J-Pop has captivated fans with its beats, lyrics, and creativity! The genre continues to grow, with a lineup of artists redefining what Japanese pop can be.
These musicians span a variety of styles, blending genres like jazz, rock, hip-hop, and traditional sounds into something truly unique. Whether new or a long-time fan, today we bring the 10 most famous Jpop musicians.
Below is the list of the top 10 famous J-pop musicians in 2024.
1. Yoasobi
Yoasobi is a Japanese pop duo formed in 2019. It consists of musician and record producer Ayase and singer-songwriter Lilas Ikuta, under the moniker Ikura. With the slogan “novel into music,” the duo originally released songs based on selected short stories posted on Monogatary.com, a social media website for creative writing operated by Sony Music Entertainment Japan. Sources later also come from various media like stories written by professional authors, books, letters, plays, etc.
Rising to prominence during the COVID-19 pandemic in Japan, Yoasobi’s debut single, “Yoru ni Kakeru,” spent six non-consecutive weeks atop the Billboard Japan Hot 100 and topped its 2020 year-end chart, the first ever non-CD single to do so, as well as receiving the first ever diamond certification for streaming from the Recording Industry Association of Japan (RIAJ). Besides “Yoru ni Kakeru,” three other songs were also certified diamonds:
Blue Period-inspired “Gunjō” and opening themes for anime Beastars “Kaibutsu” and Oshi no Ko “Idol”; the latter set the record for the longest-running number one on the Japan Hot 100 history with 22 non-consecutive weeks and the first Japanese act to top the Billboard Global Excl. US, as well as the 19th best-selling song globally in 2023, according to the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI). With these successes, the duo was dubbed a representative of J-pop of the 2020s.
2. King Gnu
King Gnu is a Japanese band formed in 2013. It consists of Daiki Tsuneta (vocalist and guitarist), Satoru Iguchi (vocalist and keyboardist), Kazuki Arai (bassist) and Yu Seki (drummer). The band’s main songwriter is Daiki Tsuneta, who also performs as part of the creative collective Millennium Parade.
In 2013, Mrs.Vinci was formed, later going by Srv.Vinci. Their first song was “ABUKU(泡),” released under the creative label Perimetron. In 2017, they renamed themselves to King Gnu. They then performed at the Fuji Rock Festival in 2017 and 2018. On October 25, 2017, the band released their first album under the name King Gnu, Tokyo Rendez-Vous. The track “Vinyl” was used in a Persol Tempstaff advertisement released on January 25 the next year.
In January 2019, the band released Sympa, their first release under a major label after signing to Ariola Japan. The following month, King Gnu released the hit song “Hakujitsu,” which ranked No. 4 in the year-end chart of the Billboard Japan Hot 100. In October, they released “Kasa” and achieved their first No.1 on the Billboard Japan Download Chart. On December 31, King Gnu performed “Hakujitsu” at the 70th NHK Kōhaku Uta Gassen, their debut performance on the program.
3. Radwimps
Radwimps (ラッドウインプス, Raddo’uinpusu, stylized as RADWIMPS) is a Japanese rock band who debuted independently in 2003 and signed with Toshiba EMI in 2005. The band’s name, Radwimps, was formed from two English slang terms, “rad” and “wimp.” According to the band, the coined word had several meanings, including “excellent weakling” and “superlative coward.”.
Radwimps achieved commercial success in 2006 with their album Radwimps 4: Okazu no Gohan and are best known for their later singles “Order Made” (2008) and “Dada” (2011), both of which hit number one on Oricon’s single charts. They have also gained recognition for providing the soundtracks to the anime films Your Name (2016), Weathering with You (2019), and Suzume (2022), all three by Makoto Shinkai.
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4. Atarashii Gakko!
Atarashii Gakko!, known in Japan as Atarashii Gakkou no Leaders (新しい学校のリーダーズ, lit. ’New School Leaders’), is a Japanese girl group formed in 2015. The group is jointly managed with Asobisystem, Twin Planet, and TV Asahi Music. It made its Japanese debut in June 2017 under Victor Entertainment with the single “Dokubana” and its worldwide debut in January 2021 under 88Rising with the single “Nainainai.”.
On December 7, 2023, Atarashii Gakko! made their U.S. television debut, performing “Tokyo Calling” on Jimmy Kimmel Live!. On January 9, 2024, Atarashii Gakko! performed their first show at the Nippon Budokan, called “Seishun Shurai” (“Invasion of Youth”).
5. Mrs. Green Apple
Mrs. Green Apple (stylized as Mrs. GREEN APPLE; Japanese: ミセスグリーンアップル, romanized Misesu Gurīn Appuru) is a Japanese rock band from Tokyo that made its major debut in 2015 with EMI Records. They are known for performing the fourth ending theme to the anime series Yu-Gi-Oh! Arc-V as well as their first full album, Twelve, which placed 10th on the Japanese national Oricon charts. Their song “Inferno” is used as the opening theme for the first season of the anime Fire Force.
6. Perfume (Japanese band)
Perfume (パフューム, Pafyūmu) is a Japanese girl group consisting of Nocchi, Kashiyuka, and A-chan. The group formed in 2000 in Hiroshima, Japan, before relocating to Tokyo in 2003 and linking a close partnership with producer Yasutaka Nakata, who created a distinct “technopop” identity for the group.
Because Ayaka Nishiwaki (“a-chan”), Yuka Kashino (“KASHIYUKA”), and Yuka Kawashima (“Kawayuka”) had the same Japanese kanji character for 香 (ka/kaori, fragrance) in their names, they named the group “Perfume” (kousui (香水) in Japanese).
Their performances are noted for their choreography and incorporation of technology with futuristic imagery, and Perfume has emerged as one of the most successful Japanese girl groups.
After a slew of indie singles, Perfume made their major label debut with “Linear Motor Girl” on Tokuma Japan in 2005. Their early releases, including Perfume: Complete Best (2006), were met with modest commercial reception before seeing a breakthrough in 2007 with the single “Polyrhythm.”
Their debut studio album, Game (2008), began a streak of nine consecutive number-one albums. Perfume’s next album, Triangle (2009), produced the number-one singles “Love the World” and “One Room Disco.”.
Perfume’s early music was marked by a post-Shibuya-kei sound, which later transitioned towards contemporary electronic dance music, incorporating elements of bitpop, techno, and house music. The group is also known for their heavily processed vocals, making use of autotune and vocoders. Their best-known songs include “Electro World,” “Chocolate Disco,” “Dream Fighter,” and “Laser Beam.”.
In 2012, Perfume signed with Universal Music Group as part of efforts to expand their international reach, commencing with their fourth studio album, Level 3 (2013). Their later catalogue features the hit singles “Flash” and “Tokyo Girl,” and the group is set to release the two-part concept album Nebula Romance (2024 and 2025) in honor of their 25th anniversary.
7. Official Hige Dandism
Official Hige Dandism (Japanese: Official髭男dism, ‘Manly Moustache’, or ‘Macho Moustache'[A], stylized as Official HIGE DANdism), commonly abbreviated Higedan (ヒゲダン), is a pop rock band formed in Shimane, Japan, in 2012.
After signing a record deal with the major label Pony Canyon in 2018, Official Hige Dandism released the debut single No Doubt, the lead single from the extended play, Stand by You EP. The following year, the band released the second single, “Pretender,” which ranked at number three on the year-end chart of the Billboard Japan Hot 100 in 2019. Their debut studio album, Traveler, was released on 9 October 2019 and reached number one on the Japan Albums Chart.
8. Back Number
Back Number (バックナンバー, Bakku Nambā) is a Japanese rock power trio formed in 2004. The group consists of Iyori Shimizu (lead vocals and guitar), Kazuya Kojima (bass guitar and backing vocals), and Hisashi Kurihara (drums).
The group signed to independent record label Idolsmith Recordings in 2009 and released their debut EP Nogashita Sakana (逃した魚, Fish Set Free) (2009) and studio album Ato no Matsuri (あとのまつり, Too Late) (2010). They signed to Universal Sigma in 2011.
The group’s biggest hit is “Christmas Song” [ja], which peaked at number-one for three weeks on the Japan Hot 100 chart and was later certified million by the Recording Industry Association of Japan. Their first compilation album, Encore (2016), reached number one on the Billboard Japan Hot Album for two consecutive weeks in 2016 and also ranked number five on the Oricon yearly best-selling album chart of 2017.
In 2018, Back Number successfully held a Dome Tour titled “Stay with You,” including a 2-night concert in Tokyo Dome. All tickets for 5 concerts are sold out within 2 hours, mobilizing over 45,000 guests per concert.
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9. Babymetal
Babymetal (Japanese: ベビーメタル, Hepburn: Bebīmetaru) is a Japanese kawaii metal band consisting of Suzuka Nakamoto as “Su-metal”, Moa Kikuchi as “Moametal” and Momoko Okazaki as “Momometal”. The band is produced by Kobametal from the Amuse talent agency. Their vocals are backed by heavy metal instrumentation, performed by a group of session musicians known as the “Kami Band” at performances.
The band was formed in 2010, with the original lineup of Su-metal (vocal and dance), Moametal (scream and dance), and Yui Mizuno as “Yuimetal” (scream and dance), with the concept of creating a fusion of the heavy metal and Japanese idol genres. Originally a sub-unit of the Japanese idol group Sakura Gakuin, Babymetal became an independent act in 2013, following Nakamoto’s departure from Sakura Gakuin.
Babymetal have released four studio albums since their inception: the first, Babymetal, came out in February 2014. Their second album Metal Resistance was released in April 2016. The group released their third album Metal Galaxy in October 2019. Their fourth album, The Other One, was released in March 2023. Babymetal has embarked on several tours, with a majority of their tour dates taking place outside of Asia.
In October 2018, Babymetal announced that Yui Mizuno had decided to leave the band due to poor health after having been absent from live performances since December 2017. After December 2017, the band performed with one or more backup dancers at live performances. One of those dancers, Momoko Okazaki (a former member of Sakura Gakuin), joined Babymetal as the third core member in April 2023, under the stage name Momometal.
10. Sekai no Owari
Sekai no Owari is a Japanese pop band from Tokyo. The band was formed in 2005 and has four members: Nakajin, Fukase, Saori, and DJ Love.
Since their debut, they have released 7 albums and various singles as well as featuring in their own documentary film Tokyo Fantasy. The band has performed at Nissan Stadium, Japan’s largest concert venue, and are currently considered to be one of the biggest music acts from Japan.
The band members have also produced and written content for several Japanese singers and groups, and lead vocalist Fukase has inspired a synthesized Vocaloid character of himself. The band has collaborated with other artists such as DNCE, Owl City, Nicky Romero, Epik High, and Aloe Blacc.
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