Characteristics[edit]

Kayōkyoku music has simple melodies that are easy to follow and play along to. The lyrics of kayōkyoku are simple and attempt to relate to an everyday Japanese individual.^[8] Kayōkyoku singers also relate to common Japanese listeners by appearing as cute and approachable, with many aspects about their appearance and actions dictated by production companies.^[8] The base of kayōkyoku songs aims towards a sentimental feeling. The music draws on being able to relate to listeners and tries to voice the feelings that they keep bottled in due to social appearances.^[8] Kayōkyoku's style has become prominent due to the karaoke boom that occurred in the middle of the 1970s.^[8] A large focus of karaoke revolves around mimicking not only the song being sung, but also the image of the singer and the image brought out by the lyrics.^[8] The simple rhythm and lyrics of kayōkyoku made these songs very popular to sing at karaoke. An NHK survey conducted in 1982 revealed that around 80% of males over thirty years of age sang kayōkyoku songs through karaoke machines.^[8]