J-pop, natively also known simply as pops, is the name for a form of popular music that entered the musical mainstream of Japan in the 1990s. Modern J-pop has its roots in traditional music of Japan, and significantly in 1960s pop and rock music. J-pop replaced kayōkyoku, a term for Japanese popular music from the 1920s to the 1980s in the Japanese music scene.
Eric Lee Martin is an American rock singer who was active throughout the 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s, both as solo artist and as a member of various bands. He rose to prominence as the frontman for the hard rock band Mr. Big, which scored a big hit in the early 1990s with "To Be with You", a song that Martin wrote during his teen years.
Mr. Big is the debut album by the American rock band Mr. Big. Produced by Kevin Elson, the album proved a partial commercial success, reaching the 46th slot on the Billboard 200 chart. Lead-off single "Addicted to that Rush", featuring the band's aggressive guitar and bass playing, also brought the group some mainstream attention, reaching the No. 39 slot on the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart. 300,000 copies were sold, according to a Musician magazine interview with Mr. Big in 1990.
Ray is the seventh album by L'Arc-en-Ciel, released on July 1, 1999, simultaneously with Ark. It reached number two on the Oricon chart, behind only Ark, and sold over two million copies, being certified by the RIAJ.
Koshi Inaba is a Japanese singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. He is best known as the vocalist and lyricist of the rock duo B'z, the best-selling music act in their native Japan. He also has a successful solo career, with six studio albums and five singles topping the Japanese music charts. Inaba collaborated with Slash on the latter's 2009 single "Sahara", and with Stevie Salas on the albums Chubby Groove (2017) and Maximum Huavo (2020).
Jack Martin Blades is an American rock musician. He has worked in the bands Rubicon, Night Ranger, and Damn Yankees. He has also recorded with Tommy Shaw under the name Shaw Blades and has done work alongside the Tak Matsumoto Group. Blades' most recent efforts include a second solo album and three albums with Revolution Saints, which he was a member of until 2022.
"Forever Love" is the fourteenth single by Japanese heavy metal band X Japan, released on July 8, 1996.
Flow is a Japanese rock band formed in 1998 as a five-piece band made up of two vocalists, a guitarist, a bassist, and a drummer. They are signed to Sacra Music. As of November 2023, the band has released 40 singles and 12 studio albums. Their songs have been featured in the opening sequences of several anime and Japanese drama series.
"I for You" is the eleventh single by Japanese rock band Luna Sea, released by Universal on July 1, 1998. It reached number 2 on the Oricon Singles Chart and was the 49th best-selling single of the year. It was the third and last in a serial release after the band's hibernation from 1997 to early 1998.
"Yuuwaku" is the 13th single by Japanese band Glay. It reached No. 1 on the weekly Oricon charts and sold 1,611,920 copies in 1998, becoming the best selling Japanese single of the year. It charted for 20 weeks and sold a total of 1,625,520 copies. The title song was used as the TDK "Mini Disc" CM song.
"1/3 no Junjō na Kanjō" is a song by the Japanese rock band Siam Shade, released in 1997. The song was first released as their sixth single on November 27, 1997, and also featured on their fourth studio album Siam Shade IV - Zero, released on January 21, 1998.
Ms. Vocalist is the ninth studio album by American singer-songwriter Debbie Gibson. Released on November 3, 2010 exclusively in Japan by Sony Music Japan, the album features Gibson's English-language covers of popular male-oriented Japanese songs. In addition, the album includes a duet with Mr. Big vocalist Eric Martin and two re-recordings of her number one hit "Lost in Your Eyes", with one version sung in Japanese. A deluxe edition release features four extra re-recordings of songs from her 1987 debut album Out of the Blue, plus a DVD featuring interviews and the music video for "I Love You".
E.G. Time is the third studio album by Japanese collective unit E-girls, released digitally on December 24, 2014, and physically on January 1, 2015 by Rhythm Zone and Avex Music Creative Inc. The record was produced by Exile Hiro's, and created by a variety of producers, composers and songwriters outside and from Japan, namely Clarabell, Yasutaka Nakata, Fast Lane, T.Kura, amongst others. It was distributed in 10 different formats, with various artwork sleeves and musical and visual material. E.G. Time also serves as the final record for numerous vocalists and performers in the band.
Mr. Vocalist is the sixth studio album by American singer-songwriter Eric Martin. Released on November 26, 2008 exclusively in Japan by Sony Music Japan, the album features Martin's English-language covers of popular female-oriented Japanese songs.
Mr. Vocalist 2 is the seventh studio album by American singer-songwriter Eric Martin. Released on March 4, 2009, exclusively in Japan by Sony Music Japan, the album features Martin's covers of female-oriented western songs, as voted by fans on a RecoChoku poll.
Mr. Vocalist 3 is the ninth studio album by American singer-songwriter Eric Martin. Released on November 3, 2010 exclusively in Japan by Sony Music Japan, the album features more of Martin's English-language covers of popular female-oriented Japanese songs. It includes "Sekaijū no Dare Yori Kitto", a duet with Debbie Gibson; an alternate recording of the song is included in Gibson's 2010 cover album Ms. Vocalist.
Mr. Vocalist X'Mas is the eighth studio album by American singer-songwriter Eric Martin. Released on November 11, 2009 exclusively in Japan by Sony Music Japan, the album features Martin's covers of Japanese and western Christmas songs.
Mr. Vocalist Best is a compilation album by American singer-songwriter Eric Martin. Released on April 6, 2011 exclusively in Japan by Sony Music Japan, the album compiles songs from Martin's four Mr. Vocalist albums from 2008 to 2010. Also included is the song "Inori", which was written and originally recorded by Yūji Sasaki for his aunt Sadako Sasaki, who was exposed to the atomic bombing of Hiroshima at the age of two and died of the effects ten years later in 1955. Two versions of the album were released: a single CD edition and a limited edition two-CD set with DVD.
Love Is Alive: Works of 1985–2010 is a compilation album by American singer-songwriter Eric Martin. The album was released on November 8, 2010 exclusively in Japan by Sony Music Japan to commemorate the 25th anniversary of Martin's solo career.
Luxury Disease is the tenth studio album by Japanese rock band One Ok Rock, released on September 9, 2022, through Fueled by Ramen, and produced by Rob Cavallo. The song "Vandalize" appears in the end credits from the 2022 game Sonic Frontiers, while "Prove" is the opening theme of Beyblade X.
