J-POP Artist Profiles

Amuro Namie		An amazing girl! Another Okinawa-origin jpop superstar. She fist started her career in a group called Super Monkey with 4 other girls (which became MAX after Amuro had splitted up). She has a very productive career as a singer with the help of the most prominent producer as Komuro Tetsuya (also known as TK). In 1997 there was a news that shocked the jpop fan. That is Amuro was pregnant and was getting married with SAM, the dancer from TRF. This news caused her song "Can you celebrate?" to become the number one song of the year. She took a year of to have a baby, and she is now back on the chart again.
B'z		A pop-rock group which has been around for years!
Chage & Aska
DEEN
Dreams Come True		Or DCT for short is another typical trio with 2 guys and a female vocalist. Their music is quite a unique mix of pop-jazz-blue-hip hop. It maybe hard to listen to at first, but you will soon be addicted to them! Their most classic song is probably "Love Love Love" which is a drama theme song. It's an easy song to learn for those taking beginning Japanese. This group also released its album in the US market a couple years ago under Virgin Records.
Eriko with the Crunch		That's what Eriko called herself when she splitted up with Speed to make her own solo.
Every Little Thing		Or ELT for short. The group has 2 guys (guitar and keyboard) and a girl (vocal). The keyboard guy produces all the music. The first debut single was released back in 1997. The lead vocalist (Mochida Kaori) has a very nice and satisfying voice suitable for their type of techno/pop music.
Fujii Fumiya
Fukuyama Masaharu
Hiro		Hiro is Hiroko Shimabukuro, one of the two vocal leaders of Speed. Her debut as a solo, As Time Goes By, topped the chart in no time.
Hysteric Blue		Another 2-guy-1-girl trio. I don't know why most jpop groups have this arrangement. Anyone has an answer for me?
Imai Miki
KinKi Kids		Two guys from Osaka (Kinki region) with the same last name, Domoto Tsuyoshi and Domoto Kouichi; thus the name "Kinki Kids." They sing light pop music and became popular idols for young girls.
Kiroro		These two sister-like singers from Okinawa were making debut with their songs Nagai aida and Mirai e in 1998. They wrote Mirai e especially to say thank you for their mom.
Kome Kome Club
Kubota Toshinobu		He is a famous soul singer. He made the type of black + funky music popular in Japan. He also released an album in the US in 1995. His super hit single is LA.LA.LA.Love Song, which was a theme song from the drama Long Vacation.
Le Couple		A husband-and-wife group. They obviously are not selling their looks, but purely their musical talent. The girl's voice is crystal clear. Their song Hidamari no uta was a big hit, followed by the English version of the same melody, Wishes.
Matsuda Seiko		Just listening to her music without seeing her face, you might guess that it's a voice of a girl in her twenties. But in fact, twenties is probably the time she has been singing. She has a great voice that doesn't decrease in power despite her age.
Moritaka Chisato
Mr. Children
My Little Lover		This is a husband and wife group. I like their style of music. My most favorites are Alice and Destiny.
Petit Moni		These three girls come from Morning Musume, making their own debut with the fun song Chokotto Love, which I think suits their characters better than the sexy type of songs Morning Musume sings.
Puffy		This group has two female vocalists. Their music is fun to listen to. They always dress like twins, and have a simple but unique dance steps. Recently they performed their first concert in the US, and it was a big success. Will we ever see their CD sold in the US?
Sakai Noriko		She is such a cutie! I just love to look at her face. But personally I am not particularly impressed with her songs, nor her voice. The song Aoi usagi I romanized is the theme song from the drama Hoshi no kinka (Heaven's Coin) which I was really addicted to. :P
Sharan Q		This is a pop/rock group which, I believe, has terminated recently. The lead vocal, Tsunku, is now a producer for other Jpop groups like Morning Musume, Tampopo, and Petit Moni.
SMAP		Do you know that SMAP is an acronym? It's short for "Sport Music Assemble People". No kidding. Thanks to Lynn for this fact. Originally, there were 6 guys in the group. Then one guy left to pursue his own dream, and so they left with 5 guys. Although their fame starts to decline (maybe because they are not as young as when they debut), their songs constantly stay in the chart. They also have a long running cooking show. Who would think these guys can cook!
Something ELse
Speed		This is my most favorite jpop group. Speed are Hiroko, Eriko, Takako, and Hitoe, all from Okinawa. Hiroko and Eriko are vocal leaders and Takako and Hitoe are chorus. Their voices and music have matured over the years. They released their first album back in 1996 when they were still in junior high! As of May 2000, they will officially separate, and each will focus on her own solo work. Their last album as Speed is Carry on My Way which was released in December 1999. For full profiles, please visit Speed Official Homepage.
Spitz
Tanimura Yumi
The Brilliant Green
Ulfuls
Utada Hikaru		Or Hikky as people call her. Another phenomenon 16-year-old who writes her own music (all songs in her album). Unlike other artists who only released out one single at a time, Hikkie has all 3 songs (Automatic, Movin' On Without You, First Love) in the top-ten chart at once! Her musical talent is of no surprise since both her parents are in the music industry. She grew up in America and now is attending the American School in Japan. Therefore, her English is perapera. If you listen to her songs very carefully, you will find that sometimes she would pronounce the English words in Japanese way and sometimes she would just do it the American way. I found that quite interesting. She has released an album in America before under the name Cubic U. Personally, I think her voice is not yet matured, but she has a full potential to develop that!
Yamaguchi Yuko		She writes her own music! Her first debut, Believe, was a big success.
Zard		A jpop queen! She has been around and is still going. She has produced uncountable number of hit singles.

J-POP Artist Profiles

Amuro Namie

B'z

Chage & Aska

DEEN

Dreams Come True

Eriko with the Crunch

Every Little Thing

Fujii Fumiya

Fukuyama Masaharu

Hiro

Hysteric Blue

Imai Miki

KinKi Kids

Kiroro

Kome Kome Club

Kubota Toshinobu

Le Couple

Matsuda Seiko

Moritaka Chisato

Mr. Children

My Little Lover

Petit Moni

Puffy

Sakai Noriko

Sharan Q

SMAP

Something ELse

Speed

Spitz

Tanimura Yumi

The Brilliant Green

Ulfuls

Utada Hikaru

Yamaguchi Yuko

Zard