7/3/2023 0 Comments Jpop xfile![]() The following night was ‘Idol File Night Vol.1’ which appeared to be a collection of different idol groups. The Tuesday night show was Necronomidol, an idol group who seemed to resemble BabyMetal, describing themselves as an “Ultradark Tokyo-based Idol unit” who played ambient death metal (Necronomidol official website). I did not expect to see a similar mall appearance, but I was able to, alongside another student who was interested in the topic, find a couple of shows that seemed relevant to our research but also genuinely interesting.īoth shows were held at The Loft, a music venue that seemed to hold a wide variety of gigs with the visual aesthetic of a typically western rock venue. Part of it was because of a natural interest in music, but beyond that I wanted to see if my experience seeing LinQ was unique or if it represented idol shows in general. When the oppourtunity arose to return to Tokyo, I knew I wanted to try to attend a show or two while I was over there. The experience of seeing LinQ perform ended up being one of the main stories I would tell to friends who asked about the trip when I returned. They were learned actions that labelled their fandom but also allowed for them to participate with the show. Not just was the gender dynamic a surprise, but watching the crowd perform dance moves and chant along with the songs made for an entertaining but confusing experience. The audience was not what I expected at all. ![]() A large majority of the audience were adult men, and this gap was even more noticeable among those I perceived to be dedicated fans who either clearly knew the songs or were standing in a cordoned off V.I.P-like section. While the performance was in a public space where anyone could stop and watch, there was a very clear gender imbalance in the crowd. Going in I had assumed that the target demographic for J-pop resembled western pop markets, where the audience is mostly teenaged girls. Seeing LinQ perform was an eye opening experience. ![]() While I had a growing interest in Korean pop music (K-pop) at the time which had also introduced me to some J-pop, I had little knowledge of the genre and its fan demographic. While there are male examples of the genre, the live shows I was able to attend were all female-based, and so the first hand experience would be too heavily skewed in that direction if I were to try to analyse both aspects of the idol genre.ĭuring a previous trip to Tokyo I had come across a mall performance at the Ikebukuro Sunshine City Plaza. The focus of this research will be directed on girl idol groups. During the trip, I was able to engage with not just the live scene, but also come across other areas of media exposure such as transmedia influence and merchandise. In travelling to Tokyo, I wanted to look into the kind of media spread and fandom the idol scene promotes, not just from its big name acts like AKB48, but from the lesser known groups as well. While Asian music has spread further than ever before in recent years, the J-pop scene and specifically the idol genre, has rarely spread to the west. But while some media spreads across the world, others continue to build their niche within their home countries. In the modern pop culture spectrum it is not uncommon to come across Japanese or Japanese inspired media, and now more than ever with the internet providing fans all over the world with avenues to consume and engage with their media of choice consumers are no longer bound by what industry executives think the masses will enjoy.
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