Keichan's Doki-Doki J-Town

What is this thing called J-Pop? If your fairly new to the world of J-Pop, you may not know what the true meaning of J-Pop is. It basically means Japanese Pop music. It was originally called this in the 1980's when J-Pop was rivaling Western Pop music.

In Japan the J-Pop artists weren't nearly as popular as some of the American and British groups. If you stopped the average high school student on the street you were more likely to find Michael Jackson in thier hot pink Walkman than any Japanese artist. Some of you remember the early artists such as Onyanko Club, Seiko Matsuda, and Masahiko Kondou. They were the true rivals of western pop as they gained popularity even with all of the more known western stars around.

In the late 1980's/early 1990's J-Pop took a turn for the better. The western pop influenced J-Pop songs and they took off. Groups like Dreams Come True and Pasons (Persons) hit the top of the Oricon charts. Japanese dramas such as Suchuwadesu Mono Gatari chose J-Pop artists to sing thier theme songs. Japan and the rest of the world took notice. Japan was no longer concentrating on simply western music, they had thier own idols right there in Japan.

When SMAP hit the scene, in 1991 the J-Pop world was transformed into the idol-land it is today. High school girls took notice of these idols and turned it into almost an obsession. It sparked the release of idol magazines, and photo books. It also influenced many of the J-Pop artists popular today. Artists like Kinki Kids, V6, and J-Friends.

Recently J-Pop followers have seen J-Pop branch out into other categories as well. It's no longer simply up-beat tunes. Curio took to the sounds of American rappers and made rap a fashionable addition to any J-Pop song. Even the J-Pop diva, Amuro Namie, has taken to adding rap to a few of her songs. Artists like Shazna, L'Arc~en~Ciel, and Glay have made what is commonly known as J-Rock popular. Giving J-Pop a less happy-go-lucky feel. Even more recently western alternative music has played a part on the J-Pop scene influencing songs like 'Glass' by Kawamura Ryuichi.

Who knows where J-Pop is headed, but it's my guess in the ever-changing realm of J-Pop you will always find the catchy, up-beat, tempos and happy lyrics that have made J-Pop what it is today.