Destination Jam: Five infectious songs by J-pop artistes that will keep you grooving all day
With globally famous groups like BTS and Blackpink, there's a clear chance you would have heard a K-pop track or two in your lifetime. The genre is swiftly setting the world ablaze and drawing much attention from artistes of other musical styles for possible collaborations, but what about J-pop?
If you're an English listener that enjoys K-pop, language already shouldn't matter and you're most likely fascinated by music that is at least catchy if not unusual to your familiar tastes. Who doesn't love an infectious track? And it's for those reasons, we think J-pop music deserves a lot more attention. Check out our top five songs by various J-pop artistes below.
Perfume: 'Polyrhythm'
If you're a fan of Pixar's 'Cars' film franchise, you'll recognize this infectious track by Japanese pop girl group Perfume. After the song's dreamy first half, it kicks into an actual polyrhythm at the bridge with time signatures of 5/8, 6/8 in the vocals, common time (4/4) and 3/2 in the drums. For those who need an explanation, polyrhythms are considered to be one of the most confusing and technical rhythms in music, and it is a rare occurrence to find one in a pop song.
Sekai no Owari: 'SOS'
A group that has stunning vocals in both Japanese and English, Sekai no Owari is becoming increasingly popular for their musical skills and talent. Their track 'SOS' is another bar-raising song that presents an unconventional ballad centered around the piano. The song features as the theme song for the anime 'Attack on Titan: End of the World' and completely in English. Apart from this beautifully melodic track, Sekai no Owari has also collaborated with popular electronica project, Owl City by singer Adam Young, for his song 'Tokyo'.
BananaLemon: 'Girls Gone Wild'
We've mentioned K-pop group Blackpink above, but fans can go just as wild for Japanese girl group BananaLemon. Upon its release in 2018, the music video for BananaLemon's 'Girls Gone Wild' reached 300,000 views on YouTube in under 24 hours. The group has often been likened to Blackpink or 2NE1, as their sound lifts pop music to a harder sound, while 'Girls Gone Wild' perfectly showcases BananaLemon's bad b***h kickassery. Check out the official music video below.
Utada Hikaru - 'Automatic'
Think somewhere between pop and classic '90s contemporary R&B and you'll get a closer idea of what Utada Hikaru sounds like. If you want to learn a Japanese song, 'Automatic' (like many of Hikaru's songs) is slow-paced and cleary vocalized, which is a great way for new J-pop listeners to get introduced to the genre.
Hatsune Miku: 'Hatsune Miku Expo' 5th-anniversary theme song
Forget autotune. Forget idolizing a human being as the artist behind a successful musical career. As weird as that may sound, you'll understand when you become acquainted with the completely digital creation that is Hatsune Miku. This J-pop star is a 16-year-old, turquoise-haired, animated singer with a voice created entirely by a computer. Although injected with a heavy dose of digital sound and effects, Miku's voice is modeled from Japanese voice actress Saki Fujita. Listen to the 5th Anniversary Theme Song for the world concert tour series 'HATSUNE MIKU EXPO' below.
Destination Jam is a daily list of songs that will keep you entertained and grooving up top in lieu of feeling drained and losing the plot. Look out for a fresh selection of great tunes from MEAWW to refresh your mood every day
