Superfly is a Japanese rock act that debuted in April 2007. Formerly a duo, the act now consists solely of lyricist and vocalist Shiho Ochi with former guitarist Kōichi Tabo still credited as the group’s composer and part-time lyricist. Superfly’s first two studio albums were certified double platinum by the RIAJ, and their first four consecutive albums (the third being classified as a “single” by the group) all debuted at the top of the Oricon Weekly Album Charts, a first for a female recording artist in Japan in over seven years.
Shiho Ochi met Kōichi Tabo in 2003 while they were students at Matsuyama University. They were both members of a music circle that covered songs by Finger 5 and the Rolling Stones. In 2004, the group formed the blues band “Superfly”, naming themselves after the song of the same name by Curtis Mayfield”. The group split up in 2005, with only Ochi and Tabo remaining when they went to Tokyo to seek out a label. The duo debuted with their 2007 single “Hello Hello”. This was followed by their subsequent EP Live From Tokyo. In November 2007, a few months after their second single “Manifesto” was released, Kōichi Tabo announced on their website that he stopped appearing on the stage to concentrate on composing the songs.
Superfly’s debut album Superfly was released in May 2008, topping the Japanese Oricon weekly album charts for two weeks. The release of the album was also celebrated with a free concert at Yoyogi Park in Tokyo. Superfly’s second studio album, Box Emotions, was released in September 2009, which she celebrated by holding a free live show at the Roppongi Hills arena. Box Emotions debuted at No. 1 on the Oricon weekly charts. The third single from Box Emotions, “Alright!”, was used as the opening theme to the Japanese television drama, Boss, starring Yuki Amami, which began airing in April 2009.
Superfly’s first single since Box Emotions, titled “Dancing on the Fire”, won Best Rock Video at the 2010 MTV Awards, Japan. April saw the release of Dancing at Budokan!, Superfly’s second video album featuring the band’s performance at the Nippon Budokan in 2009. Superfly also had a national tour in 2011, visiting 32 cities and 35 venues. The tour, dubbed “Mind Traveler”, supported the group’s third studio album Mind Travel, which was released in June 2011. Mind Travel topped the Oricon’s weekly album charts making it Superfly’s fourth consecutive album to debut at number 1.
Superfly announced that they would be releasing a fourth studio album titled Force in September 2012. To commemorate the band’s five-year anniversary, a special edition of the album including a bonus CD, a vinyl copy of the album, and a commemorative poster was released. One week later, Shout in the Rainbow!! would top the Oricon’s Blu-ray weekly rankings, making Superfly the fourth ever solo artist to top those charts. Force sold 119,000 units in its first week, placing it at number 1 on the Oricon’s Weekly charts, making Superfly one of only 4 female solo artists to have five consecutive number 1 debuts on the charts.
The group announced it would release their first best of album in September 2013. During this time, Superfly recorded “Starting Over” which is used by J-WAVE as the theme song for their 25th anniversary. The album was then announced to be simply titled Superfly Best, and includes the 26 singles Superfly has released since their major debut and three new songs: “Starting Over”, “Always”, and “Bi-Li-Li Emotion”.
