“Everybody questions the algorithm, but my feeling is that people looked at the photo and saw something about it. “YouTube is like a thumbnail operation,” Levenson told Pitchfork. The combination of the now iconic photo, the instantly catchy vibes and the earworm appeal of Takeuchi’s performance continued to propel the viral hit. The now iconic portrait, which was originally for another Takeuchi single, was taken by American photographer Alan Levenson. That is, until a copyright strike over the thumbnail photo caused the track to vanish. As Pitchfork notes, the unofficial upload, posted to a channel called Plastic Lover, racked up over 24 million views. The song’s comeback this November isn’t the first revival for “Plastic Love.” Decades after its original release, seemingly out of nowhere, an extended version of the song went viral on YouTube in 2017. “No matter how many other guys would pursue her, she couldn’t shake the feelings of loneliness that the loss created.”īut when a 12-inch single was released in Japan in March 1985, it only reached 86 on the Japanese music charts however, the album on which it appeared, Variety, was a number one smash hit. I wanted to write something that had 16 beats and lyrics capturing what life in a city was like.” According to Takeuchi, the lyrics are about a woman who lost her true love. “I also wanted to write something danceable, something with a city pop sound. “I wanted to write a rock song, a folk song, a country song,” she added.
Pam & Tommy fall into Seth Rogen's skeezy clutches in the first trailer for FX series Hundreds Stung as Extreme Storms Unleash Scorpion Plague in Egypt “I was writing songs at the time because it was fun for me.” (Full disclosure: I am a columnist at The Japan Times.)Ī-Rod, listen close, if you want your baseball career to end with the ultimate honor, you need to stop the cheatingĢ0 Movies So Bad, They're Actually Really GoodĪpple Finally Lets You Repair Your Own iPhone “I was pregnant with a child at the time, so it wasn’t like I was really able to indulge in the bubble-era excess in the same way as others could,” Takeuchi told The Japan Times. Written and sung by Mariya Takeuchi, “Plastic Love” is pure “city pop,” a loosely-defined, breezy genre that has been described as “music made by city people, for city people.” Few things evoke the heady 1980s bubble era Japan more than city pop tunes. This month, well over three decades after its original release, the song’s full-length official video was finally uploaded to YouTube and, according to Warner Music Japan, its re-issued 12-inch single also broke the country’s top ten sales chart for the first time. Recorded in 1984, “Plastic Love” is the song that continues to make comeback after comeback. The official music video reminds me of those overwrought karaoke videos that play at Japanese karaoke parlors, which suits the vibe. After a brief hiatus following 2004's Longtime Favorites album, Takeuchi returned to the scene in 2007 with the number one album Denim, and repeated the number one feat with 2008's Expressions.A woman sits in the back of a taxi while "Plastic Love Mariya Takeuchi" flashes on the screen. Along with her success as a solo artist, however, Takeuchi has become something of a go-to songwriter for Japan's pop industry, penning songs for a series of top artists. Since 1984, Takeuchi has released seven studio albums, each holding the Oricon number one slot, and a 1994 compilation (Impressions) became one of the higher-selling Japanese albums with three million copies sold. Upon her return in 1984, fame was awaiting in a grander fashion.
After marrying fellow musician and sometimes collaborator Tatsuro Yamashita in 1981, Takeuchi took a leave from the industry to raise their young child. The albums fared similarly, each hitting the weekly Top 20, but only 1980's Love Songs hit number one on the charts and became a strong seller. She released a total of five albums between 19, with a series of singles scratching the Top 100 or Top 40 of the Oricon charts, but never gaining a number one hit (though "Mysterious Peach Pie" did become a strong player, peaking at a number three position). The single garnered moderate success, ultimately launching Takeuchi into wide recognition. A Keio University student with a penchant for singing, Mariya Takeuchi took it upon herself to jump-start her career, releasing a single in 1978 without a label.