Discover the Beat: Top 7 Fun Facts About Japanese Music You Never Knew

1. Virtual Pop Star Hatsune Miku

Move over, Madonna – there's a new "Material Girl" in town, and she's not even made of flesh and bone: Hatsune Miku, a virtual pop star with turquoise pigtails, boasts over 100,000 fan-created songs, global fashion influence, and collaborations with the likes of Pharrell Williams and Lady Gaga. Manifested through a holographic projection, Miku's live performances feature a real band, reflecting her cyber-meets-organic persona, and illustrating the power of technology to provide a unique platform for global creativity.
Source => expmag.com

2. Shamisen: Japanese Stringed Sensation

Move over, guitar heroes, there's a new stringed sensation in town and it's as cool as a cucumber in a Tokyo winter: the shamisen, a traditional Japanese instrument with a fretless neck and a body covered in skin, strums to the beat of its own three silk or nylon strings, creating a unique sound called sawari that's perfectly at home in classic genres like nagauta, jiuta, and kouta, or just jammin' with its jazz and rock brethren.
Source => en.wikipedia.org

Did you know that ancient Chinese DJs created unique soundscapes with a twelve-note gamut called twelve lǜ, crafting sets of five or seven frequencies? Discover the fascinating world of ancient Chinese music and its evolution! 🎶🇨🇳

=> Fun Facts about Chinese-Music

3. Gagaku: Ancient Japanese Orchestral Music

Move over, Mozart, and step aside, Beethoven—Gagaku's in the house: This ancient Japanese orchestral music dates back millennia and has been performed at the Imperial Palace, UN General Assembly, and across Europe, with its musicians recognized as living national treasures and Gagaku itself inscribed on UNESCO's Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity list.
Source => kunaicho.go.jp

4. Loudness: Japan's Trailblazing Heavy Metal Band

Rocking out with their kimonos on and taking a break from the search for the perfect sushi roll: Loudness, Japan's trailblazing heavy metal band, was the first of its kind to sign with a major US label and has since treated fans to 26 studio albums, nine live albums, charted on Billboard Top 100 and Oricon several times, all between lineup changes and the devoted guitar heroics of founding member Akira Takasaki.
Source => en.wikipedia.org

5. Kyary Pamyu Pamyu's Celebration & New Music

Once upon a quarter-century, in a land where candy-colored outfits reign supreme and infectious tunes fill the air, a ceremonious gathering took place, led by the exuberant Kyary Pamyu Pamyu: A wild celebration of her 25th birthday and seven-year anniversary since her debut in the merry realm of J-pop, this momentous event called ASOBINITE!!! featured nostalgic performances of bops like "Ninjari Ban Ban" and "Mondai Girl", heartfelt gratitude to her devoted subjects, and a grand proclamation of her quest to create fresh sonic adventures ahead. As a bonus royal treat, her loyal collaborator Yasutaka Nakata unveiled a soon-to-be-released musical present for all to anticipate with glee.
Source => billboard.com

6. Avex Group: Bringing JoBros to Japan

Hold onto your sushi rolls and sing-along, folks, because the Jonas Brothers are poppin' in the land of the rising sun: Avex Group, a Japanese music mogul, not only brings fan-favorite Japanese artists like Ayumi Hamasaki, Namie Amuro, and SPEED to the stage, but also gets your Japanese teenager humming tunes from international icons like Katy Perry and the beloved JoBros!
Source => en.wikipedia.org

7. Midori: Violin String-Breaking Prodigy

They say the show must go on, but Midori took that to a symphonic level – one might even say she had nerves of violin strings: During a concert at just 14 years old, this prodigious Japanese violinist faced a broken E string, quickly swapped violins with the concertmaster, broke it again, and then seamlessly switched to the associate concertmaster's violin, all without missing a beat – leaving the audience, and even the conducting composer, seriously fiddling with their own amazement!
Source => thestrad.com