The Gospellers

An a cappella group from Japan that formed at Waseda University in 1991 -- the members were part of that schools' a cappella club, Street Corner Symphony. The band released their first single in 1994 ("Promise") and their album hit stores the following year (The Gospellers). Members Youichi Kitayama, Kaoru Kurosawa, Tetsuya Murakami, Yuji Sakai, and Yutaka Yasuoka, kept plugging away, and eventually released thirteen albums and more than thirty singles. They were the first a cappella group to hit the top three in the Japanese Oricon chart, and their 2007 album, Works, almost managed to crack the top five. ~ Chris True