J-pop
J-pop is a popular music in Japan. J-pop is a short name for Japanese pop, which means popular music or songs in Japan. Some people calls "歌謡曲" toward older songs. From around 1940s until recently, J-Pop has been influenced (affected) by Western popular music and culture. But new J-Pop nowadays sounds different than older J-Pop. This kind of music is common in Japan and it is often played by young and old music groups.
History
There are many songwriters and singer-songwriters who have been playing Japanese pops. Such musicians follows:
- Kyohei Tsutsumi (筒美京平) - He is a well-known songwriter for a long period of times. He is a pianist and also known as Jack Diamond, born on May 28, 1940 in Tokyo. He made many hits such as "Blue Light Yokohama" (ブルー・ライト・ヨコハマ), "Mata Au Hi Made" (また逢う日まで), "Watashi no Kare wa Hidari-kiki" (わたしの彼は左きき), Sentimental (センチメンタル) and so on. He was awarded for his works by an official renowned medal "紫綬褒章" from Japanese government in 2003.
- Yumi Matsutoya - Yumi Matsutoya, also known as Yuming, Yumi Arai or Karuho Kureta, is considered by many the "mother" of modern-day J-Pop. She has been one of the most successful Japanese singer-songwriters in the twentieth century in the world of pop music. Almost half of her albums reached number one at the Japanese Oricon charts, and all of her albums reached top 10 since her first album, Hikōki-gumo in 1973. She has sold over 37,800,000 copies of albums and singles. "NO SIDE" was made from Rugby game "Ooita Maiduru vs Tennri high school". The term 'j-pop' was coined in the 1990s.
J-pop Media
Ichiro Fujiyama, influential ryūkōka singer
Nippon Budokan, legendary place for Japanese musicians
Shibuya-kei artist Keigo Oyamada (left) with YMO member Ryuichi Sakamoto
Concert of pioneer of visual kei, X Japan at Hong Kong in 2009 after their 2007 reunion
Namie Amuro (center) performs at MTV Asia Aid in Bangkok, Thailand in 2005.
Hikaru Utada debuted in 1998.
Ayumi Hamasaki in London, February 2010
Green Stage of the Fuji Rock Festival
AKB48 has occupied the top spot in the Oricon yearly single sales ranking every year since 2010.
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