Well, first time I get in contact with J-Pop I didn't even know it was J-Pop...
Back in
2003 my sister bought FFX2 and she told me that one character is modelled on a J-Pop singer and that she sang the japanese version of two songs. Well, I didn't like the character too much and just one song, I wasn't really interested in.
In
2004 and 2005 I`ve read so much about a singer named
Ayumi Hamasaki in germans biggest Manga/Anime community and in a german manga magazine called Daisuki. They attract my attention so much at Ayu that I bought her Rainbow album without even heard one single song of Ayu before! XD
I picked Rainbow just because of the great cover, lol.
I fell in love with Rainbow and it`s still my favourite album of her, but I wasn't a great fan of her because in some songs her voice was so high pitched and I `didn't like that.
After that I got more information about her, but I haven't much money, so I didn't buy anything more from her.
Some time later I've heard some songs of
BoA in the internet and I bought Best of Soul to get a better impression of her from the same (expensive) german online store like I used for Ayu's Rainbow.
I liked a lot of songs and decided to follow her career.
I don't exactly how I got into
Kuu, but I think I've read about her in the Manga/Anime community, too. Then I discovered YesAsia trough my sister who bought there some game soundtracks and I was so stroke dead with all those japanese and asian music stuff!
I stumpled over Koda Kumi again (and BoA, too) and my boyfriend at that time searched some PVs at YouTube and showed me BUT from Kumi and I fell instantly in love with her!
I decided to buy BUT CD+ DVD along with Black Cherry CD+2DVD and BoA's complete clips and never regret it, since then I`m a die-hard Kumi fan!
It was summer 2007 and since then I love japanese music and follow more than one artist properly (buying CDs, DVDs, etc.).
I discovered the rest in forums (AHS, Honey Flash) and the internet after that.