Japanese City Pop and Gen Z in the US: happy, calm, and automated nostalgia

This paper explores how the Japanese City Pop, which can be traced back to the late 1970s and 1980s, has become a part of the familiar tunes for many of the Gen Z in the United States. First, in-depth interviews of two key informants were conducted to understand how they discovered and started to listen to City Pop, and why they enjoy listening to it. Based on the findings, additional data were collected through a survey that included questions regarding representative City Pop songs, social media use, music listening platform use, and why they listen to City Pop if they do. The results highlight the role of social media such as TikTok and music streaming platforms play in discovering and accessing this genre as the streaming media made a significant impact on the way we consume media content. The paper further discusses themes that explain their appraisal and sense-making process in the consumption of City Pop, leading to the concept of automated nostalgia.