Make Believe Mailer Vol. 43: Virtual Self
Virtual YouTubers have become the hot new trend online in Japan over the past year. Nearly every day, I click the "trending" tab on YouTube, and at least one anime-style digi woman reading tweets or playing the "U.S.A." game. Like everything deemed a "trend" coming out of Japan, it isn't quite saturating the mainstream (at least not yet), but this also isn't a case of bagelheads. Virtual YouTubers have become a very prominent thing online, and recently they've started crossing over into other mediums too...most notably for this newsletter, music.
That comes courtesy of the OG virtual YouTuber Kizuna AI, an online motion-capture creation that plays video games and tells jokes. She's become big enough to serve as a tourism ambassador and land her own deep-cable TV show. She's also, basically, an animated YouTuber -- if it weren't for her visual appearance, she would be another soul screaming at polygons and jumps on all the same trends as everyone else. It would all be online novelty...except her move into music signals a potential sea change in the world of virtual entertainers from the past decade of this corner of the Japanese music industry.
A bold new era
Ai's debut song is called "Hello, Morning," and it's a pretty familiar glass of "kawaii bass" fizziness. That's becuase the producer and composer behind the song is a cornerstone of that hyperactive community, Nor, who has been pushing this maximalist bearhug of a style forward for quite some time now (check their collaborative project with YUC'e," Beignet). Considering Ai's online origin, this busy mutation on future bass makes for a fitting backdrop for her singing. As an isolated song, it's fine, doing nothing to build on a sonic palette that has started to feel real exhausted in recent months, but also hitting on all the pleasure your typical Yunomi joint does.
It has performed solidly, though. "Hello, Morning" has just under 430,000 views on YouTube as of writing, and the song performed well on Spotify, topping the streaming service's "Japan Trending" playlist for two straight weeks in late July. Again, no sign of mainstream appeal given how fragmented J-pop is in 2018, but impressive still. And as a way to expand her reach into other fields -- her first step towards becoming something like a traditional talent -- it is significant. It comes a year after the 10th anniversary of the last epoch-shifting virtual musical artist in Japan -- Hatsune Miku.
Via...9Gag? That can't be right
The aqua-haired avatar is still going strong, having just wrapped up a North American tour and still inspiring articles wondering what it all means. That Washington Post piece hits on what made Miku such a significant development (and which many others usually miss...most are more interested in the holographic properties of Miku, and the fact she isn't real. Which as many will point out, isn't a new development, though they always give Damon Albarn way too much credit and ignore David Seville). What made her so intriguing -- what inspired books dubbing her arrival the third summer of love -- is the freedom it allowed, how anyone could buy the Vocaloid software and find themselves in an alternate pop community driven by creators. Miku was the avatar, but anyone could be the star ("Tell Your World," indeed). Like all things, it became a bit more corporate and controlled as time went on, but early on most of the biggest hits associated with Miku came from previously unknown creators. And even today, plenty are still fueling the community.
Ai, meanwhile, actually comes closer to early '90s efforts to create a digital pop star. Kyoko Date was managed by one of the nation's biggest talent agencies. Same general idea for Korea's Adam -- in theory, you were supposed to look at him like Seo Taiji (he just looked like the kid who owned Woody in Toy Story). User input into what Ai does is nothing like the freedom Miku allowed in 2007 -- a fan of Ai can basically interact with her in the same way someone would with Pewdiepie. That's her evolution to this format, showing that the idea of the virtual artist can basically occupy the role of the influencer, developing a connection but running the show. You could draw fan art of Ai, sure. But your take on her is your own little tribute rather than an addition to an ever growing online tapestry.
It's a fitting shift for the late 2010s -- Miku came about at a time when the internet felt limitless, and Ai has taken off at a time when it feels more mediated and personality centric. Anyone can make their own virtual YouTuber in theory, but it will be in a small corner rather than as something that can be the center of a really large and creative community. That's change, and time will tell just what Ai becomes in the greater Japanese media landscape. Will she release more music, or use it as a building block towards turning into a digital version of Rola, appearing on variety shows and commercials? Whatever way she goes, it's the next step in virtual singers in Japan.
News And Views
Ayumi Hamasaki released a new album -- her words, despite it being five songs long -- on streaming services last week, ahead of a physical release soon after. Haven't listened to it enough to make any proper review, but her music in recent memory remains fascinating in how it explores the pain of getting older and, frankly, of having your best days be well behind you. Anyway, promo for this album also included a clip that was pretty similar to a Namie Amuro ad from a few years back, which is incredible because once again Hamasaki's music takes a backseat to some sort of scandal.
R.I.P to the word "banger," which died this week following the new name of Hey! Say! JUMP's latest single.
The music video for Michael Jackson's "Behind The Mask" -- originally filmed in like 2013 following a fan-centric version, leaked, removed, and now out again -- appeared online officially this week. It's Jackson's take on Yellow Magic Orchestra's song of the same name, and was originally slated to appear on Thriller until YMO's management said no (ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!). Always good to be reminded of this insane what-if.
Ugh, a member of Osaka juke outfit Satanicpornocultshop, died this week. One of the best groups offering their mutation on the style, listen to their music.
It's crazy how in 2018 idols still can't be in real relationships for fear of disrupting fan images projected on them. So here we are, with another set of people revealed to be dating, leading to backlash and cancelled live appearances and just all sorts of drama. But hey I guess that's J-pop for yo....oh wait, it's the biggest scandal in K-pop, the one everyone always paints as progressive compared to J-pop? Good times, good times (it's crazy how K-pop turned into J-pop! Put this on my professional grave!).
AKB48 member Haruka Nakagawa shutdown a right-wing Japanese netizen on Twitter after they came after Korean artists. Welcome to the resistance, AKB.
Rainbow Disco Club -- good fest.
Oricon Trail For The Week Of July 30, 2018 To August 5, 2018
Hey! Say! JUMP going to number one, but it is with a single that isn't "Banger Night" so it could be worse. Maybe more significant is over on the album side, where Southern All Stars topped it with their latest. Just watch the video for their latest song to see why this is significant -- the clip is basically a time capsule of all the decades the band has been active, which is "all of them since the 1970s."
Perfume's GAME (33 1/3)
My entry in the 33 1/3 Japan series is out now! Get a copy at Bloomsbury or Amazon. Or at Kinokuniya bookstores in the US. Perfume have a new album out next week, and to promote it they will open a special cafe. If you read my book in the cafe and send me a photo I will...uhhh feature it in this newsletter? Really, I'll just thank you a ton.
Look At Me!
Talked to Towa Tei about his new album as Sweet Robots Against The Machine, which is a comedy album -- but really we ended up talking about death and memories. This is the most surprised -- in a pleasant way -- I've been with an interview in 2018, and this whole conversation was pretty illuminating.
Wrote about the online reaction to Japan's proposed shift to daylight savings time -- netizens are not fans.
Blog highlights: Metome, Suguru Ohtaka, YTAMO
Written by Patrick St. Michel (patrickstmichel@gmail.com)
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