A little history…
Japanese pop, widely known as J-pop, is a musical genre that entered the musical mainstream of Japan in the 1990s.
Yumi Matsutoya, also known as Yuming, is considered the ‘mother’ of modern-day J-pop. She is one of the most successful singer-songwriters of J-pop and has sold over 37,800,000 copies of albums and singles. Almost half of her albums have been no. 1 at the Japanese Oricon charts
(Oricon charts are kind of like the Japanese version of the Billboard Music Awards).
A song you may have heard: PPAP
Yes! Pen-Pineapple-Apple-Pen was a song written and sung by Japanese comedian Daimaou Kosaka. PPAP was featured on the Billboard Hot 100, reaching up to #77. Kosaka, the creator of PPAP, said in an interview that he came up with the song sitting in his house. He was listening to the tune when he picked up a pen to start writing. He thought about his background of being from Japan's biggest apple-producing region (Aomori Prefecture) as he also realized that he had an open can of pineapples on the table.
J-pop is a beautiful mix of both traditional and modern music. The lyrics used for most Japanese songs are deep and thought-provoking, encouraging the listener to think about the hidden meaning of the lyrics for the song. Before you turn your back to this article now, let me defend my argument! Here’s a look at the lyrics to a popular song “ミュージック” Music by a
popular group “サカナクション” (Sakanaction):
“Flowing, flowing,
Does the bird miss the far away rock,
As it flies high into the sky,
Looking down on the town that no one knows,
What is the bird thinking,
Is it lonely the same as me?”
Now, do you imagine hearing that on normal radio, regardless of the language? While managing to not be too pretentious, it’s way deeper than an average pop song. Not that there aren’t good English lyrics out there, what I'm just trying to say is that when you open Spotify next, you might want to check out something new.
J-pop in anime
Many-a-times, animes are less known for the animation and the plotline, and more for the music they use for the opening and the ending. In fact, I’ve seen people identifying an anime through a song! For example, ‘Fly High’ by BURNOUT SYNDROMES is almost always associated with the extremely popular and successful anime called ‘Haikyuu’. Another good example is the use of Kenshi Yonezu’s ‘Peace Sign’ in the amazing anime ‘Boku no Hero Academia’. In both cases, the song and the anime worked in tandem to promote each other, the song setting the mood for the anime at the beginning itself.
Music and songs in anime add a bit of emotional communication, whereas the anime uses more of mental and technical communication. The concoction of these two aspects is what makes anime so addictive and good. The song set the tone for the particular episode; a darker song to create a sense of foreboding and a lighter, much more bubbly song to create a happier and more carefree atmosphere.
Anime also helps to direct the spotlight too much more undervalued and underestimated artists. They are able to receive the recognition they deserve by not only increasing their local audience but also gaining an international fanbase. And, let’s be honest here, the songs are good.
AKB48: The world’s largest idol group
Damn, this group has 135 members, of course, it’ll be the world’s largest group! AKB48's producer, Yasushi Akimoto, wanted to form a girl group with its own theatre and performing daily so fans could always see them live. This "idols you can meet" concept includes teams which can rotate performances and perform simultaneously at several events. As of April 2019, the group has sold over 60 million records, including over 6 million albums. At least 35 AKB48's singles have topped the Oricon Weekly Singles Chart, with at least 30 singles selling over a million copies each, making the group the highest selling musical act in Japan in terms of singles sold! According to former member Misaki Iwasa, each team has its own theme. Team A represents freedom; Team B is idol-like, with cute costumes, and Team K has a strong, powerful image. Their songs cater to a wider group of people, mainly because of their different subgroups and themes.
Author’s last words…
J-pop is a genre that is generally high in a lot of optimism and energy, and sometimes even more fun to listen to than Western pop. The songs reach deeper than western music touching on sensitive topics like depression, abuse and death. Listening to different kinds of pop from different scenes around the world it’s a good way to really enjoy pop music properly instead of listening once you are forced to listen to the Top 40 over and over again.
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