Japaneezi J-Pop Awards 2016

Hello everyone! I am excited to announce the beginning of a new project. As we are almost in Autumn (Fall), the last full season of the year, I wanted to showcase the best of Japanese music in 2016. This year has been great for J-Pop, so I decided that we would make an awards ceremony dedicated to the best of Japanese music.

But, I can't do it alone! I need you guys to recommend songs and artists to get awards. So, here, as follows are the categories:

Best Girl Group
Best Boy Group
Best Mixed Group
Best Album
Best J-Rock Song
Best Idol Group
Best J-Pop Collaboration
Best J-Pop song sung by a K-Pop Artist
Most Inventive Song
Best Debut Song
Best Newcomer
J-Pop Song of the Year

Any recommendations will be accepted! Please write your recommendations in the comments by the Tuesday 15th October 2016, at 3:00PM (GMT). Any recommendations after this date will not be added. The most voted groups will then go in to the next round, where groups will be judged and the winner decided. The video schedule will then precede as follows:

*The videos will then roll out as follows~

Best Newcomer: 18th November
Best Debut Song: 18th November

Most Inventive Song: 19th November
Best J-Pop Collaboration: 20th November
Best J-Pop Song sung by a K-Pop Artist: 20th November
Best Idol Group: 21st November
Best J-Rock Song: 21st November
Best Album: 22nd November
Best Mixed Group: 23rd November
Best Boy Group: 24th November
Best Girl Group: 24th November
J-Pop Song of the Year: 25th November

*Schedule is not entirely fixed an videos could change due to circumstances.

Anywho, I hope you enjoy the awards and vote for your favourite artists!
1 vote per group, per person!
The next J-Pop awards will be at the same time next year and include songs from 15th October 2016 - the date of the next vote in 2017.
Any queries, please ask in the comments!

Get Voting!

10 Weirdest Japanese Pop Songs

Here is a list of some of the weirdest Japanese pop you can find. Please enjoy and support these acts!

Before you read, please watch the video, so you get the full grasp of what is actually happening in the video!

Song #11 : DAOKO, Page, Gomess - Megitsune

Our honorable mention, Megitsune is ultimately a wierd mashup of the quaint cute voices of Page and DAOKO and the relatively scary voice of Gomess, all combined with traditional Japanese instruments and costumes.

https://youtu.be/NiJKmud3A-A

Song #10 : Charisma.com - Suppliminal Diet

This video has a good message showed in a strange way- it is talking about how the media makes everyone think they are not perfect, no matter how they look and Charisma.com's Itsuka wanted to tell everyone that they are perfect whether they have a diet-style body or if they don't.

https://youtu.be/W36BQtGeDIc

Song #9   : HamadaBamyuBamyu - Nandeyanen

Well, if you prefer a more masculine sort of adorable, try HamadaBamyuBamyu, the male equivalent of Kyary Pamyu Pamyu, who is basically an official rip off of the singer. In real life, his name is Masutoshi Hamada, and he is a famous comedian in Japan.

https://youtu.be/c64sQsABKcM

Song #8   : Tempura Kidz '15 - LOLLiPOP

This Harajuku song features Kyary Pamyu Pamyu's live stage dancers dancing in one of the most colourful videos you can find in J-Pop. Do you recognize any of the faces they pose with though?

https://youtu.be/p1SrWu3eFV4

Song #7   : Natsume Mito - 8 BIT BOY

Natsume Mito is an extremely creative act, managed by the same person who manages Perfume, Kyary Pamyu Pamyu and Coltemonikha.

https://youtu.be/myJOrwt1AGQ

Song #6   : Vegikko Dancers - Vegetarhythm

I sure would love to shop at this pintsize supermarket- I am sure the vegetables are delicious! A little trivia about this video, one of them is a boy, AND the set is made 2/3 of the size of a normal supermarket, to make the kids look bigger in it!

https://youtu.be/AKKT7zE_0Zg

Song #5   : DAOKO - Samishii Kamisama

Despite the beauty of this video, it is overlooked by the fact that the girl in the video is wearing clothes that leave little to the imagination AND the acts that she is doing in the video. Other then that, the video and song are both beautiful.

https://youtu.be/cHcD1LcmxfA

Song #4   : Ladybaby - Nippon Manju

Yep, an Australian wrestler dressed as a Japanese anime school girl. Yes, it exists, and we love it!

https://youtu.be/M8-vje-bq9c

Song #3   : Kyary Pamyu Pamyu - Sai&Co

Well I'm sure you are contemplating the sanity of the girl dancing with the strawberries and the ramen pots, but she is completely sane! I promise! Kyary's Harajuku style resonates through her music.

https://youtu.be/BRWK5I49jOs

Song #2   : Shokotan Daisuki Dempagumi - Punch Line

At this point you may be thinking, what can be weirder than a teacher with a sparkly leaf blower, blowing the skirts of school girls. Well there is something even weirder than that, that you may have to look twice at.

https://youtu.be/K0Zku8hut4g

Song #1   : Kirimi-chan - Kirimi

You know what's weirder then all of the other videos? A piece of salmon who sings and has it's own Salmon-TV show, Salmon-confectionary and Salmon-comics.

https://youtu.be/8lV719DU328

Top 10 J-Pop Female Soloists!

Here is a list of my Top 10 favourite Japanese female pop soloists!

Please enjoy the video!

J-Pop like K-Pop?

As K-Pop continues to grow stronger by the day, Japanese acts seem tiny compared to the huge stars like Girl's Generation, Big Bang, 2NE1 and f(x). However some of them are on a mission. A mission to stand out from the hundred-member idol pop groups most K-Pop fans think that J-Pop is. Well here is some of those people.

Perfume

This is Perfume. The three girl techno group that everyone loves. There outfits are perfect and appeal to everyone, there songs are just the right tempo and style, and the amount of amazing songs they have is dizzying. Whether you love the cuteness of Hold Your Hand, the sexiness of Night Flight, the style of Spice, or the calm of Relax in the City, Perfume has something for everyone, and it is all thanks to their producer Yasutaka Nakata who frankly made the group the awesome threesome they are today.

Charisma.com

Charisma.com was formed by MC Itsuka and DJ Gonchi in 2011.Their poisonous lyrics, furious flow and electro‐tinged beats combine to create a genre-bending, explosive sound that’s resonating with Japan’s disillusioned Millennial Generation. The first of three duos on this list, Charisma.com is the stylish DJ MC combination that rocks the Japanese musical world.

Capsule

Well here is the second duo, Capsule, founded by the legend that is Yasutaka Nakata, is a futuristic mishmash of all kinds of electronica, synthpop and J-Pop combined. It is no lie to state that Capsule is both unique and awesome. Whether you can find a song with Nakata singing in it is a different question, as he mainly does the mixing and producing.

FEMM

FEMM is the sassy, feminist, fabulous duo who are mannequins. Whether these girls are singing about fxxk boys getting money, partying all night with the girls, or who they wanna be like, FEMM has the style that few J-Pop artists have. 

Faky

Faky... Faky, Faky, Faky. You proved all those K-Pop fans wrong. J-Pop is not always cute, and these girls were the first to prove it in this K-Pop / J-Pop battle that is going on. Faky is a resilient quadruple, that lost two members but is back and better then before. And to make them better, they did a collaboration with FEMM.

Daoko

  

Daoko, this girl is amazing. She is only 18 and has an album and is already one of the most prominent figures in Japanese hip-hop. Whether you prefer her lounge themes or her grungier songs, Daoko can appeal to anyone, if you give her a try.

tofubeats

tofubeats is genuinely awesome. Whether it is awesome dance tracks, his brilliant lounge tracks, or just his J-Pop in general, tofubeats go the distance remixing and releasing brilliant songs. The amount of collaborations he has done is staggering, with J-Pop stars such as Chisato Moritaka and Dream Ami, lining up to have songs made by him.

Pa's Lam System

Pa's Lam System is probably the best remix... er... in the world. His best works include a remixed version of a tofubeats song, and unfortunately most of them don't have videos, which is extremely sad. However if you just want to listen, PLS are great for you.

Emi Maria

Emi Maria is basically the Japanese Rihanna. She is brilliant and all of her songs reflect her beautiful R'n'B style. Her songs have the nicest beats and the nicest rhythms, and the lyrics aren't to bad either.

Perfume announce new album!

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It has been announced that our favourite techno girl group, Perfume, will be releasing their new long awaited album in the Spring of 2016, followed by a national arena tour of Japan! This means plenty of new album mixes, songs and more! 

I for one, can't wait!

www.perfume-web.jp/news/individual.php?id=395
^^More news here!

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Perfume x OK Go New Song - I Don't Understand You

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Perfume and alternative-rock band OK Go have collaborated on a new song entitled I Don't Understand You for a new anime known as Sushi Police. The anime has been released, and you can watch it, or you can be like me and skip to the end to listen to the theme. Here is the link to the video;

kissanime.to/Anime/Sushi-Police/Episode-001?id=121734

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Next Perfume Song - Next Stage with You - Featured in Mercedes-Benz Commercial

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Perfume fans rejoice as another new Perfume song is discovered, this time in an advertisement for car manufacturer Mercedes-Benz. The commercial, which is being used to promote the Mercedes A-Class, appeared on TV in Japan a couple of months ago. The advert features Perfume in manga-style art form performing on a stage and driving in the Mercedes A-Class instructing a robot where to drive them. The designs themselves look as if they could be Perfume vocaloids! But we digress... back to the song. Featuring the general upbeat vibe of most Perfume songs, the song also features a nice tune, and the lyrics are extremely catchy, and so far we have only heard a small portion of the song! This will be a good song, I can tell!

And even if you don't like the song... it is another step closer to the next Perfume album! Let's see, so far we have;

1. Sweet Refrain
2. Hold Your Hand
3. Cling Cling
4. Display
5. Relax in the City
6. Pick Me Up
7. Story?
8. Star Train
9. Tokimeki Lights
10. Next Stage With You

We are definitely getting close people! 

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Here is the video!

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