J-Pop: Boy Groups and Artists!

J-Pop, short for Japanese Pop, is a music genre that is quite popular, along with K-Pop (Korean Pop) and C-Pop (Chinese Pop). I have already written a blog post about J-pop girl groups and artists, which you can find under the "Music" category, but where are the guys? Thus, it is time to check out some famous J-pop Boy Groups and Artists!

EXILE: First up, EXILE. They are a boy group consisting of 19 members. They used to be known as the J Soul Brothers but they changed the name in 2001. The leader, stage name Hiro, formed the group with a bunch of other performers after leaving his former group Zoo (a pop group which split up in 1995). In total, they have sold over 25 million records in Japan alone.

Arashi: Arashi is known to be one of Japan's most famous and appreciated boy bands. The group has 5 members and was officially formed in September 1999. Their debut single sold close to a million copies. Arashi has also recieved over 60 awards and 26 nominations throughout the years.

SMAP: SMAP is most likely one of Japan's oldest boy bands. The group was created in 1988, with 5 members, but made their debut in 1991. They took the entertainment industry by storm and they've released over 50 singles and 20 albums. The members has also been on TV-shows, commercials and dramas. SMAP unfortunately disbanded on 31 December 2016.

Do you have any thoughts about these three boy bands? Do you listen to J-Pop? Please, let me know what you think, I'd be happy to hear!

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