YOASOBI will make history as the first-ever J-Pop artist to perform at OSHEAGA in Montreal, Canada. Following appearances at Coachella and Lollapalooza, this marks their Canadian live debut. Full details on the festival lineup, ticket info, and J-Pop's expanding global footprint.
TK from Ling tosite sigure wrapped his first North American tour on June 7, 2026, playing seven shows in six cities to about 8,000 people, with five dates sold out. Here is what the run showed about his audience abroad, what Spotify's play map says, and what comes next through Budokan in December.
BABYMETAL will curate the entire Sonic Stage at Summer Sonic 2026 as "SONIC METAL STAGE – Curated by BABYMETAL." This unprecedented move sees the 15th-anniversary kawaii metal unit taking artistic control of a stage at Japan's biggest urban rock festival, now celebrating its 25th year. With Billboard 200 Top 10 credentials, BABYMETAL is poised to reshape the summer festival landscape. Ticket info and lineup speculation included.
Ado, the anonymous Japanese singer who conquered the world without showing her face, has released "Vivarium," a song she wrote and composed herself, alongside her autobiography. For the first time, her single cover carries a real photograph of her. From closet recordings to sold-out arenas, this is the biggest turning point yet in the 23-year-old's career.
KID PHENOMENON, a seven-member dance & vocal group from LDH JAPAN, has been selected to perform at SXSW 2026 in Austin, Texas, the legendary festival that launched Billie Eilish, Ed Sheeran, and Kendrick Lamar. Discover how their "TOKYO NEO POP" concept is charting a new path for Japanese artists going global.
Eve, the voice behind Jujutsu Kaisen's viral hit "Kaikai Kitan," teams up with Yorushika vocalist suis for "Kaze no Anthem," the opening theme of TV anime Witch Hat Atelier (premiering April 2026). It is their third collaboration. Here is why this Eisner Award-winning manga adaptation drew so much attention outside Japan.
SKY-HI's D.U.N.K. Showcase 2026 added Filipino acts SB19, BGYO, and Cup of Joe plus Thailand's BUS to its fourth-wave lineup, with BMSG TRAINEE opening DAY 3. The three-day run at K-Arena Yokohama was the largest edition of the cross-agency project yet.
XG's "HYPNOTIZE" topped Billboard JAPAN's country-by-country Japan Songs chart in seven markets at once for the week of February 6-12, 2026. Their debut album "THE CORE - 核" reached the Billboard 200, and their world tour opened with three sold-out nights and 60,000 fans in Yokohama.
BABYMETAL will perform at Summer Sonic 2026 in both Tokyo and Osaka, curating the SONIC METAL STAGE on one day at each venue. It is a convergence of two anniversaries: BABYMETAL's 15th and Summer Sonic's 25th. Fresh off their Billboard 200 Top 10 debut, Japan's kawaii metal pioneers continue to reshape the global metal landscape.
Kenshi Yonezu's "IRIS OUT" has achieved 21 consecutive weeks at #1 on YouTube and Oricon streaming charts, setting the all-time solo artist record in Japan. With a peak of #5 on the Billboard Global 200, the highest ever for a Japanese-language song, and a sold-out world tour drawing 440,000 fans, we explore how Japanese artists are reshaping global music streaming.
Japan-born global HIP HOP/R&B group XG has been named Coca-Cola Japan Ambassador for FIFA World Cup 2026, appearing in limited-edition soccer jerseys in a new web movie. From closing Coachella's Sahara Stage to a 47-show world tour, here is the record that made a music group the face of a World Cup campaign.
At just 25, Japanese multi-artist Vaundy has become the youngest male solo artist ever to headline a dome tour in Japan, selling out all 7 shows and drawing roughly 350,000 fans across four cities. At his Tokyo Dome concert he announced his first Asia arena tour, covering Seoul, Hong Kong, Taipei and Shanghai. From posting songs on YouTube to Japan's biggest stages in seven years: the story behind the rise.
In May 2026, "Zipangu," the largest Japanese-only music festival ever held on U.S. soil, brought Ado, Atarashii Gakko!, Chanmina, HANA, MAN WITH A MISSION, Yuki Chiba, and 10-FEET to a 35,000-capacity venue near the Rose Bowl in LA. Following K-pop's KCON model, J-pop is now building its own global showcase infrastructure. We explore what this historic event means for J-pop's international expansion.
15 shows across five domes. About 490,000 fans. A new song called "Five", once a candidate for the group's name. The Kōhaku farewell that never was. And on May 31, 2026, at Tokyo Dome, ARASHI will close their 27-year story with their own hands. What they leave behind, what lives on, and the question they ask every fan. The final part of a 5-part series.
After the hiatus, five men walked separate paths — marriage, fatherhood, a samurai epic, an art-filled island retreat. Then came a company called "ARASHI Inc.," eighteen months of secret talks, and one video on May 6, 2025, where Ohno Satoshi showed his face for the first time in 1,587 days. Part 4 of a 5-part series.
Billboard Japan's "2025 Global Data Digest" analyzes Japanese music streaming data across 200+ countries. With J-POP holding a 2.52% global share (ranked 9th), the 71-page report examines how artists like Kenshi Yonezu and Creepy Nuts are breaking through internationally, the impact of anime tie-ups, and how world tours drive streaming numbers in different regions.
In June 2017, Ohno Satoshi told his four bandmates he wanted to leave. What followed was a year of talks, a 2.37-million-person farewell tour, a pandemic that stole their final year with fans, and one last night on December 31, 2020. Part 3 of a 5-part series on ARASHI's 27-year journey.
tuki., a Japanese high school singer-songwriter who keeps her face and real name hidden, held her very first live concert at Nippon Budokan — and set a Guinness World Record. All 8,503 tickets sold out instantly, earning the record for most tickets sold by a solo J-Pop artist at their debut public performance. From TikTok covers to over 1 billion streams, here's the story of the 16-year-old phenomenon who moved an arena to tears.
Charlie Puth's fourth album *Whatever's Clever!* includes "Home," his first collaboration with Hikaru Utada. The pairing surfaced in the tracklist he posted right after singing the Super Bowl LX anthem; the single arrived on March 9, 2026 and the album on March 27. Two artists rooted in R&B take on the idea of where you belong.
Hana Yori Dango changed everything. Annual chart domination, six consecutive years at National Stadium, nine turns hosting Kohaku: ARASHI conquered every peak in Japanese entertainment across eleven golden years. But in 2017, at the very summit, a clock began ticking toward goodbye. Part 2 of a 5-part series.