I want to hear how you got into listening Japanese music!
For me, I can barely remember where it started. I knew about the existance of girlgroups like AKB48 and anison since I was a kid due to my sister being into anime but it never clicked much with me.
But somewhere 2017~2018 I somehow started to listen to Chanmina, who I still like. I have no clue how I got there anymore. Around that time, I also started listening to TeddyLoid and a few others.
2021 was the real turning point. I was mainly listening to Kpop at the time and releases where a bit dissapointing lately. Then Koda Kumi’s Doo-Bee-Doo-Bob got recommended on my YT list and I was hooked. 2 years later she’s my 2nd most-listened artist of all time, with only Bruce Springsteen above her. Having a 20 year long discography really gives you a lot of stuff to listen to 😅.
But it also showed me a whole other side of Jpop that was quite clicking with me. Up beat, high attitude, and not-cute. I got into more singers like Ayumi Hamasaki, Namie Amuro, Mika Nakashima, Tomomi Itano, Faky, Happiness, and more. Jpop has become a common genre I listen too, and a big part of my CD collection.
How about you guys?!
The very first Japanese band I ever listened to was Versailles.
It all started with a random MySpace search, back when I was in high school, which lead me to them. You know, when you find an interesting profile and then one profile leads to another, and boom!
I listened to some of their songs and I was immediately hooked. Thanks to them I got introduced to more bands, I found out about Visual Kei, and then a whole new world appeared in front of my eyes.