| Friends III | |
| Type: | EP |
| Artist: | B'z |
| Cover: | B'z_Friends_III.png |
| Recorded: | 2021 |
| Genre: | Soft rock |
| Label: | Vermillion |
| Producer: | Tak Matsumoto |
| Prev Title: | Friends II |
| Prev Year: | 1996 |
Friends III is the sixth mini-album by the Japanese rock duo B'z. It was released on December 8, 2021.[1] It's a concept album and is a sequel to their previous mini-album, Friends II, released in 1996.
The mini-album came in three editions: a standard edition, a first press edition with a DVD featuring a re-recording of their song "Itsuka no Merry Christmas" from their fourth mini-album, Friends, and a special Live Friends box featuring the standard edition with a glass, which was only available to those who purchased live tickets and was only sold through B'z Club-Gym.
The mini-album debuted at number one on both the Oricon weekly albums chart and on the Billboard Japan Hot Albums chart.[2] [3]
During the COVID-19 pandemic, guitarist Tak Matsumoto went back and forth between Japan and the United States. During a mandatory isolation after returning to Japan, he decided to make one song a day. The songs produced matched up to the style of the past Friends mini-albums, which led Matsumoto to propose producing a third entry into the series, to which vocalist Koshi Inaba agreed.[4] [5]
Limited Edition DVD
| Chart (2021) | Peak position | |
|---|---|---|
| Japanese Albums (Oricon)[6] | 1 | |
| Japanese Hot Albums (Billboard Japan) | 1 |