Music Station


Music Station is a Japanese music television program. It began broadcasting on October 24, 1986 and continues to be broadcast weekly in High-definition from 8PM-9PM on TV Asahi. The program is also colloquially known as M Sute, MS, and M Station. The show is currently syndicated throughout the U.S.
The program has also recently received its international television premiere on Animax's networks in Southeast Asia, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and other regions from March 2007. It is also broadcast in the United States and Canada through the NHK-owned TV Japan, in Hong Kong via TVB J2, in Singapore through Hello Japan! and in the People's Republic of China through CCTV-15.

History

Music Station is a weekly one-hour program similar to the American TRL or the British Top of the Pops. It is home to various performances as well as single rankings and other corners. Many Japanese groups and singers make their debut on Music Station. The show has also been host to many artists from around the world, including:
On February 12, 2010, the show celebrated its 1000th episode.
In celebration of its 25th anniversary on air, Music Station launched [|its official YouTube channel] and an internet show, "Young Guns on the Web".

Presenters

Music Station has been hosted by famed Japanese TV-host Tamori since 1989. To date he has appeared in nearly every episode, marking over 1,000 appearances as the host. The show is co-hosted by TV Asahi announcer . The two provide banter for the show in between performances.
was the co-host from 1996 to 2000., TV Asahi broadcaster, was the co-host from 2000 to 2004. was the previous co-host from 2004 to 2008. Dō first appeared on the show on April 9, 2004. This episode was a 3-hour special titled: New Start Best 100. Dō joining the program was a surprise to the media, as she was new to the industry and had only been hired by TV Asahi nine days before becoming the co-host of a prime time program. After 4½ years, she graduated from the program on September 12, 2008 with Autumn Special Part 1. Yoshie Takeuchi served the co-host role from October 3, 2008 to September 27, 2013. Ayaka Hironaka was the co-host from October 18, 2013 to September 7, 2018.
DateMainSubStudio sub
– Hiroshi SekiguchiYū Hayami
– Tamori
– TamoriYasumasa Matsui
– TamoriHiroshi Ikushima
– TamoriHiroshi Ikushima
– TamoriSatsuki Arigarowspan="7"
– Tamori-
– Tamori-
– Tamori-
– TamoriYoshie Takeuchi-
– TamoriAyaka Hironaka-
– presentTamori-

Segments

Music Station is home to various weekly segments, the most common being the weekly singles ranking and the monthly album ranking.

Music Station Ranking

The Music Station Ranking segment began in November 2017. It is a renewal of the "Music Topics" segment.

Mini Music Station

Since October 18, 2002, a new segment known as Mini Music Station was added to the show. It is broadcast weekly from 19:54–20:00 JST, just before Music Station starts. The co-host talks to 1 or 2 of the artists on that episode, then introduce the other artists watching that segment before announcing the show will shortly begin.

Music Station [|Young Guns]

Young Guns is a segment on Music Station that has been done sporadically since it began on February 18, 2005. It gives information about new rising artists in the Japanese music scene. The segment normally involves a VTR before giving a small interview and performing their first song.

Former segments

; CD Single Ranking
Music Station Single Ranking covered the top 10 selling singles of the week. Their chart differed from the Oricon charts in that Oricon charts the sales from Monday to Sunday, whereas Music Station's chart reflects the sales from Friday to Thursday. This segment appeared in nearly every episode of the program since 1989. Many of the highest selling artists would perform on Music Station if their single happened to break a certain personal or nationwide record. The last ranking was broadcast on February 24, 2017.
; CD Album Hit Ranking
CD Album Hit Ranking was a monthly album ranking, charting the highest selling albums of the time. The segment also included live performances by bands/singers to promote their new album releases. The last ranking was broadcast in September 2010.
; Music Topics
Most weeks, Music Station has a segment called Music Topics. Music Topics goes in depth about the current goings on in the Japanese music scene.
; Chat Sessions
Chat Sessions was a weekly segment on Music Station. It often featured a new artist or actor appearing to promote a new project or film. It was one of the longest appearing segments on the show. The show's co-hosts chatted with the weekly guests as well as that week's "Special Guest", often taking questions from audience members. Since July 2005, this segment has gone on hiatus due to lack of questions submitted, and thus there are now only regular talks with the week's performers.

Yearly specials

Each year, Music Station hold various specials all over Japan. Some of these include, best seasonal songs, anniversary specials and such. These can range anywhere from 2 to 3 hours in length. There will also be various specials with no actual artists performances, these will often be the current hosts discussing the history of the shows and playing some of the more notable performances.

2006 Specials

In 1992 Music Station introduced their largest yearly live event, the Music Station Super Live. Music Station Super Live is held late December normally occurring just before or just after Christmas, as a Christmas/year-end celebration concert. In 1998, it occurred on Christmas Day. The artists are normally asked about how their year was and how they are planning their year ahead. Initially the specials ran for three hours but as of 2003 have since been expanded to four hours. Super Lives commonly have 20 to 40 artists performing; the 2006 edition featured 43 artists. The 2006 edition of Super Live was also later aired worldwide by Animax across its network in Southeast Asia, premiering on February 17, 2007. The 2007 edition was also aired on February 9 and 10, 2008, on Animax. In 2019, in honor of the network's 60th anniversary, the Music Station Ultra Fes, and the Super Live was combined to make Music Station Ultra Super Live, a show that ran for over 11 hours and was attended by 49 acts.
Music Station Super Live was held at Tokyo Bay NK Hall in Chiba from 1992 to 2003. In 2004, it was held at the Saitama Super Arena. Since 2005, it is held at the Makuhari Messe Event Hall.