Make Believe Mailer Vol. 24: And the gold medal for delayed promises goes to.......
Long time no see! Welcome back to the Make Believe Mailer, the email newsletter focused on the latest topics in the world of J-pop, Japanese music at large and more. It has been nearly two years since the last installment of this project, an edition including the doomed promise "I'm going to try to hop back on this weekly thing." I'm not even going to try making any promises, but this is a thing that will land in your inbox at some interval in time, hopefully offering a good glance into the issues moving the Japanese music industry. And now let's hit the ice...or, more accurately, the televised image of ice gracing screens across the country.
The 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang have proven to be a compelling one for Japanese viewers. Yuzuru Hanyu wowed the figure skating world and made it rain Pooh Bears, Nao Kodaira set Olympic records and prompted one of those touching moments that make cities bleed themselves to host these boondoggles, and the women's curling team charmed everyone (alas, they lost to the other underdog story of the Games, South Korea, tonight. Still got a shot at Bronze!). A lot of eyes have turned to their TV screens to keep up with it all. And it's resulted in 2018's first real breakout J-pop hit of the year.
The song's video features lots of food, which is all the justification I need to share this photo of the curling team enjoying snack time.
The networks broadcasting the Games each have their own theme songs for the two-week-long athletic bonanza. Like with most big-level tournaments and events, said numbers get played constantly going in and out of commercial break. Naturally, all this exposure means these rah-rah anthems become among the year's biggest commercial hits. See Namie Amuro's "Hero" for NHK's broadcast of the 2016 Rio Olympics, or Sheena Ringo's no-subtlety-at-all "Nippon" for NHK's 2014 World Cup programming.
The Winter Olympics up to Pyeongchang have -- at least in the time I've lived in Japan -- been far more forgettable. The biggest number from Sochi to air on practical loop was by mid-tempo duo Kobukuro, and like most of their music it kind of just breezes out of your head just as quickly as it entered. It performed fine, but didn't stick around long after the torch went out. Yet 2018's biggest song has started crossing over to the regular, non-broadcast side of the world too, and it seems set to be the year's first big hit. Although Fuji TV tried their best with a fittingly upbeat number from GReeeeN (for those new to them, they are four dentists who are also pop stars and who exist entirely anonymously...what a world!), national broadcast NHK sets the pace again with their theme.
Nothing says Olympics like guys silently eating noodles.
Sekai No Owari's "Sazanka" has been inescapable if you've checked out any of the events over the last two weeks. It's a pretty standard ballad complete with benign IOC-friendly lyrics about chasing your dreams even if it gets tough. Don't give up, you too can paint a picture of tonkatsu! While the band itself has been big for the last few years, it felt like they lost a bit of momentum in the last two years -- so after a Nicky-Romero-aided EDM run, they've pivoted hard to ballads. And now they've got something that feels like a hit -- it doesn't officially come out until next Wednesday, but early YouTube returns look promising, while it's presence on TV means its reaching a huge amount of people who have zero interest in new forms of music listening.
It's ultimately a reminder of old media's continued importance in creating J-pop hits. The biggest song of 2017, "Uchiage Hanabi," spread online, but it only existed thanks to a movie. Hoshino Gen's cruising along thanks to TV themes and movie tunes (that latter one has a good chance of being a huge hit, too). You better believe artists are trying to land a song for the 2018 World Cup broadcasts, because it's a safe bet to gain traction.
News And Views
Former SKE48 member and current adult film actor Mikami Yua plans to debut as part of a K-pop group in the near future. Melissa Johnson had the only worthwhile take on this.
Nogizaka46 and Keyakizaka46 are two of the biggest groups going in Japan, and they'll soon get a new sister project -- in the form of the unisex Yoshimotozaka46. It will feature talents from the Yoshimoto Kogyo entertainment company, and has a strong possibility of being a cheesy bit of marketing hype for both sides.
Pikotaro will never die, but you will.
Oricon Trail For The Week Of February 12, 2018 -- February 18, 2018
I thought I'd seen the last of these dusty roads, my days of plunging into songs propelled forward by gimmick add-ons and handshake tickets over. But you can't outrun who you are. A few weeks back, I saw half a dozen men sitting outside of the Tower Records in Shibuya livestreaming themselves as they ripped into literal boxes of the latest TWICE single, showing off the collectible cards found in each jewel case to their viewers. Can't escape the game.
So here I am again...greeted by this week's top selling single, a dippy number from Hey! Say! JUMP featuring air quote choreography. I'm doomed to do this dance forever.
Perfume's GAME (33 1/3)
This week, my entry in the 33 1/3 series' Japanese set came out! It's on the group that was my gateway into J-pop, and specifically their breakthrough album, 2008's GAME. But it's also more than that -- it's a look at the history of "techno-pop" and recording technology in Japan, along with idol music and producer Yasutaka Nakata's ability to be ahead of the curve and influence a generation of Western artists. I spent the summer of 2016 writing the first draft -- huh strange, this newsletter stopped at about the same time -- and then did edits and re-writes last year. And now you can get it from Bloomsbury or via Amazon. I think you can find it in select stores as well! I plan on writing small entries in future newsletters about stories related to the subject of the book, so stay tuned for more insight into Japanese techno-pop, Perfume and more.
Look At Me!
Talked to AmPm, a "creative project" that is the first Japanese group to figure out Spotify (and how to game it), for The Japan Times. The central tension I still think about after writing this piece is how AmPm's path to success on a flat service such as Spotify was to basically cut off all the elements of their music that pegged them as "Japanese," for better or for worse. Interested to see if other non-Western indie acts follow similar approaches.
TWICE's recent Japanese songs sure sound a lot like E-girls...which makes sense, since they are using the same producers and songwriters as that J-pop group. It's a nice reminder of how the two countries influence one another, and I'm on it over at SBS PopAsia.
Blog highlights: Haruno offers up an early 2018 highlight, Animal Hack impress with their latest, and Gokou Kuyt makes late night rap.
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Written by Patrick St. Michel (patrickstmichel@gmail.com)
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