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| From Enka to EDM: MAJ 2025 Celebrates All Corners of J-Music Scene |
MUSIC AWARDS JAPAN 2025 just lit up Kyoto with its glitzy Premiere Ceremony at the stunning ROHM Theatre, and trust us, it kicked off with serious flair. Day one of MAJ’s annual music bash handed out a bunch of the genre-specific trophies, and let’s just say… Creepy Nuts came in hot.
The rap duo swept a whopping four awards, including “Best Domestic Hip Hop/Rap Artist” and “Best Domestic Dance Pop Song” (yep, they genre-hop like mad). Their viral smash “Bling-Bang-Bang-Born” is officially everywhere—winning not just in Japan but also across Europe, North America, and Latin America. Call it a global takeover, innit?
Meanwhile, alt rock kings King Gnu bagged “Best Domestic Rock Artist” and “Best Rock Song” for their mega hit “SPECIALZ”—no surprise there. Utada Hikaru, forever legendary, picked up “Best R&B/Contemporary Artist” and was honoured for her classic “Automatic”. Still iconic, still unbothered.
Fujii Kaze had a strong showing too, nabbing “Best Singer-Songwriter Artist” and “Best Cross-Border Collab” for his lush link-up with A. G. Cook. Oh, and don’t sleep on Hitsujibungaku, who were crowned the “Best Domestic Alternative Artist” with their dreamy track “more than words”. Atmospheric bangers, check.
Other standout moments included YOASOBI’s double win for “Idol”—both the “Best Anime Song” and “Best Music Video”—and Atarashii Gakko no Leaders shaking things up with “Otona Blue”, earning “Best Performance”. That’s proper stage slayage.
In the global lane, NewJeans took home “Best K-Pop” with “Ditto”, Kendrick Lamar's “Not Like Us” got nods in the rap world, and Ariana Grande’s vulnerable ballad “we can’t be friends” landed her the R&B win. Meanwhile, ROSÉ teamed up with Bruno Mars for “APT.”, grabbing “Best International Pop”. Now that’s a collab we didn’t see coming, but we’re vibing.
Even Japan’s jazz and classical roots got love—Yano Akiko & Uehara Hiromi stunned with “Step Into Paradise -LIVE IN TOKYO-” and the late Sakamoto Ryuichi was honoured for “Opus”, his final masterwork.
Tucked in the mix were nods to DJ Nobu (massive respect), Nujabes for “aruarian dance” (vintage chillhop glory), and FRUITS ZIPPER’s bubblegum idol bop “Watashi no Ichiban Kawaii Tokoro” winning the Idol Culture award. Proper serotonin boost, that one.
The rest of the MAJ 2025 show’s still to come—but if this Premiere Night’s anything to go by, we’re in for a mega ride.
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Want a full winners' list? Scroll on, mate:
🏆 FULL MAJ 2025 PREMIERE NIGHT WINNERS:
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Best Japanese Song Artist: Mrs. GREEN APPLE
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Best Domestic Rock Artist: King Gnu
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Best Domestic Hip Hop / Rap Artist: Creepy Nuts
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Best Domestic R&B / Contemporary Artist: Utada Hikaru
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Best Domestic Dance Pop Artist: Atarashii Gakko no Leaders
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Best Domestic Alternative Artist: Hitsujibungaku
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Best Domestic Singer-Songwriter Artist: Fujii Kaze
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Best Japanese Song: Creepy Nuts – “Bling-Bang-Bang-Born”
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Best Domestic Rock Song: King Gnu – “SPECIALZ”
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Best Domestic Hip Hop/Rap Song: Creepy Nuts – “Bling-Bang-Bang-Born”
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Best Domestic R&B Song: Utada Hikaru – “Automatic”
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Best Dance Pop Song: Creepy Nuts – “Bling-Bang-Bang-Born”
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Best Domestic Alternative Song: Hitsujibungaku – “more than words”
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Largest Live Audience Award: WEST.
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Best Singer-Songwriter Song: Vaundy – “Kaiju no Hana Uta”
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Best Domestic Idol Culture Award: FRUITS ZIPPER – “Watashi no Ichiban Kawaii Tokoro”
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Best Anime Song: YOASOBI – “Idol”
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Best Enka/Kayokyoku: Yamauchi Keisuke – “Kurenai no Cho”
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Revival Award: Ohtaki Eiichi – “Peppermint Blue”
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Best Cross-Border Collab: Fujii Kaze & A. G. Cook – “Feelin’ Go(o)d”
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Best Instrumental: Nujabes – “aruarian dance”
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Best Vocaloid Culture: KuroUsaP – “Senbonzakura”
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Best Music Video: YOASOBI – “Idol”
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Best Performance: Atarashii Gakko no Leaders – “Otona Blue”
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Best Viral Award: Creepy Nuts – “Bling-Bang-Bang-Born”
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Top Japanese Song in Asia: Yonezu Kenshi – “Lemon”
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Top Japanese Song in Europe: Creepy Nuts – “Bling-Bang-Bang-Born”
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Top Japanese Song in North America: Creepy Nuts – “Bling-Bang-Bang-Born”
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Top Japanese Song in Latin America: Creepy Nuts – “Bling-Bang-Bang-Born”
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Best International Pop: ROSÉ & Bruno Mars – “APT.”
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Best International Rock: Coldplay – “feelslikeimfallinginlove”
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Best International Rap/Hip-Hop: Kendrick Lamar – “Not Like Us”
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Best International R&B/Contemporary: Ariana Grande – “we can’t be friends (wait for your love)”
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Best International Alternative: Billie Eilish – “BIRDS OF A FEATHER”
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Best K-Pop: NewJeans – “Ditto”
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Best Jazz Album: Yano Akiko & Uehara Hiromi – “Step Into Paradise -LIVE IN TOKYO-”
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Best Classical Album: Sakamoto Ryuichi – “Opus”
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Radio Special Award: Rikon Densetsu – “Ai ga Issou Mellow”
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Best Dance Electronic Song (JDDA): Suiyoubi no Campanella – “Edison”
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Best DJ (JDDA): DJ Nobu
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Grand Prix Engineer (PMRAJ): “MIXER’S LAB SOUND SERIES Vol.4”
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Music Tech Achievement Award: Ongaku Denshi Jigyo Kyokai