The Japanese Popstars are an electronic act from Derry, Northern Ireland, consisting of Declan McLaughlin aka Decky Hedrock, Gary Curran, and Gareth Donoghue. They are signed to indie label, Gung-Ho Recordings (Gus Gus, Zoo Brazil) in the UK, and Beatink in Japan (home of Underworld, Aphex Twin, and Cinematic Orchestra). Each member has his own alias. The act was nominated for "Best House DJs" at the 2006 World Urban Music Awards, "Best Live Performance" at the 2007 Northern Ireland Music Awards and won "Best Live Act" at the 2008 Irish Music Awards. They were also voted "Best Breakthrough Producers" at the DJ Mag Best Of British Awards 2008[citation needed], awarded "No.1 Dance Album" by Hotpress magazine, and won "Best Live Act" and "Best Album" at the 2009 Irish Music Awards.
The band have their very own brand of Nike trainers called JAPSTARS01. They have been referred to by people (particularly in Derry) as The Jappy Pops, Jap Pops, Popstars or The Japstars. The band have won the 'Best Live Act' in the Irish Dance Music Awards 3 years running and have also been nominated for 'Best Live Act' by British publication DJ Mag
In 2010 they collected the Best Live Act award at the Irish Dance Music Awards and signed to Virgin/EMI Records. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.