City pop is a style of Japanese popular music that flourished in the late 1970s and the 1980s, in the era of Japan's economic boom. Its name reflects the glossy, urban spirit of the big city, of luxury and carefree leisure.
Musically, city pop is a refined, “expensive” sound with influences of Western funk, soul, jazz-funk, and “adult” rock (AOR): smooth harmonies, virtuoso arrangements, a soft vocal. Leading figures of the genre were Tatsuro Yamashita and Mariya Takeuchi. An interesting fate befell this music in the 21st century: thanks to the internet, a vintage aesthetic, and the vaporwave genre, city pop underwent an unexpected global revival, winning over a new generation of listeners around the world with its nostalgic, warm, and at the same time refined sound.
