Most of us listen to JRock and VK stuff, but i am sure some here listen to JPOP acts too.
So what JPop Acts got you guys hooked on?
Some of my favorite Groups
(that list is gonna be so LDH biased, i am sorry for that )
Jr. Exile
(Jr.Exile are 4 Groups combined in one, Generations, The Rampage, Fantastics and Ballistik Boyz, they usually operate as solo groups but have a lot of projects together)
Exile
(Exile should be known but their singer Atsushi left the groups last year)
On the pop spectrum, nowadays iâm into K-pop more than J-pop.
However, when I was first getting into Japanese music, J-pop was what I found first.
Like, last year I found out about Reol and intantly fell in love. Her music is SO good.
Sheâs the only new-ish J-pop artist I know of right now.
When it comes to older artists/groups, my favs would be TWO-MIX, See-Saw, Kotani Kinya, m-flo, m.o.v.e, Hikaru Utada (obviously, itâs a crime not to), Ayumi Hamasaki, Maaya Sakamoto, Saori@destiny, T.M.Revolution, and Nami Tamaki.
Seconding the ânowadays I listen to k-pop more than j-popâ just out of habit/ease to find. Some of my current favorites (strictly pop) are Reol, Aisha (lovely sound, like a mix of Crystal Kay and Kana Nishino ) and Aimer (and Kavka Shishido and Seira Kariya but like, whereâs Kavka Shishido and Seira Kariya ??) But I occasionally listen to Queen Bee, LiSA (cough a fan of her husband?), Aimyon ⊠whoever is on THE FIRST TAKE honestly.
Artists I used to be crazy about but donât listen much to anymore (still like but donât know their newer music OR they disbanded) are TM R (and all of DA family) , Maaya Sakamoto, aforementioned Crystal Kay and Kana Nishino, Tomoko Kawase, Flower, NEWS (and I must say I was BIG âŠ), Aqua Timez to name a few. And if you wanna talk pop rock LTS, yorushika, SCANDAL, Miyavi, USQ, amazarashi etc.
Iâd say iâm just as interested in jpop as i am in jrock/vkei
Perfume has a very special place in my heart, their material up to 2013 specifically is just⊠elite. Namie, Ayumi and Akina Nakamori are also absolute faves. And while a lot of Hikaruâs material just doesnât stand out enough for me to call her an absolute fave jpop artist of mine, some of this womanâs songs are so stellar that theyâre among my all time favourites within pop in general (think: Colors and Sakura Drops⊠goosebumps!)
Other especially noteworthy artists in my books include capsule (more of an electronic duo but in the vein of Daft Punk meets shibuya-kei so a sizeable amount of their songs are pop enough for the sake of this argument), PUFFY, JUDY AND MARY, Pizzicato Five, TRF, Crystal Kay, MAX, Sheena Ringo, Yasutaka Nakata-produced Ami Suzuki, Tommy february6, old Morning Musume, hitomi and Maki Goto
Iâm a big fan of SKY-HI, if that counts. Iâve never cared for AAA, but I started listening to his solo stuff right around his major debut, and I think itâs so cool to see how much heâs improved.
I remember being a bit disappointed when I saw one of his early concert videos years and years ago, but the recent live stream he did from his parentsâ house was one of the best Iâve seen since the pandemic started. It was so well planned out, and I think you could really feel how important that whole show was to him from start to finish. Even if the result is a bit flawed sometimes, I think heâs one of the few Jpop artists that really feels like heâs constantly trying to go above and beyond peoplesâ expectations.
Plus every time I think he canât get better looking, he somehow manages to. I didnât think he could beat the looks from Double Down, but he did.
I like Taichi Mukai as well. I wasnât really feeling his last few MVs, but this one is a winner, IMO.
I actually quit being an otaku to become a bangya so I used to listen to idols and utaite a lot, but I left all of them except luz-kun when I quit. Does luz-kun even count though? Heâs done a lot of other genres and his support musicians are vkei men soâŠ
Also paying attention to YOASOBI, but who isnât at this point?
when it comes to jpop Iâm mainly stuck on the pop queen boom in the early to mid-ish 00s, I donât think Iâll ever get over it. such a good era for pop music. I mean, seriously, Namie amuro was still active and releasing absolute bangers like queen of hip-pop and queen kumi released the flawless kingdom. ayumi hadnât lost that thing yet and utada was seriously just kicking everyoneâs ass. iconiq, foxxy miss q, soul head, halcaliâŠit really does just go on.
that said, Iâm p into bish I dont usually like idol groups outside of the pop queen boom, like even babymetal missed me. but smth about bishâŠ
A friend of mine collected some unpopular JPop opinions
(There are a lot that are in indonesian, she had all those opinions up on her twitter to vote as polls, but i am not sure if she deleted them)
One of the things i noticed a lot is, People comparing Kpop with Jpop, even unknowingly with their opinions.
(if you can find anyone talking about VK that was me writing)
)
) and Aimer (and Kavka Shishido and Seira Kariya but like, whereâs Kavka Shishido and Seira Kariya ??) But I occasionally listen to Queen Bee, LiSA (cough a fan of her husband?), Aimyon ⊠whoever is on THE FIRST TAKE honestly.
I dont usually like idol groups outside of the pop queen boom, like even babymetal missed me. but smth about bishâŠ
