The year 2021 in

Japanese music In Japan, music includes a wide array of distinct genres, both traditional and modern. The word for "music" in Japanese is 音楽 (''ongaku''), combining the kanji 音 ''on'' (sound) with the kanji 楽 ''gaku'' (music, comfort). Japan is the world ...

Debuting

Debuting groups

≠Me ≠Me (ノットイコールミー; pronounced Not Equal Me), is a Japanese idol girl group that formed in early 2019. The twelve-person group is produced by former AKB48 and HKT48 member Rino Sashihara and is the sister group of =Love. History 2 ...

ASP Asp may refer to: Places * Asp, part of Densbüren, Aargau, Switzerland * Aspe (''Asp'' in Valencian), Alicante, Spain * Asp Lake, a lake in Minnesota Animals * Asp (fish) * Asp (snake), in antiquity, one of several venomous snakes ** ''Cera ...

Be First Be:First (stylized in all caps) is a Japanese boy band formed and managed by BMSG and signed to B-ME. The group debuted on November 3, 2021, through the reality competition show ''The First'', which is hosted by Sky-Hi. Name The group's name, ...

* INI * Itzy * Naniwa Danshi *

NIK Nik is a unisex given name and a short form of most names starting with ''Nik'', derived from Ancient Greek νικη (nike) meaning "victory". It may refer to: People: *Nik Bärtsch (born 1971), Swiss pianist, composer and producer *Nik Bonitto (b ...

Debuting soloists

Takuya Eguchi is a Japanese voice actor and singer. He is affiliated with 81 Produce. He has voiced in a number of lead roles in anime shows, including Kazuya Kujo in ''Gosick'', Yoshiharu Sagara in ''The Ambition of Oda Nobuna'', Kon Hokaze in ''Ixion Sag ...

Ai Hashimoto is a Japanese actress, fashion model and singer. Life Hashimoto was born in Kumamoto, Kumamoto Prefecture, the second of three daughters.星原克也「女優魂橋本愛 14歳飛躍の幕開け」,『熊本日日新聞』(Kumamoto Nichinichi S ...

Takanori Iwata is a Japanese dancer and actor. He performs with the J-pop, J-Pop groups Sandaime J Soul Brothers and Exile (Japanese band), Exile. As a member of Sandaime J Soul Brothers, he has received the Japan Record Awards twice. He earned his first lead ...

Reina Kondō is a Japanese voice actress and singer from Chiba Prefecture who is affiliated with Hirata Office. She is known for her roles as Hana Ichinose in '' Slow Start'' and Suzuka Nagami in ''My Sister, My Writer''. She, together with her ''Slow Start ...

Marika Kouno Marika is a feminine given name of Polish, Greek, and Japanese origin. It has its origin in the Hungarian and Greek nickname for Maria, or its Silesian diminutive "Maryjka". Marieke is the Dutch and Flemish equivalent. Marika is also a Fijian giv ...

Hiroki Moriuchi (born January 25, 1994, in Tokyo), better known as his stage name Hiro, is a Japanese singer and the lead vocalist of the Japanese rock band My First Story. Personal life Hiro was born on January 25, 1994, the youngest son of Japanese singer ...

Miho Okasaki is a Japanese voice actress and singer from Okayama Prefecture who is affiliated with I'm Enterprise. She debuted as a voice actress in 2017, playing mostly background roles in anime series, as well as playing some roles in a number of video game ...

Aguri Ōnishi is a Japanese actress, voice actress and singer. She is managed by Link Plan Inc, a subsidiary of Pro-Fit. Career In 2011, Ōnishi had a starring role in NHK's . In 2013 ''Junior High School Diaries'' won an International Emmy Kids Award in th ...

Rie Takahashi is a Japanese voice actress and singer affiliated with 81 Produce. She had a leading role in the anime series ''Seiyu's Life!'', where she became part of the musical unit Earphones. She voiced Futaba Ichinose in ''Seiyu's Life!'', Megumin in ''K ...

* Daiki Yamashita *

Miyu Honda is a Japanese actress, singer, tarento and figure skater from Kyoto Prefecture. She is represented by Oscar Promotion, having previously been represented by Theatre Academy. Biography Career Miyu Honda made her debut in the entertainment wo ...

Elaiza Ikeda is a Philippine-born Japanese actress, fashion model and singer. She began modeling in 2009 after winning the "Grand Priz Nicola Model Audition 2009". Her mother is of Spanish Filipino Chinese descent and her father is Japanese. Filmography ...

* Yurie Neno as a member of Sweet Pop Candy

Returning from hiatus

Returning groups

* Ajico *

Funky Monkey Babys is a Japanese band formed in 2004 under the record company Dreamusic Incorporated. Their music is mostly hip hop, but is also inspired by pop and rock music. All members in the group are from Hachiōji, Tokyo. They are known for featuring ce ...

Nirgilis , stylized NIRGILIS, is a Japanese electronic rock band formed in 1993 by Moyo Satake and Kōki Itō. Acchu Iwata, Minoru Kurihara, and Yuki Inadera joined in 1995. Satake and Itō left the group in 2004 and 2007, respectively, leaving the group ...

* Rythem * TM Network

Returning soloists

* Fullkawa Honpo *

Yūzō Kayama is a Japanese popular musician, singer-songwriter and actor. Life and career Son of mid-twentieth century film star Ken Uehara,and actress Yoko Kozakura, ( ja) Kayama graduated from Keio University. Yuzo Kayama signed with Toho and made his ...

* Noriyuki Makihara *

Shiori Niiyama is Japanese singer and songwriter under Being label. Biography Under the influence of her father, Shiori grew up listening to various music genres such as rock, punk and blues. In elementary school she learned to play on piano, in junior high s ...

Naoya Urata is a Japanese singer and actor. He is a former member of the group AAA. Career Following Urata's arrest in April 2019, he announced he was leaving AAA on December 31, 2019. Controversy On April 19, 2019, Urata was arrested for allegedly assau ...

Events

72nd NHK Kōhaku Uta Gassen The was the 2021 (Reiwa 3) edition of NHK's television special Kōhaku Uta Gassen, held on December 31, 2021, live from the hall A of Tokyo International Forum (Tokyo, Japan), and broadcast in Japan through NHK General Television and NHK Radio 1, ...

Number-ones

* Oricon number-one albums * Oricon number-one singles * Hot 100 number-one singles

Awards

63rd Japan Record Awards The was held on 30 December 2021. Nominations and awards were announced by the organizers on 19 November. Like the previous award ceremony, the Best Album Award, Songwriting Award, Composition Award, Merit Award, and Planning Award were not pre ...

* 2021 MTV Video Music Awards Japan

Albums released

January

February

March

April

May

June

July

August

September

October

November

December

Disbanding and retiring artists

Disbanding

AŌP was a Japanese idol group known for singing anime songs, many of which have charted on Oricon , established in 1999, is the holding company at the head of a Japanese corporate group that supplies statistics and information on music and the ...

Ayumikurikamaki are a Japanese idol group. It consists of singer "Ayumi", DJ "Kurika" and hype-woman "Maki". The three girls are managed by Id Entertainment agency. History 2012: Origins and formation Kurika and Maki met as high-school classmates in Kobe pre ...

Blu-Billion Blu-Billion (stylized as Blu-BiLLioN) is a Japanese visual kei rock band formed in 2010. Their single "S.O.S." reached the eighth place on the weekly ''Oricon'' Singles Chart A record chart, in the music industry, also called a music chart, i ...

Cellchrome Cellchrome was a Japanese rock band under the Being label. History In 2015, the band was formed in Nagoya. In 2016, during their first anniversary of formation, they held a one-man live in music festival ''Nagoya Electric LadyLand Fits All''. ...

* CY8ER *

Desurabbits ''Desurabbits'' (stylized as ), was a Japanese idol group based in Tokyo. Alongside contemporary idol groups such as Babymetal, they are notable for being one of the early pioneers of the death metal/J-pop cross-over music style known as "japan ...

* Iz*One *

Maison Book Girl Maison Book Girl (stylized as Maison book girl) was a Japanese alternative idol girl group formed in 2014. They released their debut album, ''Bath Room'', on September 23, 2015. They disbanded on May 30, 2021. History At Bis' final concert on Ju ...

OnePixcel OnePixcel was a Japanese idol girl group formed in 2015. They released their debut EP, ''Zero'', on June 22, 2016. They disbanded on June 25, 2021. History OnePixcel was formed in late 2015 and debuted in June 2016 with the EP, ''Zero''. Their ...

Pink Cres. was a Japanese girl group formed by Up-Front Create in 2016. The group consisted of three members: Miyabi Natsuyaki, Hikaru Kobayashi, and Yūka Nihei. History Miyabi Natsuyaki was a member of the Japanese idol girl group Berryz Kobo since 2 ...

* Sakura Gakuin *

Silent Siren was a Japanese all-female band formed in 2010 and associated with Platinum Production. The members consist of three fashion models: Sumire Yoshida (lead vocals and guitar), Aina Yamauchi (bass guitar), and Yukako Kurosaka (keyboard). Ayana Sōg ...

* V6

Retiring

* Saki Shimizu * Chinami Tokunaga * Nana Yamada *Mika Sakaki as a member of Sweet Pop Candy

Going on hiatus

Gackt , better known by his mononymous stage name Gackt (stylized as GACKT), is a Japanese musician, singer, songwriter, record producer and actor. Born in Okinawa, Japan, to a Ryukyuan family, Gackt learned the piano at a young age and was raise ...

Rikiya Higashihara is a Japanese jazz drummer. Higashihara began playing drums when he was twelve years old and was playing professionally while still a teenager. In 1977 he became a member of Takehisa Tanaka's trio, and in the 1980s worked with Naniwa Express for ...

* Kariyushi58 * Maon Kurosaki *

Suchmos Suchmos is a Japanese rock group formed in 2013. Suchmos was inspired by African-American music such as rock, jazz, and hip-hop. The band's name, Suchmos, is adapted from a jazz musician Louis Armstrong’s nickname, “Satchmo”. History 2013: ...

Tokyo Performance Doll Tokyo Performance Doll also known as TPD (東京パフォーマンスドール) is a J-pop idol girl group that existed from 1990 to 1996 and was revived in 2013. Inspired by Onyanko Club, it had seven main members and several other "trainees" fo ...

References

{{Music of Japan