Stereopony was a Japanese pop rock band that formed in Okinawa, Japan in 2007 and disbanded in 2012. The three-girl band consisted of Aimi Haraguni (lead vocals and guitar), Nohana Kitajima (bass guitar), and Shiho Yamanoha (drums). Before their major debut, the band was named Mixbox. Under that name, the girls won the grand prize at the 2007 Young People Music Festival. Later, they renamed the band Stereopony and took part in the 2008 Okinawa Sound Stage with the song “Sayonara no Kisetsu” (さよならの季節), which was supposed to be released as their debut single in September 2008 but was cancelled. The band gained their first opportunity on the Japanese rock radio program School of Lock!.
Their major debut was officially announced in June 2008. Their song “Hitohira Hanabira” was the 17th ending theme for the anime series Bleach. The single was released on November 5, 2008. It ranked No. 25 on the Oricon weekly singles chart and won second place in Rocochoku’s Newcomer Competition in the same month. Their second single was “Namida no Mukou”, released in February 2009, which was used as the second opening theme for the second season of the Mobile Suit Gundam 00 anime series. Their third single, “I Do It”, is a collaboration with fellow Sony Music Japan singer Yui, and was released in April 2009. Yui’s musical producer, Hisashi Kondo, produced and directed the single.
In March 2009, the band performed at SXSW 2009 in Austin, Texas as part of the Japan Nite event. A few months later, Stereopony released their debut album, Hydangea ga Saiteiru. It debuted at No. 7 on the Oricon weekly album chart. Shortly after, the band went on their first tour, A Hydrangea Blooms. In August 2009, Stereopony released their fourth single, “Smilife”. “Smilife” was used as the theme song for the 2009 anime film Yatterman: Shin Yatter Mecha… Their fifth single, was released in November 2009. “Tsukiakari no Michishirube” was the opening theme to the 2009 anime series Darker Than Black. It was their second single to reach the top ten Oricon singles chart, peaking at No. 8.
Stereopony’s sixth single, “Hanbunko”, was released in September 2010; “Hanbunko” is a cover originally released by Bivattchee in 2002. Stereopony’s seventh single, “Over Drive”, was released on May 12, 2010, and was used for the opening theme for the Japanese drama Pro Golfer Hana.
In June 2010, Stereopony released their second studio album, Over The Border, and performed at AnimeNEXT, the first anime convention that the band performed at in the United States. It ranked No. 12 on Oricon. Stereopony’s national tour, Stereopony TOUR 2010 ‘Over The Border’ was postponed due to Shiho’s aggravated tendonitis. Their eighth single, “Chilsana Maho”, was released in December 2010, and the title song was used as the first opening theme for the anime Tegami Bachi: Reverse.
In January 2011, fellow all-girl rock band and label mate Scandal announced that Stereopony and Scandal would be performing at Shibuya-AX. This collaboration, Band Yarō!! Vol. 2 (バンドやろうよ!! Vol.2), was scheduled for March 2011. However, due to the “2011 Tohoku earthquake”, the performance was postponed to June. Stereopony performed at Anime Boston 2011 as special guests in April 2011. They played a wide selection of songs from both albums and their latest single. Shortly after returning from their appearance at Anime Boston, the group announced they would be providing the theme song to the 2011 film Tengoku kara no Yell (天国からのエール). Stereopony attended a press release event for the upcoming film, for which they are providing the theme song.
Stereopony collaborated with the band Kariyushi58 to produce the single “Tatoeba Utaenakunattara” (たとえば唄えなくなったら), released in August 2011. Stereopony contributed the song “Akashi” (証) on the Zone tribute album Zone Tribute: Kimi ga Kureta Mono (ZONEトリビュート～君がくれたもの～), also released that August. The band’s tenth single, “Arigatō” (ありがとう), was released in September 2011. The music video for “Arigatō” which was released at the same time features film actor Hiroshi Abe. Stereopony released their third studio album, More! More!! More!!!, on December 7, 2011. Their song “I Am A Hero” from the album was featured as the third ending theme of Pokemon Smash!
Their 11th single, “Stand By Me”, was released on May 30, 2012; the title song was used as the ending theme of Eureka Seven:AO. Stereopony attended as special guests for Anime Festival Asia: Indonesia 2012. Stereopony contributed the song “Again” on the Yui tribute album She Loves You, released on October 24, 2012; “Again” is a cover of Yui’s 2009 single. After the band took a one-month break during Aimi’s throat polyp surgery, the members decided to disband in October 2012. Their 12th and final single “Namida Nante Mishite Yannai” (涙なんて見してやんない) was released as the split single “Just Rock With Me / Namida Nante Mishite Yannai”. “Just Rock With Me” is the debut single of Evanpony, a band consisting of the members of Stereopony and Evan Taubenfeld. A compilation album titled Best of Stereopony was released on November 21, 2012. Stereopony’s farewell concert was at Akasaka Blitz in Tokyo on December 27, 2012.
