My Top 5 non-Johnny's Entertainment Jpop Boy Groups (Update 2017)

When I was on break from blogging, I found myself nosing around my old blog for a bit of inspiration. While reading one of my personal favourite posts from that blog - my top 5 non-JE boy groups post - I realized that my list had changed somewhat. Be it due to groups disbanding, me discovering new groups, or just simply developing more passion for the groups I already knew and loved. So without further ado, here is my 2017 update of my top 5 favourite Japanese boybands outside of Johnny's Entertainment! These are of course my favourite groups and not neccessarily the "best" groups so be prepared for a lot of personal bias, haha.

5. X.E.N.O. Project 

 

X.E.N.O. Project are a 4-member indie group that debuted earlier this year. They haven't released any CDs yet, but they're actively doing performances around Japan and have a few dance practices up on their YouTube channel.

The reason why I became interested in X.E.N.O. in the first place was because I was a huge fan of the group G=AGE and all 4 members of X.E.N.O. used to be members of G=AGE's trainee unit, G-BOY'S. I looked them up out of curiously and although their videos and singing aren't that great, their songs are all pretty catchy and I ended up falling in love with all of the members.

My Ichiban: Tsukasa #ThirstyForTsukasaSquad
My Favourite Song: Shake It! BOUNCE

4. Choutokkyu 

 

If you're into Jpop boy groups then I'm sure you know Choutokkyu. Also known as Bullet Train, they are a 7-member group from EBiDAN made up of 5 "front dancers" and 2 "back vocalists". They have a very upbeat, colourful, and slightly over-the-top image.

Choutokkyu was one of the first groups I discovered and while I'm not as big a fan of them as I used to be, they still hold a special place in my heart for that reason. They're a reasonably accessible group for new fans, their songs are catchy as heck, and their fans tend to be absolutely bonkers (in a good way!).

My Ichiban: Kai (blue)
My Favourite Song: Battaman

What is BATTLE BOYS? | Show Love for the Tokyo Boys in EBiDAN's Newest Project!

If you're subscribed to Stardust Digital on YouTube you may have noticed a few of these short videos popping up lately which feature a member of EBiDAN Tokyo introducing themselves and talking about their skills, charm points, and goals within EBiDAN. Below is Jeffrey Malone's video because I'm biased as heck.

JPOP SUCKS?! | 6 Japanese Boybands That Kpop Fans Love (and you will too!)

Many Kpop fans who discover Jpop for the first time have initially negative reactions to the genre and to be honest, I can understand why. Very generally speaking, the two genres have a rather different feel to each other. If I had to explain it very simply:

Jpop = cute, imperfect, innocent.
Kpop = flashy, on point, why is everyone so dang sexy?!

Not that I'm saying that either of these are good or bad. It just depends on personal preference, really.

Part of the Jpop idol culture is watching the members slowly improve from when they're quite young. They may not be the best at singing and dancing right away but that's okay, it adds to their cuteness. Whereas Kpop idols are usually expected to be perfect right from their debut which is what leads a lot of Kpop fans to think that Jpop is "bad" compared to Kpop.

Not all Jpop idols are like this though. There are some groups who I'm sure you'll love even if you prefer the Kpop way of dong things. So, continuing somewhat from my post a few weeks ago about the most accesible Jpop boy groups, here's a list of some of the more "Kpop-like" boy groups.

Upcoming Jpop Boy Group Releases for November 2017

TRANS MAGICIAN on CDJapan

Release Date: 2017/11/08

On the 8th, Stardust group SECRET GUYZ will release their 8th single "TRANS MAGICIAN".

100degrees on CDJapan
Release Date: 2017/11/08

On the same day, THE RAMPAGE from EXILE TRIBE will release the single "100degrees". The single will also feature an English-language version of their 3rd single "Dirty Disco".

Help You on CDJapan

Releaset Date: 2017/11/15

On the 15th, EBiDAN THE STREET group Satori Shounen Dan will make their major CD debut with "Help You". The single will be released in 3 editions, each with a different bonus track. The bonus track for Type B is "It's My JK Life", the song the members wrote with the help of a group of high school girls.

Oh SMAP! | Former SMAP Members Throw Shade at JE with New Project

If you're a Johnny's Enterainment fan, or even just a Jpop fan in general you're probably aware of the fact that SMAP disbanded last year. SMAP was probably JE's best known group, having been in the entertainment industry for about 25 years. Their single, "Sekai ni Hitotsu Dake no Hana" is in the Oricon charts literally every week still despite being 15 years old. So of course it was met with great shock and sadness when such an influential group disbanded and departed from the agency.

I have Eurovision, I have Asia, UGH! | Thoughts on Eurovision Asia

So this happened.

I'm sure most people are familliar with it, but for those who don't know Eurovision is an international TV song competition where various European artists compete, represtening their country. It was recently announced that for the first time Eurovision Asia will be held, which will be the Asia-Pacific counterpart of the contest. Little is set in stone yet but it's expected to take place in 2018.

We're Gonna Be Late For Idol School! | My Top 5 School-Themed Music Videos

Here in the UK and in many other parts of the world, September is the start of the academic year. For me at least it marks the end of being able to sit around all day fangirling and having to get my butt back to college and start being somewhat productive again. But I still continue fangirling in my breaks, of course.

If you're anything like me, returning to school/college/wherever isn't exactly something to look forward to but luckily, some of our favourite Jpop boy groups have our backs with some cute school-themed music videos we can sneakily watch in class when we're supposed to be doing work. So grab your seifuku and your buttered toast because here are a few of my favourites.

MAGiC BOYZ Member Ranking | EBiDAN Member Ranking Week 6

Yo, what's up my homies? I felt like I should greet you like that because of who this week's group is. What was that? You think I should never say that again? I completely agree. I was half-tempted to begin this post with a screenshot of Ryuto giving the camera the middle finger.

 

This week it was Angi's turn to chose the group for our little collab and much to my surprise, she chose MAGiC BOYZ. AKA the group I pretend to hate but actually love 100% unironically. So let's get started! Yo, brap, and whatever the cool kids say these days.

Most Accessible Jpop Boy Groups for Overseas Fans | Jpop on iTunes, Spotify, YouTube?

One of the main reasons I believe that Jpop often doesn't catch the interest of as many people overseas as Kpop does is its lack of accesibility. Most Kpop artists are more than interested in growing their overseas fanbase and it's pretty easy to find Kpop songs on sites like YouTube and iTunes with a simple search. However with Jpop, depending on the artist it can still be a little difficult to find their content if you don't live in Japan.

There are still many Japanese labels who only make their artist's music videos available to Japanese audiences or worse; don't let their music videos be uploaded online at all. A lot of Japanese artists do have their music up to purchase on iTunes these days but most only make it available to buyers in the Japanese store so if you're a foreigner your only option is to get the physical CD imported from Japan which not everyone can afford for every single release.

Of course there are ways around these obstacles *cough* e.g. proxy services, hiding your IP address, sneaky fan uploads *cough* but if you're just getting into Jpop for the first time you probably don't want to go through all of that trouble! So I've complied a list of a few of the more easy to access Jpop boy groups; taking into account factors such as their music and videos being available outside of Japan, how much information can be found on them in English, and how involved they've been with their foreign audience in the past. Notice how there aren't any Johnny's Entertainment groups in this list. Then let's go!

Choutokkyuu Member Ranking | EBiDAN Member Ranking Week 5

Somehow we're already on week 5 of the EBiDAN collab. Yet again, it was my turn to choose the group so I chose Choutokkyuu/Bullet Train! Choutokkyuu were actually the first EBiDAN group that I discovered. They may not be my favourite group anymore but I still love all the members dearly. Now then, let's get started!

My Top 5 EBiDAN 39&KiDS Members

I've had a bit of EBiDAN fever lately, what with all of the exciting things that have been happening over the last few months. Two groups announce their debut albums (I love Majibo and their album is lit, don't judge me), EBiDAN THE LIVE and Hoshio Matsuri 2017, plus my collab with Angi from It's All About JMusic is already on its 5th week. I've been finding lots of other EBiDAN fans online too. I'm so hype. I'm living life in the fast lane since ditching Johnny's Entertainment for EBiDAN. I mean, what?


So are you guys sick of me talking about EBiDAN yet? A little? Sorry but here's another EBiDAN post. This one isn't about the debuted groups though. Today I'm going to introduce you all to my favourite EBiDAN 39&KiDS members because Jeffrey Malone and his terrible dancing are so important. This won't be in any particular order though because they're all my babies and I can't pick a favourite.

PrizmaX Member Ranking | EBiDAN Member Ranking Week 4

It's time for the EBiDAN member ranking posts again, and this time Angi chose PrizmaX! I knew next to nothing about them before I started this post. I tried so hard to give them a chance since they're pretty much the only EBiDAN group that I'm not really interested in but sadly I have to admit that I'm still not super into them. It was fun getting to know the members a little better though.

M!LK's 3rd Anniversary and Album Debut

It was recently announced that EBiDAN group, M!LK will finally release their first album. Its title is "Ousama no Gyuunyuu" (King's Milk) and it will be released on November 22nd. Release events will commence on September 9th.