We delved into the J-Pop tag to dig out the most listened to J-Pop acts of all time. Whilst J-Pop is known for being a commercially manufactured pop hit machine, after looking at the stats we discovered the most listened to acts were more “organic singer-songwriters" rather than the more recent bubble gum pop that J-Pop is most famous for.

Anyway enough blabbing, take a look and listen to the Spotify playlist here!

1. Utada Hikaru

339,714 listeners

Actually an American born artist but she rose to fame as one of the most prominent J-Pop acts with her surprise 90s smash hit "First Love!"

First Love:

2. Yōko Kanno

285,585 listeners

You might be familiar with her work already, as Yoko is famous in Japan for her intense and soul striking soundtracks for some of the world's biggest anime feature films!

Inner Universe:

3. Ayumi Hamasaki

272,152 listeners

Ayumi Hamasaki is an artists' artist! Famous in Japan for fighting back against the commercial pop machine, she creates pop hits year-in and year-out without fail!

M:

4. L'Arc~en~Ciel

269,792 listeners

L'Arc~en~Ciel are the first “rock" act on the list so far, have headlined Madison Square Garden and one of the few Japanese acts to “cross over" and break the USA!

Flower:

5. Boa

261,347 listeners

Boa is a South Korean actress who took Japan by storm with her movie appearances, movie soundtracks and artist albums!

Only One:

6. ASIAN KUNG-FU GENERATION

241,067 listeners

Another rock band on the list! AKG are probably the most alternative act on this list and are heavily influences by western punk acts such as Green Day, NOFX and The Clash.

Blood Circulator:

7. Yoshioka Yui

179,210 listeners

Singer-Songwriter Yoshioka Yui, mostly known as just Yui, wooed japan with her acoustics pop ballads and also appearances on Anime soundtracks as is the case with a lot of J-Pop acts!

Fight:

8. ORANGE RANGE

178,239 listeners

The last rock band on the list, ORANGE RANGE are a 5 piece pop-rock act who have hammered the Japanese charts with hit after hit after hit!

9.Namie Amuro

143,716 listeners

Namie Amuro is part of the new wave of J-Pop acts a Japanese singer, dancer, fashion model, actress and businesswoman… basically everything!

Don't Cry:

10. Perfume

157,767 listeners

One of the most popular acts with the younger generation, perfume are one of J-Pop's biggest girl groups.

Pick Me Up:

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