One anonymous J-Pop star has two unexpected classic rock influences behind their music. J-Pop is short for Japanese pop and entered the Japanese mainstream in the ’90s. Like K-Pop, it has been on the rise all over the world in recent years and has generated some talented stars.

While the genre might sound like it’d be inspired by the bubble gum and electronic sounds of typical pop music, there’s actually more to it. J-Pop was inspired by traditional Japanese music and 1960s pop and rock sounds. This one J-Pop artist has stayed true to the genre’s roots, while also expanding into the ’70s and ’80s classic rock.

J-Pop’s Ado Is Inspired By Rock Bands Kiss & Queen

Ado Says Her Parents Got Her Into The Bands

The faceless J-Pop singer Ado was surprisingly inspired by classic rock bands Kiss and Queen. The singer, who never reveals her true identity, using an animated character as her persona, admitted in a Collider interview that her parents loved the two rock bands.

Ado: As for how or why I can switch it up, I’m not really sure myself, but I think this was because as a young child, I used to mimic a lot of artists if I liked the songs by those singers, and also my parents listened to a lot of Kiss and Queen, so I was also listening to them. So, I think I was influenced by them, as well.

Ado says her parents listened to them a lot when she was growing up, so naturally, they became big inspirations for her work. Their influence is evident in her songs, including her first single, “Usseewa.” The singer said in her interview that she really wanted to be a famous singer and was trying different things to find her voice.

Looking to the singers she grew up listening to helped her find her own individuality. The band members of Queen and Kiss are notorious for their uniqueness, with Freddie Mercury’s electric stage presence and the Kiss members’ iconic costumes. It makes sense that Ado would choose those bands to mimic.

Both bands also have iconic vocalists who contributed to Ado making her own vocals true to herself so she could stand out from the rest. Ado laughed at the suggestion that she should perform Queen’s iconic single “Bohemian Rhapsody” at her shows.

However, she also confessed that her song “Rockstar” had her thinking about what it meant to be a rockstar, and Freddie Mercury was the first person to come to mind. Mercury was the one who helped Ado find her stage presence, and she also said that her “Rockstar” performance incorporates a lot of artists who have inspired her.

Ado: When I was going to perform “Rockstar” to a live audience, it made me start to think about what a rockstar truly was, so immediately, Freddie Mercury came to mind — his live show performances and that iconic silhouette that everybody knows. So, I’ve been influenced a lot by that.

Classic Rock Continues To Influence Various Genres Today

Modern Pop Artists Are Looking To Rock For Inspiration

Ado isn’t the only one who looks to classic rock to inspire her music. It’s actually quite popular for today’s artists, no matter the genre, to take inspiration from the ’70s and ’80s era of rock. Harry Styles is one artist who, since his 2017 solo debut, has been influenced by people like David Bowie and Freddie Mercury.

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This Major Pop Artist Is The Closest To Classic Rock We’ve Gotten In A Long Time

This modern male pop star is the closest thing that the music industry has to a classic rock artist since the musicians of the ’70s and ’80s.

A recent artist who even performed with Queen at Coachella is Benson Boone. The singer sang “Bohemian Rhapsody” with the group, and their influence is very apparent in his recently released music. Olivia Rodrigo is also making a name for herself in the rock world. The former Disney star has performed with rock musicians like David Byrne and Robert Smith.

Rodrigo has also continued leaning into the rock genre with her albums, with tracks like “brutal” from SOUR and “ballad of a homeschooled girl” on GUTS. It’s clear that no matter how much time passes, classic rock will always be a part of pop culture and will continue to be mimicked by stars like Ado.