jpop

__**J-Pop**__
Jpop is also known as Japanese Popular Music. This term was coined by [|J-Wave], an [|FM radio] station, to denote what was once called "New Music."(Wikipedia, 2006) This is a term for western-influenced Japanese music. The origin of J-pop traces back to jazz music. This term covers genres such as pop, rock, hip -hop, soul and dance within the Japanese music industry.

Jpop is highly influential in today's Japanese pop culture. An artist will typically release a few singles a year with Limited and Regular editions. The singles and albums released are ranked on the [|Oricon Charts]; similar to the western [|Billboard charts]. Jpop music is used across many mediums of media; such as commercials, movies, dramas and animations.

J-Pop in Western Culture
With the growing popularity of Japanese anime and culture, many Jpop artists are also becoming popular in western society. Often when anime series are brought to western television, the original Japanese opening and ending songs are kept unchanged. Many video games also feature Jpop music. For example the game Kingdom Hearts, for PlayStation 2, features music by the artist Utada Hikaru with English or Japanese lyrics. Utada Hikaru is one Jpop artist who is able to sing in English as well as Japanese. Western fans often like to purchase the Japanese soundtracks to their favorite anime series or video games. To meet this growing demand, many anime and manga stores have started selling a variety of Jpop albums.

Ayumi Hamasaki Amuro Namie L'Arc En Ciel ORANGE RANGE Hikaru Utada Mika Nakashima
 * J-pop artists/bands (examples)**

[|Oricon] [|CD Japan] [|Asiafinest.com] - //J-pop History//
 * External Links**

[|http://www.wikipedia.com] [|http://www.oricon.co.jp] - //Japanese site//
 * References**