J-POP - Japanese pop music

J-POP is an abbreviation of the English words "Japanese Pop," which is used to refer to Japanese commercial music. Sometimes there is also the term "J-Rock," which refers to Japanese rock music. Many otaku are not only fans of anime and manga, but also of Japanese commercial music, and not just because it is often heard in anime. And, of course, J-POP has its own, separate fandom, independent of the otaku. What makes Japanese commercial music so different from, say, its American, European and Russian counterparts?

A little history

After Japan's defeat in World War II and the signing of the surrender, the country was in the deepest crisis, both financially and culturally. The Japanese, however, recovered quickly from the financial crisis. But with culture, it was a bit more complicated. During this period and until the mid-1980s, the most common types of commercial music were American music and folk songs, the so-called "enka". The popularity of occasional Japanese musical groups was usually local, and there were two ways to achieve significant success, either by performing folk music or by recording songs for anime, movies, and television. This latter path proved to be the most fruitful for the commercialization of music.

The turning point began to come somewhere in the late 1980s. New performers, using advanced Western musical technology and knowledge of the national Japanese mentality, began to compete on an equal footing with American performers, gradually forcing them out of the mass market. In fact, by the early 1990s, Japanese bands have won popularity not only in Japan itself, but also began to spread throughout Southeast Asia, conquering more and more countries. Especially the band "Chage&Aska" became famous in this.

Peculiarities of the Japanese music
Just like Russia (and unlike Europe and America) Japan belongs to the cultures that put the song component of commercial royalty free music above dance music. In other words, it is more typical for the Japanese to sing along than to dance to the music. So the songs should be in Japanese (in an understandable language), be melodic and make at least some sense. ^_^

The most common Japanese way to enjoy a song is to do karaoke, usually while not particularly sober. Then there's going to concerts, TV shows, and so on. In general, the visual component of shows and music videos is just as important, and sometimes even more important, than the actual musical performance.

It is important to note that Japanese pop music is professional and organized. No producer in his right mind would just let anyone on stage. The percentage of people who are related to each other is close to zero. In Japan there is a developed system of concerts of nonprofessional performers, the winners of which can count on getting professional contracts. There is also a developed system of fan clubs and production of various products related to favorite performers, up to video games with their participation.

The key concept of contemporary Japanese music is the word "idol. "Idol" is an outwardly attractive singer/songwriter who has a pleasant melodic voice and sings aesthetically beautiful songs that are conveniently performed with karaoke. This is what a typical popular performer in Japan looks like.

It is not at all typical for Japan to use social protest music as a means of making money. Therefore, commercial Japanese music is usually devoid of this very protest in its obvious form, concentrating on technical skill and melody. At the same time, heavy music (say, "X-Japan"), rock music ("Glay"), dance music, rap music, and other radical formats are of course popular among young people, but the emphasis is still not on protest, but on providing the audience with a certain aesthetic pleasure.
J-POP is an abbreviation of the English words "Japanese Pop," which is used to refer to Japanese commercial music. Sometimes there is also the term "J-Rock," which refers to Japanese rock music. Many otaku are not only fans of anime and manga, but also of Japanese commercial music, and not just because it is often heard in anime. And, of course, J-POP has its own, separate fandom, independent of the otaku. What makes Japanese commercial music so different from, say, its American, European and Russian counterparts?

End