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Who is your favorite J-pop artist and why?

A

applefan289

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As you can see, my favorite artist is ayumi hamasaki. I feel she has the best style, is unique, has a good voice, is pretty, and has the most "mature" J-pop music I've heard.

She doesn't have the typical J-pop sound. For people who aren't into J-pop, regular J-pop music may sound kind of silly and childish (e.g. Chu-lip by ai otsuka), but ayu's music has a certain "mature" and mainstream vibe to it that I think a lot of people can relate to.

Who is your favorite J-pop artist and why?
 
Krafty

Krafty

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Koda Kumi

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'nuff said. Would have been Ami Suzuki but she decided not to put out any new material for years now.
 
Firestar

Firestar

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Krafty said:
Koda Kumi

'nuff said. Would have been Ami Suzuki but she decided not to put out any new material for years now.
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How surprising that you would be the first to reply on this thread. :p

I'd have to agree with Krafty, though. Of the songs I've heard by her, they're very good.
 
A

applefan289

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Firestar said:
How surprising that you would be the first to reply on this thread. :p

I'd have to agree with Krafty, though. Of the songs I've heard by her, they're very good.
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They sound more like music you would hear blasting at an F.Y.E. or something. Of the songs I've heard by Koda Kumi (only a few), they seem like very Americanized street music. Like along the lines of Britney Spears/Christina Aguilera. The music is catchy and has a great beat though.

The videos by her though are not my cup of tea (they seem a little raunchy).
 
A

Aeolius

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I clicked on the thread, to learn what j-pop was. ;)

I assume, from the pictures, the "pop" refers to popping out of one's wardrobe?
 
firestarter

firestarter

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Difficult to decide...

I much prefer Ayu over Koda Kumi. Ayu's style seems a bit more rocky/electronic and I prefer her voice by a long way. Koda Kumi seems a bit more R&B and her voice is deeper (which I don't like).

Ami Suzuki is good, and I quite like Mika Nakashima (her 'Love' album is great).

Over all though, I'm choosing Utada Hikaru (with Ayu a very close second). She was the original reason I got into J-Pop (with Sakura Drops). Although she's not particularly consistent and I don't like her English language stuff much, at her best she is brilliant. Her voice is amazing, and she's the only J-Pop star I've seen live (in London).

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Krafty

Krafty

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firestarter said:
Koda Kumi seems a bit more R&B and her voice is deeper (which I don't like).
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I guess its because I like R&B style over POP.

Other artists I like include PERFUME, TOKYO GIRLS STYLE, Meg, Abe Asambi, Super Girls, Wonder Girls, no3b, Jewelry, etc...

I kinda like AKB48 but its hard for me to get into them. I just get an odd feeling watching their MV's like...like I shouldn't be watching them.

Although, I do like Itano Tomomi (thank GOD she's at least 20) and her singles.
 
firestarter

firestarter

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Krafty said:
I guess its because I like R&B style over POP.
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That's fair enough - each to their own! :p

I guess the main thing I really love about J-Pop is the fact that it is just unadulterated enthusiastic pop music. Western pop just seems so dull and manufactured these days (not that J-Pop isn't manufactured, but it seems better done).

Top tip for you guys... I'm hearing some good new tunes by listening to B's Asian Music podcast. He posts 20-30 minute compilations every day or two, and switches between J/K/C-Pop.

I'd never heard of Bright until listening to this podcast. They're pretty good.
 
Krafty

Krafty

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firestarter said:
That's fair enough - each to their own! :p

I guess the main thing I really love about J-Pop is the fact that it is just unadulterated enthusiastic pop music. Western pop just seems so dull and manufactured these days (not that J-Pop isn't manufactured, but it seems better done).
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Agreed. I rarely listen to American-pop. But sometimes to wait is too bearing. I havent heard ANYTHING from my recent top idols (Utada, BoA, Ami) since their latest material, but at least Koda put something out recently.
 
firestarter

firestarter

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Krafty said:
Agreed. I rarely listen to American-pop. But sometimes to wait is too bearing. I havent heard ANYTHING from my recent top idols (Utada, BoA, Ami) since their latest material, but at least Koda put something out recently.
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Yup - Utada went into semi-retirement after her world tour. Is Ami concentrating on DJing rather than singing?

Ayu is prolific, but I don't like her ballads, and she does way too many of them. Her latest re-mix albums were completely meh. Brilliante looks interesting though.

How about K-Pop? I've had T-ara on repeat for the last week. :eek:
 
A

applefan289

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firestarter said:
Difficult to decide...

I much prefer Ayu over Koda Kumi. Ayu's style seems a bit more rocky/electronic and I prefer her voice by a long way. Koda Kumi seems a bit more R&B and her voice is deeper (which I don't like).

Ami Suzuki is good, and I quite like Mika Nakashima (her 'Love' album is great).

Over all though, I'm choosing Utada Hikaru (with Ayu a very close second). She was the original reason I got into J-Pop (with Sakura Drops). Although she's not particularly consistent and I don't like her English language stuff much, at her best she is brilliant. Her voice is amazing, and she's the only J-Pop star I've seen live (in London).

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Utada has a very nice voice, I heard her first song when I was ten years old when the first Kingdom Hearts game came out (I don't play video games anymore).

But like I said, I feel ayu has the most "mature" image. It's like wine, it's not attractive at first and doesn't taste good, but once you develop a taste for it, you grow accustomed to it and enjoy it on a deeper level.

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firestarter said:
How about K-Pop? I've had T-ara on repeat for the last week. :eek:
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I like Hurricane Venus by BoA a lot.
 
Krafty

Krafty

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firestarter said:
Yup - Utada went into semi-retirement after her world tour. Is Ami concentrating on DJing rather than singing?

Ayu is prolific, but I don't like her ballads, and she does way too many of them. Her latest re-mix albums were completely meh. Brilliante looks interesting though.

How about K-Pop? I've had T-ara on repeat for the last week. :eek:
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Ami's just dicking around. Her "DJ'ing" consisted of her taking other DJ mixes and stringing them together. Although she has good taste, I don't think she's ever mixed anything herself. She's been tweeting randomly for the past 2 years that shes been recording all day but we have yet to hear any news of anything (in hopes that its an actual song and not a compilation or another remix).

Also, should have mentioned, that if you like Utada, you'll probably like JASMINE. She's taken a lot of inspiration from Utada and her first album and her Addiction/ONLY YOU single was great as well. She's got good potential and was already seen as "the next Utada." She's more R&B-ish as well.

firestarter said:
How about K-Pop? I've had T-ara on repeat for the last week. :eek:
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I love T-ara. I listen to a lot of SNSD, RaNia, BoA, 4minute, G.NA, B.E.G, After School, SISTAR, Chi-Chi, miss A, Nine muses, Secret, Rainbow, etc...

I'm really excited for B.E.G's comeback (finally...), as well as KARA, SNSD, and Secret within' the next month (hopefully...). I wish we could hear more BoA but her management said next Spring (>_>).

http://www.last.fm/user/r33hab
 
0098386

0098386

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I don't really have a fave and I'm sure of these aren't J-Pop... but I really like Ayumi Hamasaki, Sun Yan Zi, Na Ying and Nanase Aikawa.

edit: Scratch that. Nanase Aikawa=fave. Yumemiru Shojo ja Irarenai, Heat of the Night and Koigokoro are 3 of my most played J-pop tracks on iTunes so I guess that settles it!
 
A

applefan289

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I don't listen to just ayu music. I also like TЁЯRA, DAI, DAT, Every Little Thing, BoA, Hitomi, DRM (dream before), etc.

I listen to mainly ayu though. And by the way, I purposely stylize it with a lowercase "a". :)
 
Krafty

Krafty

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There's also Kyary Pamyu Pamyu. Her PONPONPON song was stuck in my head for the longest time. Her mini turned out great.
 
firestarter

firestarter

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Krafty said:
Also, should have mentioned, that if you like Utada, you'll probably like JASMINE. She's taken a lot of inspiration from Utada and her first album and her Addiction/ONLY YOU single was great as well. She's got good potential and was already seen as "the next Utada." She's more R&B-ish as well.
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Wow - she's great! Thanks for the recommendation, Krafty.

Krafty said:
There's also Kyary Pamyu Pamyu. Her PONPONPON song was stuck in my head for the longest time. Her mini turned out great.
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That video is nuts!
 
A

applefan289

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firestarter said:
Jeez, that 'Heavy Rotation' MV is all kinds of wrong. Image

Strictly for the Otaku only, methinks.
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After seeing more of these videos, I think I'm more of an ayu fan rather than a J-pop fan. My interest level declines a huge amount when you move away from ayu.

Like I said, to me, ayu has a special relatable higher end atmosphere that no other Japanese (or international) artist has. When you listen to her music, she takes you to the streets of Tokyo, but not in the Chu-Lip way. She does it in the Startin' way.

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Krafty

Krafty

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applefan289 said:
After seeing more of these videos, I think I'm more of an ayu fan rather than a J-pop fan. My interest level declines a huge amount when you move away from ayu.

Like I said, to me, ayu has a special relatable higher end atmosphere that no other Japanese (or international) artist has. When you listen to her music, she takes you to the streets of Tokyo, but not in the Chu-Lip way. She does it in the Startin' way.

Image
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I like some of her stuff but not too much. I have a poster of her in my room:

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along with BoA & Koda. I have 2 SNSD that aren't pictured. The only people I like from AKB48 is Itano Tomomi (my desktop) and Shinoda Mariko (my iphone theme).

I try not to fall for idols but idk what it is about those two.
 
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