C-pop is a short form for Chinese popular music, which includes music created by artists from mainland China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan, as well as countries where Chinese languages are spoken, such as Singapore and Malaysia. This term covers many types of music, including Chinese pop, R&B, ballads, Chinese rock, Chinese hip hop, and Chinese ambient music. Chinese rock became different from other styles in the early 1990s.
Thai pop, shortened as T-pop, is a type of music in Thailand that is similar to pop music. It began in the 1970s–1980s and was called string music at first. It became widely popular in the 1990s and has since become the most common type of music in Thailand.
Mandopop, also called mandapop, is a type of music sung in Standard Mandarin. It began in the 1930s in Shanghai with a style of music called Shidaiqu, which was inspired by jazz. Over time, Mandopop was influenced by Japanese enka, Hong Kong’s Cantopop, Taiwan’s Hokkien pop, and the student folk song movement of the 1970s.
Cantopop is a type of pop music that is sung in Cantonese. The word “Cantopop” is short for “Cantonese pop music.” It also describes the way this music is created and enjoyed by people. This music style started in the 1970s and became closely linked to Hong Kong’s popular music by the middle of that decade.
Kayōkyoku (歌謡曲; lit. “Pop Tune”) is a type of Japanese pop music that helped create modern J-pop. The Japan Times calls kayōkyoku “standard Japanese pop” or “Shōwa-era pop.” Kayōkyoku mixes Western and Japanese musical styles, making the music very different in many ways.
City pop (Japanese: シティ・ポップ, Hepburn: shiti poppu) is a type of Japanese pop music that began in the mid-1970s and became very popular in the 1980s. It started as a part of Japan’s music influenced by Western styles, but later included many different types, such as funk, disco, R&B, AOR, soft rock, and boogie. These styles were connected to Japan’s growing economy and the rise of a leisure class.
Enka (演歌) is a type of Japanese music that is similar in style to traditional Japanese music. Modern enka, which developed more recently, uses a more traditional singing style compared to ryūkōka music, which was popular before World War II. After World War II, modern enka became a type of emotional ballad music.
Visual kei, also known as “Visual Style,” is a group of Japanese musicians who focus on wearing fancy and unique costumes during performances. This style began in Japan during the early 1980s. Koji Dejima from the band Bounce explained that visual kei is not about a specific type of music, but about creating a band’s own special image and beauty through makeup and clothing.
Japanese metal is a type of heavy metal music from Japan. The first metal bands in Japan formed in the mid-to-late 1970s. More bands started to form in the next decade, but only a few had their music released outside of Japan, such as in Europe and North America, where metal music was already popular.
Japanese rock, also called J-rock, is a type of rock music from Japan. It was influenced by American and British rock music from the 1960s. Early Japanese rock bands performed a style called group sounds, and their songs were mostly in English.