Japanese idol

History

The idol phenomenon began during the early seventies, reflecting a boom in Japan for the musician Sylvie Vartan in the French filmCherchez l'idole in 1963, with Japanese title (アイドルを探せ Aidoru wo sagase?) in November 1964. The term came to be applied to any cute female actress or singer, or any cute male singer. Teenage girls, mostly between 14 and 16, and teenage males, mostly between 15 and 18, began rising to stardom. One in particular, Momoe Yamaguchi, was a huge star until her marriage and retirement in 1980. Idols dominated the pop music scene in the 80s; and this period is known as the "Golden Age of Idols in Japan".[1] In a single year, as many as 40 or 50 new idols could appear, only to disappear from the public spotlight shortly afterwards. A few idols from that era, such as Seiko Matsuda, are still popular. In the 90s, the power of female Japanese idols began to wane, as the music industry shifted towards rock musicians and singers for whom music was a more important sales point than looks or wholesomeness, as well as towards genres such as rap that were harder to square with conventional prettiness. At the same time, the power of male Japanese idols, such as SMAP, Kinki Kids, Tokio, and V6, grew. The Japanese idol phenomenon has had a large impact on popular culture especially in Hong Kong,South Korea,Taiwan and other Asian and non-Asian Countries.
Namie Amuro was the most popular female idol in the late 1990s, although marketed as sexier and more mature than other idols. She began her career in 1992 as a vocalist for the pop group Super Monkeys, but the group flopped very quickly. Producers liked Amuro and in 1995 she went solo, enjoying massive success. In 1997 she went on a one-year hiatus because of her pregnancy, and was eclipsed by Ayumi Hamasaki.

A diversification occurred in the 1990s and instead of few idols vying for popularity, a number of idols with specific characteristics divided the market. In the mid-1990s, idols became much younger than before, and groups of idols like Speed and Morning Musume became prominent. A new genre of idols called Net Idols became known in the late 1990s, only appearing on websites. In 1997 there appeared Kyoko Date, the first "cyber idol" or "virtual idol". Kyoko Date has a fabricated history and statistics and her own songs. Meanwhile, gurabia aidoru (グラビアアイドル, i.e. "[photo] gravure idols") such as Yoko Matsugane, Rio Natsume and Eiko Koike have largely appeared skimpily clad in"cheesecake" photographs.

While formed in 1999, the 00's saw the rise in popularity of Arashi, a boy band produced by Johnny & Associates, Inc., the largest male idol talent agency.

In 2007 NHK Kouhaku Utagassen, "Idol group from Akihabara" AKB48, "Otaku idol" Shoko Nakagawa, "Idol from the U.S." Leah Dizon performed a medley called "Special Medley: Latest Japan Proud Culture" together, introduced as "Akiba-kei idols", whileHello! Project groups, including Morning Musume, haven't participated in this program since 2008.[2] In 2008, "Near Future Technopop Unit" Perfume, which got famous with their hit song of that year "Polyrhythm", sang on the stage for the first time.[3]

In 2010, some new idol groups appear, such as Momoiro Clover, another Hello! Project group S/mileage, a sister group of AKB48SKE48. From Avex, which held girls' groups like MAX, Folder5, Dream, a teenage idol group Tokyo Girls' Style made debut. A TV-based group Idoling!!! has its own program on Fuji TV, as the main stage of Onyanko Club was Fuji TV's Yuuyake Nyan Nyan before, and gets some popularity. The current situation in the Japanese idol scene is called "Idol sengoku jidai" (アイドル戦国時代; lit. Idol war age).[4]