Make Believe Melodies For February 27, 2023
Make Believe Melodies For February 27, 2023
Many Ways To Reach The West
ATARASHII GAKKO! — “The Edge”
Perhaps not since the very early days of “J-pop” itself — the ‘90s — has Japanese music seemed so hellbent on going abroad. While the domestic market remains healthy, shifts in industry attitude regarding the outside world (and the digital platforms they use) coupled with the economic benefits of doing so becoming more clear have made a lot of labels and artists seriously look outward.
So…what exactly works?
That’s a loaded question, me! It’s different everywhere, and J-pop’s current global pathways stretch all over. The bulk of the focus lately has been Asia, thanks to huge interest in pop group’s like Snow Man, the surprise virality of Fuji Kaze and the general upwards trajectory of markets across the region. There’s dozens upon dozens of roads within this area alone…yet, for better or almost certainly worst, the West, especially the United States, remains the crown jewel of “crossing over.”
Ado and YOASOBI both have made the U.S. a central goal moving forward, going as far as to sign deals with America-based music groups to further that aim. LDH’s SG5, the “Sailor Moon” inspired girl group, debuts in just a couple of days, trying to tightrope between weebier spaces and mainstream pop. The entire K-pop-shaped side of this — whether having direct links to Korean companies, as is the situation with JO1 or INI or &TEAM, or taking notes from them in the case of BE:FIRST — has teased the possibility of actually knowing best how to do this, though to date that mostly means “wanna play at KCON?”
The exception to this — and truly the one to watch on this front — is XG, an Avex project assisted by a Korean production company. Trustworthy soucres1 tell me “Shooting Star” (above) is getting attention in the States, along with the group earning some radio love too (or at least being used for…online competitions?) They’ve definitely made inroads on Spotify Viral Charts, including #20 on the overall global list at time of writing.
As they should — XG is a group designed for international audiences, with music calculated to hit a sweet spot between BLACKPINK and vague nostalgia, topped off by lyrics delivered entirely in English. XG absolutely has a shot to succeed around the world — but especially in the U.S., all that matters, obviously — because they’ve been tightly tweaked for just that goal.
Maybe there’s another path…
It’s not that long ago 88Rising planned on making J-pop’s Western breakthrough via something that would have looked and sounded like XG. Breaking a Japanese act into the American market loomed large on founder Sean Miyashiro when I talked to him for The Japan Times back in 20192, and for a bit he wanted LDH group and E-girls sub-unit Happiness to do that, though this never panned out3. Instead, they went with ATARASHII GAKKO!, an oddball quartet dressed in school uniforms off on their own sonic and personal plane of existence. It’s worked honestly — they’ve attracted media attention4, performed around the world and cultivated a loyal fanbase.
New single “The Edge” isn’t some wild counter to the sleek design of XG’s latest songs, but offers something I find personally lacking in pretty much everything XG has released to date5, which is a willingness to be jagged around the edges and unafraid to be a bit inaccessible. "Bit" being crucial here — this still features predominantly English lyrics, not to mention a driving synth sound that plenty of global hits have mined in recent times.
Yet rather than follow what feels like a flow chart of "how to make popular pop song for Americans," ATARASHII GAKKO! present work with more ramshackle energy. Their voices are somewhere between idols and CHAI, far from finely tuned but all the better for it, especially when coming together. While eyeing international audiences, they still devote an entire bridge to Japanese, treating it as something to mix the pace up. That portion also presents the biggest sonic difference…”The Edge” exudes rock, the dominant sound of Japanese pop music right now, and that helps them stand out while throwing some distortion into their chugging pop (bridge sounds like…Deerhunter?). That this is the theme for a Crunchyroll anime season adds a layer to it, too.
What unites “Shooting Star” and “The Edge” is a sense of pushing past boundaries…both groups are trying to break through, whether deep into space or “the edge of something new.” That’s a reminder of this global drive starting to shape J-pop in the 2020s. Where they dovetail though, is in personality. XG wants to be liked by everyone, to the point of feeling overly calculated. ATARASHII GAKKO!, meanwhile, choose to be themselves, weird details and all, even if the songs aren’t as immediately radio ready or able to be thrown against Harry Styles in a Twitter poll. But it’s them, and there’s power in embracing that. Listen above.
Snail’s House And VaVa — “Persona”
That went too long, so uhhhhh new music this Friday for Bandcamp Friday. Yet I couldn’t forgive myself if I didn’t bring attention to one of the wilder collaborations that works to date despite being a total trip. Listen above.
Oricon Trail For The Week Of February 13, 2023 To February 19, 2023
Back in the day, the Oricon Music Charts were the go-to path to music stardom in Japan. Acts of all sorts traversed these lands, trying to sell as many CDs as possible in order to land a good ranking on a chart choosing to only count physical sales, even as the Internet came to be and the number of versions offered for sale got ridiculous. Today, with the country finally in on digital, these roads are more barren and only looked at by the most fanatic of supporters needing something to celebrate. Yet every week, a new song sells enough plastic to take the top spot. So let’s take a trip down…the Oricon Trail.
Sakurazaka46 — “Sakuratsuki” (348,921 Copies Sold)
Sakura song season comes earlier and earlier every year…
Sakurazaka46’s built-in dramatic lift elevates a familiar “the seasons are changing…and so are we” formula up a notch on “Sakuratsuki.” Cherry blossoms as metaphor for major changes and the general ephemeral nature of life — Google “mono no aware” for a crash course — is a common cliche, but Sakurazaka46 remind of the power of the familiar by simply bolding every element of the song. At its core, this is about young love ending because of high school graduation, which from a point of maturity feels deeply insignificant. But god, imagine actually being a teen having to stare this down — shit must feel like the apocalypse. “Sakuratsuki” gives this a fittingly epic-scale, with strings wringing out extra tension and the lyrics just going all in on what amounts to a typical but still painful experience (bonus points for the specificity of our protagonist’s love interest going to Tokyo). Great pop zones in on moments of emotional explosion, and explores why. Listen above.
News And Views
Over a decade ago, Domino’s Pizza declared “we stink.” After years of being seen as providing sub-standard pie — in college, it was Pizza Hut or even (gasp) Papa Johns over this drek — the delivery pizza chain leaned into its reputation for sucking and declared “we’re listening, we’re learning.” A series of ads featured harsh online criticism of their food, but detailed efforts to change that. What followed was a cheese-covered miracle, and now Domino’s towers over the American pizza game.
This week, AKB48 went full Domino’s. In a teaser for…something…the group opened with a collection of comments wondering “is AKB48 over?” and “I don’t even know who the members are anymore,” as biting as “this tastes like cardboard.” They then hinted at something big, including footage of a woman riding a bike from Akihabara to Harajuku. Whatever could that mean…
In a YouTube video premiered tonight, the group announced they were jumping over to Universal Music Group moving forward after being with King Records for years, with a new single on the way featuring Hitomi Honda (one of the actually recognizable AKB players still going…uhhh I guess she’s like thin crust?) in the center. Turns out that bike ride…was to Universal Japan’s office in Harajuku.
While not as dramatic as it could have been (I was fully bracing for a return to “the festival of democracy”), it’s still a significant…albeit potentially late in the game…move from an outfit that defined J-pop in the early 2010s. Universal offers the potential for more global outreach — hinted at in the silly email at the intro of the clip above — and that’s not fool’s gold, as Perfume jumped over to Universal back in the day and did enjoy a boost in international reputation. Then again, Perfume fans weren’t wondering “is this group over?” when they transferred over. I don’t know what the heck this means going forward for them or how you sell the AKB48 brand abroad…besides “everything is AKB48”… but it’s definitely a shake up in the order of idol-dom. Now, let’s see if they can pull off the rebrand.Is this AKB48 metaverse thing carrying over or will this be the final embers of pre-UMG AKB?
Mitsuo Shindo, responsible for how Shibuya-kei looked on the album art and a vital figure in shaping that style’s aesthetic, has died.
This is not the newsletter to dwell on “SM 3.0” and all the drama surrounding the company as HYBE becomes majority stockholder, but amidst all of this the Korean entertainment company released a “Global Expansion & Investment Strategy” video to YouTube that’s as dry as the title suggests. Which, for an SM business video, makes it essential. The big takeaway is that Japan is the starting point for “SM 3.0,” and whatever this idea ends up looking like will take shape in the country.
Related…HYBE teams up with LDH for a new girl group called MOONCHILD set to debut later this year. Pretty savvy move from LDH, though I hope they set the Sailor Moon parameters clearly between this lunar-themed outfit and SG5.
RELATED…Yurina Hirate, formerly of Keyakizaka46 but now with HYBE who just basically are going for everything, introduced her official page on HYBE-owned platform Weverse.
Jurina Matsui back. Will HYBE scoop her up?
Sheena Ringo and millennium parade, together for an anime song.
Sony morphing into an entertainment juggernaut, and music is certainly part of that (though not the part of it).
The BBC will air a documentary called Predator: The Secret Scandal of J-Pop on March 7. It looks at Johnny Kitagawa, founder of Johnny & Associates, who former talent alleged used his position to have sex with teenage boys within the Johnny’s system, and the ramifications of that plus major Japanese TV stations and papers ignoring it. While the BBC presents this as a “secret scandal,” it is anything but, as it has been reported on by English-language media for over two decades now which subsequently received attention in Japan and…was broken by a Japanese tabloid, after all, and one that revisits it quite frequently.
Beyond the dash of sensationalism in the title, it’s still an important story mainstream media in Japan has avoided at all costs (see morning shows transforming into memorial services for Kitagawa after his death, going nowhere near the abuse claims…and getting slammed by netizens for it). Plus the BBC has a chance to do something interesting as this is the first feature of its sort to appear since Kitagawa died. Curious how they approached this entire production.
I think this documentary reminds of an issue not just in the past but one constantly staring Johnny’s down as they figure out the future. The company has absolutely changed since their founder died — J-pop as a whole changed, and it’s genuinely wild how one man could seemingly have all that power — and they’ve pretty openly telegraphed moves into foreign markets. Thing is, by doing that they’ll always have to deal with this, whether it’s from a BBC documentary or Western journalists or just folks on Twitter...a place where Japanese people, too, can bring it up, free of traditional media demands, reminding that the landscape at home has changed too. It might be all in the past, but they’re Johnny’s after all, and they can’t get away from that.Hey let’s refresh with this guy.
imase’s “NIGHT DANCER” — big hit! That includes in South Korea, where the song entered music chart Melon’s top 100, the first time a Japanese artist has ever managed that according to (lolz) THE FIRST TAKE’s official website. But hey, Korean newspapers get to throw a written parade every time a TWICE song tops the Oricon daily chart, let ‘em have this.
I talked to JYOCHO for The Japan Times, in an interview that…got heavy at points!
Also looked at the potential summer festivals have this year for The Japan Times.
Pictured Resort recently played The Philippines, but I mostly can’t get over this footage of them at a shooting range. Indie-POP POP POP
Enon Kawatani makes perfume now
People on Twitter
Time for a fun fact I haven’t shared about this story before: a friend from Newspicks invited me to a special shooting session they were doing between Miyashiro and SKY-HI, with me figuring I would just say hello. Instead, it was a surprise interview. Everything involved with this story was straight from the dome in the moment.
Telling, then, that four members of Happiness appear in SG5, who will be debuting in the next few days with a song that sounds very in line with current K-pop sounds.
Full disclosure: Around the time they released their music with 88Rising, I was hired by their Japan side to write their official bio and conduct an official interview with the group. One reason I’ve never written about them in this space, as they were one of the first “official” groups I did this for.
“Left Right” is far away their best moment to date and the first giving me hope for this group…maybe the Y2K pastiche is the way to go, though man…I just find the lyrics real rough, like they tried memorizing a pamphlet about “youth speak” (“Now we onto somethin’ / drop the fit we killed it”).