Osaka pop rock quartet SCANDAL made history on August 21 with the Guinness World Records title “Longest running rock band with the same musicians (female)”. The date also commemorated the band’s 17th anniversary and drummer RINA’s 32nd birthday. SCANDAL celebrated the once-in-a-lifetime milestone at Namba Hatch with a sold-out concert and award ceremony in front of 1,900 fans. A portion of the event was livestreamed on the group’s YouTube, Instagram, and Tiktok accounts.
SCANDAL remains one of the most recognized all-female Japanese rock pioneers, and the unit’s formation in 2006 well precedes the recent renaissance of female empowerment in Jpop and Jrock. The schoolgirls-turned-rockstars exploded onto the scene in 2008 with major label debut DOLL. They continued to rocket fuel their way to fame with hits such as Shojo S, Shunkan Sentimental, and Yoake no Ryuuseigun, which respectively became theme songs for the anime Bleach, Full Metal Alchemist, and Pokémon.
As the Guinness official bestowed the award, vocalist and guitarist HARUNA looked back on her journey and expressed gratitude to everyone who supported SCANDAL on its ascent:
Highlight no Naka de Bokura Zutto. The danceable party tune is just the number for sharing SCANDAL’s joy, with brisk chord strokes played to an accompaniment of strings and Rhodes piano and even a brief spoken word segment from guitarist and composer MAMI.SCANDAL recently returned from Brazil after a gig at Anime Friends 2023 and is scheduled to perform at “KAKOGAWA MUSIC FES 2023 re:START” in September. JROCK NEWS can’t wait for another tour in the US and Europe!