J-pop is an abbreviation of Japanese pop. It refers to Japanese popular musicians, and was coined by the Japanese media, to distinguish Japanese musicians from foreign musicians.

Japanese musical trends

Hibari Misora is ranked number 5 in a list by HMV, of Japan's top 100 pops. His Master's Voice, today usually abbreviated to HMV, is a famous Trademark in the music business and for many years was the name of a large record label ^[1][2]

Jazz roots

J-pop can be traced to jazz music which became popular during the early Shōwa period (1926–1988). Jazz is an American Musical art form which originated in the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States The, or Shōwa era, is the period of Japanese history corresponding to the reign of Emperor Shōwa ( Hirohito) from December 25, 1926 to Year 1926 ( MCMXXVI) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Year 1988 ( MCMLXXXVIII) was a Leap year starting on Friday (link displays 1988 Gregorian calendar) Jazz introduced many musical instruments, previously used only to perform classical music and military marches, to bars and clubs. It also added an element of "fun" to the Japanese music scene. As a result "Ongaku Kissa" (音楽喫茶—lit. "music cafe") became a very popular venue for live jazz music.

Under pressure from the Imperial Army during World War II, the performance of jazz music was temporarily halted. The Imperial Japanese Army ( IJA) ( Kyūjitai: 大日本帝國陸軍 Shinjitai: ja 大日本帝国陸軍 Romaji: Dai-Nippon Teikoku World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including After the war ended the United States soldiers—who were occupying Japan at the time—and the Far East Network introduced a number of new musical styles to the country. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the At the end of World War II, Japan was occupied by the Allied Powers, led by the United States with contributions also from Australia, British The Far East Network ( FEN) was a network of American military Radio and Television stations primarily serving U Boogie-woogie, Mambo, Blues, and Country music were performed by Japanese musicians for the American troops. Boogie-woogie is a style of Piano -based Blues that became very popular in the late 1930s and early 1940s but originated much earlier and was extended from piano Mambo is a Cuban musical form and Dance style The word mambo (which means conversation with the gods) is the name of a priestess in Haitian The Blues is a vocal and instrumental form of Music based on the use of the Blue notes It emerged as an accessible form of self-expression Country music is a blend of popular musical forms originally found in the Southern United States and the Appalachian Mountains. Songs like Shizuko Kasagi's "Tokyo Boogie-Woogie" (1948), Chiemi Eri's "Tennessee Waltz" (1951), Hibari Misora's "Omatsuri Mambo", and Izumi Yukimura's "Omoide no Waltz" became popular. Shizuko Kasagi ( August 25, 1914 - March 30, 1985) was a popular jazz singer and actress in Japan was a Japanese singer and actress was an award winning Japanese Enka Singer, Actress, and living national treasure. Foreign musicians and groups including JATP and Louis Armstrong visited Japan to perform. Jazz at the Philharmonic or JATP (1944 - 1983 was the title of a series of Concerts and Recordings produced by Norman Granz (1918 - 2001 Louis Armstrong (August 4 1901 &ndash July 6 1971 nicknamed Satchmo or Sachimo and Pops, was an American Jazz Trumpeter 1952 was declared the "Year of the Jazz Boom" but the genre itself demanded a high level of technical proficiency and was difficult to play. Year 1952 ( MCMLII) was a Leap year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. As a result many amateur Japanese musicians turned to country music, which was far easier to learn and perform. This in turn led to a proliferation of country-based music.

Rock-and-roll

Kyu Sakamoto, ranked 18 in the HMV top 100 pops list,^[2] poses with his school band.

In 1956, the rock-and-roll craze began thanks to a country music group known as Kosaka Kazuya and the Wagon Masters and their rendition of Elvis Presley's Heartbreak Hotel. Rock and roll (also known as rock 'n' roll) is a form of Music that evolved in the United States in the late 1940s and early 1950s with roots in mostly African " Heartbreak Hotel " is a Rock and roll song performed by Elvis Presley, with Bill Black ( bass) Scotty Moore ( The rock-and-roll movement would reach its peak in 1959 with the release of a movie featuring performances by a number of Japanese rock-and-roll bands. Some performers attempted to merge traditional Japanese pop music with rock-and-roll. One of few musicians to be successful in this effort was Kyu Sakamoto with the song "Ue wo Muite Arukō" (lit. was a Japanese singer and actor He is ranked at number 18 in a list of Japan's top 100 influential musicians by HMV. "Let's Look Up and Walk"), known in other parts of the world as "Sukiyaki". " Ue o muite arukō " (上を向いて歩こう " shall walk looking up" is a Japanese song that was performed by Japanese Crooner The song was the first Japanese song to reach #1 in the United States (four weeks in Cashbox Magazine and three weeks in Billboard magazine) in its native language in America and also to receive a "Gold Record" for selling one million copies. [1] Other performers learned to play the music and translate the lyrics of popular American songs, resulting in the birth of "cover pop. " However, the popularity of these acts faded as radio and television gave every household the opportunity to watch the original musicians perform. The concept of karaoke and its subsequent popularity can arguably be attributed to the cover pop phenomenon. (kɑːrɑːˌoʊkɛ in Japanese karaoke) is a form of Entertainment in which Amateur Singers sing along with recorded Music (and/or a

New Music

From the early 1970s to the mid-1980s, the emphasis shifted from simple songs with a single guitar accompaniment (known originally as "folk") to more complex musical arrangements known as New Music. Instead of social messages, the songs focused on more personal messages, such as love. Takuro Yoshida and Yosui Inoue are two notable New Music artists. is a Japanese male Singer-songwriter. He was born on April 5, 1946 in Okuchi, Kagoshima and raised in Hiroshima. (born August 30, 1948 -) is an influential Japanese Singer-songwriter, and Record producer, who is an important figure in Japanese music

In the 1980s, the term City Pop was used to describe a type of popular music that had a big city theme. Tokyo in particular inspired many songs of this form. officially, is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan and located on the eastern side of the main island Honshū. It is difficult to draw a distinction between City Pop and New Music and many songs fall under both categories. Wasei Pop (lit. Japan-made pop) quickly became a common word to describe both City Pop and New Music. By the 1990s, J-pop became the common term to describe most popular songs. Rockers like Eikichi Yazawa, a singer who remained popular for decades with a rabidly loyal fan following, loosely fell into this category, along with more mainstream female pop idols such as the "Dance Queens" Yoko Oginome and her successor, singer/songwriter Chisato Moritaka. is a Japanese rock Singer. He was a member of the legendary Japanese rock group Carol, and is one of the most successful rock singers in Japan real name, is a Singer, Actress and Seiyū born on 1968-12-10 in Kashiwa, Chiba Prefecture, Japan. is the stage name of, a Japanese pop-music performer who also is notable as an actress and song writer Hikaru Genji, the highly influential rollerskating boy band, also became popular during this time, with some of its members growing up to fame on their own. Hikaru Genji (光GENJI was a Japanese musical group run by Johnny & Associates from 1987 to 1993 In 1980, Eikichi Yazawa, seeking worldwide success, signed a contract with the Warner Pioneer record company and moved to the West Coast of the United States. is a Japanese rock Singer. He was a member of the legendary Japanese rock group Carol, and is one of the most successful rock singers in Japan 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. Mega-idol Seiko Matsuda, extremely popular through the 1980s, saw a bit more success with English-only songs released on her 1991 album "Eternal", and was hounded by U. is a Japanese pop Singer-songwriter. Born in Kurume Fukuoka, she rose to fame in 1980 as a Teen idol, making her debut with the song "Hadashi S. tabloids for having a relationship with then red-hot Donnie Wahlberg of New Kids on the Block, who sang the duet "The Right Combination" with Seiko Matsuda. Donald Edmond "Donnie" Wahlberg Jr (born August 17, 1969) is an American Singer, Actor and producer. New Kids on the Block (also known as NKOTB) are an award-winning American pop group that enjoyed success in the late 1980s and early 1990s as a Boy band Seiko used to hold the record for most consecutive number 1 singles for a female artist in Japan (currently 25). That record was recently shattered by the singer Ayumi Hamasaki (currently 30, 18 of which are consecutive). 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 Along with Seiko Matsuda, the latter 1980s were dominated by idol singers such as Miho Nakayama, Akina Nakamori, Chisato Moritaka, Minako Honda and Shizuka Kudo. born Minako Kudo (工藤 美奈子 Kudō Minako, July 31, 1967 - November 6, 2005) was a Japanese "idol" is a Japanese singer and J-Pop idol who made her debut on 31 August 1987.

The late 1980s, saw the emergence of Chage and Aska, a male singer/songwriter duo consisting of Chage (Shuji Shibata) and Ryo Aska (Shigeaki Miyazaki). or Chage and Asuka, are a Japanese popular music duo composed of two singer-songwriters from Fukuoka Prefecture Chage (b They released a string of consecutive hits throughout the 1980s and 1990s. Their "Asian Tour II / Mission Impossible" tour was the single largest concert tour ever put on by a Japanese group – the tickets for all 61 concerts in Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore and Taiwan sold out on the first day. However, with the advent of the Japanese dance-pop music pioneered by Namie Amuro and Tetsuya Komuro in the mid- to late-1990s, the popularity of rock groups like Chage & Aska has declined. is a Japanese Singer, Dancer, and former Child actor / singer, who at the height of her popularity was referred to as the "Teen Queen also known as TK, is a Japanese Keyboardist, Songwriter and music producer born on November 27, 1958 in Fuchu This period also saw the rise of the female duo Wink. were a popular Japanese pop female duo in the late 1980s and early-to-mid 1990s Wink debuted in 1988, surpassing the popularity of the then most popular female duo, BaBe. BaBe was a Japanese Pop duo composed of Tomoko Kondo and Yukari Nikaido. Also, the famous j-pop idols CoCo made their hit debut with the 1989 single EQUALロマンス (Equal Romansu, or Equal Romance) for the hit anime series らんま1/2 (Ranma 1/2). is a Japanese Manga series written and illustrated by Rumiko Takahashi with an Anime adaptation

The '90s

In the early 1990s, the music scene can be split up into different parts. 1990-1993 was dominated by the Being artists (Zard, Wands, Deen), B'z, and the Southern All Stars. was a Japanese pop group Originally a group of five members with lead vocalist Izumi Sakai as group leader Wands (ワンズ Wanzu) was a 3-member Japanese rock music group founded in 1991 by main Vocalist Show Wesugi Guitarist Hiroshi Shibasaki DEEN (ディーン Dīn) is a Japanese popular music group It made its debut in March 10 1993 with a single 'Konomama Kimidake wo Ubaisaritai' is a Japanese Hard rock duo comprised of and Koshi Inaba (稲葉 浩志 Inaba Kōshi, lyrics vocals also known by abbreviations or SAS, are a Japanese pop rock band that formed in the mid 1970s 1994-1997 was dominated by the TK (Tetsuya Komuro) family. 1996 is known as a year where the Okinawan Actors School became dominant, with Namie Amuro, MAX (The Super Monkeys) and Speed leading the charge. MAX whose name is an acronym for " M usical A ctive e' X' perience" is a popular Japanese vocal group Every Little Thing also rose to success in the late 90's after their debut album sold over 2,000,000 copies. This article is about Every Little Thing the Japanese band For the song by the Beatles see Every Little Thing (song. 1997 saw the introduction of Morning Musume. is an all-girl J-pop group from Japan. They are sometimes also referred to as.

The boy band SMAP 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, becoming a popular actor in later years known commonly as "Kimutaku". SMAP is a Japanese " idol " group formed by Johnny & Associates. 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 By the late 1990s an all-female band, Morning Musume, became wildly popular, with a string of releases that were sales hits before even being released. Female pop groups like Speed, Zone and Morning Musume sold millions of records with their pop-techno sounds. ZONE was a J-Pop band started in Sapporo, Japan in 1999 that went on to become a hit in 2000 with their single GOOD DAYS. Following the pattern set a decade before by the 1980s all-female Onyanko Club, Morning Musume spawned several splinter bands whose members continue to be popular. was a large all-girl Japanese pop idol group in the 1980s The group gave a new approach to the idol formula with its 52 official members and three unofficial members

R&B became popular in Japan in the late 1990s, when young singer-songwriter Utada Hikaru debuted with her first single Automatic / Time Will Tell. also known by her fans as, is a Singer-songwriter, Arranger and Record producer in Japan. " Automatic / Time Will Tell " is a double A-side single released by Utada Hikaru, released as her second single overall and her first official Japanese language Her first album, First Love, sold 7,650,000 copies (10,650,000), making it the best-selling debut album and best-selling album ever in Oricon history. First Love is the official debut album by Hikaru Utada, released on March 10, 1999. 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 ^[3] B'z 'The Best Pleasure' became second best selling album at 5,129,000 million copies,^[3] Glay's 'Review -The Best of Glay' the third best selling album at 4,876,000 million copies. is a Japanese Hard rock duo comprised of and Koshi Inaba (稲葉 浩志 Inaba Kōshi, lyrics vocals B'z The Best "Pleasure" is the third compilation album by Japanese rock duo B'z. is a rock/pop band from Hakodate, Hokkaidō, Japan formed by guitarist Takuro and vocalist Teru during high school in 1988 Pop music was still popular in Japan during the late 90s and early 21st century with solo female singers such as Ayumi Hamasaki, Mai Kuraki, and Ami Suzuki enjoying either brief or long term success. 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 born October 28, 1982 in Funabashi Chiba) is a Japanese pop Singer-songwriter. is a female singer songwriter actress and dancer from Zama, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. In 2000, Southern All Stars's Single CD Tsunami recorded 2,934,965 million sales. ^[4]

The twenty-first century

Namie Amuro (middle) performs at MTV Asia Aid in Bangkok, Thailand. Bangkok, known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon (krūŋtʰêːp máhǎːnákʰɔn) or Krung Thep ( for short is the Capital, largest The Kingdom of Thailand (ˈtaɪlænd ราชอาณาจักรไทย, râːtɕʰa-ʔaːnaːtɕɑ̀k-tʰɑj She ranks 53 on HMV's list of 100 top 100 Japanese pops. ^[2]

During the mid-2000s, Rhythm and blues and Hip hop music influences in Japanese music started to gain attention in popular mainstream music. Hip hop music, also referred to as rap music, is a Music genre typically consisting of a rhythmic vocal style called rap which is accompanied with J-Hiphop/rock bands such as Orange Range and Ketsumeishi have been at the top of the Oricon charts, with more established artists such as Spitz, Mr. Children, B'z, Southern All Stars, Glay and L'Arc~en~Ciel. is a 5-member Japanese Alternative rock band, based in Okinawa. is a popular J-Pop and hip-hop group that incorporates singing and rapping into their music 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 is a Japanese rock band originally formed in 1987. They are one of the Japanese music groups who gained remarkable commercial prosperity in the mid Mr Children, commonly is a Japanese Hard rock duo comprised of and Koshi Inaba (稲葉 浩志 Inaba Kōshi, lyrics vocals also known by abbreviations or SAS, are a Japanese pop rock band that formed in the mid 1970s is a rock/pop band from Hakodate, Hokkaidō, Japan formed by guitarist Takuro and vocalist Teru during high school in 1988 is a popular Japanese Rock band, formed in 1991 The group has sold over 13 million albums 16 million singles and millions of other units such as videos There are production groups specialized for music talents as Johnny & Associates with female pop slowly declining since the 1990s, but artists such as Ayumi Hamasaki (Japan's highest selling female and solo artist), Utada Hikaru, and Every Little Thing during the late 90s and early 21st century able to reach the number 1 sales slots with most of their releases. formed by Johnny Kitagawa in 1963 is a talent agency that trains and promotes groups of male idols in Japan 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 also known by her fans as, is a Singer-songwriter, Arranger and Record producer in Japan. This article is about Every Little Thing the Japanese band For the song by the Beatles see Every Little Thing (song.

In 2005 the Oricon charts were briefly ruled by hip-hop group Orange Range, Ketsumeishi, and R&B solo male singer Ken Hirai, with the Orange Range's 'Musiq' album selling over 2. Hip hop is a cultural movement which developed in New York City in the 1970s primarily among African Americans and Latinos. is a 5-member Japanese Alternative rock band, based in Okinawa. is a popular J-Pop and hip-hop group that incorporates singing and rapping into their music is a Japanese R&B and pop singer His soulful voice and unconventional looks won him fans following his debut in 1992 is a 5-member Japanese Alternative rock band, based in Okinawa. 5 million copies, making it the number one album for the year followed by Ketsumeishi's 'Ketsunopolis 4' album, and Ken Hirai's 'Sentimental Lovers' album. is a popular J-Pop and hip-hop group that incorporates singing and rapping into their music is a Japanese R&B and pop singer His soulful voice and unconventional looks won him fans following his debut in 1992 ^[5] Shuji to Akira's 'Seishun Amigo' topped the annual singles release at 945,315 copies. is a special temporary unit formed by Kazuya Kamenashi and Tomohisa Yamashita, under Johnny's Entertainment from fall 2005 to winter 2006 The second and third best selling singles went to Ketsumeishi's 'Sakura' single at 942,675 copies, and Mr. Children's 'Yojiken -Four Dimensions-' at 924,379 million copies. is a popular J-Pop and hip-hop group that incorporates singing and rapping into their music Mr Children, commonly ^[6].

For 2006, Ken Hirai managed to come out on top with the release of '10th Anniversary Complete Single Collection '95-'05 Utabaka' selling over 2,000,000 million copies and becoming the number one album for 2006^[7] followed by new popular Japanese pop artist Kumi Koda's 'Best ~Second Session' album at 1,768,658 million copies,^[8] and Kobukuro's 'All Singles Best' album selling 1,748,682 million copies. is a Japanese R&B and pop singer His soulful voice and unconventional looks won him fans following his debut in 1992 This is a Japanese name; the family name is Koda is a Japanese pop singer from Kyoto who debuted in 2000 with Take is a Japanese band, which formed in 1998 and made its major label debut in 2001 ^[8]

A shift took place in 2007 in regard to the music scene with the top 3 selling albums for the first half of the Oricon year going to Mr. Children's album 'Home' with 1,125,017 in sales,^[9] Koda Kumi's 'Black Cherry' with 998,230 in sales,^[9] and Ayumi Hamasaki's best of album A Best 2 -White- selling 720,120 copies. 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 Mr Children, commonly HOME is the thirteenth studio album by Mr Children, released on March 14, 2007. This is a Japanese name; the family name is Koda is a Japanese pop singer from Kyoto who debuted in 2000 with Take A BEST 2 -WHITE- is one of two CDs in the greatest hits series A Best 2 by Japanese pop singer-songwriter Ayumi Hamasaki. ^[9] The top 3 singles for the first half of the year went to Japanese tenor singer Masafumi Akikawa's 'Sen no kaze ni natte' single which became a smash hit, managing to eventually sell over one million copies^[10], with Utada Hikaru's single 'Flavor of Life' selling 629,904 copies,^[11] and Arashi's 'Love so sweet' single selling 420,894 copies. is a Japanese Tenor singer He has released a number of CDs in which he has sung a broad range of genres from classical to pop also known by her fans as, is a Singer-songwriter, Arranger and Record producer in Japan. is a five-member Japanese Boy band under Johnny & Associates. ^[11] Celebrating 15 years on the music scene, Japanese rock group Mr. Children passed 50 million sales in albums and singles sold, making them the second highest selling artist of all time in Japan,^[12] and Japanese pop singer Utada Hikaru sold 10 million digital ringtones and songs, making her the first artist ever to have this many digital sales in one year. 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 Mr Children, commonly J-pop is an abbreviation of Japanese pop. It refers to Japanese popular musicians and was coined by the Japanese media to distinguish Japanese musicians from foreign musicians also known by her fans as, is a Singer-songwriter, Arranger and Record producer in Japan. ^[13] In regard to concerts and tours, Mr. Children's 'Home' arena and stadium tour managed to have the most attended at 550,000 fans^[14], with Jpop singer Namie Amuro having the longest lasting tour for the year at 65 dates. Mr Children, commonly is a Japanese Singer, Dancer, and former Child actor / singer, who at the height of her popularity was referred to as the "Teen Queen ^[15]

Impact on popular culture

J-pop music is an integral part of Japanese popular culture. Japanese popular culture not only reflects the attitudes and concerns of the present but also provides a link to the past It is used everywhere: anime, stores, commercials, movies, radio shows, TV shows, and video games and other forms of J-ENT. (anime in Japanese, J-ENT is an abbreviation of " Japanese entertainment" Some television news programs even run a J-pop song during their end credits.

In anime and television shows, particularly dramas, opening and closing songs are changed up to four times per year. A television program (US television programme (UK or television show (U also called dorama (ドラマ are a staple of Japanese television and are broadcast daily As most programs have both opening and closing songs it is possible for one show to use 8 tracks in a single season.

Over the past decade, J-pop has continually gained fans worldwide through video games and anime. A video game is a Game that involves interaction with a User interface to generate visual feedback on a video device. Many videogame 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 and Kingdom Hearts II, in which popular J-pop singer Utada Hikaru performs the main theme songs. is an Action role-playing game developed and published by Squaresoft (now Square Enix) in 2002 for the PlayStation 2 Video game console is an Action role-playing game developed by Square Enix and published by Square Enix and Buena Vista Games (now Disney Interactive Studios in 2005 for the Sony also known by her fans as, is a Singer-songwriter, Arranger and Record producer in Japan. Her song "Easy Breezy" was also used to promote the Nintendo DS. " Easy Breezy " was Utada Hikaru 's third English single (16th overall The is a dual-screen Handheld game console developed and manufactured by Nintendo. In the case of anime, shows are normally sold in the West with their original soundtracks untouched, affording more direct exposure. Some shows aired on television in the United States, for example, have seen their themes go so far as to become commercially available as ringtones through mainstream vendors in that country. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the

See also

• Oricon
• Bubblegum Pop
• J-ska
• J-rock
• K-pop
• Idol
• Music of Japan
• List of J-pop artists

References

External links

• Oricon.co.jp
• Recording Industry of Japan
• nt - 2099 Media and Entertainment
• JpopAsia
• JpopMusician Database