Jun 2310 min read

K-pop idols, move over: Japan's got an Idol of its own - but it’s from Oshi No Ko

An analysis by two J-pop obsessed writers of the reasons for its growing popularity.

Japan—one of Singapore’s favourite travel destinations. If you’ve heard of Japan, you’ve most definitely heard of anime before; animated shows with actors voicing the characters. And with a short hop, skip, and jump, that’s now a beautifully animated music video overlaid with melodious singing! Congratulations: You’ve discovered J-pop, short for Japanese pop music*.

Welcome to the world of J-pop; enjoy your stay. You’re in good company - it’s seen a meteoric rise in popularity over the past few years, but before you dive into songs about papayas and love (Myojo Galactica) or Disney, drugs, and depression (Wozwald), why not linger here a while and learn about the how and why? And with that, get ready for a tale about moguls and music, dark lyrics and deep s—

Oh, we’re not allowed to say that, are we? Well, moving on:

*(disclaimer: may not apply to all J-pop MVs.)

Chapter 1: Dead people don’t listen to music (or, a brief history of J-pop)

To understand this, we’ll have to go way back to the 1960s, when J-pop was still in its infancy. After it lost WWII, Allied soldiers occupied Japan from 1945-1952¹ in efforts to demilitarise it- and as has been proven throughout history, when two cultures live next to each other, they tend to mix. The soldiers brought with them jazz and rock n’ roll, and so a generation of Japanese children were brought up with Western tunes instead of the more traditional enka music, sparking a wave of obsession with American culture and songs² ³ ⁴; this led to the creation of American-inspired acts in the 1960s-70s that fused Beatles-style rock with traditional Japanese music⁵.

Businessmen will be wherever there’s money to be made, and this applied as well to an individual named Johnny Kitagawa⁶, now considered to have been one of the most influential people in the Japanese music industry (also a sexual offender, but that’s a whole other can of worms). In 1962, he founded the talent agency Johnny & Associates⁷, a venture so successful that it eventually became one of Japan’s top recording companies, and Kitagawa ended up with a virtual monopoly over the boy bands of Japan.

Well, for better or for worse, Kitagawa was rather old-school by today’s standards; he forced his bands to limit their activities to Japan and shunned digital streaming platforms⁸, setting a precedent others would eventually follow with evident success. Japan is the second largest music market in the world, and so as time passed, artists preferred sticking to what they knew: advertising, producing, and performing in Japan, where there weren’t language barriers, copyright/licensing differences, logistical issues, or other hassles⁹. If they could do perfectly well domestically, well, why fix something that’s not broken? This phenomenon was made even more significant by Japan’s relatively old population and oshikatsu culture (where people enthusiastically support their idols, usually by buying things related to them) which meant that, up until recently, a majority (66% in 2022) of the market was made up of physical sales like CDs or vinyl records over streaming¹⁰. As you might have guessed, these items were mostly sold exclusively in Japan.

Even as the internet became increasingly prevalent, this mentality remained and J-pop remained insular. Hoping to listen to your favourite artists as an overseas fan? You’d better know how to read Japanese and use a VPN. As recently as a decade ago, Japanese artists were mainly using Japanese-language platforms like Niconico or Piapro to upload their works, and attempts to reupload MVs elsewhere or upload one’s own covers and translations would be aggressively copyrighted¹¹. It’s no surprise that most just didn’t bother.

But fast forward to the 2010s, when those born during the 1947-1949 baby boom were beginning to retire, and Japan’s GDP began stagnating. This led to a shrinkage of the music industry, and made recording labels realise that, to survive long-term, they’d have to expand internationally. Which brings us to…

Chapter 2: The internet: Tiktok and digital streaming

The internet was what made cross-border connectivity more than an unlikely daydream, and so of course it’d come into play. Usage of digital streaming platforms like Spotify soared (streaming went from 54.1% of digital music revenue in 2018 to 84.4% in 2022)¹⁰, indirectly increasing the size of artists’ overseas fan base, and the pandemic shutting down physical events provided the final push needed.

Of course, no discussion of J-pop would be complete without mentioning anime. It’s had theme songs (anisongs) ever since the 1960s and probably before¹⁴; however, it only really became common for mainstream artists to be involved once the industry started growing in the 1980s-1990s¹⁵. Demand for anime peaked during the pandemic, bringing anisongs with it into the public eye as exemplified by YOASOBI’S Idol (also a digital-first offering), the first ever Japanese song to top US charts¹⁵ ¹⁶. In the perfect storm of factors leading to its virality, one in particular stands out: Tiktok.

Helped along by a dance challenge involving K-pop idols (TWICE’s dance cover has 43 million views), Idol went instantly viral, gaining 297.4K Tiktok videos within a month, which has evidently translated into popularity elsewhere: 331 million streams on Spotify and 467 million views on Youtube.

It isn’t alone. There have been many more popular (if slightly less viral) anisongs, including Kick Back (Chainsaw Man) or SPECIALZ (Jujutsu Kaisen), yet the one thing they have in common is the sheer quantity of fan-made content available online, whether they be dances or covers, edits or translations. The internet is large but also small; word spreads fast. Surely it’s not too much of a stretch to say that the fame-by-association bestowed upon these songs’ creators have exposed people to and perhaps even converted them to fans of J-pop?

The answer to the first question at least is evidently yes; it’s clear that interest in artists like Eve (Kaikai Kitan) or YOASOBI (Idol) increased with the release of their most well-known anisongs, giving them a chance to step into the global spotlight. Beyond anime, the ‘Tiktok effect’ extends to other artists whose songs have similarly gone viral as in the case of imase, whose single Night Dancer became the first Japanese song to enter the Melon Top 100 chart in Korea; #nightdancer has 51.9k posts and 1.8 billion views on Tiktok.

Eve’s popularity jumped with the release of Kaikai Kitan (released 3 October 2020) and has remained high.

The same applies to imase with Night Dancer (released 19 August 2022).

YOASOBI was relatively well known pre-Idol (released 12 April 2023), but it brought their fame to new heights, if only for a while. Incidentally, their sudden jump in popularity in January 2021 was due to the release of another anisong, 怪物 (Monster), for the anime Beastars.

As for whether this popularity lasts? YOASOBI’s in the middle of their first overseas tour, Eve’s holding his first overseas tour later this year, and imase’s doing the same. Draw your own conclusions.¹⁸ ¹⁹ ²⁰

Chapter 3: Vocaloids and Japanese music—what is the connection?

Hatsune Miku: the virtual popstar created by fans, for fans. You may have heard of her in passing, or if you've been to Japan, seen her distinctive long turquoise blue twintails and futuristic outfit modelled after Japanese school uniforms plastered all over billboards in metropolitan areas. You may be wondering—who exactly is Hatsune Miku, and what does she have to do with J-pop? Well, Miku is commonly known as a “vocaloid”, the term derived from the name of the voice synthesiser software “Vocaloid” developed by Yamaha²¹.

In 2007, Yamaha launched Vocaloid 2, a revised version of the original software released in 2004, and in the same year, music software company Crypton Future Media released the voice bank ‘Hatsune Miku’, created by collecting vocal samples from Japanese voice actress Saki Fujita.²² ²³

Miku’s vocals were of much better quality than her predecessors’ and she was also the easiest to use, thus she quickly gained popularity among professional Vocaloid producers. Many new songs were composed by these Vocaloid producers using Miku as the vocals, and then posted on Japanese music streaming websites Nico Nico Douga and Piapro, where the songs’ views skyrocketed. Miku’s cute voice and clever character design captured the public’s attention (and their hearts), catapulting her straight into stardom—and thus began her career as the world’s most popular virtual idol.²³

With her loyal fanbase’s support, Miku successfully became an icon of creativity. Not only did original music flood the internet, song remixes and covers, as well as fanart took Japan by storm. Within two years of her release, the fan-made program ‘Miku Miku Dance’ was created to add choreography to Miku’s library of songs and music videos.²⁴

Since her debut, many Miku related events and festivals have been held. One of them is the SNOW Miku festival that has been held annually in Sapporo, Hokkaido since 2010.²⁵ Miku has also performed live both in Japan and overseas, made possible by the technological advancements of 3D holograms and other supporting systems. Miku Expo, an international tour where Miku performs live, is a prime example of her growing popularity worldwide.²⁶

There is no doubt that the ‘birth’ of Hatsune Miku was a significant turning point for the Japanese music industry. There are currently over 100,000 songs featuring Miku worldwide, and considering that quite a number of J-pop artists’ careers started from producing songs using vocaloids (with notable examples being Eve, and Ayase from YOASOBI), Miku played a key role in shaping the Japanese music industry that we know today. Of course, Miku is hardly the only vocaloid that exists. In fact, the Vocaloid software is already at its 6th edition, and other vocal synthesisers like Utau and CeVIO have begun to see a rise in the number of users too. The potential that vocaloids possess to help J-artists, and by extension J-pop, reach greater heights is one that is unrivalled.

Chapter 4: Why J-pop?

So, what makes Japanese music stand out from other kinds of music? Besides the wide range of music styles it has to offer, there are two important things: the lyrics and the vibe. One that encapsulates the artist’s feelings—be it impossibly dark and depressing, or sweet and cheerful, listeners are drawn in by the music because they find it relatable. Recent trends have shown that the more popular songs are those that lean towards the ‘dark and depressing’ side.

Usseewa by Ado

With 322 million views on YouTube, Ado’s debut single took the internet by storm when it first released 3 years ago.

The song lyrics follow the story of a young graduate who has just entered the workforce and realises that the adult work culture of checking stock markets and participating in mandatory drinking with co-workers after work is meaningless. This is especially true due to Japan’s workaholic culture and pressure on following social mannerisms and traditions. Many youths, Japanese or not, are tired of conforming to society and other’s expectations.

Ado sings in a satirical manner, breaking out into something akin to growls throughout the song, adeptly capturing and expressing the feelings of frustration of all of Japan's youth. Featuring a clever hook which is also the title of the song that translates to ‘shut up’ (or sometimes even ‘shut the f— up’), Usseewa is upbeat and catchy, making it a lively song to bop your head to, even if the lyrics may not resonate very well with you.

Dramaturgy by Eve

Garnering 175 million views on YouTube, Dramaturgy is Eve’s second most viewed music video on YouTube (the first being Kaikai Kitan).

The song lyrics utilises a metaphor of life being a stage play, with the protagonist as an actor who had taken on many different roles throughout their career performing on that stage, to the point where they had forgotten who their “real” self was. The societal pressure for us to constantly be our most “perfect” selves can slowly make us lose our sense of self due to all the masks we put on to hide our true emotions. Eve’s prowess as a lyricist has captured the attention of many who identify with the difficulty of remaining authentic in this world.

Eve’s slightly deeper voice, coupled with the way he sings with a serious tone, creates a more subdued atmosphere reflective of the feelings of resignation, yet slight desperation, projected into the song, making it even more captivating.

These songs are definitely not the only ones with deep lyrical meaning that prompts us to reflect on our current society; there are many others out there that are worth giving a listen to. It can be concluded that it is due to these songs that tug at our heartstrings (and possibly also the animated music videos that people love to pick apart and analyse), that made J-music have the comeback of the century.

The Epilogue

By the way, we have an admission to make: this whole article may have been talking about J-pop’s increasing popularity, but compared to its next-door neighbour’s child, K-pop, it’s still basically unknown.

Guess which colour K-pop is? J-pop had its heyday in the early 2000s before the Hallyu wave, but we swear interest hasn’t been a flat line since; there’s just an overwhelming amount of interest in K-pop. And so, every time J-pop is discussed, K-pop inevitably comes up as well. What a compared child. (Yes, that was just to sneak a song reference in there.)

There’s a whole variety of reasons for this beyond those already mentioned that we don’t have the word count or knowledge to elaborate on (according to Reddit user u/maidokinishinai, even Japanese law is involved³⁰) so suffice it to say that we think this low popularity is unjustified! J-pop truly is an eclectic mix of musical styles and topics unlike any other, so there’s bound to be something for everyone, regardless of where your tastes lie.

And with that in mind, why not check out some of the songs we like but couldn’t fit into this article before leaving? Hopefully you’ll like at least one; shaking up your Spotify playlist is always a good thing :)

/ / // / / (also called Kisaragi Station) by x0o0ox_ - A song about a Japanese urban legend.
Traffic Jam by NILFRUITS ft. flower - A song criticising internet anonymity and the media.
Inochi Ni Kirawarete Iru (Hated by life itself) by Iori Kanzaki ft. Hatsune Miku - A song about life.
Kashika (Suspended Animation) by Vivid BAD SQUAD x MEIKO (composed by Ryo Haruka) - A song about finding it hard to live but not giving up because of music.
Salamander by DECO*27 - A song about spicy noodles (yes, really; it was made to promote Nissin cup noodles and became unexpectedly popular. If we had a dollar for every time an advertisement became popular, we’d have two dollars, which isn’t much but it’s weird that it happened twice - see Kokoroyohou (Heart Forecast) by Eve, which was from a collaboration with Lotte advertising Valentine’s Day chocolate).

References:

Thanks for reading

Written by: Glenda and Natalie

Edited by: Huay Xin and Lie Qi

K-pop idols, move over: Japan's got an Idol of its own - but it’s from Oshi No Ko

Chapter 1: Dead people don’t listen to music (or, a brief history of J-pop)

Chapter 2: The internet: Tiktok and digital streaming

Chapter 3: Vocaloids and Japanese music—what is the connection?

Chapter 4: Why J-pop?

The Epilogue

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