Initially Alan thought I was the one behind the threats, however as we spoke I made it clear I wasn't, and he was shown to be a really nice guy, undeserving of all what was being thrown at him. This is certainly not okay and painted a bad image on what Plastic Love fans are. I'll say it right here - although you might not agree with his actions, you should still respect him as a person, and quite clearly a lot of people did not, I even saw some of those messages. Once the video was removed, Alan faced a lot of harassment and insults. He did not know that once he filled the copyright strike, the video would be removed. Please keep a civil discussion here and try not getting too off-topic.Įxplaining the situation : Alan tried contacting me about the use of the picture, since he already had a messy history with Warner Bros regarding the picture, and all he wanted was to be credited, however I was absent and did not respond to any of his messages, resulting in Alan filling a copyright claim against the video. Months after the takedown, Plastic Love has been fully restored! And it's all thanks to Alan's willingness to negotiate and tell me more about the case, and Stevem's support throught this journey.
Mariya Takeuchi: The Pop Genius Behind 2018's Surprise Online Smash Hit from Japan.įollow Last.I own nothing shown in the video! Everything here goes to their respective owners. How Youtube's Algorithm Turned an Obscure 1980s Japanese Song Into an Enormously Popular Hit: Discover Mariya Takeuchi's “Plastic Love". On top of that, Takeuchi is also set to put out a three-disc compilation album, Turntable, on 21 August 2019. With the release of the “Plastic Love" music video, albeit abridged, Takeuchi fans worldwide, old and new, now have something to discover and revel in together. However, looking at YouTube's comments section for 'Plastic Love' now, many viewers don't really seem to care what language it's in." “Considering that it was mostly performed in Japanese, we figured it would be impossible to go abroad.
“It never occurred to me to try to (release) work in the west," Takeuchi said looking back on the Variety era in an interview with The Japan Times. But now, it's also where her two worlds of fame merge. “Plastic Love" is one of the many milestones in Takeuchi's career, the single coming off her number-one album, Variety. These days, she's dropped a couple new singles as well as Souvenir The Film, a documentary to celebrate the 40th anniversary of her career.
In Japan, Takeuchi has long been a well-renowned pop star with 12 studio albums under her belt, selling more than 16 million units by 2009.
Likely a combination of all factors, the viral success of “Plastic Love" has launched Takeuchi into a different, obscure-yet-massive realm of fame compared to the kind she's cultivated in her motherland.įuture funk producer Night Tempo's “Plastic Love" remix. Others, such as YouTuber Stevem, discuss meme culture and the rise of sample-based genres like vaporwave and future funk spreading city pop's influence, and more specifically, Takeuchi's. Sources like Open Culture take into consideration YouTube algorithm magic. It isn't explicitly clear how Takeuchi's 1984 single resurged into the international mainstream in such a big way. Textured with haze and grain, the music video also plays on the romantic, nostalgic factor that city pop offers today. These fun, dreamy, and colorful atmospheres are brought to life by Hayashi's saturated, neon-lit snapshots of urban Tokyo. The genre emerged during Tokyo's tech and economic boom in the '70s and '80s, drawing influence from the latest gadget crazes (think, the Walkman) to music reminiscent of city life (disco, soft rock, and funk, to name a few). Directed by Kyotaro Hayashi, the “Plastic Love" music video reflects the way city pop framed the world back then.