The lyrics of вЂњPlastic LoveвЂќ tell the story of a woman who is so haunted by a breakup, she can now only view love as a game, well-aware that she is covering up her loneliness with retail therapy and dancing the night away. The genre popularized songs similar to вЂњPlastic LoveвЂќ in the United States, like вЂњ 4:00AMвЂќ by Taeko Ohnuki and вЂњ Dress DownвЂќ by Kaoru Akimoto, but вЂњPlastic LoveвЂќ has definitely outlived the genreвЂ™s popularity. Japanese characters and вЂ80s and вЂ90s anime also turn up in the vaporwave aesthetic, mainly because the creators think they look cool. Vaporwave is also largely influenced by the aesthetics of the вЂ80s and вЂ90s like neon and cyberpunk, but also symbols of time gone by like classical Roman statues and dead malls. Vaporwave was a genre of music largely characterized by remixing old songs from the вЂ80s and вЂ90s - some of the most popular songs from lesser-known or older Japanese city-pop or J-funk songs that were turned into memes. One influence on city-popвЂ™s popularity with younger generations is vaporwave. Either way, Takeuchi is grateful that people are still вЂњwaiting and listeningвЂќ to her music 40 years into her career.Д«ut one question remains - why do so many people who have never lived in Japan, canвЂ™t understand the lyrics, and werenвЂ™t even alive during the вЂ™80s resonate with this song? The vast possibilities of why this song is so loved may reveal something a lot deeper about our generation.

However, the eight-minute version known and loved never actually existed in the вЂ™80s - the new extended remix first popped up online in 2017.

The song fits into the genre of city-pop, which is Japanese music influenced by Western genres like soft rock, R&B, funk, disco, and gospel, with bright horn sections and soaring strings giving the song a lot of its power. вЂњPlastic LoveвЂќ was originally included in her 1984 comeback album, Variety, and peaked at No. In an article by Japan Times, Takeuchi and her husband Tatsuro Yamashita are described as вЂњthe BeyoncГ© and Jay-Z of J-pop,вЂќ producing hit after hit for other J-pop stars, as well as racking up sales of more than 16 million copies of TakeuchiвЂ™s albums since the вЂ70s. Though not commonly known to most of the Western audience that grew to love her in the late 2010s, Mariya Takeuchi is a Japanese pop legend. The hype around вЂњPlastic LoveвЂќ transcended from an ironic meme into a genuine fanbase for the song, Takeuchi, and other music like it. It has also inspired hundreds of pieces of fan art of the cover and a fan-made English translation version, and had an official music video produced and released in May 2019 - 35 years after the song first came out. Since then, the song has been remixed countless times, mashed-up with tracks by Daft Punk, Eminem, Tool, Paramore, and even the вЂњ Cory in the HouseвЂќ theme song. For a short time, the original video was taken down due to copyright issues with the thumbnail photo but was reuploaded to another channel, where it earned an additional 13 million views before the original was reuploaded. As of October 2019, the video has over 27 million views and counting. No one quite understands why the YouTube recommendation algorithm decided to promote this specific video to millions of Western users, but it quickly started racking up views.

The first video to start the chain reaction was an eight-minute long remix reuploaded from a previous channel by Plastic Lover on July 5, 2017. Something about вЂњPlastic Love,вЂќ originally released in 1984 by Japanese singer Mariya Takeuchi, captured the attention of millions of people from across the world decades later. Once the lyrics begin a minute later, it doesnвЂ™t even matter if you can understand Japanese or not - the song is timelessly good. Out of curiosity, or just in an attempt to finally get it out of your recommendations, you may have clicked on the video and found yourself quickly captivated by an intro of nearly perfectly-produced strings and piano that bursts into an infectiously catchy, funky bass rhythm. If you have visited YouTube in the past three years, you might have scrolled aimlessly through your вЂњSuggestedвЂќ videos and found a video titled вЂњMariya Takeuchi з«№е†… гЃѕг‚Љг‚„ Plastic LoveвЂќ with the above image as its thumbnail and millions of views.

Mariya takeuchi plastic love in film