J-pop
YOASOBI on Parasocial Relationships in J-Pop and Transcending Genre
Superduo Ayase and Ikura speak to bucking the trends of the growing J-pop industry. YOASOBI on Parasocial Relationships in J-Pop and Transcending Genre Lorelei Durand
Bruno Mars Produces J-Pop Group ARASHI’s New Song “Whenever You Call”: Stream
By now, K-pop has proven its long-term appeal with American audiences, and J-pop is eager to do the same. Japanese fans have been soaking up the joy of their country’s own original pop music for decades now. Now, Western audiences can join in the fun thanks to ARASHI, one of the country’s most legendary J-pop groups, who have just released a new song produced by Bruno Mars called “Whenever You Call”. ARASHI have been dominating the J-pop scene for over two decades, and it’s easy to understand why when listening to “Whenever You Call”. It’s the exact type of slick ’80s throwback that’s meant to win over hearts, complete with dramatic crooning choruses. Most notably, though, “Whenever You Call” marks the band’s first-ever track sung entirely in English. Originally, ARASHI planned on flying t...
Song of the Week: BLACKPINK’s “How You Like That” Illuminates the Darkest Places
Song of the Week breaks down and talks about the song we just can’t get out of our head each week. Find these songs and more on our Spotify New Sounds playlist. A year ago, we were admittedly still trying to make sense of K-pop. We wondered how artists we had never heard of — or only recently came to know — were selling out arenas in record time. We tried to figure out what the deal was with those guys (BTS, btw) teaming with Lil Nas X at the Grammys. Finally, our own Alexis Hodoyan-Gastelum, a longtime K-pop fan and writer, broke it down for us: “K-pop is not a genre. A type of music? Sure. An industry? Yes. A musical scene? Definitely. But not a specific genre. Boom, now we can move forward.” Whether it was the bands, the fans, or the scope of the music itself, we were trying to fit some...
