Why is Jpop so well liked?

[Shuin]

Yay i love J-Pop and K-Pop(BoA)

J-Pop is alot different then like American Music and for some reason the words and how they say them just makes it hmmm like WOW.. i only know some japanese words so i dont know what theyre saying but it makes me so HAPPY heheheheheh ^_^' Definately Ayumi Hamasaki her music has to be my all time favorite J-pop music. and like what kanna said american music is just so typical.. i mean i love fefe dobson and some other people but in the end they all almost sound the same.... like the supposed to be punk/Rock/Alternative bands they all sound the same Simple Plan, Maroon 5 ect.... they all sound the same well okay
Oh and J-Rock comes out of japan too it also is coming out of the late 80's but dont let me get into that heheh
well bye bye!

[phoenixfire92983]

I think there's a lot of reasons why Jpop is well liked. There's the usual answers such as the songs carry good beats. But, I think it also has to do with the images that Jpop singers portray. Jpop singers tend to dress in cute, trendy outfits and have tons of dance correography. Kids especially tend to eat this up and sometimes look up to singers as their idols. When Britney Spears first started, kids at my little brother's school would have sleep overs where they just listened to her music and watched her videos. Kinda scary and sad, but people do judge singers partially by looks.

Meanwhile, jrock, punk rap, etc... tend to wear a totally different wardrobe (especially the visual kei). I dunno about you guys, but I look at some of the visual kei rock bands and the outfits alone make me hesitant to try out their music. X Japan is a great example of such. But if you can get passed the visual image of the band, you'll find that they have some really good songs.

One more major reason why you'll find JPOP so liked, is that most people not in japan are exposed to songs through animes. The anime industry is flooded with tons of JPOP songs for openings and endings. It has only been recently that other genres like rock and rap began to appear in animes.

[Cichlisuite]

Some jpop songs are catchy, but most of it is rather bleh. Most the music i listen to is either from europe,canada or iceland, just to dispell the image that all anime fans listen to jpop religiously.

[ZhanDVG]

Meh, I dislike modern Japanese music almost as much as I dislike modern US or UK music. Most of what I've heard from Japan in, say, the past 5 years or so is passable at best, and really the only soundtrack I've found worth the time and money is the FLCL soundtrack (to tell the truth, probably in my top 5 anime soundtracks of all time). Though, I will say that it seems that the Japanese seem to put a lot more artistic merit into their music than the English speakers are. Definitely more melodious (even though sometimes the melodies just plain SUCK. *recalls the Azumanga Daioh opening theme*) , and oftentimes with very imaginative arrangements. (Though one reoccurance in j-pop that, for the most part, I CANNOT STAND are sampled brass sections. 9 out of 10 times they sound terrible. [though kudos to those who use them and make them work])

But personally, most of the j-pop I listen to are soundtracks from the 70's-90's(Ranma 1/2, Urusei Yatsura, and Fushigi Yuugi and such) so... now that I've proven that I can't organize thoughts for beans ;p *Zhan away!*

[LiQuid|J]

Mitsuda Chrono Cross OST was a masterpiece.

I don't think it's possible to call something a masterpiece and still have it be an understatement, but you just did it. ^^

[llama]

For me, music tends to have a big impact on my emotions, and I just feel better listening to j-pop. I listen to just about anything, but for some reason j-pop has a bigger range of songs that I like. That's not to say that there aren't great songs in other genres of music though, and I certainly wouldn't restrict myself to only listening to j-pop.

[Argent_Moonchilde]

I have never been a big fan of J-pop..much. The introduction to j-pop I had was limited to anime (which some of the guys pointed out that to some people it's the anime that draws the people in to their music). If I wasn't into anime (and I can't really consider myself an otaku or a pure anime freak...well not anymore...*sigh*), I would have ignored most it. But yes, j-pop is cool, but I limit myself to OSTs of anime and videogame, especially videogames (Nobou Uemastu and Yasunori Mitsuda are GODS). I usually listen to them, when I need background music when I write or play my online RPGs.

[Za Paper]

I still think a lot of j-pop is like American pop except with Japanese singers. For example, I was listening to the Elfen Lied ED by Chieko Kawabe and I still think it could pass for an Avril Lavigne song.

[Spyderz]

Originally Posted by LiQuid|J

I don't think it's possible to call something a masterpiece and still have it be an understatement, but you just did it. ^^

uh the one and only masterpiece
yeah i really loved playing Chrono Cross and the OST was absolutely stunning
no game i have ever played could match that...(especially the FF series)
now if only they revamped the graphics for both CT and CC for PS2,i would do this

[AngelKyo]

we love j-pop so much cause we are complete losers...or it can just be because it's good? u decide.

[MidoriShinobi]

I like Momusu because the lyrics make me feel happy and upbeat!!
American songs are always angsty and about being sad because of love.

For example, in "Chokotto Love" there is a line that says "I look up the character for 'love' in the dictionary, and I think of my family first, but you come soon after!"

I'm pretty sure there are no lyrics like that in North America. Putting family before boyfriends?! UNHEARD OF!!

[Hatter]

I think Japanese music is so popular because, for the most part, the songs are part of an anime series or videogame. So, you think of that song in the context of the series. And if you like the series, that just makes the music that much more appealing.

For example, the Cowboy Bebop song "Diggin'" is pretty much a straight Country song. If I had heard it on the radio, I would have changed the station immediately. But when I know it's composed by Yoko Kanno, and that it's meant for Cowboy Bebop, it puts the song in a whole new context. Now I think it's great.

[Timeless Enigma]

In the end it call comes down to opinion and taste.

I hate North American Mainstream Music.
I love Asian (when I say Asian I'm referring to Oriental) Mainstream Music.

The term Pop is a poor definition of what the music enclosed in that genre actually is. Then again... words as labels are usually inadequate anyway. Next century's Pop might be folk music, you never know.

I find a lot of anime and game soundtracks very interesting and imaginative, as well as pleasing to the ears. Most of the time I don't need to play the game or watch the show to appreciate the music. Most of the time I can feel the context of the game or the situation in the music.

[Chiaki Nozomi]

Originally Posted by Ryu_Hiragoshi

That's not true at all. Nobuo's Final Fantasy series as some pretty amazing music that I listen to on a daily basis, and it's been quite some time since I've played this series. There are plenty composers that compose pieces for games and you can't say that their pieces aren't that great because it's composed for a game. They'd probably feel pretty insulted.

You have to remember that we live in a day and age where MILLIONS can be poured into development of ONE game. So to say that good classical music can't come from a game soundtrack is pretty close-minded.

Now, I never said anything about ANY genre of music being better than the other. I merely asked why this genre seemed to get so much exposure from the fan's point of view. I just considered that alot of us who are truly into japanese culture would try to explore some of the more traditional forms of music that japan as to offer besides, classical music.

Now as I've said earlier that I'm not trying to step on anyone's toes here. I'm not trying get into a flame war or anything. I respect what everyone else is into (or at least try ). I was just curious. That's all!!! I just wanted to hear some opinions. Can't blame me for that can you?

Thanks for your time!!

Hirakashi Ryu

You know, I could rip your arguement to pieces, but I won't. One note - you ASKED for opinions, and I gave mine. Don't like it? Too bad. And another thing, please read every word of what I write. Allot of things you said were based on skimming through.

-Other thoughts-

You people that keep saying that 'It's because of the series' are what I call Anime Jpop fans. You like the OP and ED themes to series, and most of your songs probably come from anime. There's nothing wrong with that, but how do you explain liking some artist that has no anime song in their discography?

Eh, things like this are useless. You can't really explain why you like something, and if you can, then you probably don't really really like it.

[Fox]

I'll call myself one of those Anime Jpop fans. Most of the random songs I listen to are from random anime, though there are occasions where I find I like a group and grab as much as I can. For example, Fire Bomber(Yes, I know they weren't really a real group, but Hummingbird was, and considering Mylene's singer was the only non-Hummingbird member IIRC, it's close enough) and JAM Project. And yes, I know JAM Project is really Anison, but since no one here is making that distinction I won't bother.

As to why... I think most of my reasons match was mentioned earlier. Most current US music I see is about either sex, drugs, and how the world sucks. The Japanese songs I listen to are about hope, life, courage, and kicking much arse. When something like Skill, Yuusha Ou Tanjou, Taiyoh no Tsubasa, To The Light, and so on come on, it just energizes me, and makes me want to shout out the lyrics alongside the song. Okay, so maybe that's a slight exaggeration, but you get the point. And when I'm in a sentimental mood I might put on Find the Way or Motherland.

And no, I don't listen only to J-music... I also have Blind Guardian, Blackmore's Night, and occasionally some random classic rock on my playlist.

[Jamila Kamilah]

Well, as for me, the reason I like Jpop so much is because of how much different it is from here-I mean, Canada. Nowadays, the music I'm exposed to is nothing but well, all about people doing stuff, unmentionables, usually, and it's all getting really old to me. The type of music that's really popular is rock, punk bands, and rocker chicks. No, I don't have anything against them, it's just that the music is always so angry, and sad, always about someone cheating on the other, or some person who really wants another person out of this world. Really old, I mean, we all know how tough life is, but really...

So, where does Jpop come in? The fact that well, the lyrics I have come accross so far don't have pointless swear words and rants, ( Oh, god, please, I hope no one hates me for that - My friend loves rock music ) Jpop works for me. Some Jrock ( I think that's how it goes.. ) I like too, though-DAI

[Yamano667]

Jpop has some catchy melodies and some are copied from other nations, Japs add techno and voila a brand new song engineered for the 21st century

Jpop is good if you like to listen your favorite song in the techno way

[sarcasteak]

Well said, Yamano667...that's how I feel as well. ^_^

[Gevurah]

I only listen to J-Pop when I feel like driving fast... damn Initial D!!! I have 2 Super Eurobeat CDs, which amazingly sounds better than Europop to me.

[Syn13]

Is the Eurobeat stuff actually Japanese?? Used to be into Initial D and Eurobeat except Intial D gotten incredibly popular thus somehow lame to me(I guess its because I am in Canada and all stuff I hear is BS from ppl) and all the Eurobeat song's bass beats are almost the same.

I've always listened to Jpop because I don't really like rock and the J-rock celebs scares the crap outta me!