NEWSWORTHY
Pop star Namie Amuro bows out with final performance in Okinawa
Pop star Namie Amuro delivered her final stage performance Sunday as fans from Japan and elsewhere in Asia flocked to Ginowan, Okinawa Prefecture, to bid her farewell. Amuro — who has achieved milestones in Japan's pop music scene since the 1990s as a singer, dancer ...
Namie Amuro: Celebrating J-pop's first queen
For millions of Japanese music fans in the 1990s, Namie Amuro wasn't just the Heisei Era's defining pop star, she was someone they grew up with. This relationship is clear in the year-long documentary series, "Finally," which has been streaming on Hulu since the 40-year-old ...
Revisit the biggest albums of Namie Amuro's career
From 'Sweet 19 Blues' to '_genic,' Namie Amuro covered a lot of musical ground.
Summer Sonic's helter-skelter lineup provides a lot of chances for younger Japanese acts
When it comes to music festivals in Japan, Fuji Rock is the pretty one, Rock in Japan is the domestic one and Summer Sonic is the crowd pleaser. Past headliners have included acts as diverse as Metallica, Beyonce, Green Day and Stevie Wonder. In 2018, ...
Five Okinawa women in their 40s, who practiced singing and dancing as teens at the same school as pop diva Namie Amuro, have recently relaunched their music careers after a lengthy break with a goal of achieving fame. The members of aptly named Dream 39 ...
Atsuko Maeda, 27, a pop cultural icon and original member of the all-girl group AKB48, has married actor Ryo Katsuji, 31, an official of his management company said on Tuesday. "We will continue to support each other and sincerely engage in each and every project ...
Da Pump scores an unexpected summer hit with 'U.S.A.'
The highly coveted song of the summer needs to cut across demographics and unite one nation under a beat. Think Len's "Steal My Sunshine" in 1999, Daft Punk's "Get Lucky" in 2013 or Luis Fonsi's "Despacito" in 2017. Who'd have thought that, in 2018 ...
Nariaki Obukuro comes out of left field
Nariaki Obukuro bristles at the suggestion he makes J-pop. He prefers his music being described as J-pop-adjacent.
Famed producer Tetsuya Komuro quits music industry over alleged affair
Music producer Tetsuya Komuro said Friday he will retire from the industry following a recent magazine report about his alleged extramarital affair with a nurse. "I decided to retire in order to take responsibility for this . . .," Komuro, 59, told a news conference ...
J-pop diva Namie Amuro plans to exit showbiz next September after 25-year career
Popular singer Namie Amuro, who has a strong fan base in Asia, said Wednesday she will quit show business next September. "I, Namie Amuro, would like to take this opportunity to inform all of my fans of my decision to retire as of Sept. 16, ...
J-pop duo Scott & Rivers on writing Japanese lyrics
When American musician Scott Murphy first came to Japan in 2001, he could only say a few phrases in Japanese.
SMAP makes final appearance on signature variety show before breakup
SMAP made its final appearance as a group Monday ahead of its planned breakup Saturday, on the final episode of the pop act's signature variety show. The final episode of "SMAP×SMAP," a show that featured SMAP's members singing, cooking and performing comedy, was made into ...
