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Many of the popular seiyuu also sing J-Pop singles or as part of a cast group.
It is commonly used as a collective term for any popular music in Japan. Many times, the term J-Pop is used when talking about bands that really play J-Rock, or Visual kei, a movement closely related to the later. Some of the definitions are;
Almost at the same time, J-ROCK was coined but it did not become popular. In the Nagoya area, the term Z-Pop is used on songs that are popular in that area. Some Enka songs like those sung by Nakajima Miyuki and Anzenchitai, overlap both categories and may or may not be included in this categories.
J-Pop's earliest roots are from Jazz music that became popular in the early Showa period. Jazz re-introduced many of the musical instruments that were previously only used to perform classical music and military marching music to bars and clubs and introduced "fun" to Japan's music scene. "Ongaku Kissa" (音楽喫茶) lit. music cafe, where musicians performed live music became popular. During World War Two, Jazz music would temporarily stop being performed under pressure from the Imperial Army. After the war, the Far East Network (commonly referred to as "FEN") operated by the US Army, which had established military bases in Japan starting with the Occupation of Japan, introduced Boogie woogie, Mambo, BluesBlues is a vocal and instrumental musical form which evolved from African American spirituals, shouts, work songs and chants and has its earliest stylistic roots in West Africa. Blues has been a major influence on later American and Western popular music,, and Country musicCountry music once known as Country and Western music is a popular musical form developed in the southern United States, with roots in traditional folk music, spirituals, and the blues. Vernon Dalhart was the first country singer to have a nation-wide hit and these styles of music were performed by Japanese musicians to American troops stationed in Japan. Songs like Sizuko Kasaoki 's "Tokyo Boogie Woogie" (1948), Chiemi Eri 's "Tennesse Waltz" (1951), Misora Hibari's "Omatsuri Mambo", and Izumi Yukimura 's "Omoide no Waltz" became popular. Foreign music performers like JATP and Louis ArmstrongLouis Daniel Armstrong ( August 4, 19011 July 6, 1971) (also known by the nickname Satchmo was an African American jazz musician. Probably the most famous jazz musician of the 20th century, Armstrong was a charismatic, innovative performer whose musical s visited Japan and performed and the year 1952 was called "The Year of the Jazz Boom". However, these new styles were not easy to learn for amateur musicians who tried to make money by performing for American troops. Many of the amateur musicians learned Country music as it was the simplest to perform. They would, however, be in a fortunate position to learn the new wave of music, R&B or more commonly Rock and rollRock and roll also called rock is a form of popular music, usually featuring vocals (often with vocal harmony backing), electric guitars and a strong back beat; other instruments, such as the saxophone, are common in some styles. As a cultural phenomenon,.
The Rock and roll craze began in the 1956 with a country music group, Kosaka Kazuya and Wagon Masters releasing the album Heartbreak HotelHeartbreak Hotel is a rock and roll song by Elvis Presley, with Bill Black ( bass) and Scotty Moore ( guitar) as the main supporting musicians. Recorded in January 1956, the song introduced Presley to the US' national music consciousness. It was released, originally performed by Elvis PresleyElvis Aron Presley ( January 8, 1935 August 16, 1977), known as The King of Rock and Roll, or as just "The King", was an American singer who had an immeasurable effect on world culture. He started his career under the name the Hillbilly Cat and was later. It would reach its peak in 1959 with the movie focusing on performances of Japanese Rock and Rollers. The downfall of Rock and roll in the US was also followed by its downfall in Japan as many groups played music that was nothing more than a cheap copy of American Rock and roll. Many perfomers turned to merging traditional Japanese pop music with Rock and Roll, with mixed or questionable results. The only successful musician to leave any impression to future generations was Sakamoto Kyu with "Ue wo muite arukou" (lit. Let's look up and walk) or Sukiyaki. Other performers decided rather than making a new music, to use the music of popular American songs and translate the lyrics into Japanese, hence the birth of "Cover Pop". Also, many of the "Jazz kissa" would start to disappear as radio and TV provided every household with performances of real musicians. They would steadily decline and until technology and a innovator gave them a new life as karaoke. "Cover Pop" became a benchmark of American music in Japan for few years, only to encounter the Beatles.
In the 1970s to middle 1980s, instead of simple songs usually accompanied with only a guitar, emphasis on more complex musical notes became more wide spread and these songs were called New Music. Instead of songs with social messages, themes were about love and personal events. Yoshida Takuro and Inoue Yosui are known as such artists.
In the 1980s, City Pops came to discribe musics popular in and themed about major cities, especially Tokyo. City Pops is based on very fuzzy ideas and many songs can be considered City Pops as well as New Music. As soon as this term became popular, Wasei Pops, lit. Japan-made Pops, became a common word to discribe both City Pops and a part of New Music. By 1990s, J-Pop became the popular word to discribe most of popular songs. In the late 1990s, with the technological advances in the video game, J-Pop musics were also started to be used.