Popular R&B. Japanese Artist Rankings [2026]

Night DiverR Sound Design57rank/position

Night Diver / R Sound Design feat. Hatsune Miku - Night Diver

It’s a track with a pleasant sense of floating, like quietly drifting across the sea at night.

Created by the popular, urban-sounding Vocaloid producer R Sound Design, it’s included on the mini-album “Quartia,” released in April 2018.

The shimmering guitar tones layered over a mid-tempo beat make you feel as if you’re underwater.

The lyrics depict an introspective world—escaping the city’s clamor, surrendering to the quiet of the night, and facing oneself.

I think it’s perfect for those moments when you want to relax.

luv luv feat. JunofloRIRI58rank/position

RIRI 「luv luv feat. Junoflo」(Prod. by Ryan Hemsworth) Music Video

RIRI is the most talked-about young R&B singer right now.

Having listened to Western music since childhood, she delivers vocal runs that don’t feel Japanese at all, and she’s gaining international attention.

Recently, she’s been collaborating with overseas producers who have worked with artists like Ariana Grande and Beyoncé, and her future success is highly anticipated.

“luv luv feat.

Junoflo” is one of her standout tracks, featuring a memorable melody with a Latin R&B vibe.

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Ryo

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ALL GODS BLESS MERYKEYDADDYDIRTY59rank/position

RYKEYDADDYDIRTY / ALL GODS BLESS ME

Rapper RYKEYDADDYDIRTY, who rose to popularity through the contrast between his brazen persona and delicate lyrics.

His track “ALL GODS BLESS ME” is a signature work, widely loved for its poignant lyrics.

The hook leans more toward a vocal part than rap, giving it a mellow finish.

The vocal range is narrow and doesn’t require complex pitch movement, so the hook shouldn’t feel difficult.

The rap sections also don’t feature challenging flows or fastest-rap passages, making the overall difficulty relatively low.

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Ryo

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StalemateRe:nG60rank/position

D-Frag! OP Stalemate! full with lyrics high quality audio

The duet song “Stalemate” by Hatsune Miku and KAITO.

In addition to a kayōkyoku-style touch, it has a rhythmic feel characteristic of Black music, yet the melody flows smoothly.

The two’s gentle voices blend together, further highlighting the pathos of the lyrics.

miss youRyohei61rank/position

m-flo loves melody. & Ryohei / miss you

It is said that he spent his childhood in the United States, growing up surrounded by authentic music, and that in 2000 he studied singing under the Stevie Wonder band.

He writes and composes almost all of his songs himself.

His hallmark is a clear, sweet voice paired with rhythmic, catchy lyrics.

Virgin KillerSILVA62rank/position

Virgin Killer / SILVA

This track has a four-on-the-floor, Latin beat and is pure house music, but I picked it because it uses many approaches common in soulful Black music.

The afro hairstyle drew a lot of attention at the time.

In places like the U.S., Latin hip-hop and reggae were trending in 2018.

In Japan, you used to hear them a lot in the 2000s, but they’ve cooled off a bit recently.

GardenSUGAR SOUL63rank/position

garden Garden - SUGAR SOUL ft. KJ (Sugar Soul)

Speaking of Sugar Soul, many people have a strong image of this song they collaborated on with Dragon Ash’s kj and think it was a solo female act, but in fact they were a three-member unit at the time.

Currently, it seems that AIKO is working solo based in Kumamoto.