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Home , 8 Uppers, Atsushi (musician), Billboard Japan, Bleach (season 4), Bump of Chicken, Emo rap

Music: The ‘Other’ International Language

Brief History of -Pop

1920’s • v POPS (Kayoukyoku) 1950’s & 60’s • POSTWAR , influenced by , Elvis. Many Japanese artists gained popularity by performing at US military bases such as and Atsugi. • English songs were translated, a debate over whether Japanese popular music should be sung in English or Japanese (NIHONGO ROCK RONSO / DEBATE) 1963 • Release of the song SUKIYAKI (Ue o muite arukou) by Sakamoto Kyu (only Japanese song to ever reach No. 1 on the US Chart). 1966 • Despite opposition, the Beatles performed in 1970’s • New Wave, Folk and psychedelic influences such as , ABBA inspired Japanese acts like Souther All Stars, Yellow Magic 1980’s • The rise of acts like , -: androgynous, flamboyant appearance stars not dissimilar to the glam, goth bands of the west - such as Kiss. • dancing takes off! Synchronized dancing moving usually only the arms or upper body, closely associated with . 1990’s • The rise of talent agencies, talent auditions, actor schools and multiple-group producers (vs indie). • Kei: a term used to describe acts like Flipper‟s ( / )

Charts, Popularity Ratings Charts • Published every Tuesday • Abbreviation of *Original Confidence Inc.* • Record sales of CDs, , and video games However, ORICON relies on participating music outlets to report their sales and misses critical records such as online download sales and other channels like sales of CDs released only at convenience stores (in the case of the group NEWS). ORICON was also controversially accused of “tampering with statistics to promote Johnny‟s in 2006. 紅白歌合戦 （kouhaku uta gassen） New Year‟s Eve music event (NHK) featuring the most popular artists of the year, divided into teams (RED vs WHITE). 2011 NYE was the 62nd Gassen, won by the RED team. RED: Female WHITE: Male Performance is by invitation only, so if a band is invited they are considered to have “truly made it”! A group of celebrities judge the performances not only based on talent, but other criteria, such as choreography. Top 100 The week‟s most popular songs are ranked by Hanshin Corporation, based on radio .

TV Shows On Asahi TV • 8pm Friday nights on Channel 5 • All the latest performers and some foreign acts

• Interviews (7th September - YUI) CD TV Top 100 Countdown Airs (LATE NIGHT) Every Saturday Channel CBC HEY HEY HEY (MUSIC CHAMP) Special

Monday nights on Fuji TV (Tokai TV) SPECIAL! 24th September Live from in Tokyo - Autumn songfest featuring AKB48, Ikimonogakari, Che‟Nelle, Superfly and more. Okinawa Actors School Actual Okinawan school with a branch in that trains musicians and actors of the pedigree of SPEED and . SPEED Inspired by TLC A talented quartet from Okinawa, who were named SPEED by the audience of a TV show “Night of the Hit Parade” in 1995. NAMIE AMURO One of the longest surviving solo female acts ever. Once labelled the “teen queen” of Japan, she reportedly performed in front of some 400,000 people at one concert. Her 1966 “Sweet 19 ” sold over 3 million copies. Credited for pioneering Shotgun Weddings in Japan. Her mother was tragically murdered in Okinawa in 1999. Prim Minister Keizo Obuchi asked Amuro and her producer to write a song about world harmony which was performed at the 2000 G8 Summit in Okinawa. ASAYAN Music Audition Television Ran from 1995 - 2002 Was responsible for the rise of various artists, such as: (very much in the mould of AKB48) CHEMISTRY EXILE’S (was famously defeated in a spot for Chemistry) Talent Agency Pop Stars ジャニーズ (Johnny & Associates)

Formed in 1962 (Producer ) Trains and promotes groups of male idols and became a in 1997. Johnny Kitagawa‟s 232 chart-topping songs & 8,419 concerts are a world record. Groups: SMAP, TOKIO, KINKI KIDS, , V6, Hey! Say! JUMP, KAT-TUN SMAP Sports Music Assemble People Genres: Talent Agency Pop They do celebrity cooking shows, interview foreign celebrities, host radio shows, perform in comedy acts, musicals and dramas. They‟re not highly acclaimed for their ability - rather symbols of individuality. KIMUTAKU (Kimura Takuya) - perhaps the most famous of the group, voted the sexiest man in Japan. Commonly spotted on billboards or even posters at the KENCHO ! Kusanagi starred in dramas dealing with South / Japan relations and international love affairs, and even released a Korean Language CD. KATORI SHINGO The „baby‟ of the group with the approachable smile! Published a series of books for Japanese learning english, and famously cross-dressed as the character Shingo-Mama. ARASHI Formed in 1999 on a cruise ship near Hawaii Often thought of as SMAP‟s juniors Appeal to a younger demographic than SMAP, yet older than Hey! Say! JUMP Hey! Say! JUMP Average age of the members was 15.7 years old when this all performed at their debut concert. They were the youngest male group to top the Oricon Charts. In 2011, member Morimoto was caught smoking underage and banned from the group. Debut single „Ultra Music Power‟ Kanjani Eight Yet another Johnny‟s agency group that formed in 2002. Consists of 7 male members from the Kansai region. As per SMAP, they starred in a television show called ANOTHER which aired on Channel 8 in Kansai. The origin of their name is KAN (Kansai) JANI (Johnny‟s) 8 (Channel). They topped the Oricon charts in Week 37 of 2012 with their song “Aoppana”.

Yasushi Akimoto’s (non-Johnny’s) ‘not your ordinary pop group’ AKB48 Genres: Pop / dance A group of teenage to mid 20 year old girl members that constantly changes, based on elections. CD singles of the group contain a ballot paper, on which fans can vote. The 2011 electioncomprised of over 1 million votes. AKB - Akihabara, is the location of the AKB48 theatre. Performances are held daily, but have become so popular that tickets are distributed by lottery. The group is divided into 3 groups, A, K and B. ONly one performs on a given day, allowing simultaneous performances in different locations. HEAVY ROTATION Indie Artists and non-Johnny’s Stars Genres: Pop / dance With sales of over 50 million records in Japan, AYU is not only the highest selling solo artist of all time in Japan, but also the best selling Japanese female artist in history. The -born and raised ex and Shibuya dancer was offered a recording deal after a karaoke session. AYU writes her own lyrics, is responsible for the composition and production of several of her songs, and her soft dance-pop style was a storming success in direct competition to in the early . Well received singles: “M”, “Seasons”, “Trust” Genres: Pop / blues / folk / rock Extremely popular group that once had 44 singles in the top 100 simultaneously! Famous for their summer-influenced lyrics often mentioning areas of Kanagawa, mixed with extremely erotic themes. (lead singer) won the prize for best vocalist at the 1977 Yamaha East West auditions. He undertook a successful operation to remove esophageal cancer in 2010 that threatened his career. MR CHILDREN Genres: Pop / Rock Extremely high selling male group that write their own songs, lead by vocalist Sakurai Kazutoshi. Their songs are generally and deal with „real‟ male issues such as depression, relationships, corporate strain. Many of the group‟s songs have appeared on dramas (“Nanmonai uta” – Pure 1996) and television commercials. B’z Genres: Pop turned Rock 80 million records in Japan and the first Japanese band to have handprints on Hollywood‟s ROCKWALK! B‟z performed with at the 2002 FIFA World Cup Concert in Tokyo. Ketsumeishi Genres: Hip-hop, rap and influenced band prominent in the mid 2000s, with hits like “Sakura” and “Natsu no omoide” (the latter famous for slow motion footage of women in bikinis jumping in and out of a pool). Kobukuro Genres: / Pop KOBUCHI & KURODA Two street performers that met in Osaka and made it big ! EXILE Genres: R&B / Dance / Pop Formerly known as J Soul Brothers, lead by Hiro, they are a group of 14 dancing performers that constantly change with auditions. Well known for singles such as “Tada…Aitakute” “Ti Amo” a latin-influenced song about the guilt associated with being unfaithful, was downloaded over a million times as a chaku-ita (keitai ringtone). Current vocalists ATSUSHI and TAKAHIRO Genres: , The four members , Soh, 92 and Navi are all students of dentistry and have never shown their faces in the public sphere. Sometimes they censor their faces when appearing on television! The single “Kiseki” was the best selling download single in Japan, and replaced Aoyama Thelma & SoulJa‟s “Koko ni iru yo”. YUI Genres: Pop / Rock Fukuoka born singer- voted the the *Artist you most want to marry* on Music Station in 2011. One of many artists to perform charity concerts after the TOHOKU earthquake and tsunami. “Rain” was the best female on the 2011 MTV Japan Music Video Awards. “Fight” is currently performing well in the Oricon charts. Nishino Kana Genres: Pop / R&B 2012 album Love Place sits at No. 2 on the Oricon Album chart, with singles such as “Watashitachi” and “Go for It”. Che’Nelle Malaysian born Australian artist, that also sings in Japanese and has been tremendously popular in Japan with the July album release BELIEVE. Her single “Baby I love you” was nominated as the BEST KARAOKE SONG at the 2011 Japan MTV Awards.

Aoyama Thelma Genres: R&B / Pop Nara born singer that famously collaborated with SoulJa in 2008 KATO Miriya Genres: Pop / R&B The modern day Utada Hikaru! Started writing and singing from the age of 14. Genres: , , , , To date they have released six studio , over 20 singles, and have sold an astounding two million records worldwide. UVERworld is a prime example of how multimedia cross-promotion can help propel a band to fame. They first gained popularity with their debut single “D-tecnolife”. This single enjoyed worldwide fame as the 2nd opening theme for the popular . They continued to grow their popularity by releasing music cross-promotionally with the the second PSP game of the Bleach: Heat the Soul series, the anime Blood+, the TBS TV show Koi Suru Hanikami, the anime series D.Gray-man, and Mobile Suit 00. “Hakanaku mo Towa no Kanashi” was used as the opening for the second season of Gundam 00 and became ‟s first number-one single on the ORICON charts. The single has since gone on to become the highest selling single from the band. The success they have enjoyed can arguably be partially credited to the cross-promotion of their early singles with popular anime, dramas, and video games. Superfly Genres: Pop, rock, blues Formerly a Japanese rock duo, the act now only consists of lyricist and vocalist Shiho Ochi. Superfly‟s first two studio albums have been certified double platinum and their four albums all debuted at the top of Oricon‟s Weekly Album Charts. A first for a female recording artist in Japan in over seven years.

IKIMONOGAKARI Genres: Soft rock, pop rock Most recently the theme song for the Olympic broadcasts by NHK were performed by this band. The band wrote the song “Kaze ga fuiteiru” (Wind is blowing) in hopes that it would encourage the athletes like a strong wind at their backs. Genres: Alternative Rock They are a popular group in Japan; every release since their third single, “Tentai Kansoku” has charted in the top ten on the Oricon Weekly Charts. Their music has been used in various video games and as theme songs for movies and television shows in Japan. Games: Guitar Freaks, Drummania, Jubeat, Reflec Beat Limelight, Pop‟n Music, Metcha! Taiko no Tatsujin DS: Nanatsu no Shima no Daibouken, and . Anime: Tales of the Abyss Movie: New - Nobita and the Steel Troops~Spread Your Wings Angels~ Genres: Alternative Rock, , Post-Punk, , Rap Rock, Post-Hardcore. Debuted independently in 2003 and achieved great commerical success in 2006 with their album Radwimps 4: Okazu no Gohan. BBest known for their later singles “Order Made” (2008) and “Dada” (2011) both of which hit number one on Oricon‟s single charts. ASIAN KUNG-FU GENERATION Genres: , Alternative Rock, This Japanese has been active since 1996 and currently enjoys worldwide commercial success and critical acclaim. In 2005, the band found immense fame both domestically and internationally when their song “Rewrite” was chosen as the fourth opening theme for the anime Fullmetal Alchemist and their song “Haruka Kanata” was used for the second opening theme of the Naruto anime series.