The concept of being "big in Japan" predates the popularization of the phrase.
Neil Sedaka made it big in Japan with "
One Way Ticket" in 1961, before breaking through in his native United States. Sedaka noted that
Elvis Presley, the biggest rock star in America in the late 1950s, never left North America/Hawaii (in part because his agent
Colonel Tom Parker lived in the U.S. illegally), and this opened opportunities in foreign markets such as Japan for more obscure artists such as Sedaka to gain a foothold there. Another example is
The Ventures, an American band formed in 1958 and touring Japan every year between 1964 and 2019. While the Ventures enjoyed notable success in the United States throughout the 1960s, they had a culturally significant impact in Japan, with their 1962 tour kicking off the
eleki boom and ushering in the
group sounds genre. The band became entrenched in Japanese rock culture, outselling the Beatles 2-to-1 during the mid-1960s, spawning hundreds of tribute bands, writing dozens of hit songs for the Japanese market (including the country's first million-selling single), and logging over 2,000 concerts in the country by 2006. Swedish band
The Spotnicks toured Japan in 1966 after their song "Karelia" topped the Japanese charts the year prior, with hardly any promotion by the band. Around this time, the band's popularity in Europe had been waning due to changing musical tastes, particularly in their home country where they had relatively few hits, none of them topping the charts. They went on a few more tours there in the late 1960s and occasionally toured there in the 1970s, 1980s and for the last time in 1998.
Jimmy Osmond, typically a side show to his older brothers
The Osmonds in North America and Europe, cut several tracks in Japanese and received several gold records for his recordings. The American band
Mountain reformed for a successful tour of Japan in 1973. A live album titled
Twin Peaks was released in 1974. Mountain bass player and vocalist
Felix Pappalardi then worked with the Japanese band
Creation in 1976. The phrase "big in Japan" began to take hold in the mid-to-late 1970s. In many cases, the "big in Japan" artists became popular in Japan due to being featured by
Music Life, one of the magazines credited with popularizing the phrase. In mid-1977,
The Runaways, who struggled to make a mark in America, were the fourth most popular imported musical act in Japan, just behind
The Beatles and
Led Zeppelin. While initially unsuccessful in their home country and elsewhere, the British
new wave band
Japan found great success in Japan, and were voted the second most popular group in Japan in 1978, and topped the list the following year. In March 1979, Japan sold out the 11,000 seat capacity
Budokan Theatre three days in a row. While largely ignored in their home country, their late 1979 album
Quiet Life had the distinction of becoming the first foreign rock record to enter the national Japanese chart. Some bands have used their popularity in Japan as a springboard to break into other markets. Notably, the
power pop group
Cheap Trick, which had been known as the "American Beatles" in Japan for their appeal, achieved widespread success with their
multi-platinum live album Cheap Trick at Budokan. The band had previously struggled to break into the mainstream American market with their earlier albums. Furthermore, like Cheap Trick, some bands have lost their "big in Japan" reputations after gaining popularity in their respective homelands. The most notable example is
Bon Jovi. The phrase was used as the name of
a UK punk band active from 1977 to 1982 (whose name inspired the title of
a 1984 hit single by the
new wave band
Alphaville), and was the name of the lead track on the
Grammy Award-winning 1999 album
Mule Variations by
Tom Waits. The
mockumentary This Is Spinal Tap parodies this phenomenon when the band schedules a Japanese tour after discovering that their single "Sex Farm" is inexplicably selling well there. American singer-songwriter
Billie Hughes recorded the 1991 song "
Welcome to the Edge" for the soap opera
Santa Barbara, but in Japan, the single became a No. 1 hit, selling over 500,000 copies and receiving Quadruple Platinum certification by the
RIAJ. In the late 20th century, notable "big in Japan" artists included several
stadium rock bands from the United States,
metal artists from Northern European countries such as Norway, Denmark, and especially Sweden and Finland (e.g. the rock band
Hanoi Rocks),
eurobeat artists from Austria, Germany and especially Italy, and
UK rock artists.
Oasis consistently toured Japan during all their world tours, drawing larger crowds than in the United States or most regions outside Europe. The band's popularity in Japan was significant enough that they filmed the music video for their song "Acquiesce" with an all-Japanese cast portraying band members
Noel and
Liam. After leaving
Megadeth, guitarist
Marty Friedman moved to Japan in 2003. There, he became a household name, with more than 600 TV appearances in 11 years and becoming a highly sought-after live and studio guitarist. The American progressive metal band
Symphony X built their early career in Japan, after signing a record contract with a now defunct Japanese company, Zero Corporation. They have since achieved success both internationally and in their home country. Western artists have also made tributes to their Japanese fans, acknowledging and owning their "big in Japan" status: in 2014, Canadian singer-songwriter
Avril Lavigne released the single
"Hello Kitty", a
J-pop,
dubstep, and
electronic dance music track which referenced the eponymous
Sanrio brand and character. The song and its music video, featuring references to Japanese culture as an act of gratitude for her fanbase in the country, was positively received in Japan, despite accusations of cultural appropriation by Western commentators. ==Other usages==