
"Being 'Big in Japan' turned into a positive sign of their closeness to the hearts of Japanese people, with the band embedded in national and local rock cultures." Another example is The Ventures, a band formed in 1959 and touring Japan each year since 1965, having logged over 2,000 concerts there by 2006. įor example, Scorpions initially had only limited success in Europe and the United States, yet were "Big in Japan", as evidenced by their 1978 tour of the country and the double live album Tokyo Tapes. Furthermore, like Cheap Trick, some bands have lost their "big in Japan" reputations after gaining popularity in their respective homelands. The band had previously struggled to break into the mainstream American market with their earlier albums. 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. Some bands have used their popularity in Japan as a springboard to break into other markets. the rock band Hanoi Rocks), eurobeat artists from Austria, Germany and especially Italy, and UK rock artists. 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.

1 hit, selling over 500,000 copies and receiving Quadruple Platinum certification by the RIAJ. Īmerican 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 on both the Japanese domestic and international charts. 1 in the country, as well as the first to hit No.

They also became the first international act to have all of their releases hit No. Irish musical group The Nolans, who were virtually unknown in North America, sold over 12 million records in Japan, outselling The Beatles, Michael Jackson, Adele, and Ed Sheeran combined. In the summer of 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. The Human Beinz, one-hit wonders in their native United States, scored two number one hit singles in Japan. 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. 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 was an illegal immigrant), and this opened opportunities in foreign markets such as Japan for more obscure artists such as Sedaka to gain a foothold there. The concept predated the phrase Neil Sedaka made it big in Japan with " One Way Ticket" before breaking through in his native United States. The phrase began to appear in several major Japanese foreign-rock magazines, especially Music Life magazine, in the late 1970s, and in most cases, the "big in Japan" artists became popular in Japan due to being featured by Music Life. However, the expression is commonly used ironically to mean successful in a limited, potentially comical, oddly specific, or possibly unverifiable way. Big are generally considered a one-hit wonder for their single " To Be with You".īig in Japan is an expression that can be used to describe Western (especially North American or European) musical groups who achieve success in Japan but not necessarily in other parts of the world. They were one of the two most popular foreign music artists in Japan alongside Bon Jovi. Big are a "Big in Japan" band from the United States.
