Music: The ‘Other’ International Language
Brief History of J-Pop
1920’s
• Enka v POPS (Kayoukyoku)
1950’s & 60’s
• POSTWAR Rockabilly, influenced by the Beatles, Elvis. Many Japanese artists
gained popularity by performing at US military bases such as Yokosuka and
Atsugi.
• English songs were translated, a debate over whether Japanese popular music
should be sung in English or Japanese (NIHONGO ROCK RONSO / JAPANESE
ROCK DEBATE)
1963
• Release of the song SUKIYAKI (Ue o muite arukou) by Sakamoto Kyu (only
Japanese song to ever reach No. 1 on the US Billboard Hot 100 Chart).
1966
• Despite opposition, the Beatles performed in Tokyo
1970’s
• New Wave, Folk and psychedelic influences such as The Rolling Stones,
ABBA inspired
Japanese acts like Souther All Stars, Yellow Magic Orchestra
1980’s
• The rise of visual Kei acts like Glay, X-Japan: androgynous, flamboyant
appearance stars not dissimilar to the glam, goth bands of the west - such as
Kiss.
• PARA PARA dancing takes off! Synchronized dancing moving usually only the
arms or upper body, closely associated with eurobeat.
1990’s
• The rise of talent agencies, talent auditions, actor schools and multiple-group
producers (vs indie).
• Shibuya Kei: a term used to describe acts like Flipper‟s Guitar ( jazz /
electropop )
Charts, Popularity Ratings
ORICON Charts
• Published every Tuesday
• Abbreviation of *Original Confidence Inc.*
• Record sales of CDs, DVDs, and video games
However, ORICON relies on participating music outlets to report their sales and
misses critical records such as online download sales and other channels like
sales of CDs released only at convenience stores (in the case of the group
NEWS). ORICON was also controversially accused of “tampering with statistics
to promote Johnny‟s in 2006.
紅白歌合戦
（kouhaku uta gassen）
New Year‟s Eve music event (NHK) featuring the most popular artists of the year,
divided into teams (RED vs WHITE). 2011 NYE was the 62 nd Gassen, won by
the RED team.
RED: Female WHITE: Male
Performance is by invitation only, so if a band is invited they are considered to
have “truly made it”! A group of celebrities judge the performances not only
based on talent, but other criteria, such as choreography.
Billboard Japan Top 100
The week‟s most popular songs are ranked by Hanshin Corporation, based on
radio airplay.
TV Shows
MUSIC STATION
On Asahi TV
• 8pm Friday nights on Channel 5
• All the latest performers and some foreign acts
• Interviews (7th September - YUI)
CD TV
Top 100 Countdown
Airs (LATE NIGHT) Every Saturday
Channel CBC
HEY HEY HEY (MUSIC CHAMP)
Special
Monday nights on Fuji TV (Tokai TV)
SPECIAL! 24th September
Live from Odaiba in Tokyo - Autumn songfest featuring AKB48, Ikimonogakari,
Che‟Nelle, Superfly and more.
Okinawa Actors School
Actual Okinawan school with a branch in Osaka that trains musicians and actors
of the pedigree of SPEED and NAMIE AMURO.
SPEED
Inspired by TLC
A talented quartet from Okinawa, who were named SPEED by the audience of a
TV show “Night of the Hit Parade” in 1995.
NAMIE AMURO
One of the longest surviving solo female acts ever. Once labelled the “teen
queen” of Japan,
she reportedly performed in front of some 400,000 people at one concert. Her
1966 album “Sweet 19 Blues” sold over 3 million copies. Credited for pioneering
Shotgun Weddings in Japan. Her mother was tragically murdered in Okinawa in
1999. Prim Minister Keizo Obuchi asked Amuro and her producer to write a song
about world harmony which was performed at the 2000 G8 Summit in Okinawa.
ASAYAN
Music Audition Television
Ran from 1995 - 2002
Was responsible for the rise of various artists, such as:
MORNING MUSUME (very much in the mould of AKB48)
CHEMISTRY
EXILE’S ATSUSHI (was famously defeated in a spot for Chemistry)
Talent Agency Pop Stars
ジャニーズ (Johnny & Associates)
Formed in 1962 (Producer Johnny Kitagawa)
Trains and promotes groups of male idols and became a record label in 1997.
Johnny Kitagawa‟s
232 chart-topping songs & 8,419 concerts are a world record.
Groups: SMAP, TOKIO, KINKI KIDS, ARASHI, V6, Hey! Say! JUMP, KAT-TUN
SMAP
Sports Music Assemble People
Genres: Talent Agency Pop
They do celebrity cooking shows, interview foreign celebrities, host radio shows,
perform in
comedy acts, musicals and dramas. They‟re not highly acclaimed for their
singing ability - rather
symbols of individuality.
KIMUTAKU
(Kimura Takuya) - perhaps the most famous of the group, voted the sexiest man
in Japan.
Commonly spotted on billboards or even posters at the KENCHO !
TSUYOSHI KUSANAGI
Kusanagi starred in dramas dealing with South Korea / Japan relations and
international love
affairs, and even released a Korean Language CD.
KATORI SHINGO
The „baby‟ of the group with the approachable smile! Published a series of books
for Japanese
learning english, and famously cross-dressed as the character Shingo-Mama.
ARASHI
Formed in 1999 on a cruise ship near Hawaii
Often thought of as SMAP‟s juniors
Appeal to a younger demographic than SMAP, yet older than Hey! Say! JUMP
Hey! Say! JUMP
Average age of the members was 15.7 years old when this all boy band
performed at their debut concert. They were the youngest male group to top the
Oricon Charts. In 2011, member Morimoto was caught smoking underage and
banned from the group. Debut single „Ultra Music Power‟
Kanjani Eight
Yet another Johnny‟s agency group that formed in 2002. Consists of 7 male
members from the Kansai region. As per SMAP, they starred in a television
show called ANOTHER which aired on Channel 8 in Kansai. The origin of their
name is KAN (Kansai) JANI (Johnny‟s) 8 (Channel). They topped the Oricon
charts in Week 37 of 2012 with their song “Aoppana”.
Yasushi Akimoto’s (non-Johnny’s) ‘not your ordinary pop group’
AKB48
Genres: Pop / dance
A group of teenage to mid 20 year old girl members that constantly changes,
based on elections. CD singles of the group contain a ballot paper, on which
fans can vote. The 2011 electioncomprised of over 1 million votes. AKB Akihabara, is the location of the AKB48 theatre. Performances are held daily, but
have become so popular that tickets are distributed by lottery. The group is
divided into 3 groups, A, K and B. ONly one performs on a given day, allowing
simultaneous performances in different locations. HEAVY ROTATION
Indie Artists and non-Johnny’s Stars
Ayumi Hamasaki
Genres: Pop / dance
With sales of over 50 million records in Japan, AYU is not only the highest selling
solo artist of all time in Japan, but also the best selling Japanese female artist in
history. The Fukuoka-born and raised ex model and Shibuya nightclub dancer
was offered a recording deal after a karaoke session. AYU writes her own lyrics,
is responsible for the composition and production of several of
her songs, and her soft dance-pop style was a storming success in direct
competition to Utada Hikaru in the early 2000s. Well received singles: “M”,
“Seasons”, “Trust”
SOUTHERN ALL STARS
Genres: Pop / blues / folk / rock
Extremely popular group that once had 44 singles in the top 100 simultaneously!
Famous for their summer-influenced lyrics often mentioning areas of Kanagawa,
mixed with extremely erotic themes. Keisuke Kuwata (lead singer) won the prize
for best vocalist at the 1977 Yamaha East West auditions. He undertook a
successful operation to remove esophageal cancer in 2010 that threatened his
career.
MR CHILDREN
Genres: Pop / Rock
Extremely high selling male group that write their own songs, lead by vocalist
Sakurai Kazutoshi. Their songs are generally soft rock and deal with „real‟ male
issues such as depression, relationships, corporate strain. Many of the group‟s
songs have appeared on dramas (“Nanmonai uta” – Pure 1996) and television
commercials.
B’z
Genres: Pop turned Rock
80 million records in Japan and the first Japanese band to have handprints on
Hollywood‟s ROCKWALK! B‟z performed with Aerosmith at the 2002 FIFA World
Cup Concert in Tokyo.
Ketsumeishi
Genres: Hip-hop, rap and reggae influenced band prominent in the mid 2000s,
with hits like “Sakura” and “Natsu no omoide” (the latter famous for slow motion
footage of women in bikinis jumping in and out of a pool).
Kobukuro
Genres: Folk Rock / Pop KOBUCHI & KURODA
Two street performers that met in Osaka and made it big !
EXILE
Genres: R&B / Dance / Pop
Formerly known as J Soul Brothers, lead by Hiro, they are a group of 14 dancing
performers that constantly change with auditions. Well known for singles such as
“Tada…Aitakute” “Ti Amo” a latin-influenced song about the guilt associated with
being unfaithful, was downloaded over a million times as a chaku-ita (keitai
ringtone). Current vocalists ATSUSHI and TAKAHIRO
GReeeeN
Genres: Hip Hop, Breakbeat
The four members Hide, Soh, 92 and Navi are all students of dentistry and have
never shown their faces in the public sphere. Sometimes they censor their faces
when appearing on television! The single “Kiseki” was the best selling download
single in Japan, and replaced Aoyama Thelma & SoulJa‟s “Koko ni iru yo”.
YUI
Genres: Pop / Rock
Fukuoka born singer-songwriter voted the the *Artist you most want to marry* on
Music Station in 2011. One of many artists to perform charity concerts after the
TOHOKU earthquake and tsunami. “Rain” was the best female music video on
the 2011 MTV Japan Music Video Awards. “Fight” is currently performing well in
the Oricon charts.
Nishino Kana
Genres: Pop / R&B
2012 album Love Place sits at No. 2 on the Oricon Album chart, with singles
such as “Watashitachi” and “Go for It”.
Che’Nelle
Malaysian born Australian artist, that also sings in Japanese and has been
tremendously popular in Japan with the July album release BELIEVE. Her single
“Baby I love you” was nominated as the BEST KARAOKE SONG at the 2011
Japan MTV Awards.
Aoyama Thelma
Genres: R&B / Pop
Nara born singer that famously collaborated with SoulJa in 2008
KATO Miriya
Genres: Pop / R&B
The modern day Utada Hikaru! Started writing and singing from the age of 14.
UVERworld
Genres: Alternative rock, pop rock, industrial rock, rap rock, hard rock
To date they have released six studio albums, over 20 singles, and have sold an
astounding two million records worldwide.
UVERworld is a prime example of how multimedia cross-promotion can help
propel a band to fame. They first gained popularity with their debut single
“D-tecnolife”. This single enjoyed worldwide fame as the 2nd opening theme for
the popular Anime Bleach. They continued to grow their popularity by releasing
music cross-promotionally with the the second PSP game of the Bleach: Heat
the Soul series, the anime Blood+, the TBS TV show Koi Suru Hanikami, the
anime series D.Gray-man, and Mobile Suit Gundam 00. “Hakanaku mo Towa no
Kanashi” was used as the opening for the second season of Gundam 00 and
became the band‟s first number-one single on the ORICON charts. The single
has since gone on to become the highest selling single from the band.
The success they have enjoyed can arguably be partially credited to the
cross-promotion of their early singles with popular anime, dramas, and video
games.
Superfly
Genres: Pop, rock, blues
Formerly a Japanese rock duo, the act now only consists of lyricist and vocalist
Shiho Ochi. Superfly‟s first two studio albums have been certified double
platinum and their four albums all debuted at the top of Oricon‟s Weekly Album
Charts. A first for a female recording artist in Japan in over seven years.
IKIMONOGAKARI
Genres: Soft rock, pop rock
Most recently the theme song for the Olympic broadcasts by NHK were
performed by this band. The band wrote the song “Kaze ga fuiteiru” (Wind is
blowing) in hopes that it would encourage the athletes like a strong wind at their
backs.
BUMP of Chicken
Genres: Alternative Rock
They are a popular group in Japan; every release since their third single, “Tentai
Kansoku” has charted in the top ten on the Oricon Weekly Charts. Their music
has been used in various video games and as theme songs for movies and
television shows in Japan.
Games: Guitar Freaks, Drummania, Jubeat, Reflec Beat Limelight, Pop‟n Music,
Metcha! Taiko no Tatsujin DS: Nanatsu no Shima no Daibouken, and Tales of
the Abyss.
Anime: Tales of the Abyss
Movie: Doraemon New - Nobita and the Steel Troops~Spread Your Wings
Angels~
RADWIMPS
Genres: Alternative Rock, Melodic Hardcore, Post-Punk, Emo, Rap Rock,
Post-Hardcore. Debuted independently in 2003 and achieved great commerical
success in 2006 with their album Radwimps 4: Okazu no Gohan. BBest known
for their later singles “Order Made” (2008) and “Dada” (2011) both of which hit
number one on Oricon‟s single charts.
ASIAN KUNG-FU GENERATION
Genres: Indie Rock, Alternative Rock, Power Pop
This Japanese rock band has been active since 1996 and currently enjoys
worldwide commercial success and critical acclaim. In 2005, the band found
immense fame both domestically and internationally when their song “Rewrite”
was chosen as the fourth opening theme for the anime Fullmetal Alchemist and
their song “Haruka Kanata” was used for the second opening theme of
the Naruto anime series.