Japanese Music

There is a real mix of Japanese music out there. It ranges from the most bubblegumiest pop tune to the heaviest metal scream-out.

The TV in the living room in my guesthouse is usually on BBC World or MTV Japan, so I see a lot of new, popular Japanese music played through the day.

I hadn't heard much Japanese music before I came to Japan at all, just UVERworld, Utada Hikaru and Ayumi Hamasaki. So, with very limited knowledge, I had to find some songs that I enjoyed/ loved to hate.

Let's start with my favourite song. Secret Secret, by Perfume! (シークレットシークレット, Perfume.) It's exactly what you expect from Japanese pop; synchronised dancing, heavy product placement, and poptastic fun. I sang this song a few weeks ago at karaoke in Shibuya, not easy!

Perfume have also recently (this is mid-2008) done Baby Cruising Love, Chocolate Disco (チョコレイト・ディスコ) and Poly Rhythm (ポリリズム). I sang Poly Rhythm by accident at karaoke, having never heard it before, and that was a little bit difficult!

Other songs that were everywhere when I arrived in January were:

Soba ni iru ne, by Aoyama Thelma (そばにいるね、青山テルマ). This song was on all the NTT DoCoMo adverts for months, so I found myself humming it a lot. Aoyama Thelma has also done 19 Memories and My Dear Friend recently.

Namie Amuro! (安室奈美恵) Her What a Feeling was out when I first arrived, and I heard New Look a lot too. Most recently, she released a collaboration single with Double called Black Diamond. I actually like this song, I'm constantly singing it in my head, although I don't know the words! All of Namie Amuro's songs (at least the recent ones) seem to have a lot of English/ katakana English in them, so I can fathom at least some meaning.

Another song I like, and one of my housemate's favourite songs, is the debut single from Miho Fukuhara (福原美穂) [Japanese link only, sorry] called Change. I don't know if she'll be very popular in a few years, but she's doing well for herself now.

Aiko released Futari (二人) while I was here as well. It was played a lot, but then she seemed to disappear for a month or two. She'll probably release a new song very soon.

Yui has released two songs I enjoy hearing, one is Laugh Away, and the other is Namidairo.

Ikimonogakari have had two popular hits in the last few months, Hana wa Sakura Kimi wa Utsukushi (花は桜 君は美し) and Kaeritaku Natta yo (帰りたくなったよ).

Then there's the boy bands, like SMAP, who released Sono Mama a couple of months ago, and Funky Monkey Babys (not a spelling mistake on my part).

I quite like Monobright too, although I can't remember any of their song names.

Then there's the hugely successful Ayumi Hamasaki, who's most recent song is the hugely weird Mirrorcle World. It's not a song I can like, because it sounds like a jumble of lyrics and sounds to me.

Then there's the Western songs that become hugely popular in Japan, and whenever I hear them in the future, I'll be immediately transported back to Japan.

It's songs like Mariah Carey's Touch My Body (which I sang at karaoke, and never will again *shudders*) and Madonna, Justin Timberlake and Timbaland with Four Minutes that are everywhere at the moment.

And I left Leona Lewis' Bleeding Love behind me in the UK, only to find it was out in the US and Japan! I don't like her music, but I'm pleased that a British singer can get to Number 1 in the US charts and be popular all over the world so quickly.

And I can't do a post about Japanese music without mentioning Monica Wu. I've been to several of her concerts while I've been here, and each one has been fun and I've left humming her songs for days afterwards. I definitely recommend her music if you ever get the chance. You can listen online, and her new album, Shinkirou, is on sale now.

Well, there's a tiny snapshot of music in Japan. Maybe that will help you get an idea of what to expect if you're finding it difficult to find Japanese music from abroad.

I apologise if by the time you come to read this any of the information or links are out of date. People have a habit of removing music and videos from the internet a lot, so sorry if some are dead!