Don't forget what the topic author is really asking.

Totally. :no

This thread make Sven sad.

i think it's happening everywhere recently, that ppl try to copy from what's often called "american style". it's just that weird way today, that everything what is american, is everywhere. no other thing of other origin is as widely spread and popular simalteniously as american things...

probably Westerners consider everything that sees the daylight in "their world" as original and "Western made", not bothering to go deeper and see where the thing truly came from.
when they approach something very similar to what they have heard already, they go "no way, it must be a rip-off, cuz i've heard it before, here".

it's kinda like with "Harry Potter" now: there were dozens of books like Rowlings earlier, but somehow her story hit the big time. no matter when were other books "about young magicians" released - earlier or later - they will now be called "fallowers" or even "rip-off's".
a thing that comes first usually gets the "original" status, despite it's true story. other things only "follow"...

Actually, I went home last night and asked my roommate about this. She came home and I was blaring some Ayumi and after a bit we were talking and I brought up this topic. Most people here say their friends think that Jpop sounds like American music, but she said she doesn't think it does. She said that their voices are different and that the music itself is different from American music. I think she said something about the bass lines being different as well. I guess I don't know anything too technical, but I thought it was worth noting that not everyone thinks the musics are so simiar.

Pop-music is universal.

The music is similar everywhere you go, just the lyrics and languages vary. Ofcourse in different places there are different characteristics in the music (for example in Finland it's usually the melancholy).

And hey, try to make a pop song that DOESN'T sound like some other song. It's quite impossible. There are millions of songs with same chords and same kinda melodies.

I think many Japanese admire the so called "western" style as in clothing, music, behavior (which is mostly obtained through MTV and magazines.) But they seem to have molded it into (in my opinion) something better. For some reason the music is more catchier. But anyway, it's hard to create original music without being influenced by what's already out there. Try thinking of some ... random melody. You'll probably find it's from a song that you already know.

unfair
 

I think it's kind of unfair to accuse the singer or music composer of "ripping-off" the US singers. Well, indeed the America invented the Rock music, but I don't think they "patented" it right? How many music notes have we got? Of all these years of music's evolvement, certainly there's some similarities among them.

I strongly believe that whether ripping off or not, it's up to the consumers for decision. Music cannot be "owned" by some specific parties. You gotta clash it, mix it, then you can come up with something good. It's same as cooking. How many ingredients have we have for a typical home cooking dinner? If a Chinese restaurant is doing a typical US T-Bone steak does that considered a rip-off?