Make Believe Mailer Vol. 59: I Love You, Which Is Why I Hate Myself (or: I Watched The Sekai No Owari YouTube Documentary)
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One of the big lessons to be learned from 2018 regarding music is how offering an alternative can be a boon to Japanese artists. I grazed on this in my year-end article for The Japan Times, but all of the noteworthy to make gains in the West this year -- Chai, Haru Nemuri, Mariya Takeuchi even, albeit accidentally! -- did so via a far-from-forward path that performers trying to get some shine in the English-language world have opted for. Japanese music probably can't replicate what K-pop has done (I mean...what BTS has done), but this year proved offering something different and delivering it in an unexpected way can really work. Basically, forget pained crossovers and goofy collaborations.
Make Believe Mailer Vol. 59: I Love You, Which Is Why I Hate Myself (or: I Watched The Sekai No Owari YouTube Documentary)
Make Believe Mailer Vol. 59: I Love You…
Make Believe Mailer Vol. 59: I Love You, Which Is Why I Hate Myself (or: I Watched The Sekai No Owari YouTube Documentary)
One of the big lessons to be learned from 2018 regarding music is how offering an alternative can be a boon to Japanese artists. I grazed on this in my year-end article for The Japan Times, but all of the noteworthy to make gains in the West this year -- Chai, Haru Nemuri, Mariya Takeuchi even, albeit accidentally! -- did so via a far-from-forward path that performers trying to get some shine in the English-language world have opted for. Japanese music probably can't replicate what K-pop has done (I mean...what BTS has done), but this year proved offering something different and delivering it in an unexpected way can really work. Basically, forget pained crossovers and goofy collaborations.