J-pop Girl Groups

Here's a list with a few of the many popular Japanese girl groups.

1. Morning Musume

Debut: 1997

Members: It Varies

Morning Musume has continuous line-up changes in which new, younger members are added each "generation" to replace the members that grow up. The group's name means "morning girls" or "morning daughters" and their theme is a young girl's virtue.

Songs:
1.  The Cold Wind and Lonely Love (冷たい風と片思い)
2. Selfish, Easygoing, Jokes of Love
(わがまま 気のまま 愛のジョーク)
3. No One Can Replace You (君の代わりは居やしない)

2. Perfume

Debut: 2000

Members: 3

Perfume primarily makes electro-pop music and is known for their artificial sound. Despite having vocal talent, they heavily use auto-tune and vocoders. Often, their electronic songs are paired with a colorful, geometric music video.

Songs:
1. Pick Me Up
2. FLASH
3. 1mm

3. Dream

Debut: 2000

Members: 4

Is part of the collective girl group E-Girls along with sister girl groups Happiness and Flower. The group has has several line-up changes since their debut and has four members as of 2013.

Songs:
1. Darling (ダーリン)
2. Only You
3. Konna Ni Mo (こんなにも)

4. AKB48

Debut: 2005

Members: It Varies

AKB48's concept is "idols you can meet" and the group has their own theater. "AKB" comes from Akihabara, the area in Tokyo which the group originated, and "48" is how many members the group was initially supposed to have.

Songs:
1. GREEN FLASH
2. Kimi Wa Melody (君はメロディー)
3. Kuchibiru Ni Be My Baby

5. Scandal

Debut: 2006

Members: 4

Not a group, but more of a band, Scandal was formed from four high-school girls who were noticed by a record company from their street performances. They have performed theme songs for many anime shows including: Shoujo S, Bleach and Pokemon.

Songs:
1. Departure
2. Take Me Out ( テイクミーアウト)
3. Love Me Do

6. Happiness

Debut: 2008

Members: 7

The members originated as Exile's (Jpop boy group) back-up dancers. They debuted with 

the single "Happy Talk" which was used as a CM theme for Mister Donuts.

Songs:
1. Juicy Love
2. Seek A Light
3. Ordinary Girls

7. Momoiro Clover Z

Debut: 2008
Members: 5
Momoiro Clover Z are like a group of power rangers because each member has a official color and their performances often include energetic action moves. They are well-known for creating the intro themes of anime including Sailor Moon and Dragon Ball Z.

Songs:
1. DECORATION
2. Neo Stargate
3. Get Down!

8. Flower

Debut: 2009

Members: 6

Flower is a dance and vocal unit of E-Girls. The members were chosen through a talent contest titled "Exile Presents Vocal Battle Audition 3".

Songs:
1. Sayonara, Alice (さよなら、アリス)
2. Akikaze No Answer
3. Yasashisa de Afureru You Ni ( やさしさで溢れるように)

9. FAKY

Debut: 2013

Members:4
Faky are an edgy, trendy girl group whose message for girls is, "Do what they want, the way they want." Their name is a combination of the words "fantastic" and "Tokyo". It is also a play on the word "fake" as their goal is to bring fresh realness to the Japanese music scene.

Songs:
1. You
2. Are You Ok?
3. Girl Digger

10. Juice=Juice

Debut: 2013

Members: 5

The name Juice=Juice exudes freshness and personality. Each member has assigned color and fruit: grape (purple), yellow (lemon), orange, melon (green), apple (red) and peach (pink).

Songs:
1. Romance is on Its Way (ロマンスの途中)
2. Blown By The Wind (風に吹かれて)
3. My Life is Not Just For Show

11. Color-Code

Debut: 2013

Members: 3
Color-Code was created by a Italian-Japanese fashion director. The group members were selected in Pop Icon Project Tokyo auditions to find a Japanese Lady Gaga.

Songs:
1. I LIKE DAT
2. Hands Up!
3. Break Our Love

12. Cherrsee

Debut: 2016

Members: 5
Formed by the famous K-pop producer Brave Brothers, Cherrsee received help from Kpop girl group AOA. The groups name is a play on the words "cherry seeds" and there are four Japanese members and a Thai member.

Songs:
1. Mystery
2. Shiroi Shirts (白いシャツ)
3. SURISURI MASURI (Dance Practice)

Sources:
Images: 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12
Info: 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12

This or That? {6th Edition}

Ever hear a song that reminds you of another? This is a friendly comparison of videos and songs with similar genres, concepts and themes.

Taeyeon I v. Ju Jingyi Everyday

'I' is Taeyeon's well-received solo debut! The song is a pop-ballad with soft-rock elements and boasts the songstress' steady vocals. There is beautiful scenery in the music video, as it was filmed in New Zealand, and there's a "finding myself" plot. In the same way, Ju Jingyi's 'Everyday' also has a visually appealing music video. She wears boho-chic clothes like Taeyeon and sings with a clear voice.

• Taeyeon - I
• SNH48 鞠婧祎 (Ju JingYi) - 每一天 (Everyday)

My Choice: My favorite is Ju JingYu's. There's so many members in SNH48, so it's nice to hear Jinyu's voice by itself.

Sources:

Images: 1,2 

Artist Profiles~ I.O.I

I.O.I, meaning "Ideal of Idol" is a project k-pop group that was formed on the reality TV show 'Produce 101'. The eleven members were chosen from 101 trainees of various record companies. The members, many of whom are in other k-pop groups, will go back to their companies when I.O.I disbands in January 2017.

Girl Group

I.O.I

K-pop/Korean

1. Dream Girls

"Dream Girls" was intended to be reminiscent of Girls' Generation's "Into The New World". It has a classic sports-themed/school girl music video that most girl groups do at least once. The best part of I.O.I's debut song is the lyrics. Rather than a sappy love song (which is nice, but overdone) the message is to confidently chase your dreams and never quit.

2. Whatta Man (Good Man)

I.O.I. debuted their first sub-unit of eight members with a remake of the 1963 track "What A Man" by Linda Lyndell. It is the edgiest the group has ever been and the song is a platform for their strong vocals! Chung-ha, the main dancer, made the choreography for the song and the music video features leather outfits and a lot of sass.

3. Very Very Very

JYP of JYP Entertainment collaborated with I.O.I for this track. It's playful, with a very fast rhythm and childish charm. The lyrics describe a girl trying to tell if a boy really likes her and how to cautiously approach a relationship. This is I.O.I last release before their disbandment and they really go out with a bang. Due to the over-repetitive chorus, you won't forget this song for a while!

Other Songs:

Hold on

Crush

Knock Knock Knock

Sources:

Info,Profile,1,2,3