Famous J-pop artists
Because J-POP music is so distinctive, it incorporates a wide range of musical elements, including band sounds, electronic sounds, electrical noises, and foreign tastes. Additionally, a number of them are highly liked by both locals and visitors since they are utilized as anime theme tunes.
People listen to Japanese pop music, or J-Pop, all around the world.
A Brief History of J-Pop
The creation of Kayōkyoku (歌芡曲) in the 1960s marked the beginning of what is today known as J-Pop. The term “lyrical singing music,” or “kayōkyoku,” describes the blending of Western and Japanese musical styles.
Before this genre gained greater traction, some time passed. Kyu Sakamoto, a singer, is recognized for having ignited the J-Pop phenomenon in Japan. He released “Sukiyaki” in 1963, and it too peaked at number one on the US music charts.
After it, electro-pop and city-pop began to rule the Japanese charts. J-Pop gained popularity in Japan during the 1990s, and musicians like Morning Musume, Arashi, and Namie Amuro contributed more dance- and band-oriented songs to the genre.
The 1970s western music trend known as “bubblegum rock” had a significant influence on J-Pop between the 1990s and the present. These days, however, a lot of experimental musical elements may be heard in J-Pop songs, particularly with the rise of YouTubers and Vocaloid vocalists.
Because many young Japanese people are huge fans of Korean pop (K-Pop), it is also rather usual for K-Pop musicians to translate their songs into Japanese.
Even though J-Pop and K-Pop are both hugely successful, one of the key historical distinctions between the two genres is that J-Pop was harder to acquire outside of the nation because it wasn’t intended for an international audience.
Below is a list of the 10 most famous J-pop artists in 2024
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Mrs. Green Apple
Mrs. Green Apple is a three-piece band composed of a vocalist, guitarist, and keyboardist. It used to be a group of six people, but in 2020, the band suspended their activity and returned to the current style in 2022. All of the members are male, but they wanted to create a neutral image and put “Mrs.” on their band name.
Their strong point is the straight word, as the melody sounds poppy and fresh. Their iconic song “Ao to Natsu (青と夏)” is now well-known as a summer song with its refreshing melody and the lyrics saying the fun we can have in summer. On the other hand, “Syunsyu” was written as a real and complicated emotion of any relationship in life in straight words.
Now they perform on the stage of many rock festivals in addition to their own live tour. In 2023, they released “Que Sera Sera,” which is the theme song of the TV drama “Sunday Night.”. They also created the fifth album, “Antina.”.
2. YOASOBI
YOASOBI is one of the most trending artists in Japan since they debuted in 2019. YOASOBI was born as a two-person unit creating songs based on a novel. The vocalist, Lilas Ikuta, is a talented singer-songwriter who is also doing solo performances. Ayase, who used to be a vocaloid producer, is composing and editing songs.
Their debut song, “Yoru ni Kakeru,” was released on November 16, 2019. The new taste of the music, her clear high-tone voice, and the emotional music video matching the lyric won people’s hearts and minds as soon as it was released. It was played over 10 million times in 5 months and 100 million times in one year.
The song achieved an incredible milestone of being played one billion times in Japan in 2023, demonstrating that its popularity did not diminish.
They came out with a song named “Idol” in 2023; it’s the theme song for the anime “Oshi no Ko.” The most popular anime right now is “Oshi no Ko,” while “Idol” has been viewed over 400 million times in just 19 weeks. These days, a lot of young people post dancing videos on Instagram and TikTok featuring idols.
3. Yonezu Kenshi
Yonezu Kenshi (米津玄師) is a singer-songwriter and Vocaloid producer. He used to create mega-hit songs as a Vocaloid producer, “Hachi,” on the video site Nico Nico Douga (Vocaloid is a singing voice synthesizer software represented by Hatsune Miku). In 2012, he started his own performance as a singer-songwriter, Yonezu Kenshi, and made his major debut in 2013. He has created a lot of hit songs, including collaboration songs with other famous artists such as DAOKO and Masaki Suda, and also tie-in songs for movies and TV dramas.
His most popular song is “Lemon.”. It was made available in 2018 as the TV show “Unnatural”‘s theme tune. In the Billboard Japan Hot 100 annual chart rankings for 2018 and 2019, the song took home the top spot. In 2023, over 800 million people viewed the “Lemon” music video on YouTube.
His most recent song, “Spinning Globe (地球儀),” was just released and serves as the title song for the most recent Studio Ghibli film, “The Boy and the Heron.”
4. Aimyon
Aimyon (あいみょん) is among the most well-liked female singer-songwriters in Japan among young people. In 2016, she made her stage debut with “Ikite Itanda yona (生きていたんだよな)”. Her first song serves as a good example of how honest and straightforward her songwriting is when expressing people’s feelings in today’s world. She thus sings about the challenges of leading an adaptable life, the love that surrounds us on a daily basis, or the encouragement to be who we are. For this reason, her song resonates with and is loved by many young people. Her distinct style also plays a significant role in her appeal.
A song that made her well-known was “Kimi wa Rock wo Kikanai (君はロックを聴かない),” released in 2017. Its catchy tune and cute lyrics hit the young generation. Another popular song is “Marigold,” released in 2018. The song won the first position for the following 20 weeks in a streaming chart ranking in 2018. In 2023, she released “Ai no Hana (愛の花)” as the theme song of the NHK morning drama series.
5. Official Hige Dandism
Official Hige Dandism (Official髭男dism) is a rock band composed of a vocalist, guitarist, bassist, and drummer. The vocalist’s strong, high-tone voice attracts a lot of people of various generations. They debuted with “No Doubt” in 2018.
In 2019, they created their masterpiece song “Pretender,” which was used as the theme song of the movie “Confidenceman JP Romance Edition.”. It was played 100 million times on the Billboard Japan Streaming Songs chart in the 23 weeks since it charted. The pure lyrics, clear voice, and pop melody are able to help people remember and hum the song. After that, they created various songs that are tied up with movies, TV drama series, and animes, such as “Cry Baby” for the anime “Tokyo Revengers” in 2021 and “Subtitle” for the TV drama “Silent” in 2022.
In 2023, they released “Chessboard” as the set piece of music for the NHK All-Japan School Choir Competition of the junior high school department.
6. ONE OK ROCK
One OK Rock is a worldwide popular rock band. They debuted in 2007 with “Naihi Shinsho (内秘心書)”. Their old songs are more punk and rock-style than recent ones. Their aggressive melody and emotionally straight lyrics hit teenagers at that time. In 2010, they released “Kanzen Kankaku Dreamer (完全感覚Dreamer),” which ranked in the top 10 of the weekly Oricon chart ranking in Japan for the first time. They performed at a lot of rock festivals as well as in their own lives.
After 2013, they expanded their live performances globally, from Asian countries to the US and Europe. Due to the new music sound mix of rock, J-POP, and foreign pop and the vocalist Taka’s amazing voice, their recent songs are getting increasingly popular not only in Japan but also all over the world. Now One OK Rock holds annual tours both domestically and worldwide. They almost sold out the tickets everywhere. Once you experience their live performance, you will be overwhelmed by their dynamics, passion, and sense of unity
In 2023, the newest song, “Make It Out Alive,” came out. It’s a tie-in song with a smartphone game, “Monster Hunter Now.”. The dynamic sound matches the game’s situation.
7. Back number
Back Number is a Japanese rock power trio formed in 2004. It consists of a vocalist, a guitarist, and a drummer. Their major debut was in 2011 with “Hanabira (花びら)”. The key to their popularity is their pure love song. The direct words on a gentle melody catch people’s attention.
Their first hit song was “Takane no Hanako san (高嶺の花子さん)” in 2013. Its catchy phrase and pop melody grab teenagers’ attention, and the song was always on the karaoke hit list throughout the year. Their biggest hit was “Christmas Song” in 2015, which peaked at No. 1 for three weeks on the Japan Hot 100 chart and was later certified a million by the Recording Industry Association of Japan. In 2018, they held a 5-Dome Tour titled “Stay with You” and sold out all the tickets within 2 hours.
In 2023, they released “Kaiju no Size (怪獣のサイズ)”.
8. King Gnu
King Gnu is one of the most trending Japanese rock bands in 2023, even though it’s been formed only since 2013. Their music style is not only stuck with rock taste but also includes R&B, jazz, and J-POP. This variety of music makes King Gnu popular and unique.
As soon as they debuted in 2019, they released “Hakujitsu (白日)” on a streaming site and uploaded its music video to YouTube. Then people were so surprised because the vocalist’s high-tone voice was amazing and its music taste was very innovative. Hakujitsu hit over 300 million times in one year and over 600 million times in 2023, which is the sixth song in Japanese music history to achieve this feat. They also perform at a lot of rock festivals in addition to their own tours. In 2024, they will hold a 5-Dome tour throughout Japan.
In 2023, the newest song “SpecIALZ” came out as the theme song of the anime “Jujutsu Kaisen Season 2.”.
9. Vaundy
Vaundy is a multi-talented artist. Though he is a university student, his musical activities range from being a singer-songwriter, musical creator, and editor to being a video producer and an art producer. His music taste is genreless and trending by mixing various kinds of music, such as hip-hop, R&B, and synthpop.
Once he announced a digital single, “Tokyo Flash,” in 2019, the song hit a million times in only 2 months. After that, he’s been creating mega-hit songs that have been hit over 100 million times. In 2022, he created some songs to share with other popular artists, such as Masaki Suda and Rira Ikuta. “Omokage (おもかげ)” he created for a collaboration of Millet, Aimer, and Lilas Ikuta was used in a TV CM, and he also joined the collaboration and performed at NHK Kohaku Uta Gassen.
In 2023, he released “Sonna bitter na hanashi (そんなbitterな話)”.
10. RADWIMPS
RADWIMPS is a four-piece band formed in 2001 when they were in high school. They had kept performing locally until they finally debuted in 2006 with “Nijugoko me no Senshokutai (25個目の染色体)”. Their old songs have two types. The one style is gentle words on comfortable melody, such as “Kimi to Hitsuji to Ao (君と羊と青)”, “Moshimo (もしも)”, and “Yushinron (有心論)”. The other is tricky and unique music such as “DADA” and “Osyakasama (お釈迦様)”.
In 2016, RADWIMPS created all of the music used in the movie “Your Name,” which was a social phenomenon at the time. The opening song “Zenzenzense (前前前世)” and the ending theme “Sparkle” recorded a mega-hit. Moreover, due to broadcasting the movie in North America, they released “Your Name, English Edition,” which brought their name overseas as well. After that, they are in charge of creating songs for the following movies produced by Makoto Shinkai.
Their current music style has a more soft and dynamic melody and straight lyrics than old ones. In 2023, they released ”Daidanen (大団円)” as the 30th anniversary song for establishing J-Leag.
Conclusion
Out of all the famous J-pop artists in 2024, Mrs. Green Apple is actually my favorite. Their music motivates me to complete the tasks at hand. They put on an extremely fantastic live show. The voice and their performance always exude vitality for me. I wholeheartedly urge you to experience their passion and unity if you ever get the chance to attend one of their live concerts.