J-pop (often stylized as
J-POP;
jeipoppu; an abbreviation for
Japanese pop), natively also known simply as
pops, is a musical genre that entered the musical mainstream of
Japan in the 1990s. Modern J-pop has its roots in traditional Japanese music, but significantly in
1960s pop and
rock music, such as
The Beatles and
The Beach Boys, which led to
Japanese rock bands such as
Happy End fusing rock with
Japanese music in the early 1970s. J-pop was further defined by
new wave groups in the late 1970s, particularly
electronic synthpop band
Yellow Magic Orchestra and
pop rock band
Southern All Stars. Eventually, J-pop replaced
kayokyoku ("Lyric Singing Music", a term for Japanese pop music from the 1920s to the 1980s) in the Japanese music scene. The term was coined by the Japanese media to distinguish Japanese music from foreign music, and now refers to most Japanese popular music. The musical genre has been immensely influential in many other music styles, and hence those of neighboring regions, where the style has been copied by neighboring Asian regions, who have also borrowed the name to form their own musical identities.