Formed in Shibuya, Tokyo in 2001, W-inds is a J-Pop boy band originally comprised of lead vocalist Keita Tachibana and dancers/rappers/backing vocalists Ryohei Chiba and Ryuichi Ogata. In 2000, Taachibana was signed to Vision Factory while Chiba and Ogata auditioned to be part of a new group with Tachibana. The three members moved in together and in November 2000, they began to do street performances together to promote themselves and their forthcoming single. In March 2001, they released their first single, “Forever Memories”, which reached Number 12 on the Oricon Singles chart. Their next single, “Feel the Fate”, was released in July and reached Number 7. “Paradox”, their third single, hit Number 3. Their debut album, 1st Message, was released in 2001 and reached Number 1 on the Oricon Albums chart. Since the release of the debut album, the group released an additional 12 albums – nearly all of them reaching the Top 10 – four compilation albums, a remix album, and over 40 charting singles. Over the course of their 20 year career, they have won many accolades and awards from the likes of the Japan Cable Awards, Japan Records Awards, Golden Arrow Awards, Yahoo Hong Kong Buzz Music Awards, MTV Mandarin Awards, and many others. Their popularity expanded into other Asian countries including China, Hong Kong, and South Korea. In 2020, it was announced that Ogata had left the band. Tachibana and Chiba chose to continue as a duo and released the single “Beautiful Now” in December 2020.
