"Kiss Me," the latest from °C-ute. Under normal conditions, °C-ute’s latest single and its PV would be an eyebrow-lifter. However, in the face of the storm of news coming from elsewhere in the idol universe, it seems to be practically invisible. This is too bad because it’s not only a... Continue reading

Jurina Matsui, in blue, in "Two Roses," October 2010. Oh, Lord! Point No. 1: Sales of AKB48 CDs have gone through the roof, surpassing anything ever produced by a female music group, ever, in the entire history of the world. Point No. 2: SKE48, a sister group to AKB48, is... Continue reading

Just follow these simple steps and watch as traffic, and profits, skyrocket! Then, enjoy the idols from Japan! An unbelievable double-header! Continue reading

Shuffle group, including Sakichi, right, during 'Honey Pie,' winter 2010. Best in J-Pop will remain a viable blog here, but is also serving as an archive of the old Best in J-Pop blog that closed Sept. 30 on Vox.com. That means all the J-pop posts since 2007 on Vox will... Continue reading

Saki Ogawa, circa 2009, while still an Egg. It was preordained that Saki Ogawa, otherwise known simply as "Sakichi," would be a major star in Japan. From modest beginnings in the Hello! Project Eggs, she was named to the newly forming quartet S/mileage in 2009 and it appears that might... Continue reading

Jurina, above, is quite a load, at age 13, for SKE48. Wow. Imagine finally tracking down an expensive, rare copy of AKB48's earth-moving JCB Hall concert DVD of December 2008 and discovering that the biggest star of that massive show was an 11-year-old kid named Jurina Matsui. Yes, let us... Continue reading