Recommendations for a j-pop fan?

May 14, 2021 02:01 pm

Hello everyone, hope you are having a great day and week!

I am a long time j-pop fan, my favourites being Johnny's. Actually, even my music preference is just Johnny's music, and maybe some US boybands, like the Backstreet Boys.

I am learning Chinese (because my boyfriend is Chinese and we will definitely live in China after I graduate uni), and he told me that I should find some musicians that I like from China, just to give me more materials to listen to, without feeling forced. I just started watching Chuang 2019 and I do like R1SE's music, but they are going to disband soon, so I need something else to listen to and follow.

Can anyone recommend me any songs that I would enjoy from c-pop, even as a Johnny's / J-pop fan? Songs would be very helpful!

I like fast-paced, energetic, and I only like listening to boy-bands or male singers. Thank you everyone!

EDIT: I know there are many threads with many artists, but I do not have the time to look through 50 different artists, check at least 3 of their songs to know what they are all about, and then choose from them. I am asking if anyone can recommend me directly. :)

zeesqueere

Jul 20, 2023 04:27 pm

I would actually suggest starting with Taiwanese pop! Some artists have done songs in both Mandarin and Japanese, and others like (iirc both Kenji Wu and Dean Fujioka) have released songs in multiple languages including Japanese. I also feel like the style of Taiwanese rock is a good entryway into Mainland Chinese rock so bands like Mayday, Luantan Ascent, and Power Station are musts if you want to work up to Mainland rockers like Li Ronghao. Chthonic is really good if you like J-Heavy Metal, but their vocals won't help with language learning lol. And if boybands are your style, then the best ones are F4, Fahrenheit, 831, and Magic Power. Other J-Pop fan friendly soloists to recommend are Yoga Lin, Jay Chou, Alien Huang, Leehom Wang, Show Luo, and Eric Chou.

As for good starting Mainland/Hong Konger artists, I would recommend CORSAK, Andy Lau, GAI, Zhou Shen, Mao Buyi, and Eason Chan. Singaporean artists like JJ Lin also tend to have very clear Mandarin vocals. Lastly, look into K-Pop boybands with Chinese language units. Pronunciation can vary from crystal clear to sloppy, but you'll find a lot of upbeat songs that way too.