Why City Pop is Popular Overseas? (by Van Paugam)

Article by Van Paugam

1. How has City Pop become popular with overseas fans?
2. What is the deciding factor in what overseas considers to be 'City Pop'
3. The Decline of Western Nostalgia, and rise of Eastern romanticism
4. The Japanese connection to the West
5. City Pop & LP Related Articles at CDJapan

About the Author

"City Pop." You may have wondered why this particular style of Japanese music is becomning so popular overseas. The reasons are sometimes complicated and mysterious, even to those overseas who may not even understand the Japanese language. This article aims to broaden your understanding of the reason why City Pop is popular overseas.

1. How has City Pop become popular with overseas fans?

Originally, City Pop music was not available online in any official format. Japanese record stores in the mid 2010s would sometimes upload an album to YouTube for others to listen to. The music was not licensed officially at the time, even so, it was made accessible to those who may not have been able to visit Japanese Record Stores in person. It was an easy way to experience the Japanese music without having to buy the vinyl or visit Japan, which for many westerners is very expensive.

In this way, Plastic Love by Takeuchi Mariya was uploaded to YouTube and amassed millions of views which fueled the Japanese City Pop movement which developed online. A few DJs would purchase vinyl records from Japan and record DJ sets of the LPs for those to listen to on Youtube. The songs used in these DJ mixes would go on to become some of the most popular songs in the genre. This created the current view of how certain City Pop songs flow together in a way that is pleasant, easy to listen, and having good feeling that goes beyond language comprehension and into musical emotion.

Some of the first albums which were being listened to overseas were 'Variety by Takeuchi Mariya' 'For You by Yamashita Tatsuro' 'Sexy Robot by Tohyama Hitomi' and 'Pocket Park by Matsubara Miki'.

Plastic Love by Takeuchi Mariya

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2. What is the deciding factor in what overseas considers to be 'City Pop'

This has been an issue of speculation for many years. Overall there is no official consensus on what can be called 'City Pop.' There is only a vague impression of what is sonically viable to be considered in the style. Unlike more established genres like Jazz, Rock, and Disco, City Pop is more of an amalgam of many western styles, and in their variety of audio characteristics it becomes known as City Pop. For easier understanding, City Pop for overseas fans is music based on a specific mood and western influence in production style. A City Pop album can contain many different western styles, and in this complexity it can be considered City Pop, which is a reference to music usually heard in large cities.

The way overseas has come to know City Pop is that many of the songs have a clear inspiration from western music. This distinction is made as to separate it from other Japanese genres such as Idol Music, Enka, and other traditional styles. City Pop makes itself known by unashamed pride in its western influence and style. Though western-inspired, City Pop however retains a very noticeable craftsmanship that is uniquely Japanese. It becomes the perfect mix of East and West. A product of our global connections and mutual cultural polination.

Tatsuro Yamashita "SPARKLE" Music Video (2023)

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3. The Decline of Western Nostalgia, and rise of Eastern romanticism

A very large part of why younger generations overseas enjoys City Pop is because Japanese music is relatively new for them, while simulteanously being music from the past. Most of the music younger generations have known from the 70s and 80s has been passed down to them by their parents. This connection to their parents' past does not have a kind a 'nostalgic' affect because the younger generation knows that the music had already belonged to another generation before them, so there are no new memories to be made with these songs.

City Pop offers the younger western generations an opportunity to connect to the past in a way that has not relation to their parents, or even their own country, which is appealing in many ways to those who want to create new memories free from the past of their forebears. Japanese City Pop has just enough western influence to sound like western music, which then triggers a feeling of false nostalgia. The music sounds familiar, while foreign at the same time. This dichotomy is a new phenomenon to the west, as they have always seen the past in a linear sense of just being one thing. City Pop has created a divergent perspective on what the past was, freeing audiences from just the western historical context of the 70s and 80s.

Sexy Robot by Tohyama Hitomi

4. The Japanese connection to the West

Many people overseas in their 30s and 40s were the first to experience Japanese culture in their every life. During the 80s, Japanese corporate expansion began to proliferate in the west with the onset of many Japanese companies beginning to dominating business, media, and entertainment. The Japanese Asset Bubble propelled Japan into the spotlight in many ways. Exports of anime such as Dragon Ball Z, Sailor Moon, Akira, and Ghibli films were some of the earliest memories for some western children. Japanese cars, cuisine, and pop culture saturated the daily lives of western children, who look back fondly on those times. This early connection to Japanese culture still lingers in the minds of those overseas who are now in their mature years.

City Pop then is a way for adults overseas to make a new connection to those fond memories of Japanese culture in their youth. This is a big reason why the west is so enchanted with City Pop, because it is as if a forgotten memory has returned. This appreciation of cultural exchange is a blossoming connection that brings together different generations from both Japan and the west to create a new global nostalgia, where children from both parts of the world can share memories of Japanese culture together, creating a new future where they can relate to each other in new ways.

"Mayonaka no Door - stay with me" / Matsubara Miki Official Lyric Video

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City Pop & LP Related Articles at CDJapan

What is City pop? -1. The Origin of City Pop-
CDJapan's Advantage of Delivery and Packaging of LP-
Products to Display, Maintain, and Store Your Vinyl Collection
Tatsuro Yamashita Reissue LP and Cassette

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