Perfume and Momoclo remain Japan's most popular girl groups, NiziU rise (Japan's top ggs 2021)

[abra]

 

The 2021 Nikkei Entertainment Talent Power rankings are out!
Perfume top the list for the 9th consecutive year,once more reinforcing their unrivaled longevity as they prepare to celebrate their 21st anniversary.  
The electropop trio released their most recent single, Time Warp, last year.

Also stable at second place for the ninth consecutive year is Momoiro Clover Z who have now been Japan's most popular idol girl group for almost a decade. The quartet released their latest single, Tsukiiro Chainon early this year and recently announced that they will release their next full album this winter.

Rounding up the top 3 is the kpop/jpop hybrid group NiziU. The JYP/SONY collaboration found incredible popularity with their pre-debut single "Make You Happy" and the hype does not show any signs of slowing down.
 

 

 

See the full list including a breakdown of the values below:

charts/ranking credits go to seinedoru on twitter

Every year Nikkei Entertainment conducts a poll to find out how popular various entertainers are in Japan. Entertainers are given an interest value based on the combined recognition (how many of the respondents recognize the entertainer) and interest (how many of those who recognize the entertainer are interested in them).

[Moon Jellyfish]

NiziU making into the top3 is impressive. Nice to see Twice make it into the top 6 as well.

 

Will anyone end Perfume's reign though?

[sergel]

Seeing momoclo so popular always surprises me a little because I swear they used to be like only moderately popular..

I’ve been liking little glee monster lately so I’m sad not to see them on the list.

[chanyurr]

No Blackpink? Aren't they popular in Japan aswell?

[abra]

50 minutes ago, Moon Jellyfish said:

NiziU making into the top3 is impressive. Nice to see Twice make it into the top 6 as well.

 

Will anyone end Perfume's reign though?

For the Perfume question: not any time soon unless NiziU's popularity reaches another level.

34 minutes ago, sergel said:

Seeing momoclo so popular always surprises me a little because I swear they used to be like only moderately popular..

I’ve been liking little glee monster lately so I’m sad not to see them on the list.

Momoclo had a big increase in popularity between 2011 and 2014. Then they started cutting down on TV appearances to focus on concerts and their own variety shows so they were less visible, but they were also the top touring jpop gg and unlike groups like AKB didn't have any scandals so they stayed at the top when AKB kept dropping. When Momoka graduated their fandom became smaller. But recently the members have had more solo projects and since the pandemic started they've appeared more on TV too. As a result Kanako ranks as the most popular female idol this year.

LGM are popular enough to be on this list but I think they're excluded for some other reason, either they weren't polled (unlikely) or they're under another category. They are the go-to vocal group for TV shows so I don't see their popularity dropping any time soon.

23 minutes ago, chanyurr said:

No Blackpink? Aren't they popular in Japan aswell?

They're popular among kpop fans/youth but either they weren't included in this poll or they weren't popular enough to rank. 

Edited June 3, 2021 by abra

[seokii]

Happy for all of them! Wow 21 years with Perfume, that's amazing. Their power!

[totoros_umbrella]

wow Niziu made it top 3!! I can't remember what previous year's ranking was but I think it was relatively the same for the top 6? (excluding Niziu)

[abra]

35 minutes ago, totoros_umbrella said:

wow Niziu made it top 3!! I can't remember what previous year's ranking was but I think it was relatively the same for the top 6? (excluding Niziu)

Last year:

Perfume

Momoclo

Nogizaka

Keyakizaka

AKB (AKB was fourth in recognition but had low interest)

E-Girls

 

 

Apart from Niziu:

- Nogi & Keyaki fell below AKB

- E-Girls disbanded

- TWICE overtook Keyakizaka

Edited June 3, 2021 by abra

[totoros_umbrella]

48 minutes ago, abra said:

Last year:

Perfume

Momoclo

Nogizaka

Keyakizaka

AKB (AKB was fourth in recognition but had low interest)

E-Girls

 

 

Apart from Niziu:

- Nogi & Keyaki fell below AKB

- E-Girls disbanded

- TWICE overtook Keyakizaka

interesting. I guess it makes sense Keya would go down since they rebranded and lost techi. Nogi lost shiraishi but I thought they would still be above akb. I thought hina would rise up more too. above keya/sakura and twice. Akb rose up. Did AKB rise up because people are more interested in them or people are less interested in nogi and keya 

[abra]

30 minutes ago, totoros_umbrella said:

interesting. I guess it makes sense Keya would go down since they rebranded and lost techi. Nogi lost shiraishi but I thought they would still be above akb. I thought hina would rise up more too. above keya/sakura and twice. Akb rose up. Did AKB rise up because people are more interested in them or people are less interested in nogi and keya 

For AKB it's both. They had a decent increase from last year but Nogi would have been ahead if they hadn't dropped. Keyakizaka actually had slightly higher recognition this year but their interest dropped sharply. Nogi still has high interest but lost recognition. Maybe AKB increased a bit because people are forgetting about the NGT scandal.

[Anii]

I was binge-watching Perfume MVs today so this is a pleasant surprise!

[Guest]

.

Edited May 23 by mayu.

[blank_stare]

When you say public interest/recognition does it mean sns only or the general public’s interest?

[abra]

57 minutes ago, Candy said:

I'm a bit surprised that AKB is above Nogi in interest value. They're also above Nogi in public recognition but tbh I think AKB will always be above for that (pretty sure they never got surpassed by Nogi) I mean AKB's peak was just huge. though it is surprising since they probably show current pictures of AKB when doing this recognition survey? if so then it's impressive that people still recognize them when most big names graduated but tbh they probably think of AKB as soon as they see a group of many girls haha. anyway yes I'm surprised that their interest value is higher than Nogi. seems like Nogi did suffer from the graduation of big names, after all this happens to all groups eventually. Happy for AKB that they're doing good though. Also really happy for HKT being the 2nd best result for 48g, they're doing really good right now and I hope it only gets better! Overall congrats to Perfume and Momoclo for being at the top, and congrats to all 48/46

I agree.

I saw the idol list from 2013 and the top 12 positions were all AKB or former AKB members. 16 in the top 17 were from AKBG, and 23 in the top 30.

But Nogi found a different angle/niche and their scandals aren't as bad so their reputation is better.

It was a bit sad to see NMB drop so much even if it is expected. At least Cocona increased slightly but I'm curious how Nagisa would do if they had included her in the poll.

21 minutes ago, blank_stare said:

When you say public interest/recognition does it mean sns only or the general public’s interest?

General public

[blank_stare]

On 6/3/2021 at 6:50 PM, abra said:

 

General public

What’s better? Having General Public Interest, General Public Recognition or Interest Value? I feel like IV is much better than the two since I’m guessing has to do with money coming into the brand image of those groups?

[Mudko]

I think most of the groups in the top 15 have more TV appearances every week than BABYMETAL has in a year.

[abra]

5 hours ago, blank_stare said:

What’s better? Having General Public Interest, General Public Recognition or Interest Value? I feel like IV is much better than the two since I’m guessing has to do with money coming into the brand image of those groups?

Interest value is just the product of Interest and Recognition. Actually "General Public Interest" is maybe not the best translation since it's the interest among people who know of the entertainer. Which is why usually entertainers with lower recognition have high "general public interest". I think a clearer translation would be (General Public) Recognition, Interest and Star Power (since that's the name of the official ranking). Actually the "Interest Value" could have been called General Public Interest, and General Public Interest could have been called "Special Interest" or something.

Yes, Interest Value is the "best" since it's a combination of both, but it's difficult to say what is better between recognition and interest. Recognition is a good sign of how famous you are. But entertainers with lower recognition can still make a good living due to high interest from the people who know them and fans who are very devoted.

 

[Popov777]

45 minutes ago, abra said:

Interest value is just the product of Interest and Recognition. Actually "General Public Interest" is maybe not the best translation since it's the interest among people who know of the entertainer. Which is why usually entertainers with lower recognition have high "general public interest". I think a clearer translation would be (General Public) Recognition, Interest and Star Power (since that's the name of the official ranking). Actually the "Interest Value" could have been called General Public Interest, and General Public Interest could have been called "Special Interest" or something.

Yes, Interest Value is the "best" since it's a combination of both, but it's difficult to say what is better between recognition and interest. Recognition is a good sign of how famous you are. But entertainers with lower recognition can still make a good living due to high interest from the people who know them and fans who are very devoted.

 

do you how many people were polled? and are this kind of ranking important?

[blank_stare]

49 minutes ago, abra said:

Interest value is just the product of Interest and Recognition. Actually "General Public Interest" is maybe not the best translation since it's the interest among people who know of the entertainer. Which is why usually entertainers with lower recognition have high "general public interest". I think a clearer translation would be (General Public) Recognition, Interest and Star Power (since that's the name of the official ranking). Actually the "Interest Value" could have been called General Public Interest, and General Public Interest could have been called "Special Interest" or something.

Yes, Interest Value is the "best" since it's a combination of both, but it's difficult to say what is better between recognition and interest. Recognition is a good sign of how famous you are. But entertainers with lower recognition can still make a good living due to high interest from the people who know them and fans who are very devoted.

 

Thanks!

2 minutes ago, Popov777 said:

do you how many people were polled? and are this kind of ranking important?

from what I gather from old Nikkei polls, these things are polled with about 1000 ppl. Sometimes more or less. 

[abra]

2 minutes ago, Popov777 said:

do you how many people were polled? and are this kind of ranking important?

I'm not sure about the exact numbers for this year (it's usually in the 1000 range as blank_stare said) but it is the biggest Japanese entertainment poll & ranking. Is it important? It's just a ranking so not really, but it is interesting.

[kevinpr9]

On 6/4/2021 at 12:59 AM, abra said:

LGM are popular enough to be on this list but I think they're excluded for some other reason, either they weren't polled (unlikely) or they're under another category. They are the go-to vocal group for TV shows so I don't see their popularity dropping any time soon.

Little Glee Monster is not considered an idol group by what I saw in Japanese media. They're classified as vocal girlgroup.

[abra]

Correction: the person making the charts made some mistakes. SKE and NMB should be higher.
 

 

[Youahaen]

Perfume's longevity is amazing. Momoclo has been able to maintain top 3-5 for several years now. Niziu is really getting popular and gaining more interest. I saw them being mentioned in Nagase Tomoya's  latest drama aired last spring.

 

On 6/4/2021 at 1:38 AM, chanyurr said:

No Blackpink? Aren't they popular in Japan aswell?

They're popular with the niches: kpop fans, subculture audiences e.g. Gyaru, etc. But as for general public/mainstream audiences, not really.