All Topics  
J-pop

 

   Email Print
   Bookmark   Link






 

J-pop



 
 
J-pop is an abbreviation of Japanese pop, but is also a loosely defined musical genre that entered the musical mainstream of Japan in 1990s. It refers to Japanese popular musicians, and was coined by the Japanese media to distinguish Japanese musicians from foreign musicians. Today, the Japanese music industry is the second largest behind the United States
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
 in the world. The origin of modern "J-pop" is said to be Japanese-language rock music inspired by The Beatles
The Beatles

The Beatles were a rock music and pop music band from Liverpool, England that formed in 1960. During their career, the group primarily consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr ....
.






Discussion
Ask a question about 'J-pop'
Start a new discussion about 'J-pop'
Answer questions from other users
Full Discussion Forum



Encyclopedia


J-pop is an abbreviation of Japanese pop, but is also a loosely defined musical genre that entered the musical mainstream of Japan in 1990s. It refers to Japanese popular musicians, and was coined by the Japanese media to distinguish Japanese musicians from foreign musicians. Today, the Japanese music industry is the second largest behind the United States
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
 in the world. The origin of modern "J-pop" is said to be Japanese-language rock music inspired by The Beatles
The Beatles

The Beatles were a rock music and pop music band from Liverpool, England that formed in 1960. During their career, the group primarily consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr ....
. Unlike former Japanese popular music called kayokyoku
Kayokyoku

is a genre of Japanese music. Kayokyoku is usually translated as "popular music". The term kayokyoku originally referred to Western classical music "lied" in Japan, but NHK began to use the team as another name of ryukoka....
, J-pop used a special kind of pronunciation. For example, Keisuke Kuwata
Keisuke Kuwata

has gained fame as a Japanese people multi-instrumentalist, singer-songwriter, and Lead vocalist for the Southern All-Stars.Kuwata is known for his willingness to experiment with differing genres of Western music as well as J-pop music in his native Japan....
 pronounced the word "karada" (body) as "kyerada". On the other hand, Taro Kato, a member of rock band Beat Crusaders
Beat Crusaders

, typeset as BEAT CRUSADERS and also known as BECR, are a Japanese rock/punk-pop band. During all promotional appearances, their faces are masked by drawings resembling themselves as printed by a dot-matrix printer....
, did not like it, saying that J-pop was not the encoded pop music
Pop music

Pop music is a music genre that features a noticeable rhythmic element, melodies and hook , a mainstream style and a conventional structure.The term "pop music" was first used in 1926 in the sense of "having popular appeal" , but since the 1950s it has been used in the sense of a musical genre, originally characterized as a lighter alternat...
 but the poppusu music remembered by being aired many times.

History


1920s–1950s: Ryukoka


Japanese popular music, called ryukoka
Ryukoka

is a Japanese musical genre. The team originally means "popular music". Therefore, "Imayo", supported by Emperor Go-Shirakawa in the Heian Period, was a kind of ryukoka....
 before being split into enka
Enka

refers to two styles of Japanese music. The first is speeches set to music which were sung and spread by political activists during the Meiji period and the Taisho period as a means to avoid crackdowns by the government on speeches of political dissent....
 and poppusu, has origins in the Meiji period
Meiji period

The , or Meiji era, denotes the 45-year reign of the Meiji Emperor, running, in the Gregorian calendar, from 23 October 1868 to 30 July 1912. During this time, Japan started its modernization and rose to world power status....
, but most Japanese scholars consider the Taisho period
Taisho period

The , or Taisho era, is a period in the history of Japan dating from July 30, 1912 to December 25, 1926, coinciding with the reign of the Taisho Emperor....
 to be the actual starting point of ryukoka, as it is the era in which the genre first gained nationwide popularity. By the Taisho period, Western musical techniques and instruments, which had been introduced to Japan in the Meiji period
Foreign relations of Meiji Japan

During the Meiji period, the new Government of Meiji Japan also modernized foreign policy, an important step in making Japan a full member of the international community....
, were widely used. Influenced by Western genres such as jazz and blues
Blues

Blues is a music genre based on the use of the blues chord progressions and the blue notes. Though several blues musical form s exist, the 12-bar blues chord progressions are the most frequently encountered....
, ryukoka incorporated Western instruments such as the violin
Violin

The violin is a Bow string instrument with four strings usually tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest and highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which also includes the viola and cello....
, harmonica
Harmonica

The harmonica is a free reed aerophone wind instrument which is played by blowing air into it or drawing air out by placing lips over individual holes or multiple holes....
, and guitar
Guitar

The guitar is a musical instrument with ancient roots that is used in a wide variety of musical styles. It typically has six Strings , but Tenor guitar, Seven-string guitar, Eight-string guitar, Ten-string guitar, Eleven-string guitar, Twelve-string guitar, Thirteen-string guitar and doubleneck guitar string guitars also exist....
. However, the melodies were often written according to the traditional Japanese pentatonic scale
Pentatonic scale

A pentatonic scale is a musical scale with five pitch per octave in contrast to an heptatonic scale scale such as the major scale. Pentatonic scales are very common and are found all over the world, including but not limited to Celtic music, Hungarian folk music, West African music, African-American spiritual , Jazz, American blues music a...
. In 1930s, Ichiro Fujiyama
Ichiro Fujiyama

was a popular Japanese composer and singer. He was born in Chuo, Tokyo, and graduated from the Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music. His workroom has been reproduced inside the "NHK museum of broadcasting" as an exhibit....
 released popular songs with his tenor
Tenor

The tenor is a type of male voice type and is the highest male voice within the modal register. The typical tenor voice lies between the C one octave below middle C to the A above in choral music, and up to high C in solo work....
 voice. Fujiyama used a technique called Crooning
Crooner

Crooner is an epithet given to a male singer of a certain style of popular songs, dubbed pop standards. A crooner is a singer of popular ballads and thus a "balladeer"....
 through microphone
Microphone

A microphone, sometimes referred to as a mike or?more recently?mic, is an acoustic-to-electric transducer or sensor that converts sound into an electrical signal....
. Jazz musician Ryoichi Hattori
Ryoichi Hattori

was a Japanese pop and jazz composer. Katsuhisa Hattori is his son. He had an great influence on Japanese pop and was awarded the People's Honor Award....
 attempted to produce Japanese native music which had a "flavor" of blues
Blues

Blues is a music genre based on the use of the blues chord progressions and the blue notes. Though several blues musical form s exist, the 12-bar blues chord progressions are the most frequently encountered....
. He composed Noriko Awaya
Noriko Awaya

was a Japanese female chanson and ryukoka singer. She has been dubbed the "Queen of Blues" in Japan.Awaya was born as in Aomori, Aomori, Aomori Prefecture....
's hit song "Wakare no Blues" (lit. "Farewell Blues"). Awaya became a famous popular singer and was called "Queen of Blues" in Japan. Due to pressure from the Imperial Army
Imperial Japanese Army

The Imperial Japanese Army , or literally Army of Empire of Greater Japan was the official ground based armed force of Imperial Japan from 1867 to 1945....
 during the war, the performance of jazz music was temporarily halted in Japan. Hattori, who stayed in Shanghai
Shanghai

Shanghai is the List of cities in the People's Republic of China by population in China and one of the List of metropolitan areas by population in the world, with over 20 million people....
 at the end of the war, produced hit songs such as Shizuko Kasagi
Shizuko Kasagi

Shizuko Kasagi was a popular jazz singer and actress in Japan. She was born in Okawa-gun, Kagawa, Japan.Before World War II, Shizuko was one of the stars of the Japan Girls Opera Company....
's "Tokyo Boogie-Woogie" and Ichiro Fujiyama
Ichiro Fujiyama

was a popular Japanese composer and singer. He was born in Chuo, Tokyo, and graduated from the Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music. His workroom has been reproduced inside the "NHK museum of broadcasting" as an exhibit....
's "Aoi Sanmyaku" (lit. "Blue Mountain Range"). Hattori later became known as the "Father of Japanese poppusu". The United States
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
 soldiers—who were occupying Japan at the time—and the Far East Network
Far East Network

The Far East Network was a network of United States Military of the United States radio and television stations, primarily serving U.S Forces in Japan, Okinawa, the Philippines, and U.S....
 introduced a number of new musical styles to the country. Boogie-woogie
Boogie-woogie

Boogie-woogie has the following meanings:* Boogie-woogie , a piano-based music style* Boogie-woogie , a swing dance or a dance that imitates the Rock-n-Roll dance of the 1950s...
, Mambo, Blues
Blues

Blues is a music genre based on the use of the blues chord progressions and the blue notes. Though several blues musical form s exist, the 12-bar blues chord progressions are the most frequently encountered....
, and Country music
Country music

Country music is a blend of popular American music forms originally found in the Southern United States and the Appalachian Mountains. It has roots in Traditional music, Celtic music, gospel music, and old-time music and evolved rapidly in the 1920s....
 were performed by Japanese musicians for the American troops. Chiemi Eri
Chiemi Eri

, was a Japanese people popular singer and actress.Chiemi Eri was born as Chiemi Kubo on January 11, 1937 in Tokyo, Japan. She started her singing career on the age of 14 with her version of the Tennessee Waltz....
's cover song "Tennessee Waltz
The Tennessee Waltz

"The Tennessee Waltz" is a song, belonging to both the country music and popular music genres, written by Redd Stewart and Pee Wee King in 1947, popularized by Patti Page and by Les Paul and Mary Ford in 1950....
" (1952), Hibari Misora
Hibari Misora

was an award winning Japanese enka singer, actress, and Living National Treasure . She is often regarded as being one of the greatest singers of all time, and was the first woman in Japan to receive the , which was awarded for her notable contributions to the music industry....
's "Omatsuri Mambo" (1952), and Izumi Yukimura
Izumi Yukimura

is a Japanese popular singer and actress.Yukimura made her debut with the song in 1953. Her style of singing varied from jazz to rock and roll. She became one of three most popular female singers with Chiemi Eri and Hibari Misora in the early postwar Japan....
's cover song "Till I Waltz Again with You
Till I Waltz Again with You

"Till I Waltz Again with You" is a popular music song written by Sidney Prosen and published in 1952 in music. Rather than a waltz, it is a slow AABA shuffle....
" (1953) also became popular. Foreign musicians and groups including JATP and Louis Armstrong
Louis Armstrong

Louis Daniel Armstrong , nicknamed Satchmo or Pops, was an American jazz trumpeter and singer.Coming to prominence in the 1920s as an innovative cornet and trumpet player, Armstrong was a foundational influence on jazz, shifting the music's focus from collective improvisation to solo performers....
 visited Japan to perform. In mid-1950s, became a popular venue for live jazz music. In the late 1950s and early 1960s, a genre called "kayokyoku
Kayokyoku

is a genre of Japanese music. Kayokyoku is usually translated as "popular music". The term kayokyoku originally referred to Western classical music "lied" in Japan, but NHK began to use the team as another name of ryukoka....
" became widespread. Although jazz did not become the mainstream genre of music in Japan, it had a large impact on Japanese poppusu.

1960s: Origin of modern style


Rokabiri Boom and Wasei pops
In 1956, the short-time rock and roll
Rock and roll

Rock and roll is a form of music that evolved in the United States in the late 1940s and early 1950s. Its roots lay mainly in rhythm and blues, Country music, folk music, gospel music, and jazz....
 craze began, due to the country music group known as Kosaka Kazuya and the Wagon Masters: their rendition of Elvis Presley
Elvis Presley

Elvis Aaron Presley was an United Statesn singer, actor, and musician. A cultural icon, he is commonly known simply as "Elvis", and is also sometimes referred to as "List of honorific titles in popular music" or "The King"....
's Heartbreak Hotel
Heartbreak Hotel

"Heartbreak Hotel" is a rock and roll song performed by Elvis Presley, with Bill Black , Scotty Moore , D.J. Fontana , Floyd Cramer and Elvis on rhythm guitar as the main supporting musicians....
 helped to fuel the trend. The music was called by Japanese media. Performers learned to play the music and translate the lyrics of popular American songs, resulting in the birth of . The rockabilly movement would reach its peak when 45,000 people saw the performances by Japanese singers at the first Nichigeki Western Carnival in one week of February 1958.

Kyu Sakamoto
Kyu Sakamoto

was a Japanese singer and actor.He is ranked at number 18 in a list of Japan's top 100 influential musicians by HMV....
, a fan of Elvis, made his stage debut in a band called The Drifters
The Drifters (comedian)

was a Japanese rock and roll band and comedy group that started in 1964. In 2001, they joined the Kohaku Uta Gassen as a musical band.They are most famous for the regular variety show Hachijidayo, Zen'inshugo! , which aired on the Tokyo Broadcasting System from 1969 to 1985....
 at the Nichigeki Western Carnival in 1958. His song "Ue wo Muite Aruko" (lit. "Let's Look Up and Walk"), known in other parts of the world as "Sukiyaki
Sukiyaki (song)

"Ue o muite aruko" is a Japanese language song that was performed by Japanese crooner Kyu Sakamoto, and written by Rokusuke Ei and Hachidai Nakamura....
", was released to the United States in 1963. It was the first Japanese song to reach the #1 position in the United States, spending four weeks in Cashbox Magazine and three weeks in Billboard. It also received a "Gold Record" for selling one million copies. During this period, female duo The Peanuts
The Peanuts

is a Japanese vocal group consisting of twin sisters Emi Ito and Yumi Ito . They were born in Tokoname, Aichi, Aichi on April 1, 1941; soon after their birth, the family moved to Nagoya....
 also became popular, singing a song in movie "Mothra
Mothra (film)

is a 1961 giant-monster movie from Toho, directed by genre regular Ishiro Honda with special effects by legend Eiji Tsuburaya. It is the kaiju eiga debut of screenwriter Shinichi Sekizawa, whose fantastic yet intelligent approach to the genre grew to prominence during the 1960s....
". Their songs such as "furimukanaide" (lit. "Don't Turn Around") were later covered by Candies on their album Candy Label. Songs like Kyu Sakamoto and The Peanuts were called .

After frequently changing members, Chosuke Ikariya
Chosuke Ikariya

was a Japanese comedian and film actor, and leader of the Owarai comedy group The Drifters . His nickname was ....
 re-formed The Drifters in 1964 under the same name. At a Beatles concert in 1966, they acted as curtain raisers, but the audience generally objected. Eventually, The Drifters became popular in Japan, releasing "Zundoko-Bushi" (lit. Zundoko [echoic word] tune) in 1969. Along with enka singer Keiko Fuji
Keiko Fuji

, real name , is a Japanese enka singer and actress. She had success in Japan in the 1960s and 1970s with her ballad-type songs.Both her parents were itinerant musical performers....
, they won "the award for mass popularity" at the 12th Japan Record Award
Japan Record Award

for outstanding achievements in the Japan Composer's Association, is major music awards show held annually in Japan.List Japan Record Award ...
 in 1970. Keiko Fuji's 1970 album "Shinjuku no Onna/'Enka no Hoshi' Fuji Keiko no Subete" (lit. "Woman in Shinjuku/'Star of Enka' All of Keiko Fuji") established an all-time record for spending in number-one spot of 20 consecutive weeks in Japan's Oricon
Oricon

, established in 1999, is the holding company at the head of a Japanese corporate group that supplies statistics and information on music and the music industry in Japan....
 history. The Drifters later became to be known as television personalities and invited idols
Japanese idol

In Japan culture, refers to mostly female media personalities in their teens and early twenties who are considered particularly Cuteness in Japanese culture and who will, for a period ranging from several months to a few years, regularly appear in the mass media, e.g....
 such as Momoe Yamaguchi
Momoe Yamaguchi

Momoe Yamaguchi , is a Japanese people singer, actress, and Japanese idol whose career lasted from 1972 to 1980. In that time, she became one of the most notable singers in Japanese music, and an acclaimed actress....
 and Candies to their television program.
Eleki Boom and Group Sounds
The Ventures
The Ventures

The Ventures are an United States instrumental rock band formed in 1958 in Tacoma, Washington, Washington. The band, formed by Don Wilson and Bob Bogle, two masonry workers, has had an enduring impact on the development of music worldwide, having sold over 100 million records, and are to date the best-selling instrumental band of all time....
 visited Japan in 1962 and they caused the electric guitar
Electric guitar

An electric guitar is a type of guitar that uses pickup to convert the vibration of its steel-cored strings into an electrical current, which is made louder with an instrument amplifier and a speaker....
's movement called "Eleki Boom". Yuzo Kayama
Yuzo Kayama

is a Japanese popular musician and film star born on April 11, 1937. His father, Ken Uehara, was one of the most popular film stars in Japan during the 1930s....
 and Takeshi Terauchi
Takeshi Terauchi

Takeshi Terauchi is a Japanese people surf rock guitarist whose music combines instrumental surf rock inspired by The Ventures with traditional Japanese folk music....
 became famous players of electric guitar. In Japan, the sales of The Ventures was reportedly more than that of The Beatles
The Beatles

The Beatles were a rock music and pop music band from Liverpool, England that formed in 1960. During their career, the group primarily consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr ....
, though The Beatles were overestimated in later years. In 1966, The Beatles came to Japan and sang their songs at the Nippon Budokan
Nippon Budokan

The , often shortened to just "Budokan," is an arena in central Tokyo, Japan.For many Westerners, the Budokan is synonymous with large-scale rock concerts....
, becoming the first rock music
Rock music

Rock music is a loosely defined genre of popular music that entered the mainstream in the mid 1950's. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rhythm and blues, country music and other influences....
 band to perform their concert at the Budokan. The public believed that The Beatles would cause juvenile delinquency
Juvenile delinquency

Juvenile delinquency refers to criminal act acts performed by juvenile s. Most legal systems prescribe specific procedures for dealing with juveniles, such as juvenile detention centers....
. The Japanese government deployed riot police against young rock fans at the Nippon Budokan. John Lennon
John Lennon

John Winston Ono Lennon, Order of the British Empire was an English Rock music musician, singer, songwriter, artist, and peace activist who gained worldwide fame as one of the founding members of The Beatles....
 felt that they were not well regarded in Japan, but the legend of The Beatles has remained over decades among the Japanese people. They caused the movement of Group Sounds
Group Sounds

Group Sounds is a genre of Japan rock music that was popular in the mid to late 1960s. The most well known bands of that era were The Tigers , The Tempters, The Spiders , The Golden Cups, Mops , The Blue Comets, The Wild Ones , The Happenings Four and others....
 in Japan.

Most Japanese musicians felt that new covers of rock songs were unparalleled by the original, so this era gradually declined. As a result, there were debates such as "Should we sing rock music in Japanese?" and "Should we do in English?" between Happy End and Yuya Uchida
Yuya Uchida

Yuya Uchida is a Japanese rock and roll singer and acting, best known for his music and his appearance in the Ridley Scott film Black Rain ....
 about Japanese rock music. This confrontation was called . Happy End proved that rock music could be sung in Japanese and one theory holds that their music musically became an origin of modern "J-pop". By adopting a major second (sol and la) which was used in the sounds of The Beatles's "I Want to Hold Your Hand
I Want to Hold Your Hand

"I Want to Hold Your Hand" is a song by the English pop music and rock music band The Beatles. Written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney, and recorded in October 1963, it was the first Beatles record to be made using multitrack recording equipment....
" and The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones

The Rolling Stones are an English rock music band formed in 1962 in London when multi-instrumentalist Brian Jones and pianist Ian Stewart were joined by vocalist Mick Jagger and guitarist Keith Richards....
's "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction
(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction

" Satisfaction" is a song by English rock music band The Rolling Stones. It was written by Jagger/Richards and produced by Andrew Loog Oldham. The lyrics of the song include references to sexual intercourse, and the theme of anti-commercialism caused the song to be "perceived as an attack on the status quo"....
", Japanese popular music became more occidental. The Beatles also inspired Eikichi Yazawa
Eikichi Yazawa

is an influential Japan singer-songwriter, and important figure in Japanese popular music. ...
, who grew up in an underprivileged family in which father died when he was a child. Keisuke Kuwata
Keisuke Kuwata

has gained fame as a Japanese people multi-instrumentalist, singer-songwriter, and Lead vocalist for the Southern All-Stars.Kuwata is known for his willingness to experiment with differing genres of Western music as well as J-pop music in his native Japan....
, who grew up in a dual-income family, was influenced by them through his older sister, then an avid fan. Yosui Inoue
Yosui Inoue

is an influential Japanese people singer-songwriter, and record producer, who is an important figure in Japanese music.He first began performing in 1969, and quickly gained recognition as a folk-rock singer, and released his first album in 1972....
 was also a fan of The Beatles though he said that his music style was not particularly related to them. After Happy End disbanded in 1973, its member Haruomi Hosono
Haruomi Hosono

, also known as Harry Hosono, is a Japanese popular musician, best known internationally as a member of Yellow Magic Orchestra.Hosono first came to attention in Japan as the bass player of the psychedelic rock band Apryl Fool, who released the album The Apryl Fool in 1969....
 formed Yellow Magic Orchestra
Yellow Magic Orchestra

'Yellow Magic Orchestra' are an influential Japanese technopop band, formed in 1978. They are renowned as a major influence in Japanese popular music, and for pioneering the technopop music genre....
.

1970s: Development


Foku and New music
In the early 1960s, some Japanese music became influenced by American folk music revival
American folk music revival

The American folk music revival was a phenomenon in the United States in the 1950s to mid-1960s. Its roots went earlier, of course, since traditional folk music has thousands of years of history, and performers like Burl Ives, Woody Guthrie, and Cisco Houston had enjoyed a limited general popularity in decades prior to the 1950s....
; this was called , although the genre of music were mostly covers of original songs. In the late 1960s, The Folk Crusaders
The Folk Crusaders

The Folk Crusaders was a Japanese modern music group, taking Japan by storm in the later half of the 1960s, and laying the foundations for modern Japanese music....
 became famous and the underground music around that time became called foku. Like former Soshi Enka
Enka

refers to two styles of Japanese music. The first is speeches set to music which were sung and spread by political activists during the Meiji period and the Taisho period as a means to avoid crackdowns by the government on speeches of political dissent....
 (music genre of Meiji
Meiji period

The , or Meiji era, denotes the 45-year reign of the Meiji Emperor, running, in the Gregorian calendar, from 23 October 1868 to 30 July 1912. During this time, Japan started its modernization and rose to world power status....
 and Taisho period
Taisho period

The , or Taisho era, is a period in the history of Japan dating from July 30, 1912 to December 25, 1926, coinciding with the reign of the Taisho Emperor....
), Japanese foku singer Wataru Takada performed for social satire.

In the early 1970s, the emphasis shifted from simple songs with a single guitar accompaniment (known originally as foku) to more complex musical arrangements known as . Instead of social messages, the songs focused on more personal messages, such as love. In 1972, a great change was taking place in Japanese music scene: singer-songwriter Takuro Yoshida
Takuro Yoshida

is a Japanese male Singer-songwriter. He was born on April 5, 1946 in Okuchi, Kagoshima, Kagoshima and raised in Hiroshima, Hiroshima. He made his debut with the single Imeji no Uta / Maku II on June, 1970....
 produced hit song "Kekkon Shiyouyo" (lit. "Let's marry") without decent television promotion, though fans of old foku music became very angry because his music seemed to be a mersh music. The highest-selling single of the year was enka song "Onna no Michi
Onna no Michi

"Onna no Michi" is the debut single by Shiro Miya and the Pinkara Trio released on May 10, 1972, in Japan. The lyrics are simple, but sad. The song is written about a woman who devoted herself to her only man but was deserted by him and was crying....
". The enka song eventually sold over 3.25 million copies. On December 1, 1973, Yosui Inoue
Yosui Inoue

is an influential Japanese people singer-songwriter, and record producer, who is an important figure in Japanese music.He first began performing in 1969, and quickly gained recognition as a folk-rock singer, and released his first album in 1972....
 released album "Kori no Sekai" (lit. "World of Ice"), which topped the Oricon charts and spent in Top 10 for 113 weeks. It spent in number-one spot for 13 consecutive weeks and eventually established a still-standing record to spend at the number-one position for a total of 35 weeks on Oricon charts. Yumi Matsutoya
Yumi Matsutoya

, nicknamed , is an influential Japanese people singer, composer, lyricist and pianist. She is renowned for her idiosyncratic voice, and live performances, and is an important figure in Japanese popular music....
, formerly known by her maiden name Yumi Arai, also became notable singer/songwriter during this period by the variety of sounds she produce. In October 1975, she released single "Ano Hi ni Kaeritai" (lit. "I want to return to that day"), making it her first number-one single. Miyuki Nakajima
Miyuki Nakajima

is a Japanese people vocalist, guitarist, lyricist, composer and radio personality. As a principal Japanese female veteran singer-songwriter who is often compared with Yumi Matsutoya, she has released 35 studio albums, 40 singles, 2 live albums and multiple compilations to date, and those sales have been estimated more than 21 million copies....
, Amii Ozaki
Amii Ozaki

, real name , is a Japanese people singer songwriter born on 1957-03-19 in Kita-ku, Kyoto, Kyoto, Kyoto Prefecture, Japan. She has written music such as Oribia o Kikinagara by Anri and Tenshi no Uingu by Seiko Matsuda, as well as many other songs....
 and Junko Yagami
Junko Yagami

is a popular Japanese recording artist from the 1970s. Some of her best known works include Mizuiro No Ame and Omoide ha Utsukushisugite....
 were also popular singer-songwriter during this period. At first, only Yumi Matsutoya was commonly called a New Music artist, but the concept merged Japanese foku music around that time. In 1979, Chage and Aska
Chage and Aska

or Chage and Asuka, are a Japanese people popular music duo composed of two singer-songwriters from Fukuoka Prefecture, Chage and . To date they have sold over 31 million albums and singles in Japan....
 made their debut and folk band Off Course
Off Course

Off Course was one of Japan's most influential "Folk"? bands. It was formed in early 1969 by Kazumasa Oda and Yasuhiro Suzuki. They broke up in 1989 after their February 26 farewell performance at Tokyo Dome....
, whose vocalist was Kazumasa Oda
Kazumasa Oda

is a Japanese people singer-songwriter, also known as the leader of the folk rock band Off Course.As a vocalist and leader of Off Course, Oda wrote many Japanese standard numbers in the 70s and 80s....
, released hit song "Sayonara" (lit. "Good-bye").

SAS and YMO
Rock music relatively remained in the underground music
Underground music

Underground music refers to a variety of music subgenres that usually develop a subculture cult following despite their lack of mainstream appeal, visibility, or commercial promotion....
 genre in 1970s in Japan. In 1978, however, rocker Eikichi Yazawa
Eikichi Yazawa

is an influential Japan singer-songwriter, and important figure in Japanese popular music. ...
's single "Toki yo Tomare" (lit. "Time, Stop") became a smash hit, which sold over 639,000 copies. He became regarded as one of pioneers of Japanese rock. In 1980, Yazawa seeking worldwide success, signed a contract with the Warner Pioneer record company and moved to the West Coast of the United States. He recorded the albums "Yazawa," "It's Just Rock n' Roll," and "Flash in Japan," all of which were released worldwide, but were not very commercially successful. Keisuke Kuwata
Keisuke Kuwata

has gained fame as a Japanese people multi-instrumentalist, singer-songwriter, and Lead vocalist for the Southern All-Stars.Kuwata is known for his willingness to experiment with differing genres of Western music as well as J-pop music in his native Japan....
 formed rock band Southern All Stars
Southern All Stars

, also known by abbreviations or SAS, are a Japanese pop rock band that formed in the mid 1970s.The band is comprised Keisuke Kuwata , Yuko Hara , Kazuyuki Sekiguchi , Hiroshi Matsuda and Hideyuki "Kegani" Nozawa ....
, which made their debut in 1978. Southern All Stars remains very popular in the present days. In the same year, Yellow Magic Orchestra
Yellow Magic Orchestra

'Yellow Magic Orchestra' are an influential Japanese technopop band, formed in 1978. They are renowned as a major influence in Japanese popular music, and for pioneering the technopop music genre....
 also made their debut. The band, whose members were Haruomi Hosono
Haruomi Hosono

, also known as Harry Hosono, is a Japanese popular musician, best known internationally as a member of Yellow Magic Orchestra.Hosono first came to attention in Japan as the bass player of the psychedelic rock band Apryl Fool, who released the album The Apryl Fool in 1969....
, Yukihiro Takahashi
Yukihiro Takahashi

Yukihiro Takahashi is a J-pop, who is best known as the drummer and lead vocalist of the Yellow Magic Orchestra.Yukihiro Takahashi first came to prominence as the drummer of the Sadistic Mika Band, and became known to western audiences after this band toured and recorded in the United Kingdom....
 and Ryuichi Sakamoto
Ryuichi Sakamoto

Ryuichi Sakamoto is an Academy Awards-winning, Grammy-winning, Golden Globe-winning Japanese musician, composer, record producer and actor, based in New York and Tokyo....
, developed electropop
Electropop

Electropop is a form of electronic music that is made with synthesizers, and which first flourished from 1978 to 1981. Electropop laid the groundwork for a mass market in chart-oriented synthpop....
. Their 1979 album Solid State Survivor
Solid State Survivor

Solid State Survivor was the second album of Yellow Magic Orchestra. It contains one of their best-known songs, "Rydeen". "Behind the Mask" became known to a wider audience due to a cover by Eric Clapton....
 reached #1 on Oricon charts in July 1980. Youths who listened their music during this period became known as . Southern All Stars and Yellow Magic Orchestra ended the era of New Music.

1980s: Fusion with "kayokyoku"


City Pop
In the 1980s, the term was used to describe a type of popular music that had a big city theme. Tokyo
Tokyo

, officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan of Japan and located on the eastern side of the main island Honshu. The twenty-three special wards of Tokyo, each governed as a city, cover the area that was once the Tokyo City in the eastern part of the prefecture, and total over 8 million people....
 in particular inspired many songs of this form. It was Japanese pop influenced from Album-oriented rock
Album-oriented rock

Album-oriented rock is a United States FM broadcasting Radio format focusing on album tracks by Rock music artists....
 and Crossover
Crossover (music)

Crossover is a term applied to musical works or performers appearing on two or more of the record charts which track differing musical tastes, or Music genre....
. Although City Pop was affected by New Music, rock band Happy End was considered as one of origins. Akira Terao
Akira Terao

is Japanese musician and movie actor.Terao was born in Yokohama in Japan, son of an actor and film director Jukichi Uno.Terao was known mostly in Japan for his album , which sold in 1980s in Japan in more than one and a half million copies and the hit song ....
 and Anri
Anri

, real name , is a Japanese people singer and singer-songwriter born on August 31, 1961 in Yamato, Kanagawa, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. She has written much of her own music as well as singing songs written by others such as her debut release Oribia o Kikinagara, by Amii Ozaki....
 became famous during this period. Tatsuro Yamashita
Tatsuro Yamashita

is a Japanese people singer-songwriter, and record producer. A major figure in popular music, Tatsuro is regarded as being one of the worlds most influential musicians, and one of the greatest singers of all time....
 and his wife Mariya Takeuchi
Mariya Takeuchi

is a Japanese singer-songwriter.In 1978, while studying at Keio University, Takeuchi started her own career with a single "Modotte-Oide, Watashi no Jikan"....
 also became popular in this period. Yamashita's 1983 song "Christmas Eve" finally reached #1 on the Oricon weekly single charts of December 25, 1989. In 1989, Ryuichi Sakamoto
Ryuichi Sakamoto

Ryuichi Sakamoto is an Academy Awards-winning, Grammy-winning, Golden Globe-winning Japanese musician, composer, record producer and actor, based in New York and Tokyo....
 won the Grammy Award
Grammy Award

The Grammy Awards ?or Grammys?are presented annually by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States for outstanding achievements in the music industry....
 for his contribution to movie The Last Emperor
The Last Emperor

The Last Emperor is a biopic about the life of Puyi, the last Emperor of China, whose autobiography was the basis for the screenplay written by Mark Peploe and Bernardo Bertolucci....
. When the Japanese asset price bubble
Japanese asset price bubble

The was an economic bubble in Japan from 1986 to 1990, in which real estate and stock prices greatly inflated. The bubble's collapse lasted for more than a decade with stock prices bottoming in 2003, until hitting an even lower low in 2008 amidst a global recession....
 disintegrated, the era of City Pop also ended, but those music was inherited by Shibuya-kei
Shibuya-kei

is a sub-genre of J-pop which originated in the Shibuya, Tokyo district of Tokyo. It is best described as a mix between jazz, pop, and electropop. The word for is combined with the Japanese word which literally means "system" or, in this context, "style", to form Shibuya-kei which roughly translates to "Shibuya style"....
.
Japanese rock
Throughout 1980s, rock bands were popular such as Southern All Stars
Southern All Stars

, also known by abbreviations or SAS, are a Japanese pop rock band that formed in the mid 1970s.The band is comprised Keisuke Kuwata , Yuko Hara , Kazuyuki Sekiguchi , Hiroshi Matsuda and Hideyuki "Kegani" Nozawa ....
, Anzen Chitai
Anzen Chitai

is one of Japan's most successful rock bands in 1980s. It was formed in 1973 by five talented musicians in Asahikawa, Hokkaido, Japan and debuted in 1982 in Tokyo, Japan....
, The Checkers
The Checkers

The Checkers was a Japanese pop/rock band famous in the 80s. The band was formed by Toru Takeuchi, the leader and the guitarist, who asked Fumiya Fujii to start a band with him....
, The Alfee
The Alfee

The Alfee is a popular Japanese musical group comprised of Masaru Sakurai , Konosuke Sakazaki and Toshihiko Takamizawa . The group was formed with four members in 1973 after they met on the campus of Meiji Gakuin University....
, Boøwy
Boøwy

Bo?wy was a Japanese rock group consisting of Kyosuke Himuro , Tomoyasu Hotei , Tsunematsu Matsui and Makoto Takahashi . They were a rock band that reached legendary status in Japan during the 1980s....
 and TM Network
TM Network

TM NETWORK is a Japanese Rock Musical band consisting of Tetsuya Komuro , Takashi Utsunomiya and Naoto Kine . They seemingly aspired to becoming a Japanese progressive rock band....
. Anzen Chitai was from Yosui Inoue
Yosui Inoue

is an influential Japanese people singer-songwriter, and record producer, who is an important figure in Japanese music.He first began performing in 1969, and quickly gained recognition as a folk-rock singer, and released his first album in 1972....
's backup band. In 1986, The Alfee became the first artist to play a concert in front of an audience of 100,000 people in Japan. Boøwy especially became a influential rock band, whose members included singer Kyosuke Himuro
Kyosuke Himuro

is a Japanese singer. He was a member of the Japanese legendary rock group Bo?wy from 1981 to 1988. Tomoyasu Hotei was the same band's member. Now, he lives in Los Angeles, California....
 and guitarrist Tomoyasu Hotei
Tomoyasu Hotei

is a Japanese musician, guitarist and actor....
. Their three albums reached number-one in 1988, making them the first male artists to do so within a year. Subsequent Japanese rock bands were modeled on this band. Guitarist Tak Matsumoto
Tak Matsumoto

is a Japanese guitarist, producer, arranger, composer and songwriter. In addition to guitarist and lead arranger for the hard rock band B'z, he has also a successful solo career....
, who supported TM Network's concerts, formed rock duo B'z
B'z

is a Japanese hard rock duo, comprising and Koshi Inaba .They have released 41 consecutive #1 singles, 23 #1 albums, and sold more than 77 million records in Japan alone....
 with Koshi Inaba
Koshi Inaba

is a Japanese singer. His real name is . He graduated from the Faculty of Education at the Yokohama National University, and has a degree in mathematics....
.

In the late 1980s, a new trend also emerged in Japanese rock music: the visual kei
Visual Kei

refers to a movement among Music of Japan, that is characterized by the use of eccentric, sometimes flamboyant looks. This usually involves striking Cosmetics, unusual hair styles and elaborate costumes, often, but not always, coupled with Androgyny aesthetics....
 a movement notable by male bands who wore make up and extravagant hair styles and androgynous costumes. The most well successful representants are X Japan
X Japan

is a Japan band founded in 1982 by Toshi and Yoshiki . Originally named X , the group achieved its breakthrough success in 1989 with the release of their second album Blue Blood ....
 and Buck-Tick
Buck-Tick

BUCK-TICK is a Japanese rock band consisting of five members: Atsushi Sakurai on vocals, Hisashi Imai on guitars, backing vocals, noises and theremin, Hoshino Hidehiko on guitars and backing vocals, Higuchi Yutaka on bass, and Yagami Toll on drums....
. Princess Princess
Princess Princess (band)

was a five-piece J-Rock/J-pop girl band from 1983-1996. They were previously known as "Julian Mama" and "Akasaka Komachi" ....
 became a successful all female band.

Golden age, decline and transfiguration of Idols

In 1970s, the popularity of female idol singers such as Mari Amachi
Mari Amachi

Mari Amachi is a Japanese female singer and actress, who was famous in 1970s' Japan. She was born as Mari Saito in Omiya, Saitama, Saitama Prefecture....
, Saori Minami, Momoe Yamaguchi
Momoe Yamaguchi

Momoe Yamaguchi , is a Japanese people singer, actress, and Japanese idol whose career lasted from 1972 to 1980. In that time, she became one of the most notable singers in Japanese music, and an acclaimed actress....
 and Candies grew up. Momoe Yamaguchi was one of first kayokyoku
Kayokyoku

is a genre of Japanese music. Kayokyoku is usually translated as "popular music". The term kayokyoku originally referred to Western classical music "lied" in Japan, but NHK began to use the team as another name of ryukoka....
 singers to use the special pronunciation like "J-pop". In 1972, Hiromi Go
Hiromi Go

Hiromi Go and is a Japanese singer, part of Sony Music Japan. He also effectively became the Japanese answer to Ricky Martin after his Japanese version of "Livin' la Vida Loca", which was called "GOLDFINGER '99"....
 made his debut with song "Otokonoko Onnanoko" (lit. "Boy and Girl"). Hiromi Go originally came from Johnny & Associates
Johnny & Associates

, formed by Johnny Kitagawa in 1963, is a talent agency that trains and promotes groups of male Japanese idols in Japan.After debuting the talents, Johnny's & Associates would then arrange for them to be signed to record labels such as J Storm, Johnny's Entertainment or labels owned by other companies such as Avex Trax....
. In 1976, female duo Pink Lady
Pink Lady (band)

was a Japanese female pop music duo of the late 1970s and early 1980s, featuring Mitsuyo Nemoto and Keiko Masuda . In Japan, they are fondly remembered for the incredible run of pop-chart hits they enjoyed from roughly 1976 to 1979, but in the United States, they are best known for their infamously failed 1980 NBC-TV variety show, Pink Lady and...
 made their debut with single "Pepper Keibu
Pepper Keibu

is a song by the Japanese hit duo Pink Lady . The single was released on August 25, 1976 under the Victor Talking Machine Company label, making it their first single ever released....
". Pink Lady released nine consecutive number-one singles, establishing a record of that time.

In 1980s, Japanese idols inherited "New Music", though the term "New Music" fell out of usage. Seiko Matsuda
Seiko Matsuda

is a Japanese people pop singer-songwriter. Due to her popularity in the 1980s and her long career, she has been dubbed the "Eternal Japanese idol" by the Japanese media....
 especially adopted song producers of previous generations. In 1980, her third single "Kaze wa Aki Iro" (lit. "Wind is autumn color") reached the number-one spot on Oricon charts. Haruomi Hosono
Haruomi Hosono

, also known as Harry Hosono, is a Japanese popular musician, best known internationally as a member of Yellow Magic Orchestra.Hosono first came to attention in Japan as the bass player of the psychedelic rock band Apryl Fool, who released the album The Apryl Fool in 1969....
 also joined the production of her music. She eventually became the first artist to make 24 consecutive number 1 singles, breaking Pink Lady's record.

In 1980s, other female idol singers achieved significant popularity such as Akina Nakamori
Akina Nakamori

is a J-pop singer and actress. She was one of the most popular singers of the 1980s in Japan. She is known for her deep, power-house voice....
, Kyoko Koizumi
Kyoko Koizumi

is a Japanese people singer and actor famous in Japan. Her music is released through Victor Entertainment in Japan. She is also known by the nickname 'Kyon Kyon'....
, Yoko Oginome
Yoko Oginome

, real name , is a singer, actress and seiyu born on 1968-12-10 in Kashiwa, Chiba, Chiba Prefecture, Japan. Oginome spent most of her elementary school and junior high school years living in the town of Ranzan, Saitama in Saitama Prefecture, though she attended school in the city of Sakura, Chiba....
, Miho Nakayama
Miho Nakayama

Nakayama Miho is an actor, Model , and a former J-pop Japanese idol.She was born in Koganei, Tokyo, Japan, the older sister of another J-pop singer, Shinobu Nakayama....
, Minako Honda
Minako Honda

, born Minako Kudo was a Japanese "idol" pop-star and musical singer. She became famous and popular as "Japan's Madonna " because of her sexy fashion and live performances in the mid to late 1980s....
 and Chisato Moritaka. Nakamori won the grand prix awards for two consecutive years in 1985 and 1986 at the Japan Record Award
Japan Record Award

for outstanding achievements in the Japan Composer's Association, is major music awards show held annually in Japan.List Japan Record Award ...
. Japanese idol band Onyanko Club
Onyanko Club

was a large all-girl Japanese people J-pop Japanese idol group in the 1980s. The group gave a new approach to the idol formula with its 52 official members and three unofficial members....
 made their debut in 1985 and produced popular singer Shizuka Kudo
Shizuka Kudo

is a Japanese singer and J-Pop idol who made her debut on 31 August 1987. She was also a member of the groups Onyanko Club and Ushirogami Hikaretai....
. They were amateurish and changed the image of Japanese idols. Around 1985, however, people began to be disenamored with the system for creating idols. In 1986, idol singer Yukiko Okada
Yukiko Okada

Yukiko Okada , known as Yukko to her fans, was a Japanese idol during the 1980s, signed to Pony Canyon records. She is still popular in spite of her death of more than 20 years ago....
's song "Kuchibiru Network" (lit. "Lips' Network"), written by Seiko Matsuda and composed by Ryuichi Sakamoto, became a hit song, but she committed suicide immediately after that.

Hikaru Genji
Hikaru Genji (musical group)

was a Japanese musical group run by Johnny & Associates from 1987 to 1995. They were named after the character Hikaru Genji of the Genji Monogatari....
, one of the representants of the Johnny & Associates
Johnny & Associates

, formed by Johnny Kitagawa in 1963, is a talent agency that trains and promotes groups of male Japanese idols in Japan.After debuting the talents, Johnny's & Associates would then arrange for them to be signed to record labels such as J Storm, Johnny's Entertainment or labels owned by other companies such as Avex Trax....
, made their debut in 1987. They became the highly influential rollerskating boy band, with some of its members growing up to fame on their own. Their song "Paradise Ginga", written by Aska
Aska (singer-songwriter)

Aska, past stage name; is a Japanese people singer-songwriter.Aska is best known for work as part of the music duo Chage and Aska. As a composer, he wrote most of the principal hit songs for the duo, such as "Morning Moon", "Love Song", "Say Yes ", and "Meguriai"....
, won the grand prix award at the Japan Record Award in 1988. A part of its backing dancers later formed SMAP
SMAP

SMAP is a Japanese "Japanese idol" group, formed by Johnny & Associates. Originally, there were six members in the group; current members are Masahiro Nakai, Takuya Kimura, Tsuyoshi Kusanagi, Goro Inagaki and Shingo Katori....
. The late 1980s also saw the rise of the female duo Wink. However, they didn't laugh unlike Japanese idols of former era. Wink debuted in 1988, surpassing the popularity of the then most popular female duo, BaBe
Babe

Babe may refer to:...
. Very popular singer Hibari Misora
Hibari Misora

was an award winning Japanese enka singer, actress, and Living National Treasure . She is often regarded as being one of the greatest singers of all time, and was the first woman in Japan to receive the , which was awarded for her notable contributions to the music industry....
 died in 1989 and many kayokyoku programs such as "The Best Ten" were closed. Nakamori made a suicide attempt in 1989. Wink's song "Sabishii Nettaigyo
Sabishii Nettaigyo

was Wink's 5th single. Released on 1989-7-5, with a CD catalog number H10R-31001, and cassette tape catalog number X09R-3001.A cover of this song was done by W on their debut album Duo U&U....
" won the grand prix award at the Japan Record Award in 1989. CoCo
Coco (group)

Coco was a Japanese people Pop culture group which consist of Mikiyo Ohno, Azusa Senou, Rieko Miura, Erika Haneda, and Maki Miyamae.About a year after their debut, Azusa left the group and went solo while the other 4 stayed behind....
 also made their hit debut with the 1989 single Equal Romance for the hit anime series Ranma 1/2. Tetsuya Komuro
Tetsuya Komuro

, also known as 'TK', is a Japanese keyboardist, songwriter and record producer born on November 27, 1958 in Fuchu, Tokyo, Japan. He is recognized for introducing dance music to the Japanese mainstream....
, a member of TM Network, eventually prevented Seiko Matsuda's 25 consecutive number-ones in November 1989.

1990s: Coining of the term "J-pop"


1990–1997: Growing market
In the early 1990s, the term J-pop, which originally came from a word in Japanese radio broadcasting J-Wave
J-Wave

J-Wave is a Japanese FM broadcasting radio broadcasting based in Tokyo. It was founded in October 1988 by Fumihiko Imura, featuring Japanese music and Western popular music of various commercial genres....
, became the common term to describe most popular songs such as . During this period, Japanese music industry sought marketing effectiveness, ingenerating mass-produced music. The period between around 1990 and 1993 was dominated by the "Being" agency artists such as B'z
B'z

is a Japanese hard rock duo, comprising and Koshi Inaba .They have released 41 consecutive #1 singles, 23 #1 albums, and sold more than 77 million records in Japan alone....
, Tube
Tube (band)

TUBE is a J-Pop group. This group released most of its songs in April to July earning the famous phrase, "Summer comes with TUBE". There is an urban legend that Fuyumi Sakamoto who releases her songs only in winter, has never met TUBE or that she makes songs for TUBE and vice versa....
, T-Bolan
T-BOLAN

T-BOLAN was a Japanese rock band which debuted in 1991. Its members were Arashi Moritomo, Kazuyoshi Aoki, Takeshi Gomi, and Hirofumi Ueno....
, Zard
Zard

was a Japanese pop group. Originally a group of five members, with lead vocalist Izumi Sakai as group leader. However, Sakai was the only member who stayed on the group while others joined and left regularly....
, Wands
Wands (band)

Wands was a 3-member Japanese rock band, founded in 1991. After all original members withdrew from the band, it nominally disbanded in 2000. The band belonged to the "being" musical agency, which was famous in the early 1990s in Japan....
, Maki Oguro, Deen, Keiko Utoku
Keiko Utoku

is a Japanese singer and songwriter, who debuted with Jpop female band Mi-Ke from 1991 to 1993, before starting a solo career. As a child, Utoku listened to a lot of music, including music made by Momoe Yamaguchi....
 and Field of View
Field of view

The field of view is the angle extent of the observable world that is visual perception at any given moment.The range of visual abilities is not uniform across a field of view, and varies from animal to animal....
. They were called . B'z's 1990 song "Taiyo no Komachi Angel
Taiyo no Komachi Angel

is the fifth single by B'z, released on June 13, 1990. This song is B'z first number-one single, selling over 463,000 copies in Oricon chart. They have been getting number-one positions at Oricon charts since this song....
" topped the Oricon charts. They eventually established a new record for consecutive number-one singles, surpassing Seiko's record. In 1993, Zard came at the top of the Oricon yearly total sales rankings. On another front, Wands, regarded as a pioneer of "J-pop Boom" of 90s, had trouble because they in fact wanted to play alternative rock
Alternative rock

Alternative rock is a genre of rock music that emerged in the 1980s and became widely popular in the 1990s. Alternative rock consists of various subgenres that have emerged from the independent music scene since the 1980s, such as Grunge music, Britpop, gothic rock, and indie pop....
/grunge
Grunge music

Grunge is a subgenre of alternative rock that emerged during the mid-1980s in the American state of Washington, particularly in the Seattle area....
.

Kazumasa Oda
Kazumasa Oda

is a Japanese people singer-songwriter, also known as the leader of the folk rock band Off Course.As a vocalist and leader of Off Course, Oda wrote many Japanese standard numbers in the 70s and 80s....
's 1991 song "Oh! Yeah!/Love Story wa Totsuzen ni", Chage and Aska
Chage and Aska

or Chage and Asuka, are a Japanese people popular music duo composed of two singer-songwriters from Fukuoka Prefecture, Chage and . To date they have sold over 31 million albums and singles in Japan....
's 1991 song "Say Yes
Say Yes (Chage and Aska song)

"Say Yes" is a Japanese song by Chage and Aska released on July 24, 1991. It was regarded as a wedding-song. On the oricon weekly chart, it spent 13 consecutive weeks at the number-one position....
" and Kome Kome Club
Kome Kome Club

is a Japanese pop band formed in 1982. It is widely recognized as the only Japanese pop musical group which blended funk, soul music and Latin music musical styles and achieved commercially success....
's 1992 song "Kimi ga Iru Dake de
Kimi ga Iru Dake de

Kimi ga Iru Dake de is a Japanese song by Kome Kome Club released on May 4, 1992. On the oricon chart, it sold 924,780 copies in one week and debuted at number one....
" sold 2.58 million copies, 2.82 million copies and 2.89 million copies respectively. Chage and Aska
Chage and Aska

or Chage and Asuka, are a Japanese people popular music duo composed of two singer-songwriters from Fukuoka Prefecture, Chage and . To date they have sold over 31 million albums and singles in Japan....
 released a string of consecutive hits throughout the early 1990s. In 1993, they released one more mega-hit song "Yah Yah Yah", which sold 2.41 million copies. In 1996, they also took part in MTV Unplugged
MTV Unplugged

MTV Unplugged is a series showcasing popular musical artists playing acoustic instruments. It was produced by Viacom and was directed by Beth McCarthy....
, making them the first asian to do so. Dreams Come True
Dreams Come True

is an influential music duo from Japan, formed in 1988.They are renowned for their melodies and poetic songwriting, and have sold more than 50 million records worldwide....
, Mr. Children
Mr. Children

Mr. Children, commonly called , is a Japanese rock band formed in 1988 by Kazutoshi Sakurai, Kenichi Tahara, Keisuke Nakagawa, and Hideya Suzuki....
, Masaharu Fukuyama
Masaharu Fukuyama

is a Japanese singer-songwriter, actor, radio personality, and photographer from Nagasaki, Nagasaki, Nagasaki Prefecture. Among fans, he is known as Masha, Masha-nii, or Fuku-chan....
, Spitz
Spitz (band)

is a Japanese people rock music Musical ensemble formed in 1987. They gained remarkable commercial success in the mid and late 1990s, and are known for their abstract and eccentric songs penned by primary singer-songwriter and guitarist Masamune Kusano....
 and Every Little Thing were also big names that rose in that period. Dreams Come True's 1992 album The Swinging Star became the first album to sell over 3 million copies in Japan. Mr. Children's 1994 album Atomic Heart
Atomic Heart

Atomic Heart is the fourth original album by Japanese rock band Mr. Children released on September 1, 1994. The album debuted on the Japanese Oricon music charts at #1 and sold 3,429,650 copies during its run on the chart....
 and their 1994 song "Tomorrow Never Knows
Tomorrow Never Knows (Mr. Children song)

"Tomorrow Never Knows" is the sixth single released by Mr. Children on November 10, 1994....
" sold 3.43 million copies and 2.76 million copies respectively. In 1996, they released one more mega-hit song "Namonaki uta
Namonaki uta

"" is the tenth single released by Mr. Children on February 5, 1996. On the oricon weekly chart, it debuted at the number one, selling 1,208,230 copies on the first week, a Japanese record....
", which sold 2.30 million copies, managing to exceed Globe
Globe (band)

globe is a dance-oriented J-pop band, formed in 1995 by producer and songwriter Tetsuya Komuro. Originally consisting of Komuro, Keiko Yamada and Marc Panther, the group has been another triumph in a long line of successes associated with Komuro, with its Single consistently hitting the charts even to the present day....
's mega-hit song "Departures", which sold 2.28 million copies.

After TM Network
TM Network

TM NETWORK is a Japanese Rock Musical band consisting of Tetsuya Komuro , Takashi Utsunomiya and Naoto Kine . They seemingly aspired to becoming a Japanese progressive rock band....
 once disbanded in 1994, Tetsuya Komuro
Tetsuya Komuro

, also known as 'TK', is a Japanese keyboardist, songwriter and record producer born on November 27, 1958 in Fuchu, Tokyo, Japan. He is recognized for introducing dance music to the Japanese mainstream....
 became a serious song producer. The period between around 1994 and 1997 was dominated by dance/techno acts from the , like TRF
TRF (band)

TRF is a J-Pop group. Its members are rapper DJ Koo, lead vocalist Yuki, and dancers Chiharu, Etsu, and Sam....
, Ryoko Shinohara
Ryoko Shinohara

Ryoko Shinohara is a Japanese singer and actress. She began her career as a singer in the Japanese female pop band Tokyo Performance Doll, and after its break-up, began a solo singing career with producer Tetsuya Komuro....
, Yuki Uchida
Yuki Uchida

is a japanese actress, model and singer, and a popular 90's japanese idol.She practiced fencing in high school, and ranked 3rd in a tournament in Tokyo in 1991....
, Namie Amuro
Namie Amuro

is a Japanese people singer, dancer, and former child actor/child singer, who, at the height of her popularity, was referred to as the "Teen Queen [of Japan]" and the "Queen of J-pop"....
, Hitomi
Hitomi

hitomi is a Japanese people singer and songwriter.Some of her biggest hits include "Candy Girl" , "Love 2000" , and "Samurai Drive" . Her last studio album, Love Concent, was released on September 27, 2006....
, Globe
Globe (band)

globe is a dance-oriented J-pop band, formed in 1995 by producer and songwriter Tetsuya Komuro. Originally consisting of Komuro, Keiko Yamada and Marc Panther, the group has been another triumph in a long line of successes associated with Komuro, with its Single consistently hitting the charts even to the present day....
, Tomomi Kahala
Tomomi Kahala

, is a Japanese J-pop singer. She is famous for working with Tetsuya Komuro who gave her much success in the 1990s, which ironically led to her deep dip in popularity after 1999, the year in which she released her first non-TK produced album, One Fine Day ....
 and Ami Suzuki
Ami Suzuki

is a female singer, songwriter, actress and dancer from Zama, Kanagawa, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan.Having been discovered at a Sony Music Entertainment Japan audition, Suzuki was one of the most popular female singers as an Japanese idol in the late 1990s....
. While Globe's 1996 album "Globe" sold 4,13 million copies, Namie Amuro's 1997 song "Can You Celebrate?
CAN YOU CELEBRATE?

"Can You Celebrate?" is Namie Amuro's seventh solo single under the Avex Trax label. Released on February 19, 1997, "Can You Celebrate" is the best selling single by a solo female artist in Japanese music history with sales of 2,296,200 copies....
" sold 2,29 million copies. His total sales as a song producer reached 170 million copies. However, his boom was soon gone partly because he only attempted to sell his songs and his music didn't blossom out. Namie Amuro
Namie Amuro

is a Japanese people singer, dancer, and former child actor/child singer, who, at the height of her popularity, was referred to as the "Teen Queen [of Japan]" and the "Queen of J-pop"....
, who was arguably the most popular singer in the period, came from the "Okinawa Actors School", which also revealed MAX
MAX (band)

MAX whose name is an acronym for "Musical Active eXperience" is a popular Japanese vocal group. The original members of MAX made their musical debut as members of the Super Monkey's along with lead vocalist, Namie Amuro....
 and Speed
Speed (band)

Speed is an all-female J-pop group, consisting of four members hailing from Okinawa Japan: Hiroko Shimabukuro, Eriko Imai, Takako Uehara, and Hitoe Arakaki....
. At first, while still a part of "TK Family", Amuro remained in the dance music genre, but she slowly changed her music style to contemporary R&B
Contemporary R&B

Contemporary R&B is a music genre of Western culture popular music. Although the acronym ?R&B? originates from its association with traditional rhythm and blues music, the term R&B is today most often used to define a style of African American music originating after the demise of disco in the 1980s....
 and stopped her partnership with Tetsuya Komuro.

1997–1999: Commercial peak
The late 90s saw the popularity of rock bands, such as Glay
Glay (band)

is a rock/pop band from Hakodate, Hokkaido, Hokkaido, Japan formed by guitarist Takuro and vocalist Teru during high school in 1988. Glay primarily composes songs in the rock and pop genres, but they have also composed songs using elements of different styles such as reggae and gospel music....
, Luna Sea
Luna Sea

Luna Sea is a Japanese Rock music band. It was formed in 1989 by Ryuichi Kawamura, SUGIZO, Inoran, J and Shinya Yamada, a lineup that remained consistent until the band's breakup in 2000....
 and L'Arc-en-Ciel, most of them related to the visual kei
Visual Kei

refers to a movement among Music of Japan, that is characterized by the use of eccentric, sometimes flamboyant looks. This usually involves striking Cosmetics, unusual hair styles and elaborate costumes, often, but not always, coupled with Androgyny aesthetics....
 movement though they later changed their style. X Japan
X Japan

is a Japan band founded in 1982 by Toshi and Yoshiki . Originally named X , the group achieved its breakthrough success in 1989 with the release of their second album Blue Blood ....
 announced their disbandment in September 1997 and its guitarist hide
Hide (musician)

, was a popular Japanese musician. More commonly known by his stage name hide , he was primarily known for his work as lead guitarist of the popular heavy metal band X Japan from 1987 to 1997....
 died in May 1998. Japanese musical market for physical sales reached its peak in 1998. Glay became specially successful, with a massive exposure in the media that compared to that of the most popular pop singers. In October 1997, Glay
Glay (band)

is a rock/pop band from Hakodate, Hokkaido, Hokkaido, Japan formed by guitarist Takuro and vocalist Teru during high school in 1988. Glay primarily composes songs in the rock and pop genres, but they have also composed songs using elements of different styles such as reggae and gospel music....
 released album Review -The Best of Glay
Review (album)

Review is the first released greatest hits album from the Japanese rock band, Glay . It was released on October 10 1997, and this album contains Glay's most popular singles and tracks from their 1994 album Hai to Diamond to their 1996 one Beloved ....
, which sold 4.87 million copies. In July 1999, L'Arc-en-Ciel released two album Arc and Ray
Ray (album)

Ray is the seventh album released by L'Arc-en-Ciel on July 1, 1999, simultaneously alongside Ark ....
 at the same time and those sold over combined 3.02 million copies in those first week. In the same month, Glay played a concert to a record audience of 200,000 people at the Makuhari Messe
Makuhari Messe

is a convention centre in Japan located in the western region of Chiba Prefecture, close to Tokyo. It is located in Mihama-ku, Chiba-Wards of Japan, Chiba, Chiba....
. Guinness World Records
Guinness World Records

Guinness World Records, known until 2000 as The Guinness Book of Records , is a reference book published annually, containing an internationally recognized...
 certified that it was a record played by only the power of one artist.

Every Little Thing's 1998 album Time to Destination
Time to Destination

Time to Destination is the second full album of the j-pop Every Little Thing , released on April 15, 1998. It is also the best selling album from the band with 3,520,330 copies sold....
 sold 3.52 million copies. In 1998, B'z
B'z

is a Japanese hard rock duo, comprising and Koshi Inaba .They have released 41 consecutive #1 singles, 23 #1 albums, and sold more than 77 million records in Japan alone....
 released B'z The Best "Pleasure" and B'z The Best "Treasure", which sold 5.12 million copies and 4.43 million copies respectively. In November 1998, Yumi Matsutoya
Yumi Matsutoya

, nicknamed , is an influential Japanese people singer, composer, lyricist and pianist. She is renowned for her idiosyncratic voice, and live performances, and is an important figure in Japanese popular music....
 also released her greatest hits album titled "Neue Musik". "Neue Musik" sold 3.25 million copies and had been the highest-selling double-album in Japan until Southern All Stars
Southern All Stars

, also known by abbreviations or SAS, are a Japanese pop rock band that formed in the mid 1970s.The band is comprised Keisuke Kuwata , Yuko Hara , Kazuyuki Sekiguchi , Hiroshi Matsuda and Hideyuki "Kegani" Nozawa ....
's 1998 double-album "Umi no Yeah!!" broke the record in 2004. Zeebra
Zeebra

, real name , is a Japanese Hip hop music artist, who made his first appearance in 1995. Zeebra is a former member of the hip-hop group King Giddra, which also included DJ Oasis and K Dub Shine, and the older brother of fellow hip-hop artist SPHERE of INFLUENCE....
 introduced hip hop music
Hip hop music

Hip hop music is a music genre typically consisting of a rhythmic vocal style called rapping which is accompanied with backing beats. Hip hop music is part of hip hop culture, which began in the Bronx, in New York City in the 1970s, predominantly among African Americans and Latino Americans....
 to Japanese mainstream music. In 1999, Zeebra was featured by Dragon Ash
Dragon Ash

are a Japanese Rock music group led by rap mogul Kenji Furuya. They arean icon in Japan and were one of the first groups to popularize Hip hop music in Japan....
 in their song titled "Grateful Days
Grateful Days

"Grateful Days" is the fourth maxi single by Japanese group Dragon Ash; released in 1999. It was released on the same day as "I Love Hip Hop", and both singles quickly gained popularity in Japan....
", which topped the Oricon charts.

Johnny & Associates
Johnny & Associates

, formed by Johnny Kitagawa in 1963, is a talent agency that trains and promotes groups of male Japanese idols in Japan.After debuting the talents, Johnny's & Associates would then arrange for them to be signed to record labels such as J Storm, Johnny's Entertainment or labels owned by other companies such as Avex Trax....
 produced many boy band SMAP
SMAP

SMAP is a Japanese "Japanese idol" group, formed by Johnny & Associates. Originally, there were six members in the group; current members are Masahiro Nakai, Takuya Kimura, Tsuyoshi Kusanagi, Goro Inagaki and Shingo Katori....
, Tokio
Tokio (band)

Tokio is a popular Japanese Pop music/Rock music boy band formed by Johnny & Associates in 1994. It is made up of five men who were signed with Sony Records, but now switched to J Storm records....
, V6
V6 (band)

V6 is a six-member Japanese boy band formed by Johnny & Associates. They debuted on November 1, 1995 with their first CD-Single "MUSIC FOR THE PEOPLE"....
 and Kinki Kids
KinKi Kids

KinKi Kids is a Japanese popular group under Johnny & Associates. The group members are Koichi Domoto and Tsuyoshi Domoto....
. SMAP especially hit the J-pop scene in a major way in the 1990s through a combination of TV "Talent" shows and singles, with one of its singers, Takuya Kimura
Takuya Kimura

is an actor and a member of the Japanese idol group SMAP. Many of the TV dramas he starred in produced high ratings in Japan....
, becoming a popular actor in later years known commonly as "Kimutaku". By the late 1990s, the all-female girl group Speed
Speed (band)

Speed is an all-female J-pop group, consisting of four members hailing from Okinawa Japan: Hiroko Shimabukuro, Eriko Imai, Takako Uehara, and Hitoe Arakaki....
 was very popular until they announced their upcoming disbandment, in 1999. The group returned to the music scene in 2008. Another all-female band, Morning Musume
Morning Musume

is an all-girl J-pop group from Japan. They are sometimes also referred to as . Their act revolves around singing and dancing to generally upbeat melodies....
, produced by Tsunku
Tsunku

, real name , is an extremely prolific Japanese record producer, songwriter, and vocalist.He is best known for having two major roles in the Japanese music landscape: first as the lead singer of the popular rock group Sharan Q, and now as the Record producer, primary songwriter, and main Recording studio backing vocalist for idol supergroup Morni...
, former leader of band Sharam Q became very popular, with a string of releases that were sales hits before even being released. The group's popularity gave origin to the Hello! Project
Hello! Project

is the umbrella name for all female idol Japanese pop recording artists collective that are under contract with the Up-Front Group. The "mothership" group of Hello! Project is the supergroup Morning Musume....
. Following the pattern set a decade before by the 1980s all-female Onyanko Club
Onyanko Club

was a large all-girl Japanese people J-pop Japanese idol group in the 1980s. The group gave a new approach to the idol formula with its 52 official members and three unofficial members....
, Morning Musume spawned several splinter bands.

In March 1999, Hikaru Utada released her first album, First Love, which sold 7,650,000 copies making it the best-selling album ever in Oricon
Oricon

, established in 1999, is the holding company at the head of a Japanese corporate group that supplies statistics and information on music and the music industry in Japan....
 history. She was known as a daughter of Keiko Fuji. In the late 90's and early 21st century, many other female singer/songwriters became famous. Ayumi Hamasaki
Ayumi Hamasaki

is a Japanese singer-songwriter and former actress. Also called Ayu by her fans, Hamasaki has been dubbed the "Empress of Pop" due to her popularity and widespread influence in Japan....
, Misia
MISIA (Japanese singer)

, born on July 7, 1978, in Fukuoka, Fukuoka, Japan, is a female Japanese person Rhythm and blues singer. Her real name is , not to be mistaken with the actress Misaki Ito ....
, Mai Kuraki
Mai Kuraki

, born October 28, 1982 in Funabashi, Chiba) is a Japanese pop singer-songwriter....
, and Shiina Ringo
Shiina Ringo

is a Japanese people singer, songwriter, guitarist, and Piano born on November 25, 1978.Right now, most of her energy is focused on her band, "Tokyo Jihen"....
 are some female chart toppers of the period who write their own songs or their own lyrics. In June 1999, Ryuichi Sakamoto
Ryuichi Sakamoto

Ryuichi Sakamoto is an Academy Awards-winning, Grammy-winning, Golden Globe-winning Japanese musician, composer, record producer and actor, based in New York and Tokyo....
's "soothing" musical composition titled "Energy Flow" topped the weekly charts, making it the first instrumental
Instrumental

An instrumental is a musical composition or recording without lyrics or any other sort of vocal music; all of the music is produced by musical instruments....
 single to do so in Oricon history.

Although the 90's produced many million seller "phenomena" it was a veteran band, Southern All Stars, that topped 2000's yearly chart with their Single CD
Single (music)

In the record industry, a single is a song usually used from a current or upcoming album to promote the album. Singles are distributed through a number of ways; originally, they were packaged as "single" records with one or two other songs and sold before the release of the album....
 Tsunami
Tsunami (Southern All Stars song)

"Tsunami" is a song by the Southern All Stars, released as their forty-fourth single on January 26, 2000....
 recorded 2,934,965 sales.

2000s: Diversification


Japanese hip hop and Urban pop

In 2000s, Contemporary R&B
Contemporary R&B

Contemporary R&B is a music genre of Western culture popular music. Although the acronym ?R&B? originates from its association with traditional rhythm and blues music, the term R&B is today most often used to define a style of African American music originating after the demise of disco in the 1980s....
 and Hip hop music
Hip hop music

Hip hop music is a music genre typically consisting of a rhythmic vocal style called rapping which is accompanied with backing beats. Hip hop music is part of hip hop culture, which began in the Bronx, in New York City in the 1970s, predominantly among African Americans and Latino Americans....
 influences in Japanese music started to gain attention in popular mainstream music. In November 2001, R&B duo Chemistry
Chemistry (band)

is a J-pop/R&B duo, composed of and . They were the winners of the Asayan audition in 2000 organized by Sony Music Entertainment Japan.Their first single "Pieces of a Dream " was released on March 3, 2001, and was the best selling single that year ....
's debut album The Way We Are
The Way We Are (Chemistry album)

The Way We Are is an album by the Japanese people R&B duo Chemistry , released on November 7, 2001 by Sony Music Japan....
 sold over 1.14 million copies in the first week and debuted at the number-one position on the Oricon weekly album charts. Hip-hop/rock bands such as Orange Range
Orange Range

, stylized as ORANGE RANGE, is a 5-member Japanese alternative rock band , based in Okinawa. Formed in 2001, the band began with Spice Music and later signed with Sony Music Japan's gr8! records division in 2003....
 and Ketsumeishi
Ketsumeishi

is a popular four-member Japanese pop and Japanese hip hop group that incorporates singing and rapping into their music. They have had several major hits in Japan, including "Sakura ", which reached number two on the Oricon yearly chart for 2005 and was featured in the Japanese game Taiko no Tatsujin....
 have been at the top of the Oricon
Oricon

, established in 1999, is the holding company at the head of a Japanese corporate group that supplies statistics and information on music and the music industry in Japan....
 charts. Orange Range
Orange Range

, stylized as ORANGE RANGE, is a 5-member Japanese alternative rock band , based in Okinawa. Formed in 2001, the band began with Spice Music and later signed with Sony Music Japan's gr8! records division in 2003....
's 'musiQ
Musiq

Taalib Johnson better known by his stage name Musiq Soulchild or Musiq is a soul artist whose style blends contemporary R&B, soul music, funk, alternative rock, blues, jazz and hip hop....
' album sold over 2.5 million copies, making it the number one album for the year 2005. Ken Hirai
Ken Hirai

is a Japanese Rhythm and blues and Pop music singer. His soulful voice and unconventional looks won him fans following his debut in 1992. Since his debut, Hirai has worked as a Model , actor, composer, lyricist, singer, spokesperson....
 managed to come out on top of the yearly album chart in 2006 with the release of '10th Anniversary Complete Single Collection '95-'05 Utabaka' selling over 2,000,000 copies. The group Exile
Exile (Japanese band)

is a 14-member Japanese pop music band.Current leader Hiro was originally in the band Zoo that split up in the mid-1990s. In 1999, he started a new group called J Soul Brothers, which later changed its name to Exile in 2001....
 is another example of the popularity of R&B and Hip Hop, with several million seller albums. Their album 'Exile Love' topped the yearly album chart in 2008. Along with his own success, veteran rapper Dohzi-T
Dohzi-T

, real name , is a Japanese rapper, who has been active since 1989. He belonged to hip hop band "Zingi", formed in 1990. He debuted as a solo singer with single "Shonen A" in October 2001....
 collaborated with young singers such as Miliyah Kato and Thelma Aoyama
Thelma Aoyama

, born October 27, 1987, is a Japanese Pop and R&B singer. She is one quarter Trinidad and Tobago and three quarters Japanese people. She is famous for her collaboration song with SoulJa, "Koko ni Iru yo", and her answer song "Soba ni Iru ne"....
. The number of new artists recovered from early 2000s' low level.

Johnny & Associates
Johnny & Associates
Johnny & Associates

, formed by Johnny Kitagawa in 1963, is a talent agency that trains and promotes groups of male Japanese idols in Japan.After debuting the talents, Johnny's & Associates would then arrange for them to be signed to record labels such as J Storm, Johnny's Entertainment or labels owned by other companies such as Avex Trax....
 produced male bands that have also become well-known. In 2001, Smap
SMAP

SMAP is a Japanese "Japanese idol" group, formed by Johnny & Associates. Originally, there were six members in the group; current members are Masahiro Nakai, Takuya Kimura, Tsuyoshi Kusanagi, Goro Inagaki and Shingo Katori....
 released their greatest-hits album Smap Best, which sold over a million copies in the first week. Smap's cover of the song "Sekai ni hitotsu dake no hana" sold more than two million copies, being the # 1 single in the 2003 Oricon Yearly Chart. Other "Johnny's" famous acts are KinKi Kids
KinKi Kids

KinKi Kids is a Japanese popular group under Johnny & Associates. The group members are Koichi Domoto and Tsuyoshi Domoto....
, Arashi
Arashi

is a Japanese boy band consiting of five-members: Satoshi Ohno, Sho Sakurai, Masaki Aiba, Kazunari Ninomiya, and Jun Matsumoto. Arashi debuted in 1999 in Honolulu, Hawaii under the label Pony Canyon....
, Tackey & Tsubasa, News, and KAT-TUN
KAT-TUN

is a Japanese people boy band formed under Johnny & Associates in 2001 who releases records under their own label, J Storm. The group's name is an acronym formed by the members' surname initials....
. In 2006, KAT-TUN's debut single "Real Face
Real Face

"Real Face" is a song written by Shikao Suga, Koki Tanaka, Tak Matsumoto and Chokkaku for the debut single and Best of KAT-TUN of the Japanese boy band, KAT-TUN....
", composed by Tak Matsumoto
Tak Matsumoto

is a Japanese guitarist, producer, arranger, composer and songwriter. In addition to guitarist and lead arranger for the hard rock band B'z, he has also a successful solo career....
, sold over one million copies and topped the Oricon Yearly Charts. In 2007, Guinness World Record honored Kinki Kids for establishing a world record that their "all" 25 singles debuted at the number-one position. Smap was said to fight a lonely battle at the Kohaku Uta Gassen
Kohaku Uta Gassen

, more commonly known as simply Kohaku, is an annual music show on New Year's Eve produced by Japanese public broadcaster NHK and broadcast on both television and radio, nationally and internationally by NHK's networks and some overseas broadcasters which bought the program....
 if seen from the viewpoint of its audience share. In 2008, male musicians established a record of four consecutive wins at the Kohaku Uta Gassen. On the 2008 yearly singles charts, the number of single, which was sung by only female singers and was ranked in Top 30, was just one partly because those boy bands enjoyed an advantage.

Avex group and Chaku-uta
Ayumi Hamasaki
Ayumi Hamasaki

is a Japanese singer-songwriter and former actress. Also called Ayu by her fans, Hamasaki has been dubbed the "Empress of Pop" due to her popularity and widespread influence in Japan....
 won the grand prix awards for three consecutive years between 2001 and 2003. This was the first time such a feat had occured in Japan Record Award
Japan Record Award

for outstanding achievements in the Japan Composer's Association, is major music awards show held annually in Japan.List Japan Record Award ...
 history. Although Hamasaki became very famous, critics argued that her tactics were risky because her record label Avex Group disregarded the modern portfolio theory
Modern portfolio theory

Modern portfolio theory proposes how Homo economicuss will use Diversification to optimize their portfolio s, and how a risky asset should be priced....
. However, this concern disappeared when the label's other singers (such as Ai Otsuka
Ai Otsuka

is a female J-pop singer-songwriter and pianist from Osaka, Osaka Prefecture, Japan. She is a popular artist on the avex trax label and is best-known for her 2003 hit Sakuranbo, which stayed in the Top 2000 Oricon Weekly Singles Chart for 85 weeks....
 and Kumi Koda
Kumi Koda

, better known by her stage name , is a Japanese singer and songwriter from Kyoto, known for her Urban contemporary and Contemporary R&B songs. Having debuted in 2000 with the single "Take Back", Koda gained fame for her seventh single, "Real Emotion / 1000 no Kotoba", the songs of which were used as themes for the video game Final Fantasy X-2...
) also reached a certain level of popularity in the mid 2000s. In December 2002, the digital-download market for started. The market for digital downloads rapidly grew up and Hikaru Utada's 2007 song "Flavor of Life
Flavor of Life

"Flavor Of Life" is Hikaru Utada's 18th Japanese single . The physical single was officially released on February 28, 2007.Compared to the preceeding singles following COLORS, Flavor of Life garnered far more success....
" sold over 7 million digital downloads. In 2007, Utada sold over 10 million digital ringtones and songs, making her the world's first artist ever to have this many digital sales in one year.

Popularity of veteran musicians
Other artists, such as Namie Amuro
Namie Amuro

is a Japanese people singer, dancer, and former child actor/child singer, who, at the height of her popularity, was referred to as the "Teen Queen [of Japan]" and the "Queen of J-pop"....
, also continued their long-running careers with releases in this period. While Kazumasa Oda
Kazumasa Oda

is a Japanese people singer-songwriter, also known as the leader of the folk rock band Off Course.As a vocalist and leader of Off Course, Oda wrote many Japanese standard numbers in the 70s and 80s....
's 2005 album Sokana topped the Oricon weekly album charts, his 2007 single Kokoro reached the weekly single charts, breaking the record of Yujiro Ishihara
Yujiro Ishihara

was a Japanese actor and singer born in Kobe, Japan. His elder brother, Shintaro Ishihara, is an author, politician, and the current Governor of Tokyo....
 and making him the oldest singer to top the single charts of 2007. On the other hand, Mariya Takeuchi
Mariya Takeuchi

is a Japanese singer-songwriter.In 1978, while studying at Keio University, Takeuchi started her own career with a single "Modotte-Oide, Watashi no Jikan"....
's gratest hits album Expressions topped the Oricon album chart in 2008, being the eldest and longest-career female singer to reach the number-one position.

Although the sales of physical CDs declined, number of audiences to see live performances reportedly increased. In 2007, Eikichi Yazawa
Eikichi Yazawa

is an influential Japan singer-songwriter, and important figure in Japanese popular music. ...
 became the first artist to have performed concerts 100 times at the Nippon Budokan
Nippon Budokan

The , often shortened to just "Budokan," is an arena in central Tokyo, Japan.For many Westerners, the Budokan is synonymous with large-scale rock concerts....
. Rock musicians such as Mr. Children
Mr. Children

Mr. Children, commonly called , is a Japanese rock band formed in 1988 by Kazutoshi Sakurai, Kenichi Tahara, Keisuke Nakagawa, and Hideya Suzuki....
, B'z
B'z

is a Japanese hard rock duo, comprising and Koshi Inaba .They have released 41 consecutive #1 singles, 23 #1 albums, and sold more than 77 million records in Japan alone....
, Southern All Stars
Southern All Stars

, also known by abbreviations or SAS, are a Japanese pop rock band that formed in the mid 1970s.The band is comprised Keisuke Kuwata , Yuko Hara , Kazuyuki Sekiguchi , Hiroshi Matsuda and Hideyuki "Kegani" Nozawa ....
 and Glay
Glay (band)

is a rock/pop band from Hakodate, Hokkaido, Hokkaido, Japan formed by guitarist Takuro and vocalist Teru during high school in 1988. Glay primarily composes songs in the rock and pop genres, but they have also composed songs using elements of different styles such as reggae and gospel music....
 still topped charts in 2000s. When Mr. Children released album Home
Home (Mr. Children album)

HOME is the thirteenth studio album by Mr. Children, released on March 14, 2007. Its first press special edition includes a documentary DVD-Video on the making of the album and live performances by members of the group between recording sessions....
 in 2007, they passed 50 million sales in albums and singles sold, making them the second highest selling artist of all time in Japan since the origin of Oricon, just behind B'z, who holds the #1 position, with more than 75 million copies sold. 'Home' topped the yearly album chart in 2007.

Influence from Neo Foku and Neo Shibuya-kei
Folk duos such as 19
19 (band)

19 was a J-Pop duo. Its members wereKenji Okahira and Keigo Iwase. The group broke up in March 2002. Kenji is now a member of the band 3B LAB.?....
, Yuzu
Yuzu (band)

is a J-Pop duo. Its members are and . Both of the band members come from Yokohama in Kanagawa Prefecture, and attended Okamura Junior High School....
 and Kobukuro
Kobukuro

is a Japanese band , which formed in 1998 and made its major label debut in 2001. The name is a portmanteau of the two members' family names, Kentaro Kobuchi and Shunsuke Kuroda....
 became popular during the period. Their music was called "Neo Foku". In 2007, Kobukuro's double-album All Singles Best became the first male album to ship three million copies in the 21st century in Japan. In 2008, their album 5296 beat out Ayumi Hamasaki's album Guilty
Guilty (Ayumi Hamasaki album)

Guilty is the ninth studio album by Japanese Pop music singer-songwriter Ayumi Hamasaki, released by Avex Trax on January 1, 2008 in Japan....
 though she previously had eight consecutive number-one studio albums.

Elctro bands such as Plus-Tech Squeeze Box
Plus-Tech Squeeze Box

Plus-Tech Squeeze Box are a Japanese electronic music Band .The frenetic sound of their first album FAKEVOX is an example of the subgenre known as picopop, driven by rudimentary synthesized sounds and heavily-manipulated samples from a variety of sources, including 1950s jazz and big band recordings....
 and Capsule
Capsule (group)

is a Japanese Electro music group, consisting of vocalist Toshiko Koshijima and producer Yasutaka Nakata....
 were called "Neo Shibuya-kei". Yasutaka Nakata
Yasutaka Nakata

is a Japan music producer and DJ. He formed the group capsule in 1997 with vocalist Toshiko Koshijima and himself as composer/producer; they formally debuted in 2001....
, a member of Capsule, became a song producer for electro-pop band Perfume
Perfume (group)

is a female J-pop and electropop group from Hiroshima, consisting of Ayano Omoto, Yuka Kashino and Ayaka Nishiwaki, who debuted locally in 2001 and nationally in 2005....
. In 2008 for this first time in 25 years as an electro-pop band, Perfume made #1 album Game on the Oricon charts. Their single "love the world
Love the world

love the world is Perfume 's eighth major single. It was announced on the final day of their live tour. It was released on July 9, 2008 and debuted at number one on the Oricon chart....
" debuted at #1, making it the first technopop song to reach #1 in Oricon history.

Revival mood and others
In February 2001, Ulfuls
Ulfuls

is a Japanese Rock music Musical ensemble from Osaka. The band name Ulfuls is derived from a misreading of the word "soulful," found on the cover of one of the band members' favorite records....
 released their cover version of Kyu Sakamoto
Kyu Sakamoto

was a Japanese singer and actor.He is ranked at number 18 in a list of Japan's top 100 influential musicians by HMV....
's 1963 song "Ashita Ga Arusa
Ashita Ga Arusa

"Ashita ga aru sa" is a Japanese language song that was performed by Japanese singer Kyu Sakamoto, with music by Hachidai Nakamura and lyrics by Yukio Aoshima....
". Their cover version debuted at the number-five position behind Utada, Kinki Kids, Hamasaki and Hirai. In March, Yoshimoto Kogyo
Yoshimoto Kogyo

is a major Japanese entertainment conglomerate, with its headquarters based in Osaka. It was founded in 1912 as a Rakugo, and has since grown to be one of the most influential companies in Japan, employing most of Japan's popular owarai talent, producing and promoting the shows they appear in, and even maintaining its own amusement park....
's special band named "Re: Japan" also released their cover version of "Ashita Ga Arusa". When Ulfuls
Ulfuls

is a Japanese Rock music Musical ensemble from Osaka. The band name Ulfuls is derived from a misreading of the word "soulful," found on the cover of one of the band members' favorite records....
's cover version of this song remained at #8, Re: Japan's version topped the Oricon weekly single charts.

Western poem "Do not stand at my grave and weep
Do not stand at my grave and weep

Do not stand at my grave and weep is a poem, written by Mary Elizabeth Frye . Although of disputed origin until later in her 98 years of life, Mary Frye's authorship was confirmed in 1998 after research by Abigail Van Buren, the newspaper columnist....
", which Rokusuke Ei
Rokusuke Ei

is a Japanese lyricist, composer, author, essayist and TV personality.Ei wrote the lyrics to the song "Sukiyaki ", which has been used in several English language films....
 read out when he appeared at Sakamoto's funeral in 1985, became song "Sen no Kaze ni Natte" (lit. "A Thousand Winds") in Japan. Japanese tenor singer Masafumi Akikawa
Masafumi Akikawa

is a Japanese people tenor singer. He has released a number of CDs, in which he has sung a broad range of genres, from classical to pop. He appeared on the 57th NHK Kohaku Uta Gassen broadcast....
's 2006 single "Sen no kaze ni natte" became the first classical music
Classical music

Classical music is a broad term that usually refers to mainstream music produced in, or rooted in the traditions of Western art history Religious music and secular music, encompassing a broad period from roughly the 9th century to present times....
 single to top the Oricon charts and sold over one million copies. On the 2007 Oricon Yearly Charts, the single became the best-selling physical single, scoring a victory over Utada's "Flavor of Life". Oricon claimed that the song was not "J-pop". However, Zen-On Music Company Ltd
Zen-On Music Company Ltd

is a music publishing company based in Shinjuku, Tokyo, Tokyo, in Japan. Zen-On publishes sheet music for sale and rental, including orchestral scores, band and wind ensemble music, solo works and contemporary works, such as Frederic Rzewski's "People United ..." The company was founded in 1931....
 classified the song as "J-pop".

Tommy february6 released music during this time frame. Shonen Knife
Shonen Knife

Shonen Knife is an girl band Japanese pop punk/garage rock band, who sing songs both in Japanese and English. Among their fans are Sonic Youth, Nirvana , Redd Kross, and Sultans of Ping....
 had a mini-tour. One of their covers, "Top of the World
Top of the World (The Carpenters song)

"Top of the World" is the name of a 1973 song by The Carpenters. The song topped the Billboard Hot 100 in 1973, becoming the duo's second U.S. number-one single....
", was used in the movie Tokyo Drift
The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift

The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift is a 2006 in film film directed by Justin Lin and the third installment of The Fast and the Furious ....
. Seiyu
Seiyu

A is a Japanese voice actor. Seiyu work in radio, television, and Film; they perform voice-overs for non-Japanese movies; they provide narration; and they work as anime and video games character actors....
 (voice actor) and anime songs
Music in Japanese animation

Music in Japanese animation is often closely tied to the Japanese pop music industry, but is also a significant industry, and genre in its own right, with genre often referred to as "anison", a contraction of "animation song", or "anime song"....
 added weight in Japanese music, but several people calls this genre "A-pop" (Anime pop).

Impact on popular culture and an International fanbase

J-pop is an integral part of Japanese popular culture
Japanese popular culture

Japanese popular culture not only reflects the attitudes and concerns of the present but also provides a link to the past. Japanese cinema, NHKs, manga, and J-pop all developed from older artistic and literary traditions, and many of their themes and styles of presentation can be traced to traditional art forms....
, being found in anime
Anime

is animation in Japan and considered to be "Japanese animation" in the rest of the world. Anime dates from about 1917.Anime, in addition to manga , is extremely popular in Japan and well known throughout the world....
, commercials, movies, TV shows, and video games and other forms of J-ENT
J-ENT

J-ENT is an abbreviation of "Japanese entertainment". It refers to popular forms of Japanese entertainment but more specifically a shortened term to encompass popular [Japanese television dramas], variety shows and music shows from Japan....
. Some television news programs even run a J-pop song during their end credits.

In anime and television shows, particularly drama
Japanese television drama

, also called dorama , are a staple of Television in Japan and are broadcast daily. All major TV networks in Japan produce a variety of drama series including romance, comedies, detective stories, horror, and many others....
s, opening and closing songs are changed up to four times per year. Because most programs have a combination of both opening and closing songs, it is possible for one show to use eight tracks for a single season.

Over the past decade, J-pop has continually gained fans worldwide through video games and anime. Many video game fans import games from Japan well before they are released in their respective countries. The theme songs and soundtracks from these games can be a gateway to further interest in J-pop and other genres of Japanese music. One example of this can be found in the games Kingdom Hearts
Kingdom Hearts

is an action role-playing game developed and published by Square Co. in 2002 for the PlayStation 2 video game console. The first game in the Kingdom Hearts , it is the result of a collaboration between Square and The Walt Disney Company....
 and Kingdom Hearts II
Kingdom Hearts II

is an action role-playing game developed by Square Enix and published by Disney Interactive Studios and Square Enix in 2005 for the Sony Computer Entertainment PlayStation 2 video game console....
, in which popular J-pop singer Hikaru Utada performs the main theme songs. Her single "Easy Breezy
Easy Breezy

"Easy Breezy" was Hikaru Utada's debut English language single . It is also the first single from her Exodus Album, in which it also appears. For this release, she is using Island Def Jam as her label, under the name of simply Utada, rather than Hikaru Utada which was used for her Japanese releases....
" was also used to promote the Nintendo DS
Nintendo DS

The is a dual-screen handheld game console developed and manufactured by Nintendo. It was released in 2004 in video gaming in Canada, the United States, and Japan....
. The Ouendan Series and Band Brothers for DS both feature a lot of J-Pop songs. In the case of anime, shows are normally sold in the West with their original soundtracks untouched, affording more direct exposure (however this is sometimes not the case, leaving fans outraged). Some shows aired on television in the United States
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
, for example, have seen their themes go so far as to become commercially available as ringtones through mainstream vendors in that country.

Artists

Japanese pop artists are extremely popular in Japan and some of them overseas (especially in Asia, but also in Western countries, where they have other fanbases). They are usually idols and influence not only music, but also fashion, and many areas of modern pop culture. During the 1990´s and the 2000´s, the most popular Japanese artists have been Ayumi Hamasaki
Ayumi Hamasaki

is a Japanese singer-songwriter and former actress. Also called Ayu by her fans, Hamasaki has been dubbed the "Empress of Pop" due to her popularity and widespread influence in Japan....
, Ken Hirai
Ken Hirai

is a Japanese Rhythm and blues and Pop music singer. His soulful voice and unconventional looks won him fans following his debut in 1992. Since his debut, Hirai has worked as a Model , actor, composer, lyricist, singer, spokesperson....
, Namie Amuro
Namie Amuro

is a Japanese people singer, dancer, and former child actor/child singer, who, at the height of her popularity, was referred to as the "Teen Queen [of Japan]" and the "Queen of J-pop"....
, Mr. Children
Mr. Children

Mr. Children, commonly called , is a Japanese rock band formed in 1988 by Kazutoshi Sakurai, Kenichi Tahara, Keisuke Nakagawa, and Hideya Suzuki....
, Every Little Thing, Hikaru Utada, Exile
Exile (Japanese band)

is a 14-member Japanese pop music band.Current leader Hiro was originally in the band Zoo that split up in the mid-1990s. In 1999, he started a new group called J Soul Brothers, which later changed its name to Exile in 2001....
, Kumi Koda
Kumi Koda

, better known by her stage name , is a Japanese singer and songwriter from Kyoto, known for her Urban contemporary and Contemporary R&B songs. Having debuted in 2000 with the single "Take Back", Koda gained fame for her seventh single, "Real Emotion / 1000 no Kotoba", the songs of which were used as themes for the video game Final Fantasy X-2...
, Kobukuro
Kobukuro

is a Japanese band , which formed in 1998 and made its major label debut in 2001. The name is a portmanteau of the two members' family names, Kentaro Kobuchi and Shunsuke Kuroda....
, Morning Musume
Morning Musume

is an all-girl J-pop group from Japan. They are sometimes also referred to as . Their act revolves around singing and dancing to generally upbeat melodies....
 or B'z
B'z

is a Japanese hard rock duo, comprising and Koshi Inaba .They have released 41 consecutive #1 singles, 23 #1 albums, and sold more than 77 million records in Japan alone....
, Southern All Stars
Southern All Stars

, also known by abbreviations or SAS, are a Japanese pop rock band that formed in the mid 1970s.The band is comprised Keisuke Kuwata , Yuko Hara , Kazuyuki Sekiguchi , Hiroshi Matsuda and Hideyuki "Kegani" Nozawa ....
 and Glay
Glay (band)

is a rock/pop band from Hakodate, Hokkaido, Hokkaido, Japan formed by guitarist Takuro and vocalist Teru during high school in 1988. Glay primarily composes songs in the rock and pop genres, but they have also composed songs using elements of different styles such as reggae and gospel music....
. For a more comprehensive list of artists, see:

See also

  • Music of Japan
    Music of Japan

    The modern Japanese music scene includes a wide array of performers in distinct styles both traditional and modern, ranging from rock, electro, punk, folk, metal, reggae, salsa, and tango to country music and hip hop....
  • List of best-selling singles in Japan
    List of best-selling singles in Japan

    Japan has the second largest music market in the world. In 1962, Tokushin music reports was founded and became the leading provider of music sales in Japan....
  • List of best-selling albums in Japan
    List of best-selling albums in Japan

    Japan has the second largest music market in the world. In 1968 Oricon was established and began providing music charts to the general public with data collected from various retailers throughout Japan....


Bibliography


External links