Japanese musician Taeko Onuki performs at Asian Pop Festival 2026 at Paradise City in Jung District, Incheon, Saturday. Courtesy of Paradise Cultural Foundation
"Thank you. This is my first concert in Korea."
Taeko Onuki stood before the cheering crowd in Incheon, more than five decades after her debut. For a moment she seemed unsure what to do in front of the welcome.
The Japanese singer-songwriter, often described as one of the pioneers of city pop, performed Saturday at Asian Pop Festival 2026 at Paradise City in Jung District, Incheon. Her set, the final performance on the festival’s first day, became one of the night’s most warmly received moments, especially among Korean fans in their 20s and 30s.
As cheers rose for the 72-year-old musician, Onuki covered her face with both hands. She had made her official debut in 1975, but this was her first time meeting fans in Korea. Again and again, she thanked the crowd, repeating that she was “so happy.”
Despite her long career, Onuki became known to many Korean listeners only recently, after city pop began enjoying a global revival in the 2010s. The genre, shaped by Western soft rock, jazz, R&B, soul and bossa nova, is often associated with a polished urban mood and the sound of Japan’s economic boom years.
Onuki began her career as a member of Sugar Babe, a band often cited as one of the starting points of city pop. The group released only one album before disbanding, and Onuki went solo in 1976. She went on to release a series of albums now regarded as city pop classics, including “Grey Skies,” “Sunshower” and “Mignonne,” blending pop, jazz, folk and bossa nova with a refined singer-songwriter sensibility.
By the release of “Tint” in 2015, Onuki had put out 23 studio albums. In Japan, too, she has recently drawn a growing number of younger fans, continuing to perform actively decades into her career.
Appearing onstage that day in a red floral skirt and black jacket, Onuki traced the arc of a musical career spanning half a century. She opened with “Lulu,” the first track from her 1997 album “Lucy,” before moving through an 11-song set that included some of her best-known works and city pop classics, including “Tokai,” “Summer Connection” and “4:00 AM,” as well as “Asa No Palette,” released in 2022.
Except for “Wonderland” and “Asa No Palette,” both released in the 21st century, every song in Onuki’s set came from recordings that featured Ryuichi Sakamoto, who died three years ago. The lineup quietly traced the long creative partnership between the two artists, stretching back to the early years of Onuki’s career.
Source: Korea Times News
