J-pop
Global-facing J-pop group f5ve (pronounced “fi-vee”) may be riding the new wave bringing Japanese music to the world, but the rising five-piece are anything but rookies.
The members each have at least a decade of experience working in the music industry: Sayaka, Kaede, Ruri and Miyuu (ages 28-29) were in LDH Entertainment groups E-girls and Happiness, while 21-year-old Rui is still currently a member of iScream, under the same label. Recently, though, they’ve been taking stock of where there’s room to grow, from English fluency to the basics of recording and performing with a mic. (In J-pop groups, it’s normal to have dancers who don’t sing.)
That’s because, unlike their other projects, f5ve’s expressed mission is to make “Japanese pop music for an international audience,” which also means challenging stereotypes about what sounds the island nation produces. “I think people abroad think J-pop is all anime songs,” Kaede tells Billboard in English from a conference room in Tokyo. “Of course, we have a lot of anime songs,” she adds, “but not just those. We have cool songs; we have different genres of J-pop.”
Trending on Billboard
Their debut album, SEQUENCE 1, helmed by executive producer BloodPop (Justin Bieber’s “Sorry,” Lady Gaga & Ariana Grande’s “Rain on Me”), makes good on the goal of subverting expectations and bending genres to their will. Tokyo rave beats (“Underground,”) intergalactic hyperpop (“UFO,” co-produced by A. G. Cook,) and sleek runway stompers (“Television”) supplement high-energy, anime-theme-ready J-pop (“リア女 (Real Girl),” “Jump.”) Meanwhile, the music video for bass-heavy trap banger “Sugar Free Venom,” featuring Kesha, self-referentially nods to their previous life as members of E-girls — while simultaneously paying tribute to Beyoncé and The Pussycat Dolls.
They’re likewise meeting global fans where they are — namely, social media, on which f5ve unseriously ask artists for collabs and sport “flop era” tees. “Some people say our account seems unofficial,” Miyuu says, speaking about the brand of cheeky, chronically online posting that their socials engage in. “There’s no other group that has done it like this before. I think that’s what makes people so interested in us.”
Ahead of the release of SEQUENCE 1, out now, f5ve opened up about “fresh” experiences in the studio and their master plan to connect with listeners all over the world.
Billboard: How did you react when your agency approached you about being in a global group?
Kaede: We couldn’t believe it, because we have been doing this job for over 10 years. We built our careers in Japan, but we felt like we could expand more to the world.
Was there anything that scared you about the new group?
Miyuu: At first, honestly, I was scared. All the members were the same, I think. Kaede, Sayaka and I — in our previous group, we had never tried vocals. This group was the first time I tried to sing.
When did you start working on SEQUENCE 01, and what was the process like?
Kaede: We’ve been working on this album for about two years. So now it feels like… finally. When we were in the studio with BloodPop, we discussed what music we like and listen to. Then he created music from that conversation. He actually loves Japanese anime — us too. While we were talking about our favorite anime, he said, “Why don’t we try to make a song that has anime themes?” That’s how “リア女 (Real Girl)” was born. It was a fresh experience for us, because it was very different from how Japanese people create music.
How does that usually go?
Kaede: Producers bring us the [completed demo].
So this way, it was more collaborative?
Kaede: Yes. He always includes our ideas for f5ve’s music.
What are some of your favorite anime series? Which did you take inspiration from?
Miyuu: Oshi no Ko and its theme, “Idol” by Yaosobi. We texted him so many.
Rui: My favorite anime are My Hero Academia, Tokyo Ghoul and Kakegurui.
Is there any advice that BloodPop gave you while recording that stuck out to you?
Rui: There isn’t one comment from him, but when we were in the studio with him, [he asked which version of demos we prefer.] It’s so fresh for me. We can have our own opinion and tell him about what we think.
Kaede: When we were recording, BloodPop and our creative director said to me, “More b–chy, more slay,” because my personality and my voice are so energetic.
Are there other ways you feel like your on-stage personas differ from who you are in real life?
Kaede: I’m a totally different person. On stage, I have confidence and I can be more…slayish?
Miyuu: It’s kind of the same for me. Off stage, I’m not outgoing, and I can be pretty shy. But when I perform, it’s like “Look at me, look at me.” [Laughs]
One of f5ve’s goals is to “eradicate self-doubt,” but we all have moments of insecurity. How do you overcome that yourselves?
Rui: We have a lot of practice being on stage and shooting. f5ve is the best team, so I always trust the members, trust the staff and trust myself. And I can be natural, be positive.
Kaede: We compliment each other before we go on stage, always.
Miyuu: “You look so cute. You look so pretty. You look so gorgeous.”
Rui: “Beauty! Sexy!”
What compliment would you give to the person sitting next to you right now?
Kaede: Miyuu is our number one face expression queen.
Miyuu: Sayaka is one of the smallest members, but the way she performs and her aura make you feel otherwise.
Sayaka: Rui is a true idol. She has perfect expressions and is always on point on stage.
Rui: Ruri has… face card. Always beautiful. I’m also addicted to Ruri’s powerful voice. And she is so kind.
Ruri: Kaede is the sunshine of the group. She’s always talking to people, always communicating.
In the music video for “Magic Clock,” there were child dancers who played younger versions of you. Some of you have been in the entertainment industry since you were around their age, so did you have any advice for them?
Rui: They were so nervous during the music video shoot, so we were always by their side. [We told them,] “You are so cute, your dancing is so amazing. Please have confidence.” We gained power from them. I think that situation was my dream come true. I was so happy.
Why was it a dream come true?
Rui: I was a student at [Japanese entertainment training school] EXPG starting at a young age, and during that time, I looked up to E-girls and all the LDH groups.
Besides Kesha, who features on “Sugar-Free Venom,” which artists do you hope to collaborate with in the future?
Rui: I want to collaborate with Addison Rae someday. I love her music videos and her vibes. I’m a huge fan.
Sayaka: I want to collaborate with Tyla.
Miyuu: I love Doja Cat. [Her music embodies] woman empowerment, which is why it matches us.
Kaede: I want to collaborate with Justin Bieber. I’ve been a huge fan of his since I was a junior high school student. He was my first celebrity crush. [Laughs.] I love his voice, I love his music.
Ruri: Taylor Swift. I recently listened to The Tortured Poets Department, and that got me into her.
You also worked with producers like A. G. Cook and Count Baldor on SEQUENCE 01. Who would you love to have write or produce a song for f5ve in the future?
Rui: Of course, I want to create more music with BloodPop, but I want to collaborate with Zedd.
Kaede: I want to collaborate with ASOBISYSTEM in Japan. We saw ATARASHII GAKKO!’s show in LA, so I hope ASOBISYSTEM or Nakata Yasutaka creates our music with ATARASHII GAKKO!
The video for “Underground” had Dekotora trucks and Para Para. What other elements of Japanese culture do you want to share with the world?
Kaede: Natsumatsuri is a summer festival in Japan, and when I was a kid, I practiced and played traditional drums in the festival. So, one day, I want to show you my drum skills in our songs. I can surprise people abroad with that.
Rui: I want to wear a kimono or yukata in a music video or a live show.
The J-pop industry used to be pretty much exclusively interested in the Japanese market, but now we’re starting to see that open up. Why do you think that is?
Miyuu: Lately, I’ve been feeling that the international reception of J-pop is starting to shift. In the past, there weren’t many chances for people to get exposed to J-pop, so the Japanese music industry mainly focused on the domestic market, as you said. But I believe digital culture has played a huge role in introducing J-pop to a global audience.
How does f5ve plan to reach that audience?
Rui: Being natural and being ourselves. Just having fun with our music, loving our music. And each other.
Miyuu: Social media is a very important tool for us. It’s a space where we can really connect with our fans and make them feel close to us. We react to a lot of comments, responding to what fans are curious about. Some people say our account seems unofficial, in the best way. And there’s no other group that has done it like this before. I think that’s what makes people so interested in us.
Since you brought up social media, who is the most online in f5ve?
Miyuu: Rui’s always on her phone, taking selfies.
Kaede: During lunch, during dinner…
Rui: I love searching for TikTok trends.
Is anyone never on their phone, and has no idea what these trends are?
Kaede: Ruri. She could live without her phone.
What did you learn about yourself while making this album?
Kaede: I’ve learned from BloodPop and A. G. Cook that work is not just work. They said not to forget to bring a playful mind to it, enjoy the moment and put yourself into creation.
Sayaka: In my previous group, I was a performer, so I never had a chance to sing. While recording, I discovered what I can express to the world with my voice. I found my new power.
What is still on your bucket list as a group?
Kaede: I want to attend Billboard Women in Music, because recently I saw JENNIE and aespa attend. One day, we want to go and represent Japan.
Rui: I love anime, and our members like anime too, so one day we want to have an anime theme song.
Miyuu: I want to make a role-playing game where we each create our own weapon.
What would everyone’s weapon be?
Rui: Noodle slasher! I eat noodles every day.
Kaede: My big voice.
Miyuu: Lipstick sword, because I love makeup.
Sayaka: Bomb. [Members laugh.] I always say something awkward in conversations and it’s like a bomb.
Ruri: My long hair, like a whip.
Any other bucket list items?
Ruri: Attending Coachella.
Sayaka: I want to meet fans all over the world.
Is there a world tour in the works?
Kaede: There isn’t a date decided yet, but we’re planning.
Rui: Soon!
Kaede: Yes, coming soon.
“We’ve been trying to spread our music from Japan to the world,” Lilas Ikuta, singer for the Tokyo-based duo YOASOBI, told the audience at a sold-out Peacock Theater show in Los Angeles during a break in the group’s frenetic, synth-driven pop show. Already stars in their home country, Ikuta, who goes by the stage name Ikura, and her bandmate, Ayase, are beginning to get serious help finding fans beyond their home turf.
YOASOBI’s appearance that night was part of a concerted effort to push Japanese pop music — J-pop — far beyond the island nation. The March 16 showcase — matsuri ’25: Japanese Music Experience LOS ANGELES, which also featured Ado and ATARASHII GAKKO! — is the creation of The Japan Culture and Entertainment Industry Promotion Association (CEIPA), an organization created by the five Japanese music industry organizations, along with Los Angeles-based promoter Goldenvoice. CEIPA was founded in 2023 by the Recording Industry of Japan (RIAJ), the Music Publishers Association of Japan (MPAJ), the Federation of Music Producers Japan (FMPJ), Japan Association of Music Enterprises (JAME) and All Japan Concert and Live Entertainment Promoters Conference (A.C.P.C.) An industry mixer and panel discussion before the concert was hosted by the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO) and the Consulate-General of Japan in L.A.
The quest to take J-pop global also has the financial heft of Japan’s largest corporation. In February, CEIPA announced a partnership with Toyota and the launch The Music Way Project, an effort to bring Japanese music to a global audience. The Music Way Project will have overseas bases in L.A., London and Thailand to organize showcases in those regions. It will also help develop artists through a three-pronged approach that includes student seminars, in collaboration with Japanese universities; seminars for young music professionals; and a songwriting camp. Toyota’s “innovation and adventurous spirit,” said CEIPA executive director Taro Kumabe at the press conference, “aligns perfectly with our mission to take Japanese music further into the world.”
Trending on Billboard
The global success of South Korean music — K-pop — and the resulting growth of companies such as HYBE and SM Entertainment have people in Japan wondering why J-pop can’t be the next great music export. “There is a chance for Japan as well,” Tatsuya Nomura, board member of CEIPA and president of FMPJ, told Billboard through an interpreter. “You have to understand, K-pop music is based on ‘80s Japanese pop. So, as long as we strive forward, we can do it.”
Japan already has a presence in the U.S. mainstream through video games (Final Fantasy, Pokémon), anime (Spirited Away), fashion (Uniqlo), food (sushi) and martial arts (karate). But while K-pop songs and albums regularly appear at the top of Billboard’s U.S. charts, J-pop remains a niche. A few Japanese artists have made some headway. In 2019, pop trio Perfume became the first J-pop act to perform at Coachella. Babymetal, a heavy metal band fronted by three females, tours the U.S. regularly and has appeared at festivals such as Sick New World and Rock on the Range. YAOSOBI performed at Lollapalooza and Coachella in 2024 but didn’t build a U.S. tour around those appearances.
Successfully breaking J-pop in the U.S. and other foreign markets would provide a financial windfall for the Japanese music industry. While Japan was the second-largest recorded music market in 2024, according to the IFPI, it was just 23% the size of the U.S. And because streaming dominates in the U.S. — it accounted for 84% of 2024 revenue, according to the RIAA — there is a huge, internet-connected audience ready to push play on emerging trends. Last year, the global music market reached $29.6 billion, with $20.4 billion coming just from streaming.
South Korea’s early embrace of streaming helped K-pop find fans in the U.S. and elsewhere. With streaming starting to take off in Japan, Nomura believes the time is right for J-pop to look beyond its borders. “Up until now, the Japanese market was mainly focused on CD sales,” he says. “But after COVID happened, people started listening to music on a streaming service. That opened a new page for Japanese music outside of Japan.”
Japan’s government wants to give J-pop a push, too. Faced with decades of deflation and stagnant wages, it’s looking to its content industries to help lift wages and commodity prices. These grand ambitions were laid out in a 2024 report by Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) titled, “Grand Design and Action Plan for a New Form of Capitalism 2024,” which described the government’s dedication to increase exports of the country’s content — including music — to a world audience that’s easily reachable by digital distribution. The plan includes, among other things, education, assisting business development and using global platforms “to encourage the formation of local, dedicated fan communities.” Nomura said CEIPA does not receive any government funding.
Michael Africk, a former recording artist with songwriting and production credits on numerous hits in Japan, also believes that J-pop is ready for a bigger stage. Africk’s Handcraft Entertainment recently raised $1 million to help build a multi-faceted company that Africk says will encompass music, fashion, merchandise and cosmetics. The relatively small sum is just “a start,” he says, and the next funding round is already underway.
Africk sees South Korea’s success as a blueprint for how Japan can work in foreign markets and tailor its music to Westerners. K-pop “Westernized really well,” he says. “They understand the economics and the way business works over here. The Japanese struggle with that a bit.” After decades spent working on both sides of the Pacific, Africk believes his experience will help Handcraft bridge the business culture divide between the world’s two largest music markets.
For J-pop to cross over in the West, the artists and music will need to fit the tastes of listeners. Africk explains that J-pop that’s popular in Japan tends to have vocal sounds and chord changes that Western audiences aren’t used to hearing. He seeks out artists who cross cultures seamlessly, speak both Japanese and English perfectly, and have appeal in both Japan and English-speaking countries. While K-pop leans heavily toward ensembles, Handcraft, which is distributed by Virgin Music Group outside of Japan and B ZONE within Japan, has signed two individual artists, Anna Aya and Hana Kuro.
There were two other signs of Japan’s expansion this month. First, blackx, an Asian-focused music investment firm, and ASOBISYSTEM, a management and production company that represents more than 100 artists, formed a strategic partnership to build J-pop outside of Japan. The pairing is meant to provide artists with resources, help them connect with fans globally and create cross-industry collaborations. Then on Tuesday (March 25), Japanese music company Avex made a major move into the U.S. market by naming Brandon Silverstein, founder of S10 Entertainment, the CEO of its newly formed U.S. arm, Avex Music Group. As part of the deal, Avex acquired 100% of S10’s publishing division and added to its existing stake in the management business. The hiring and investment will help Avex break Japanese artists in global markets and position Avex “as a potent force in the international music landscape,” Avex CEO Katsumi Kuroiwa said in a statement.
The Japanese industry will make another push in May with the inaugural Music Awards Japan, an ambitious, two-day event that will name winners of 62 categories based on votes from more than 5,000 members of the Japanese music industry. Set for May 21 and 22 in Kyoto, the awards show will be broadcast in Japan by NHK and will be streamed globally by YouTube. Toyota is a top sponsor of the event.
“Beginning with matsuri ‘25 and the Music Awards Japan, we hope that these events will become the sort of conception or beginning to a lot of different Japanese music artists being able to create more, expand their expression and creativity, to share their love for music with different fans around the world,” CEIPA’s Nomura said during the press conference. “This is going to define the future of the Japanese music industry.”
RCA Records Greater China, a division of Sony Music Entertainment, signed a strategic partnership with Chinese indie label and music collective IRIS Chengdu, founded by Chengdu, China-based producer, DJ and recording artist Andre Grant, a.k.a. HARIKIRI. During his career, HARIKIRI has worked with artists including American rapper Jay Park and Chinese hip-hop group Higher Brothers. Over the next year, five albums will be spawned from the partnership, including new releases from female Chinese rapper Vinida Weng, rapper/singer/songwriter Haysen Cheng and HARIKIRI himself, among others. According to a press release, Chengdu “has been widely regarded as the epicentre of China’s evolving hip hop music scene and touted as the city raising China’s new generation of rappers.”
EMPIRE formed a partnership with automated music marketing and promotion platform un:hurd music that includes an investment in un:hurd to support the development of new tools and will give EMPIRE access to un:hurd’s tools and services. The partnership came amid un:hurd’s ongoing fundraise, which has drawn investors including Willard Ahdritz, Dan Runcie’s Trapital Ventures and Mindset Ventures MusicTech. According to un:hurd CEO/founder Alex Brees, the platform boasts a community of more than 125,000 artists and record labels.
Trending on Billboard
Bria, a generative AI platform for visual images that claims to be built on 100% licensed data, closed $40 million in Series B funding, bringing its total capital raise to $65 million. The money will be used to scale the company’s visual generative AI platform and widen the application of its patented attribution engine to music, video and text generation. The company says its attribution engine “bridges the generative output and the training dataset, so data owners are programmatically compensated according to their overall influence on each generated output,” according to a press release. In a statement, Bria founder/CEO Dr. Yair Adato added, “Enterprises can use our source code and API platform to integrate visual generative AI inside their products and access previously untouchable premium branded content. By broadening our attribution offering to all types of content, including music, video, and text, we are helping to usher in a truly sustainable creative economy.”
Japanese talent management and production company Asobisystem teamed up with blackx, described as a leader in music investments in Asia, to help expand the J-pop genre globally. According to a press release, the companies “will expand artist portfolios, venturing beyond traditional music to explore innovative IP such as cross-industry collaborations, introducing J-Pop to new global audiences and reinforcing Japan’s leadership in the entertainment sector.” Asobisystem’s roster includes Kyary Pamyu Pamyu, Atarashii Gakko!, Fruits Zipper and Yasutaka Nakata.
Synch platform SourceAudio struck a deal with AI-powered music analysis platform Cyanite to integrate Cyanite’s AI music tagging and search capabilities directly into the SourceAudio licensing ecosystem. Through the deal, SourceAudio’s music libraries and content owners can opt in to access Cyanite’s AI tagging and search system within their existing workflows. Cyanite has also chosen SourceAudio as its delivery platform for new and existing customers, meaning all Cyanite users can now benefit from SourceAudio’s hosting and licensing solution, allowing their audio files to be automatically tagged and optimized for search, discovery, pitching and monetization.
Celebrity Coaches, a luxury transportation services provider for the entertainment industry, acquired BandWagon RV Rentals, which specializes in mid-level tour transportation. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. The acquisition expands Celebrity’s fleet to more than 120 vehicles.
Nightlife and entertainment company Ministry of Sound signed a deal with DICE that will see it leveraging the latter’s mobile-first ticketing technology. Through the agreement, Ministry of Sound will gain access to DICE’s analytics and marketing tools, allowing for real-time insights into audience behaviors, event performance and sales attribution.
04/15/2024
From YOASOBI and LE SSERAFIM’s sets to the combining of star power thanks to 88rising Futures, the promise of Asian pop music was on full display in Indio.
04/15/2024
Lately, most Western songwriters want to work with K-pop or J-pop acts. But Beckuh Boom — the American songwriter behind hits for BLACKPINK and Twice — remembers when that wasn’t the case. “When I started taking trips to Seoul back in 2012, everyone I talked to about it kind of laughed at me or just didn’t get it,” she says. “They’d say, ‘Why would you waste your time? They’re not even close to the biggest market.’”
It took the global breakthroughs of Korean acts like BTS and BLACKPINK and Japanese acts like XG a few years later for Western talent to take the songwriting opportunities in Asia’s two largest pop markets as seriously as Boom had. Now, they are among the most lucrative and sought-after gigs in the global publishing business, drawing in top American hitmakers like Ryan Tedder, Victoria Monet and Jacob Kasher “JKash” Hindlin.
But to land a hit in Korea or Japan, Western songwriters have to conform to the local ways of doing business, and both markets have clear distinctions from the American industry. Typically, this involves English-language demos being funneled to a native, local-language songwriter, who then re-writes or translates most, or all, of the original lyrics into Korean or Japanese, earning them a songwriting credit in the process. Some sources estimate that roughly 80% of K-pop songs and 30%-40% of J-pop songs released today have ties to American or other Western sources — usually with totally different lyrics.
Trending on Billboard
“When demos are sent to Korean labels, they are almost always in English,” says Kevin Woo, a former K-pop idol who now works as a songwriter and has translated English demos into Korean. “That’s how we first hear the songs as artists and idols — in English. Then we pick whichever track we vibe with, and then they get that song translated into Korean.” Japanese music executives say this is similar to how it works in J-pop.
This is a fast-growing part of the job description for Korean or Japanese writers, as more songs are imported from Westerners each year. Naoki Osada, founder/CEO of Avex USA, the Japanese entertainment powerhouse’s American branch, says that since he started in the Japanese music industry 20 years ago, the number of songs written by Americans has more than doubled.
To adapt these English-lyric pitches, Young Chance, a Korean songwriter and producer, says “we usually keep the title of the song from the demo, but then when we translate, we take a different perspective on the same title.” In Japan, where speaking English as a second language is less common and there is less emphasis on capturing a global audience overall, it is even more important to rework the words of a Western demo to fit the needs of the local listener.
Common words and phrases like “let’s go” or “boom,” or slang like “Westside,” which are often derived from American rap music, might still make the cut in a K-pop or J-pop song, but that’s about it. Unless, of course, it’s a song intended to be a Western crossover hit, like BTS’s Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 “Dynamite” or BLACKPINK’s “Ice Cream” featuring Selena Gomez — both of which were penned entirely by Americans and kept in English.
Chance says he recently finished a “word-for-word English translation” that is coming out with a “major Korean act” soon, but says this approach to re-writing is far less common, given the difficulties of fitting the same story and meaning into the same meter and rhyme as before. Because Western songwriters now expect their lyrics to be tossed almost entirely, lyric writing is not highly emphasized when writing pitches for K-pop and J-pop.
There are other distinctions between K-pop and Western songwriting. Torsen Ingvaldsen, an independent A&R who is part of the growing class of middlemen that connect Western writers to Korean idols, says translated K-pop songs often also edit out explicit words or inappropriate themes. This, he says, is due to the young age of the average K-pop superfan, as well as cultural differences — though Jung Kook’s recent, sexually-charged single “Seven” may foreshadow changing attitudes towards explicit themes in Korea.
On the business side, Western songwriters know that when they pitch Korean and Japanese labels, they will have to give up a significant amount of publishing to local lyricists that they will likely never meet or work with directly. In Korea, it’s common to give up 12.5% to the person who re-writes the lyrics. “Sometimes they ask for a little more, but this is almost such a hard and fast rule it is often not even negotiated,” says Mary Megan Peer, CEO of peermusic, an indie publisher with offices in Korea and Japan. In Japan, however, 50% is typically expected, due to differences in the publishing industries of Western countries and that of Japan.
“In Japan, publishing is completely divided into two halves: one lyric, one melody,” says Osada. “Copyright ownership is 50/50 and it is fixed.” In America, songwriters are often also the producers — crafting lyrics, melody and track — and they work on all three elements with other creatives in the same session. In Japan, songwriters and producers take a much different approach. “There are three roles: one is the producer, who is also called the ‘track maker’ or arranger,” says Osada. “Some topliners do lyrics and melody, but there are people that exist who only write lyrics. Each of the three works alone in their own room by themselves, and then they send the completed demo. It’s not like Western writers where they all work together.”
The Korean publishing business lies somewhere in the middle, given its stronger and longer-term ties to Western music. There is still a clear distinction between the roles of producer and songwriter, like in Japan, and toplining is a major focus of the Korean songwriter’s vocation, but the way lyrics are weighted is not the same.
Western songwriters largely believe these opportunities abroad are well worth it, even though up to half of their publishing is given away. In a time when the popularity of streaming has undercut songwriters’ potential earnings in the United States and other Western nations, pop audiences in Korea and Japan still purchase full albums, physically and digitally, meaning “the publishing money [in Korea and Japan] really is unlike anything else for a writer,” says Ingvaldsen.
But why do Japanese and Korean labels use so many songs from Western songwriters when their local industries are thriving? First, J-pop and K-pop have always found inspiration from American music, especially bubblegum pop and rap, so many believe working with Western — especially American — talent is a natural fit. Taking foreign pitch records also might increase a K-pop or J-pop act’s ability to capture the attention (and dollars) of the music market abroad as well as at home.
Ingvaldsen also personally believes that there’s a “lack of songwriters locally. I’ve found there’s only a few major [Korean] songwriters that participate on everything from every major label.” Osada says that in Japan the cohort of working songwriters is “more condensed for sure.” He adds it’s a more “hidden role” in Japan’s industry as well. “I see big differences in the personality of writers there and in the U.S. In the U.S. there are writers that are almost like artists — very creatively outgoing, outspoken. Japanese writers and producers are introverts.”
A Seoul-based songwriter, who wished to remain anonymous, echoes that sentiment. “There’s not a lot of Korean writers that actually work on the big hit songs — that goes to the Western industry,” he says. “The big labels work with [fewer] Korean songwriters.”
And this trend shows no signs of stopping, as the biggest Japanese and Korean labels continue to strengthen their ties to the West, particularly in the United States. Hajime Harada, an A&R at Avex USA, says that “since I started at Avex USA in 2022, the percentage of U.S. songs that have landed with Japanese artists has easily doubled.” His boss, Osada, believes this is thanks to Avex’s increasing investment in their American outpost in West Hollywood, Calif. Korean music companies have also aligned closer with the Western music business: In late March, HYBE struck a new distribution deal with Universal Music Group, while JYP has a partnership with Republic and Starship Entertainment has a deal with Columbia, to name a few.
Nascent AI technology might also present more opportunities for lyric rewrites in the future. Woo was recently hired by AI voice synthesis start-up Hooky and American pop artist Lauv to translate the singer-songwriter’s new single “Love U Like That” into Korean. Woo then sang his own Korean version of the tune and Lauv’s voice was mapped on top of it using Hooky’s technology as a way to cut down on the difficult process of Lauv learning Korean pronunciation. “I think these kinds of opportunities will grow for [bilingual songwriters] in the future as AI grows,” says Woo.
Osada could see it working for Japanese audiences, too, who have appreciated Japanese translations of K-pop in the past and may be open to AI making those translations more commonplace. “I think there’s some market there,” Osada says. “Japanese people see lyrics as a very important factor in enjoying songs, so I think local-language translation could help.”
As the music market becomes increasingly global, publishing professionals are confident the trend of pitching Western records to Eastern talent will keep expanding, with some even looking to China and India as possible future frontiers. “The money [in exporting pitch records] is just too good to ignore,” says Ingvladsen.
TOKYO — For non-Japanese music artists, Japan’s decades-long obsession with physical media has meant they must grapple with legacy strategies for getting attention in the world’s second-largest market — such as landing on a major Japanese TV show or getting CDs into a large brick-and-mortar retailer.
Now, new digital opportunities are emerging that could make it easier. A three-year-old YouTube channel, The First Take, is at the forefront of breaking new artists in Japan and nudging a market long allergic to the internet toward digital music consumption. The channel has featured a handful of big Western artists in 2022, including Harry Styles, who appeared in June to sing “Daughters” from this year’s Harry’s House, and Avril Lavigne, who in September offered up a stripped-down version of “Complicated.”
Launched in late 2019, The First Take now boasts more than 7 million subscribers. It landed its first viral videos with five episodes featuring singer-songwriter LiSA, who performed the opening theme to the anime series Demon Slayer. But it was in the early months of the pandemic when the channel — like other digital entertainment in Japan — surged in popularity.
Digital music sales, which have grown for eight straight years in Japan, jumped 13% to 89.54 billion yen ($660.3 million) in 2021 over 2020, while physical music consumption, which has fallen over the past three years, dipped slightly by 0.4% to 193.64 billion yen ($1.43 billion), according to the Recording Industry Association of Japan. (Physical sales still comprised 68.4% of total sales, easily the highest level of any major music market.)
Fresh-faced artists stepping up to the mic on The First Take to show off their skills — such as Yoasobi, Yuuri and DISH//— have gone on to top the Billboard Japan Hot 100 and produced videos with over 100 million views. They’ve done so primarily through digital and streaming channels, reflecting a shift in how listeners receive J-pop domestically.
When the team started work on the channel in 2019, “what we wanted to create was something you couldn’t see on TV, or more detailed than what you would see on a weekly music show,” says channel producer Makoto Uchida. They drew inspiration from NPR’s Tiny Desk Concerts series and Germany’s Colors. “We decided to shoot it from the side, rather than the front, so that it felt like you were in the studio, getting a peek of the artist at work.”
They leaned into this sense of intimacy by positioning The First Take as, well, a first take, capturing whatever the artist sings into the microphone, with errors and emotion on full display. Channel director Naoko Furukawa says that early on, driving this point across to participating artists proved most challenging, as many came in assuming they would have the chance to redo performances.
Soshi Sakayama from The First Take
Kazuki Nagayama
The First Take saw a substantial increase in views, with uploads featuring young creators like DISH// and Yoasobi, who went from fledgling J-pop names to chart toppers, particularly on subscription services such as Spotify.
The First Take is among the first major music efforts in Japan to use streaming data to target the show’s main demographic of 20- and 30-year-olds, and to determine when artists should perform, says team member Kazuto Fushimi.
“The data shows that Japanese people listen to music by seasons,” Fushimi says. “I used that to cast songs that would fit well for this project at certain times of the year.”
Even after Japan loosened COVID-19 restrictions later in 2020, The First Take morphed into an internet-era version of weekly TV shows like Music Station, a music program featuring live performances that started airing in Japan in 1986. It has added a news platform, podcast and live concerts, and has also tried to bring in artists from other markets, initially from China and other Southeast Asian countries.
“We used anime and anime songs to get attention from those markets,” says Fushimi. “They weren’t made explicitly for foreign audiences, but we always made sure to put subtitles and other things so that everyone could follow along too.”
K-pop group Stray Kids was the first non-Japanese artist to appear on The First Take, in the spring of 2020. Fushimi says many new viewers came to the clip via Twitter, where fan communities were sharing it and explaining what The First Take was. The Korean act has appeared on the channel two more times since, which has further boosted their video views on YouTube. “The more that they’ve appeared, the more likely they are to appear on the ‘related’ videos list, which leads to more fan engagement,” Fushimi says.
Other K-pop acts have appeared on the channel since — most recently, burgeoning girl group Kep1er — as have acts from other parts of the continent, including a recent turn by Taiwanese artist WeiBird.
The team’s focus didn’t move beyond the region until this past summer when they landed Styles in June and started looking outside Asia to the West. The team put together English-language promotional materials for Twitter, knowing that it would get them new looks from abroad. Fushimi says Styles’ appearance generated the most tweets about any artist on The First Take to date. (The First Take’s producers declined to share how the Styles collaboration specifically came together.)
“Compared with Japanese artists, foreign artists really are quick about recording – they don’t take much time for rehearsals, they just jump right in,” Furukawa says. “Harry Styles only took 10 minutes after he showed up to the studio to do the actual recording.”
Lavigne’s video followed several months later, attracting over 7 million viewers (boosted by a domestic love for her music that has endured for decades), and offering The First Take another opportunity to tip-toe toward Western attention.
“It’s hard to export J-pop to the world,” Fushimi says, “but we want to use The First Take as a bridge to introduce great Japanese artists to the world.”
ReoNa from The First Take
Kazuki Nagayama
-
Pages