Popular music[edit]
J-Pop[edit]
Main article: J-pop
J-pop, an abbreviation for Japanese pop, is a loosely defined musical genre that entered the musical mainstream of Japan in the 1990s. Modern J-pop has its roots in 1960s pop and rock music, such as The Beatles, which led to bands such as Happy End fusing rock with Japanese music.[9] J-pop was further defined by Japanese new wave bands such as Yellow Magic Orchestra and Southern All Stars in the late 1970s.[10] Eventually, J-pop replaced kayōkyoku ("Lyric Singing Music", a term for Japanese pop music from the 1920s to the 1980s) in the Japanese music scene.[11] The term was coined by the Japanese media to distinguish Japanese music from foreign music.
Japanese idol musical artists are a significant part of the music market, with girl groups and boy bands regularly topping the singles chart. These include boy band Arashi, that had the best-selling singles of 2008 and 2009 and girl group AKB48, that have had the best-selling singles each year since 2010.