Move over, K-pop – J-pop groups want a share of global fan base, and Netflix and TikTok are helping

When it comes to popular music, Japan has relied heavily on domestic audiences for decades. Now the country is aiming to market its entertainers overseas

Girl groups like XG and singers like Ado are taking their sounds abroad – XG are aiming for the Super Bowl, the Billboard charts and Coachella, one member says

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Japan’s music industry, once seen as a solely domestic affair, is now exporting its singers abroad – with groups like XG now making waves across the world. Photo: X/@ XGGlobal_

Published: 7:15pm, 27 Mar 2024

Rookie music group XG drew a huge roar at August 2023’s KCON LA festival, a gathering for fans of Korean pop music, with their cover of 2NE1’s 2011 hit “I Am the Best”.

Singing to tens of thousands in Los Angeles, the seven young women looked just like any other K-pop group, with one exception – all of the XG members are Japanese.

The two-year-old group, now on the verge of global popularity, was formed in the same way that many K-pop groups are. Led by a half-Korean, half-Japanese, American-born producer, XG went through extensive training for more than three years before they debuted with “Tippy Toes” in Seoul.

Since then, they have been travelling to festivals all over the world and sold out their first showcase in Japan. They are planning a global tour starting in May.

“It’s really about spreading XG all around the world to where the fans are,” says Simon Park, the group’s producer. “Our music is spreading in a really interesting way that we haven’t seen before.”

XG are one of a growing number of Japanese acts breaking into America and Europe. While XG have followed K-pop’s playbook, other J-pop stars, such as pop duo Yoasobi and singer Ado, are licensing their music to anime shows – another Japanese cultural export.