Learn Hardcore Japanese: yuumeina kasyu no konsaato ha itumo komimasu. - Concerts of famous singers are always crowded.

When a な-adjective directly modifies a noun, it usually needs な between the adjective and the noun:
- 有名な歌手 = a famous singer
- 静かな町 = a quiet town

So:

有名な歌手 = “famous singer”

Without な, 有名歌手 can sometimes appear in headlines, ads, or very formal/written contexts, where it behaves more like a compound noun (like “famous-singer” as one word).
In everyday, neutral Japanese, 有名な歌手 is the normal, safe form to use.

What exactly does 歌手のコンサート mean? Why is の used here?

歌手のコンサート literally means “the concert of (a/the) singer” or “a singer’s concert.”

The particle の here:

Connects two nouns: 歌手 (singer) and コンサート (concert)
Has a possessive / “of” / “belonging to” / “by” meaning

So the phrase structure is:

有名な歌手のコンサート
= concert of a famous singer
= a famous singer’s concert

This whole chunk 有名な歌手のコンサート is one big noun phrase meaning “a (the) concert given by a famous singer.”

Does 有名な describe the singer or the concert?

有名な describes 歌手 (singer), not the concert.

In Japanese, modifiers usually describe the immediately following noun:

有名な歌手のコンサート
= concert of a famous singer

If you wanted to say “a famous concert (by some singer)”, you’d structure it differently, for example:

有名なコンサート
= a famous concert (no mention of singer)
有名なコンサートをする歌手
= a singer who gives a famous concert (more complex)

In the original sentence, the fame attaches to the singer.

Why is は attached to コンサート and not to something else? What is marked as the topic?

Particles in Japanese attach to the word or phrase immediately before them.

Here we have:

有名な歌手のコンサートはいつも混みます。

The topic of the sentence is:

有名な歌手のコンサート (concerts of famous singers)

The particle は marks that whole noun phrase as the thing we are talking about:

有名な歌手のコンサートは
As for concerts of famous singers,
いつも混みます。
they are always crowded.

So the structure is:

[有名な歌手のコンサート] は [いつも混みます]。

Could I use が instead of は here? What would change?

You could say:

有名な歌手のコンサートがいつも混みます。

Grammatically it’s fine, but the nuance changes:

は: sets 有名な歌手のコンサート as the topic (“as for ~”, “speaking of ~”), and the sentence sounds like a general description or comment.
が: tends to mark the subject as new or emphasized information. It can sound more like “It is (specifically) concerts of famous singers that always get crowded.”

In many neutral, general statements, は is more natural. が feels a bit more contrastive or focused.

Why is it 混みます and not 混んでいます? Aren’t both “crowded”?

Both involve the verb 混む (こむ), which means “to be crowded / to get crowded.”

混みます = polite, non-past form of 混む
- Often used for habits or general truths
- Here it means: “(They) get crowded / are (always) crowded (as a rule).”
混んでいます = て-form + いる
- Describes a current state: “is (right now) crowded.”

So:

有名な歌手のコンサートはいつも混みます。
→ As a rule, whenever such concerts happen, they get crowded. (Habitual / general tendency)
有名な歌手のコンサートは混んでいます。
→ The concert (that is happening now / that we’re talking about now) is crowded. (Current situation)

Since いつも talks about an “always / usually” pattern, 混みます (plain non-past) is a natural match.

What is the dictionary form of 混みます, and how does it conjugate?

The dictionary (plain) form is:

混む (こむ) – “to be crowded / to get crowded”

Conjugation (polite and plain, typical ones):

Plain non-past: 混む
Plain past: 混んだ
Plain negative: 混まない
Plain past negative: 混まなかった
Polite non-past: 混みます
Polite past: 混みました
Polite negative: 混みません
Polite past negative: 混みませんでした

In the sentence, 混みます is the polite non-past form.

Why is いつも in front of 混みます? Can it move to another position?

いつも is an adverb meaning “always / usually.” Adverbs in Japanese are quite flexible in position.

Common placements here:

有名な歌手のコンサートは いつも 混みます。
いつも 有名な歌手のコンサートは混みます。

Both are possible. The most natural and neutral is usually:

[Topic] は [adverb] [verb].
→ 有名な歌手のコンサートは いつも 混みます。

Putting いつも at the beginning (いつも有名な歌手のコンサートは混みます) is also grammatically OK, but it can feel slightly more marked or emphatic, like “As for always, concerts of famous singers get crowded.” The standard, safest position is right before the verb.

Is 歌手 singular or plural here? Does it mean “a famous singer” or “famous singers”?

Japanese nouns usually don’t mark singular vs. plural explicitly. 歌手 by itself just means “singer(s).”

So:

有名な歌手のコンサート
can be interpreted as:
- “the concert of a famous singer”
- “concerts of famous singers”

Context decides which makes more sense.
With いつも混みます, it naturally sounds like a general statement:

“Concerts of famous singers are always crowded.”

English translation often chooses plural here for naturalness, but Japanese itself leaves it neutral.

Why doesn’t いつも take any particle like に or は?

いつも is an adverb (“always / usually”), and adverbs in Japanese typically do not take particles when they modify verbs:

よく食べます。= I often eat.
たいてい忙しいです。= I’m usually busy.
いつも混みます。= (They) are always crowded / always get crowded.

You can occasionally see いつもは in some contexts, but that’s different:

いつもは混みますが、今日は空いています。
= It’s usually crowded, but today it’s empty.

Here いつもは is being contrasted with “today.”
In the original sentence, いつも is just a straightforward adverb, so no particle is needed.

Could I say something like 有名な歌手のコンサートはいつも人が多いです instead? Is that similar to 混みます?

Yes, you could say:

有名な歌手のコンサートはいつも 人が多いです。
= Concerts of famous singers always have many people.

Nuance:

混みます focuses on the state of being crowded / packed, often implying it’s hard to move, lots of people in a small space.
人が多いです literally means “there are many people,” which is slightly more neutral and doesn’t as strongly imply the uncomfortable, packed feeling.

Both sentences express that there are a lot of people, but:

混みます → emphasizes crowding / congestion
人が多いです → emphasizes the number of people, less about the feeling of congestion.