10 Ways to Have a Merry J-Music Christmas
All around the world, pop stars take advantage of the holiday atmosphere to release seasonal songs. Given the romantic connotation that Christmas has in Japan, here pop stars go quite crazy with the double theme. It was hard to choose only 10 Japanese Christmas pop songs, but we took a look at the Japanese web and karaoke charts to get the best!
10. E-girls — Mr. Snowman
Not all the Christmas songs have to be ballads; this song by the collective girl group E-girls still features the characteristics bells, but we challenge you to stay still during the catchy refrain. If you liked the song, check out also “MerryxMerry Xmas” by the same band, to be released December 23, 2015.
9. Sid — White Tree
Sid (pronounced “Shido”) started off as a visual kei band, but over the years they've toned down the flashy make-up and clothes to a pop-rock standard. Let vocalist Mao’s sweet voice bring you to the dreamy, snowy world of this track. The video can be rather depressing though, so watch at your own risk!
8. Ellegarden — Santa Claus
If your punk-ish soul has had enough of these sappy Christmas songs, check out this Ellegarden track. While the band went on indefinite hiatus in 2008, the members all continued on into new music ventures, and this song is still a steady feature on the Christmas karaoke charts.
7. Gackt — Juunigatsu no Love Song
Gackt has had one of the longest-lasting careers in Japanese showbiz. Since now he mostly works as an actor and appears in magazines and TV ads, people tend to forget that he started as a singer. And sand he did, releasing this “December Love Song,“ (juunigatsu means December) not only in Japanese but also in Chinese, Korean and English.
6. L’Arc-en-Ciel — Hurry Xmas
For our female readers who can't get enough of hot vocalist Hyde all year around, in 2007 L’Arc-en-Ciel released this seasonal song characterized by a funky take on the typical Christmas track.