J-pop going flat???

[sinfonietta]

Originally Posted by Coelacanth

On the topic of J-pop... it's gotten extremely stale for me. I don't like all the huge boybands/girlbands coming out, and artists whose older works I love are releasing mediocre new stuff.

I don't like the huge groups either. I like one or two AKB48 tracks (well, admittedly, I prefer the PVs to the music) and they're cute but their songs tend to be silly and lack depth. I can't take them seriously.

[TofuBunny]

Loving all the generalization and music snobbery towards Kpop here. You're saying all kpop is manufactured while Jpop offers tons of variety, but right now the Oricon chart is invaded by idols, just like Kpop .. Does that mean that the other genres don't exist? Korean music has a lot of variety, it's out there if you dig deeper, just like you have to when you get into Jpop and you're looking for something other than AKB and JE artists

IMO just because a song is manufactured doesn't mean it's automatically bad, you don't have the right to judge someone on their taste of music based on how ~real~ their favorite artist is. I enjoy manufactured pop music knowing exactly what it is, and I'm fine with that.

I agree with you. I think the problem with a lot popular Jpop artists is that they release the same types of songs over and over again. Sometimes I like a certain song by an artist, and then I download their album and all I hear is the same thing . I've been a fan since 2006, and by 2009 I just couldn't feel hyped for my favorite artist's releases.
I'm not saying that everyone is like that though, and of course not all Kpop artists do something different with every release (ilu 2AM but sometimes I can't tell your songs apart ;~; ), these are just my feelings on the situation .. I agree with everyone who said that you just need a breath of fresh air, maybe you'll get back into Jpop in a few months after trying some new stuff.

oops sorry for the TL;DR

[setsuka]

^
you first sentence is confusing, I think Jpop can be just as factory made as Kpop but I think Kpop doesn't have much variety

I liked Kpop when it had a nice mix but now it is too many redudant idol groups and the soloist are MIA or singing Korean ballads, and I don't like Korean ballads

Originally Posted by sinfonietta

I don't like the huge groups either. I like one or two AKB48 tracks (well, admittedly, I prefer the PVs to the music) and they're cute but their songs tend to be silly and lack depth. I can't take them seriously.

I think AKB has lots of depth
like Beginner, Kaze Fuiteru and lots of their stage songs have meaningful lyrics

but I admit most songs people get introduced with are very fluffy like Heavy Rotation and their summer singles

in general mainstream Jpop is still stale,but countries mainstream kinda are

[TofuBunny]

^ oops sorry! what I meant was that some Jpop fans here are saying that Jpop has a lot of variety whereas Kpop is all manufactured, so my point is that they're pretty much the same, idol music is leading the charts but artists from different genres still exist. It's just that the part that we're exposed to the most internationally in Kpop is the idol groups.

[sesshy]

Thus why I look for the new and underrated artists. I retired from idols groups. I do still listen to SHINee, Perfume and TVXQ (Mostly Japanese). That's it lol

[sinfonietta]

TofuBunny - I'm glad I don't get that feeling with my favourite artists. My #1 favourite group has been KAT-TUN for years and I still get giddy whenever they announce something new.

setsuka - I don't feel they lack depth purely based on their lyrics, but rather based on the number of people involved in their music. IMO, a song's meaning feels less and less genuine the more people are added into the mix because it feels more staged/less realistic. And sub-groups wind me up because I can't keep track of them. Actually, I just can't keep track of their members in general (except for one or two who I've seen in dramas).

[TofuBunny]

^ haha I'm kinda jealous! I get bored very quickly so the fast-paced nature of Kpop really works for me. I felt like I was betraying my favorite artists at first

[NintendoHTF1242]

If this becomes another "Let's hate on K-Pop" thread I want it closed, so sick of those threads.

I find it hard to get into new artists too, because nothing is captivating. But my loves keep releasing great music so I don't care.

[CHE.R.RY]

Originally Posted by Polyrhythm

Jpop is flat? Kpop is bringing a new sound? Um....I think you've got it backwards....unless soulless and manufactured has become the new meaning of innovation.

There's a lot of variety to jpop. It might not be selling shetloads of copies, but it's out there.

Well it's a matter of opinion honestly...I don't necessarily think all K-pop is totally innovative & new. It's just you can tell it sounds pretty different from the music you hear in J-pop. In fact, it sounds damn near western, which I admit might be partly why I can appreciate it to some degree (yeah I'm American...it's kind of what I am accustomed to hearing). You can attack it if you want, but it's a matter of preference, really.

And I never said J-pop doesn't have variety I said the musical styles are getting a litttle old to me, that's all.

But maybe I should just follow your guys' advice & take a little break from the J-pop scene (with the exception of a few).

[dreamland2.0]

Idol groups from both countries get hated on quite a bit here for some reason.

Stale to you fresh to others. It's all a matter of opinion. I find new music to listen to all the time that I love.

[Bigtop]

I want to see underrated artists perform well (Sayuri Sugawara, new start-up Leo Iriri, azusa, miwa(?), etc.)...(but can this belong here?)

[emi♡]

Sorry. But I think a lot of people aren't going enough into Korean music in general to make all these sweeping generalizations. And that's understandable. I remember having to seriously DIG around the internet to find the more amazing indie kpop stuff.

I'm not going to deny the presence of the idols and all that, cause, that's just stupid. Nor will I deny their domination....but someone above said it just fine, Jpop is kinda the same

And here we are...at an AYU forum...who...well...was regarded as an idol for quite a long time...and even though her music was unique...it was kinda seen in the same way :/


Whatever. I find this issue interesting, and actually, if any of you guys follow Taku Takahashi from m-flo on twitter, there was just a huge conversation over it, after SQUARE ONE came out.

It seems that most people tend to find that Japanese producers aren't being experimental enough, or are afraid to branch out into anything different. For whatever reason.


Anyways, I'm not really a fan of idols, and I've tried getting into the dancier and more urban kpop female solos and groups...but I never really can.

I think Kpop brings a "new" sound to Jpop because it is more hip-hop and western based...it spins the general jpop pop into something a little heavier and a little sexier lol

Like people said, it's not necessarily innovative, but it IS a sound that wasn't as popular in Japan...and now...it's gaining a little more momentum. But I still seriously doubt the Japanese industry's ability to fully accept it...but we'll see.



Anyway...yes, I think Jpop has gone a little flat...I think the domination of the idol groups and Yasutaka Nakata, not to mention the legions of jrock that all sounds the same, has a lot to do with it.

I'm personally waiting for someone new to come in and make a splash with some new sound...but it has not happened yet.

They need someone who will do what Lady Gaga did for the western scene. ugh music here was so bland for so long. And I don't entirely credit her, I just think she was in the right place at the right time...and that's what Japan needs too.

I personally feel like all of these artists are so into like the idea of what kind of music they want to make...and trying to do something new with their genre or just trying to make music in their genres...sometimes they kinda forget that there are other things out there.

And that's why albums like Party Queen, or say hikki's last two albums, are still really valuable, even if they havent made a huge splash.

This post got really long....sorry.

[isthisLOL?]

I think both J-Pop and K-Pop are in major quality and diversity trouble because of idol groups and boygroups/girlgroups at the moment, moreso than before. Artists become interchangeable, music loses it's personal connection to it's performer, if you go down to the essence music is being de-personalized(vocaloids are the epitome of that btw). That's a trend that can be followed back to the 60s, but right now it's extreme, especially in J-Pop and K-Pop. But that only applies to the absolute mainstream. Incredible music can be found in every market if you just search around a bit and do some trial and error. Listening to the top10 in either market IS rather flat at the moment, but I personally find great new artists all the time just by downloading different albums and singles that seem interesting and trying them and I believe I am only scratching the surface with what I'm discovering for me.

[SURREAL__RAINBOW]

Yeah, well I feel that J-pop doesn't have a characteristic face anymore To me, it used to be ayu, kuu, utada, namie, and even BoA... But some of them are gone, others lost their popularity, and I dunno.

I'm always gonna love and support ayu, I'm in for her all the way through and hopefully that's never going to change, but she's not the face of J-pop anymore, which is not sad but perhaps a bit nostalgic.

I also miss Leah Dizon, sifow, and I dunno, many others who disappeared with time...


The boy and girl groups are infectious and annoying, I hardly got into AKB48 but got over them rather quickly... There isn't much to them, just money and overzealous fanaticism.

[SunshineSlayer]

I agree. The last couple of years Jpop has been going flat I think. Even some of my favorite artists I feel like have been releasing very safe material.

Originally Posted by Kazeyomi

Just my two cent:

I remember when I listened to japanese music for the first time, and I was amazed by its diversity. Late 90s-early 00s were such good days for the japanese music industry imo. Solo female singers, golden age of girlbands and boybands, many j-rock and visual kei groups. You've got a lot of music to choose those days, seriously.

Yep, this exactly. mid-90s to early 00s Jpop was really incredible in its diversity and all of it was main stream. Now, you really really have to go searching if you want to find new and diverse material. J-pop has ALWAYS been dominated by idol groups, but the difference before is that there always seemed to be quite a bit of diversity to balance it out. One only needs to look at last years Oricon top 100 to see that diversity has completely left the building. I believe it was only Namie, B'z, and Bump of Chicken surrounded by a million idol groups.

[love in music]

yeah definitely. i think a lot of j-pop artists stay in the same generic place that's just awful. but with k-pop, they release a ton of generic music that's insanely catchy and fun to listen to.

[freedreamer]

Actually..i agree that J-pop has MUCH MORE variety than K-pop, from someone who has listened to more k-pop over the past year...
and yes, I found myself listening to less and less J-pop..but i still rave over Ayu, Kuu, Namie, Utada (and if Shimatani Hitomi were to come back) over any K-pop act handsdown.

i think..its really about the marketing. K-pop markets itself as an INDUSTRY..which is actually rather small because you'll definitely know most of the idols in the pack. So they just add on...to put it in a J-pop term, I feel that the K-pop artistes are an AKB48 themselves...that's what's happening

i think idols are what is diminishing the J-pop market..their music, their style...
and it doesnt favour if they are trying to market themselves to the world via that...because I guess the world doesnt exactly enjoy such pop..

[jbrat2219]

I don't consider myself a j-pop fan because I find a lot of it very boring. I only listen to ayu and kuu regularly (lost interest in Namie a bit) and others like Mika Nakashima occasionally. But I'm the same way with a lot of other genres too. I find the few that keep my interest and ignore the rest.

[jewelbox]

I'm never been very much into Jpop.. Ayu and Mika Nakashima are exceptions(there are few others too: Perfume, etc.). Idk, I'm kinda bored of this Japanese cutesy girls singing flat,boring and occasionally annoying music for middle aged men. If I must, I'll DEFINITELY choose 2NE1 over AKB48, and I'm not even a Kpop fan.

[relmy]

I think the problem is with kpop vs. jpop is that most people simply know more Jpop than Kpop, and know older Jpop songs/artists, so Jpop appears more diverse. I don't know many artists beyond the main big artists in Kpop, but some of the BEST songs I've ever heard have been from Korean artists, and some of them are from popular groups, and some are from indie groups.

I also agree that Kpop idols are better than Jpop idols. I don't really like the whole system of idol music and the exploitation, but I much prefer the idol music made in Korea to the idol music in Japan. I think AKB48 have made some great songs (Beginner is FIERCE), but despite being just an idol group, a group like 2NE1 is actually pretty innovate as an idol group.