On Feb. 7 outside the Wiltern, a line of fans rounded the block in anticipation of a concert featuring one of the most legendary figures in Japanese City Pop. For her first-ever show outside of Japan in her 50+ year career, Taeko Onuki performed for one night at The Wiltern in Los Angeles.
In the realm of Japanese City Pop, a sub-genre of J-Pop from the 70s and 80s pop music originating from Japan, Onuki, one of the movement’s most popular figures, has gained traction online among a younger and Western audience.
Her most popular song, “4:00 A.M.,” has become popular online through social media, garnering over 137 million plays on Spotify. Onuki is one of many Japanese artists who paved the way for the rise of City Pop in the West alongside icons including Matsubara Miki, Mariya Takeuchi and Anri.
Despite their popularity overseas, Onuki and many other legacy Japanese artists have only now been given the opportunity to perform for an American audience. The same proved true for Japanese guitarist Masayoshi Takanaka performed his first U.S. concert at The Wiltern in March 2024, and Anri will play two sold-out concerts at the same venue this May.
The sharing of classic City Pop on social media platforms such as YouTube has largely contributed to its resurgence. Songs such as Mariya Takeuchi’s “Plastic Love” were at the forefront of the newfound popularity of City Pop in the West.
“Especially as kids with the internet, we’re always looking for a piece of nostalgia and culture. Looking back, we get all the good parts,” said Kevin Charles Keizuchi, a “connoisseur” of music and creator of Little Tokyo Rajio, an organization dedicated to showcasing upcoming API talent and music.
The popularity of City Pop has spread to other Japanese artists, such as J-Pop band Lamp’s second tour in the U.S. last November, riding on the popularity of their music going viral on platforms such as TikTok.
Onuki still carries with her the idealistic spunk of a 1980’s it-girl. Often plastered across lifestyle magazines, both her music and her image conjure up the hazy perfection of a world passed by.
Onuki’s song “CARNAVAL” demonstrates this nostalgia as she blends Brazilian influence in a bossa-nova rhythm with introspective lyrics that emphasize the ephemerality of emotions. For many of Onuki’s fans, this concert represented “a dream for only one night,” a line from the song.
“It transports me back to Japan in the 80s. It makes me feel like I’m sitting in a cafe or a bar, just hanging out,” said Marlen Summers, a long-time fan dressed in 80s chic.
Summers has listened to Onuki since she stumbled upon Onuki’s music at 11-years-old while searching for VOCALOID music, Japanese pop music using a synthesized voice, on YouTube.
Onuki’s songs also often capture the freedom of a fleeting moment. In a first-ever live performance of “Les Aventures de TINTIN,” Onuki references Hergé’s comic series of the same name, featuring the whirlwind adventures of young reporter Tintin “chasing stars.” The lights supercharged The Wiltern as strummed guitar and soft vocals took the audience through an upbeat yet relaxing journey.
“Listen to the production. Who’s doing it like that? Who is doing it like that? She’s the GOAT,” said Matthew Kito Guevara, a fan who insisted Onuki is the greatest of all time.
Guevara said he drove from San Bernardino to watch the concert.
“The next album doesn’t sound like the last album. I’ve listened to almost 5,000 hours last year,” Guevara said.
Guevara wasn’t the only one who traveled to see the show. Bruno Lopez-Vega drove two hours from Palm Springs to see the Onuki.
“This is her first appearance in the U.S. I felt this was maybe a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see her live,” Lopez-Vega said.
15-year-old Abram Miller asked his grandmother for tickets to Onuki’s concert as a birthday present. As a MIDI keyboard songwriter, he said he gravitated towards her work. Onuki’s complex and vivid instrumentation caught his attention while the song autoplayed on YouTube. He was just twelve years old when he first listened to her music.
“It’s also really amazing how her vocals have stayed so true throughout all her years of singing,” Miller said.
While there are no further performances planned in the U.S., Onuki will return to Japan in March for her Billboard Live Tour, performing in Yokohama, Tokyo and Osaka.