 songs: "Skyfall" (featuring MAH from SiM, Masato Hayakawa from Coldrain, and Koie from Crossfaith), "Right by your side", and "Manhattan Beach". On May 2, 2017, it was announced that One Ok Rock would open Linkin Park's "One More Light Tour" in North America for 4 dates and in Japan for 3 shows. Later on July 21, 2017, it was announced that their North American Tour got cancelled because of Linkin Park frontman Chester Bennington's suicide on July 20, 2017, a week before  their shows; while Linkin Park's final leg in Japan was cancelled on October 3, 2017. One Ok Rock paid tribute to Chester Bennington by covering Linkin Park's song "One More Light" on their live performances. 2018–2020: "Eye of the Storm". On February 16, 2018, they released their first single of 2018, "Change". The song was made by vocalist Taka alongside the band's producer for a HondaJet commercial. The band remained relatively silent throughout the rest of the year (with the exception of embarking on their Ambitions Dome Tour in Japan, announced the previous year), until the announcement  of a small, four date tour with an orchestra in Japan in late October, as well as a small European tour in December. On November 23, the band announced their forthcoming album, "Eye of the Storm". The second single, "Stand Out Fit In", considered the lead single for the album, was released the same day with a music video. "Change" was also featured on the album. On February 1, 2019, the band released the third and final single from the album, "Wasted Nights". The song will serve as the theme song for the film "Kingdom". American singer-songwriter Kiiara is  the sole guest feature on the album on the track "In the Stars", which serves as the theme song for the film "Fortuna's Eye". The band toured with Waterparks and Stand Atlantic in a headlining North American tour during February and March to support "Eye of the Storm". They also supported Ed Sheeran on the second Asian leg of the ÷ Tour throughout April and early May, and performed a headlining tour in Europe throughout the rest of May, with support from dream pop band Anteros and producer Dan Lancaster. One Ok Rock played a short U.S. tour of  Oregon, California, and Mexico during July, during which they also played the Vans Warped Tour. Rock band Weathers served as support during this tour. One Ok Rock performed an arena tour of Japan from September 2019 to January 2020. In March 2020, the band toured Australia with American pop rock band Set It Off and Australian pop punk band Stateside serving as support. The band was set to finish their tour with an Asian leg spanning from April to July 2020. However, on March 17, 2020, the band announced that the tour dates would be postponed due to the COVID-19  pandemic, with the shows ultimately being cancelled. "Eye of the Storm" was released in Japan on February 13, 2019, via A-Sketch and outside of Japan on February 15, 2019, via Fueled By Ramen. 2020–present: Tenth studio album and 10969 Inc.. On August 24, 2020, the band announced a livestreamed, stadium concert, entitled Field of Wonder, which took place at the Zozo Marine Stadium in Chiba City, Japan on October 11, 2020. The concert was broadcast to worldwide audiences, and was the band's first performance since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2021, the band left Amuse , Inc. and established their own management agency 10969 Inc. The band provided a soundtrack song for "" in 2021, titled "Renegades". The song was co-written by Ed Sheeran and Coldrain's frontman Masato Hayakawa and was released on April 16, 2021, via Fueled By Ramen for both Japanese and International versions. The band provided a new song for "" in 2021, titled "Broken Heart of Gold" and released a trailer of the movie featuring the song on their official YouTube channel. The song was released on May 27, 2021. On July 31, 2021, One Ok Rock held a livestreamed acoustic performance  titled "Day to Night Acoustic Session" from the Kawaguchiko Stellar Theater in Yamanashi, Japan. They played more than ten songs, including a cover of Hikaru Utada's 1999 song "First Love". On October 21, 2021, One Ok Rock released the documentary, "Flip a Coin", on Netflix, their first to be hosted by them. The next day, on October 22, the band released the single, "Wonder" through Fueled By Ramen. Artistry. One Ok Rock's influences are Linkin Park, Foo Fighters, Good Charlotte, Ellegarden, and the Used. The group's initial idea began when Yamashita wanted to start a rock band  and invited Kohama to join him. Good Charlotte's influences are seen on their first album, "Zeitakubyō"; while the Foo Fighters' influences can be seen on their second and third albums, "Beam of Light" and "Kanjō Effect". In their sixth album "Jinsei×Boku=", they expressed how this album was influenced by Linkin Park's and Coldrain's screaming and yell-rapping. Their seventh album "35xxxv", was produced along with producer John Feldmann. The album managed to reach first place on the Oricon Album weekly ranking, making it the first time the band had reached the top of the list. And, in  addition, it was the first One Ok Rock's album to be released in a separate English language international edition in addition to the Japanese version. Their eighth album "Ambitions" also topped the Oricon Album weekly ranking, and incorporated more pop-rock. Band members. Current members Former members Timeline