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04/15/2024
From YOASOBI and LE SSERAFIM’s sets to the combining of star power thanks to 88rising Futures, the promise of Asian pop music was on full display in Indio.
04/15/2024
Park Boram, a breakout TV singing competition star who parlayed her powerful vocals into a decade in the K-pop industry, died Tuesday (April 11), according to a confirmation from her record label in Korea. Police are currently investigating the cause of death. She was 30. Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, […]
Creepy Nuts’ “Bling-Bang-Bang-Born” continues to rule the Billboard Japan Hot 100, now in its 11th straight week atop the chart released April 10.
The MASHLE season 2 opener is still at No. 1 for downloads, streaming, video views and karaoke. Downloads for the hip-hop hit are down by about 4.5% from the week before at 17,122 units, while streaming is steady at 22,797,748 streams (down 1%). Total points are at 18,799, approximately 2.2 times ahead of the track at No. 2.
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ILLIT’s “Magnetic” jumps 8-3 after debuting on the chart last week. Streaming for the new HYBE group’s single is up by about 48.6% with 10,866,450 streams, moving 7-3 for the metric, and downloads are up by about 15.4% with 2,277 units, moving 23-19. Radio moves 84-24, and the total for the song is at 6,953 points this week.
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“Tokimeki UNITED” by Real Idol Project bows at No. 5. This track by the project featuring 250 men in 38 idol groups hailing from various management companies was created as the theme song for the Real Idol Festival event being held this month at the Tokyo Garden Theater. Released Apr. 2, the CD sold 150,764 copies in its first week, topping the sales metric by a wide margin.
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The Billboard Japan Hot 100 combines physical and digital sales, audio streams, radio airplay, video views and karaoke data.
See the full Billboard Japan Hot 100 chart, tallying the week from April 1 to 7, here. For more on Japanese music and charts, visit Billboard Japan’s English Twitter account.
Pop hitmaker Hikaru Utada recently dropped the first best-of collection of their career entitled SCIENCE FICTION. One of Asia’s leading pop superstars since the late 1990s, Utada released a compilation encompassing their vast catalog entitled Utada Hikaru SINGLE COLLECTION VOL. 1/VOL. 2 in the past, but this was a collection of singles and not a best-of album.
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The 41-year-old artist has always been able to grasp the fluid atmosphere existing between themselves and the times, and then deconstruct and reconfigure themselves accordingly. This means that their best-of project isn’t simply a collection of songs from the past, but is a set of works that vividly reflects who they are today. As such, songs that were first released long ago have been remixed and re-recorded, and a brand new song has also been included in the project. The album, mysteriously crowned SCIENCE FICTION, is a fresh and ambitious “new work” typical of the veteran pop artist.
It’s still hard to say that Hikaru Utada’s recent works — with origins in R&B and magically transformed over the years by their absorption of other genres including electronica — have been widely embraced outside of Asia. Fortunately, the “Pink Blood” star’s talents are gradually being discovered in the U.S. BAD MODE, their latest album featuring a meticulously detailed soundscape featuring collaborations with A.G. Cook and Floating Points, was ranked No. 31 on Pitchfork’s list of “The 50 Best Albums of 2022.” Also, “Somewhere Near Marseilles” came in at No. 10 on the online music publication’s “The 100 Best Songs of 2022” list. A new version, dubbed the “Sci-Fi Edit”, of this track is included in Utada’s latest album.
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The “First Love” singer-songwriter’s performance on the main stage at Coachella in 2022 probably helped boost their visibility in the American music scene as well. After their first-ever music festival set alongside a variety of 88rising acts, the Asian star’s music is slowly gaining traction in the U.S. market. In fact, among the songs on SCIENCE FICTION, “First Love,” “One Last Kiss,” and “Kimini Muchuu” (crazy about you) all charted on Billboard’s Global 200 and Global Excl. U.S. tallies (on the latter, at No. 61, No. 14, and No. 21, respectively), and “Face My Fears,” a collaborative track with Skrillex and Poo Bear, charted on the all-genre Hot 100 list.
All these highlights happened after 2019. Utada’s music and current environment have changed dramatically since their first album First Love became the best-selling album of all time in Japan and rewrote the history of the country’s pop music back in the late ‘90s. Now based in London, the J-pop giant is resonating with various corners of pop and left-field music being produced globally. That’s why this best-of album, SCIENCE FICTION, is the perfect opportunity to encourage further discovery of this illustrious musician’s appeal.
Seeing as this best-of set is so current that it could be considered new, let’s draw a few auxiliary lines to help listeners understand it. The first thing that catches our attention is the title of the album, SCIENCE FICTION. Since this is also the name of Utada’s upcoming concert tour set for later this year, it may be premature to try to unravel the mystery based solely on the contents of the album. But it’s a convincing concept when considering their career up to this point.
After starting out as singer-songwriter whose music leaned toward R&B, the “Automatic” artist has gradually moved further towards electronic music since their third album DEEP RIVER (2002) and has infused their songs with the physicality brought to life through computer music and enhanced by live performances. In BAD MODE, Utada experimented with more electronic sounds in collaboration with A.G. Cook and Floating Points, where the level looping rhythms and the off kilter alien-like sound processing inserted here and there strike a strange balance, although they’re contradictory. Let’s use “universality” and “discomfort” to describe these conflicting elements. When asked in an earlier interview about these two elements present in their works, they replied, “Music is a very physical thing,” and then went on to say:
“(Music) can be waveforms, it can be thought of in terms of frequency, in terms of texture, in terms of volume. I’m the kind of person who wants to achieve a very spherical shape. I think if you’re careful about the distribution of all the elements, you naturally end up with the overall balance you’re aiming for. I think about the predictable and unpredictable areas, like, ‘If it’s there only once in the song, it’ll be like I intended it,’ and consider how often and how much I should blend in that sense of discomfort down to each element. I also think about the relationship between those elements in terms of their distribution.”
Utada’s words indicate that they pursue balance with an extremely objective perspective, and their approach of expanding their sound by introducing a sense of discomfort into something universal can be said to be somewhat science fiction-like. The way the mechanicalness and physicality are precariously assembled under a tense sense of equilibrium, combined with their distinctive musical prosody through bilingual lyrics, prick our emotions every time we listen to their works.
Since revealing the name of their new best-of set, Utada has hinted that their interest in quantum mechanics and simulation hypothesis inspired the title. In “A Flower of No Color,” their latest single and included in the upcoming project, they sing, “According to renowned scholars / We are just illusions / But today / as always / I’m in love with you,” and, “But / if I can’t believe in myself / I can’t believe in anything / That’s synonymous with not existing / Only the facts that can’t be proven / Are called truths” These lyrics evoke themes such as the anthropic principle and philosophical realism — perhaps the “renowned scholar” is Nick Bostrom?
Another standout example from the album is their new song “Electricity,” released for the first time on this album. This track, with a rippling beat by Sam Shepherd aka Floating Points, again features some innovative prosody with a strange “E-E-E-E–le-e-e-e-ctri-i-city” sound, and Utada goes on to sing, “Fearing the unknown / addicted to conspiracy theories / To all such humanity / I want you to read a letter that Einstein wrote / to his daughter / Love is Light, Love is the quintessence,” referring to the much-discussed topic of fake news. In this age where fragments of meaning are endlessly propagated, the “Find Love” artist tells us that “the story engraved in our components / won’t end even if writing disappears from this planet,” offering a conclusion before disappearing into the distance with the sound of the saxophone.
While skillfully interweaving the dichotomies of pop/alternative, Japanese/English, universality/discomfort, and reality/fiction, Hikaru Utada the artist exists as the result of someone who has slipped through all such oppositions, fluidly moving between themselves and the times. Their presence shimmering just like science fiction, this lambent musician is now moving to the next phase of their career.
—This article by Tsuyachan first appeared on Billboard Japan
Ignazio Boschetto, Gianluca Ginoble and Piero Barone joke about 3 Body Problem, the Netflix series that everyone is watching and talking about. The comparison between them and the three planets comes naturally, also because Il Volo’s new album, Ad Astra, talks about stars and human fragility. The unsolved astrophysics problem that the series talks about is the difficulty of accurately predicting the way in which the three planets move, as well as the evolution of the system they constitute. Il Volo also shows a notable evolution with this new album, released on March 29.
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After 15 years of career and 13 albums, in Ad Astra, Il Volo for the first time decided to interpret original songs written for them by some of the most important Italian songwriters and producers (except for the cover of “Who Wants To Live Forever” by Queen): Michelangelo, Federica Abbate, Edwyn Roberts, Michael Tenisci, Stefano Marletta, Federico Nardelli, Luca Faraone and Bungaro.
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But it’s just the beginning. On April 20, their new world tour will start from China and then move to Japan. It will then touch the main European capitals in autumn and will arrive in the USA, Canada and Latin America in 2025.
Billboard Italy met them on a rainy morning at the end of March in Milan. They joke with each other from the start, except when they reflect on what their music means to their audience.
What determined this change of approach?
Gianluca: After great projects in recent years, especially the tribute to Ennio Morricone, we thought the time had come to sing original songs. We wanted to try to be ourselves 100%. Being an interpreter is great, but singing your own songs is a completely different thing. The songwriters got to know us personally because they came to our concerts. We tried to make a real concept album, very diverse, with an intro and an outro. The album perfectly reflects who we are. Well, some songs reflect one or the other of us in particular. We want to demonstrate that diversity is our strength.
Which song represents each of you the most?
Ignazio: I’d rather say which songs I would listen to every day: “Succede,” “L’infinito,” “Il Mondo all’Incontrario.” I don’t know which one represents me the most. Gianluca: My favorites are “Capolavoro,” “Frammenti di Universo” and “Ad Astra,” with that Genesis-style progressive suite and its theatrical and cinematographic inspiration.
Piero: I too would say “Ad Astra,” then “Saturno e Venere” featuring Irama. We immediately got on well in the studio with him, despite coming from different worlds, and we saw the way he writes his songs. Irama thinks of the melody first, then the words come. It was very fascinating to watch him at work. I also really love “Opera” for the message it sends: try to live your days without thinking too much about tomorrow. It is in small gestures that we must seek happiness.
What’s the most important message you would like to convey to young people who feel under pressure?
Piero: Always look for enthusiasm in what you do, always persevere by pursuing your passions, without putting money first.
Gianluca: I’d say the meaning of the Latin expression “Per aspera ad astra” [“to the stars, through difficulties”]: you cannot achieve great results if you don’t sacrifice yourself. The main problem for young people, but also for adults, is not knowing themselves enough. That way, you don’t feel a sense of purpose.
What kept you together for so long?
Ignazio: We could say the love for music, but that would be too obvious. It is the awareness that our strength lies in our unity and our diversity. As soloists we would never be the same.
Do you feel respected by other artists?
Piero: Things have changed over time: at the beginning we were just newcomers who had signed a contract in the United States, then we made ourselves known. The best answer was the “Tutti per uno” concert at the Verona Arena, with all the artists who wanted to participate. At the beginning it wasn’t easy for them to want to sing with us, but what could they do? There are already three of us and ours is a completely different genre from that of the other singers. But with “Tutti per uno” everyone was able to express themselves as they wanted and it was much simpler. This year too we already have many confirmations for the four night at the Verona Arena in May.
What is the most significant international tour you have done?
Piero: Definitely Japan, where we’ll be returning in a few weeks. We can’t wait. Our music genre gave us the opportunity to have unique, unrepeatable experiences. Last year they wanted us for the inauguration of the Kiyomizu-dera temple in Kyoto, a world heritage site immersed in a forest. We sang between the columns, dressed in white. The emotion was indescribable. Japan is a destination that we recommend to everyone: it showed us how we should behave, always. Respect for others, even for strangers, is an essential value there.
You said that at one of your concerts you initially thought the audience had fallen asleep.
Ignazio: The Japanese close their eyes to concentrate. At the end, however, everyone gets up and wants to come and say hello on stage – strictly waiting for the right moment, of course. Even the way of clapping is different, it’s quieter.
What have been the biggest sacrifices of these 15 years?
Gianluca: Sacrifices are constant, especially in terms of homesickness, despite we do what we love most. There were moments when we didn’t know what to do, like the year before we won Sanremo. In 2014 we kept changing record companies and didn’t know which path to take. With this new album we want to show who we are even more.
And the best moments?
Gianluca: There are many. The victory of Sanremo 2015, the tour with Barbra Streisand, the “We Are The World for Haiti” concert in 2010. But this last edition of Sanremo was also a way to show how much we have grown as artists.
What’s the most unexpected feature you would like to have in one of your songs?
Piero: Lazza, also because he’s very good at playing piano.
Two decades in any industry is worth celebrating, but Dynamicduo has not only persisted through the early, nascent days of Korea’s hip-hop scene but has also hit new creative and mainstream peaks ahead of reaching the 20-year milestone.
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Since childhood friends Choiza and Gaeko officially paired up in 2004 with debut album Taxi Driver, the pair have trailblazed their legacy after setting records for hip-hop sales in Korea, taking top honors at mainstream awards shows in music and videos, establishing their Amoeba Culture label, and collaborating with a range of stars through the decades like DJ Premier, J.Y. Park, Tiger JK, BoA, Rain, Wonder Girls and members of K-pop groups like BTS, EXO and Monsta X.
Dyanmicduo’s three-part album, 2 Kids on the Block, officially wrapped its 10-month rollout with the release of Part.3 on March 28, with the new tracks documenting two decades of inner dialogues and growth to ultimately decide to set their sights even higher by the LP’s conclusion. Parallel to the record’s past-meets-present concept, Dynamicduo experienced balancing an old and new track, both taking over on social media for a minute in 2023. Their 2014 single “AEAO” featuring DJ Premier” went unexpectedly viral on TikTok (landing itself as one of TikTok’s Top 10 Song of Summer from South Korea), while their collaboration cut “Smoke” with rising rapper Lee Young Ji for a popular TV dance competition also took off via dance challenges, earning the guys their first-ever entry on the Billboard Global 200 chart. Helping fuel DD’s 2023 hits were infectious dance and lip-sync covers from K-pop heavyweights like V and Jung Kook of BTS, Minho, EXO, SEVENTEEN, TOMORROW X TOGETHER, ITZY, ATEEZ and IVE, as well as stars across the J-pop and Korean hip-hop scenes.
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A day after the release of 2 Kids on the Block — Dynamicduo’s milestone 10th album together — was the unveiling of J-Hope from BTS’ latest solo project, Hope on the Street Vol. 1, featuring Gaeko on the lead single “NEURON.” Alongside this J-Hope collaboration, the slew of rising and established names in Korean pop, R&B, rap and even acting on 2 Kids all point to Dynamicduo’s continued influence and expert ability to navigate different musical realms for decades.
Speaking exclusively with Billboard, Dynamicduo reflect on their journey thus far, share their ambitious vision for the next decade, discuss differences between their BTS collaborations and more.
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Congratulations on the release of 2 Kids on the Block – Part.3. How does it feel now that the series is complete? With five full tracks, Part.3 is the longest chapter in the 2 Kids on the Block series. Was there a reason for breaking out the parts like you did?
Gaeko: We feel so happy to be able to release the album on our 20th anniversary. The timing was perfect.
Choiza: Our CEO, who had been with us since the establishment of our company, suddenly passed away as her condition worsened, and while she was here, she really liked the songs that we were working on from the tenth album. So we wanted to gift the release to her while she was still here with us. And the current state of the music market makes it impossible for people to listen to all the songs in an album. Even if we released all the songs at once, only one to two songs would have stood out, so we thought dividing it into parts would have people listen through all the songs. Lastly, this album expresses stories and the history of Dynamicduo, so we released it in several parts to sequentially tell different stages of our lives from past to present.
You also released a remix package for “AEAO” with DJ Premier and “Smoke” for Street Woman Fighter 2, both viral hits, in between parts. Was there a balance you had to find with these singles and returning to the album?
Gaeko: Apart from the hits of the two singles, we tried to refocus on maintaining the album’s concept and improving its level of completion. We took a short break, about two weeks, at the beginning of the year to refresh our minds and then got back to the grind.
Choiza: Actually, 2 Kids On The Block – Part.3 was originally going to be released as three songs last year, but “Smoke” became such a huge hit, so we couldn’t complete the album at that time. But, thanks to that, we were able to prepare five songs instead of three with the extra time we were given, and we are satisfied with how it turned out. The additional two songs that we added fit right in with the concept of the album.
Your new single, “PITAPA” featuring pH-1 and Junny, is really impressive. What inspired the theme of “pizza, tacos and pasta” and what do you hope listeners will take away?
Choiza: “PITAPA” is a song that resembles the aspiration of wanting our music to be appealing to people all over the world and to be known in such a way as pizza, taco, and pasta are as global foods familiar to everyone around the world. pH-1 and JUNNY are well-received in both Korea and overseas, so having them on the track added extra flavor and we think overseas listeners who like Korean hip-hop will have fun listening to it.
Gaeko: We felt that the words “pizza, taco, pasta” connected well and the line just stuck to our mouth. We felt the groove and loved the sound of it, so we were able to make the hook right away. “PITAPA” was the last song we worked on on the album, and it was completed quickly with the inspiration we got from our U.S. performance that we had just gotten back from.
Personally, I hear some DJ Premier influence on the production of “PITAPA.” Did his work inspire you or parts of this album after the resurgence of “AEAO”?
Choiza: “AEAO” is a song that gave us the courage to pursue overseas activities. We worked with an amazing artist, DJ Premier, and when the song resurged on TikTok, it helped bring in a wider audience, giving them exposure to who we are and our songs. The resurgence encouraged us to think that we have the potential to do something overseas and that the idea of rapping and singing in Korean would still appeal to the foreign market. “AEAO” gave us tremendous inspiration.
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BewhY gives props to Dynamicduo as inspiration for his career on the album track “Love Myself.” This LP has many rising rap and R&B stars. Do you have humbling moments like this where you realize your influence?
Choiza: We are very grateful that young artists are inspired by us and how long we’ve been doing this. We think one of the reasons we’ve been able to make music for so long is that we get a lot of help and learn a lot from working with new artists. We want to continue working hard and creating good music together.
Actor Jung Man Sik does the intro on “Dramatic,” which was very clever. How did he end up on the album?
Gaeko: When we got Man Sik’s part added to the song, it felt like we found the missing piece to the puzzle. We contacted him last minute, like two days before our scheduled mix session. We had nobody else in mind other than Man Sik and, luckily, it was his day off that day, and he understood exactly what we wanted and acted so quickly on it. He completed our puzzle and we want to thank him again.
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Gaeko, you collaborated with J-Hope of BTS on “NEURON” from Hope on the Street Vol. 1 album. Since J-Hope is enlisted and cannot share much about the song, can you tell us about how the track came together?
Gaeko: J-Hope came to my studio last year and we not only talked about music, but also talked about many different things in life — it was such a fun time and I felt his deep passion for music and dance. I think his energy transferred over to me because I was able to write the lyrics quickly. We recorded our verses separately, and I went over to HYBE and we recorded the hook together. It was a fun project.
All three verses on “NEURON” express a strong sense of positivity and gratitude. Can you share how you approached your verse? Did you hear J-Hope and Yoon Mirae’s verses, or was it all a surprise when the album came out?
Gaeko: It wasn’t until after 20 years of making music that I began to understand that good things come out only when you relax and empty yourself. I wanted to capture those emotions in the verse, and I also tried to make the overall structure of the verse simple and plain. J-Hope’s verse was already completed before I did my part, and I listened to Tasha (yoonmirae)’s verse after it was mixed. Their parts were so good so I had second thoughts on recording my part again, but I decided not to. If I did it again, I wouldn’t have been able to capture the same emotions from the initial recording, so I left it as is.
RM featured on Gaeko’s single, “Gajah” from 2017. How do the collaboration experiences and recording processes differ between RM and J-Hope?
Gaeko: I felt that the musical direction they were both pursuing was similar yet different. I felt that RM had a deep affection, understanding, and love not only for hip-hop but also for music itself. And J-Hope had a massive passion for hip-hop and dance and wanted to pour all his energy into them before enlisting into the army. I also received a lot of energy from those two.
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As Dynamicduo celebrates its 20th anniversary in 2024, how do you look back on the 20 yeras? Do you have anything special planned to celebrate this year?
Gaeko: Looking back now, we think that we were meant to do music. There were times when we experienced challenges, joy, and frustration, but the fact that the two of us were together in all those moments is probably the biggest accomplishment of our career.
Choiza: [The] 20th anniversary isn’t any special to us because we want to work just as hard as we’ve been and treat it like all our previous years. However, we will be holding a concert at the end of the year for our 20th anniversary and we want to make it big — we will be working hard and preparing a show for all to enjoy.
Collaboration has been a significant aspect of your career and we see it in 2 Kids. Whether it’s with fellow artists or producers, how do you approach collaborations to make them successful? Is there anyone still on your bucket list?
Choiza: We enjoy working together, but there are also a lot of new things that we discover when working with other artists. It’s fun to work with famous artists, but we also want to collaborate with rising, up-and-coming artists because we have a lot to learn from each other as well.
We think it would also be fun to mix various languages into one song. We are currently working with Thai rapper F.HERO, and we hope to work with artists from the U.S., Japan, Southeast Asia, and other parts of the world.
While K-pop impacts globally, Korean hip-hop and R&B are also rising. Do you have any thoughts—or hopes—of what it will take for these genres and artists to be more noticed internationally looking forward?
Gaeko: It’s important to make an effort to create the best work in whichever area we work in and to respect each other. We try not to set any high expectations for the results and just do our best in our field.
Choiza: Our goal is to be good at making music and to do it for a long time, so we’ll do our best to keep this going. We ask for your continued interest, and I believe that our overseas listeners will find songs that suit their tastes when they listen to all our songs that have been released so far. Please check out our 10th album as well as all our previous ones. We feel so grateful and honored to take part in this interview. Thank you for having us!
When referencing the “Migration” tour that has endured for numerous years, in Chen Li’s memories, the prelude to each performance holds unforgettable moments. “I will stand behind two large screens awaiting the opening, and then I will witness red and green lights flashing before me. Despite the mere presence of cold iron frames surrounding the stage, for some inexplicable reason, being in that environment makes me feel remarkably familiar and secure.”
In ancient times, the entrances on both sides of the stage were known as the Tiger Gate. Once the performer steps through the Tiger Gate, regardless of what unfolds on or off the stage, The Show Must Go On. The flickering lights witnessed before the commencement of the concert evoke in Chen Li memories of “the first thing I saw when I was born.” Through the screen, she can even discern the cheers and encouragement from the front row audience, meters away. Every upcoming performance is like a newborn baby coming into the world, everything is like an unknown “migration.” Therefore, every time Chen Li steps through the Tiger Gate, the feeling is both nervous and brand new.
In relation to the “Migration” concert, Chen Li once expressed: “I hope those blue nights can provide enduring tenderness for us in the future.” She likes to use different colors to commemorate the emotions evoked in every moment, and the “Migration” associated with fish, naturally, is blue. As the various stages in the life cycle of fish progress, migration is the consequence of the fish’s adaptation to changes in the external environment. From 2019 to 2024, Chen Li has held 17 “Migration” tours. For her, “Migration” is not just a simple concert; it records the process of her growth as a singer.
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Unique Creation Styles to “Prevent Addiction”
One of Chen Li’s album was named “Fang Chen Mi,” which means “Prevent Addiction” in Chinese. In fact, this highly smooth conceptual record makes it very easy for listeners to become addicted to it. Rather than fostering an addiction to the online realm, the album aims to immerse its audience in the offline world. To promote this vision, Chen Li’s team organized a physical album photo event, encouraging recipients of the CD to unleash their creativity and share imaginative photos with one another.
The absence of an official introduction for “Fang Chen Mi” stands out in the Chinese music industry, where extensive album introductions are the norm. This departure may carry a deeper, more creative significance. Despite receiving over ten versions of album introductions, Chen Li still believes that the most fitting introduction for “Fang Chen Mi” is no introduction at all. “Just listen to the songs, there’s no need for anything fancy. If you like it, sing along a few lines. If everyone has similar experiences as those in the songs, feel free to interpret them.”
The promotion methods for “Fang Chen Mi” are also unconventional. In the current era of digital music, “Fang Chen Mi” instead chose to release the physical CD version first, with the online platform release following after a period of time (partly due to copyright reasons). If listeners want to hear the entire album as soon as possible, they must purchase the physical album, evoking a nostalgic sensation reminiscent of using a Discman to listen to music in the 1990s, and thus achieving a substantial physical sales volume.
This year, Chen Li will unveil her ninth album. The new project has already recorded three songs, with all lyrics penned by a good friend with whom she has never previously collaborated in music. Chen Li describes the lyrical style as “a bit more serious,” while the melodies continue to reflect her personal taste.
Chen Li on Billboard China
Yaxin Liu
Finding the Balance in Leisure
Currently, Chen Li lives in Hangzhou for the majority of time, occasionally returning to Beijing for brief stays. Unlike the bustling work environment in Beijing, in Hangzhou, Chen Li wholly embraces a “slowed down” way of life: “It is merely because the strolling environment in Hangzhou is somewhat superior. In Beijing, I have a group of old friends who care for each other like family. I simply desire to venture out independently, to a place with fewer friends, and seek tranquility, to ascertain if I can acclimate.”
On Chen Li’s Weibo account, her life in Hangzhou is vivid: the coffee shops she adores, the handicrafts she enjoys creating, the line drawings she loves to produce… Chen Li genuinely relishes this leisurely and refined lifestyle. “Many of my small hobbies can be fully realized in Hangzhou. The pace of life here is slower, and I have ample time and space to engage in numerous ‘unproductive’ activities, thus I live quite comfortably. You cannot contrive a specific life for the purpose of creation; life itself is the purpose.”
The simple sketches that appear in the physical album of “Prevent Addiction” are an authentic reflection of Chen Li’s life in Hangzhou: “Drawing is a ‘little corner’ that I particularly cherish. Drawing makes me lost in time, continuously observe and contemplate, including the precious lines and colors conjured from blank.”
“Every day, people have different desires, and I think the key is finding a balance. Sometimes you like this, sometimes like that, eat when hungry, take a nap when sleepy, get up and play when awake, these are all very simple truths.” Everything should just go with the flow. As long as one approaches life with a “playful” attitude, one can find their own balance.
–This article was written by Jifan Wang for Billboard China
Chen Li on Billboard China
Yaxin Liu
On March 13, LIPxLIP, the men’s idol unit produced by HoneyWorks consisting of Yujiro (voiced by Koki Uchiyama) and Aizo (voiced by Nobunaga Shimazaki), released their second album, Umarete Kita Koto Ni Kansha Shinasai! (“Be Thankful You Were Born!”).
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To commemorate this release, the unit’s first album in roughly four years, Billboard Japan interviewed HoneyWorks composer shito and illustrator/animator Yamako, who talked about the new album and what they think is even more important than buzz.
How do you usually divide up your song creation duties?
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shito: Generally, both Gom and I write our own songs, and whoever writes the song decides the theme of the lyrics. Then we both work on the lyrics together. Once we’re done with the lyrics, Yamako creates the music video. HoneyWorks is all about writing songs for specific characters, so while we’re working on the lyrics, we check them with Yamako to make sure we’re staying true to the character. We try to pick lyrics that draw on the personalities of the characters and that ensure that the song leaves a lasting impression.
Yamako: I not only do the illustrations for the songs, but also supervise most of the creation of the music videos. I check the storyboards, illustrations, video editing, and the like.
When people think of HoneyWorks, I’d venture that most of them think of songs that set listeners’ hearts fluttering and songs with a youth-focused aesthetic.
shito: I started reading shojo manga (“girls’ comics”) after I’d already become an adult, and I was like “I never knew a world like this existed!” That’s what got me into shojo manga. That’s also when we formed HoneyWorks. Yamako’s drawings had a shojo manga feel, so the decision to go in that direction, making songs about romance and youth, just felt natural.
On LIPxLIP’s second album, Umarete Kita Koto Ni Kansha Shinasai!, I feel like you were trying new things, musically.
shito: Until now, LIPxLIP’s music has been created with the concept that the duo are princes, and their fans are princesses. On this album, though, we went a little beyond that to create something more artistic. It defies fans’ expectations, in a good sense, as our concept for the new album was to produce the LIPxLIP music we truly wanted to make.
“A.B.SECRET” has an Arabian feel and “Meoto” is a rock song with traditional Japanese elements. Both of them are new styles you didn’t hear in previous LIPxLIP songs.
shito: That’s right. For “Meoto,” when I asked Yamako about what kind of song would be good, she said “Japanese rock.”
Yamako: I wanted to have LIPxLIP wearing gorgeous, fantasy-like traditional Japanese clothing, which is why the idea was to make it rock with a really Japanese feel. In my case, I come up with ideas based on the kinds of clothes I want the characters to be wearing in the music video.
shito: Yamako is the main producer for LIPxLIP, and also their biggest fan, so I trust her.
Yamako: Sometimes I create conceptual presentations for shito and GOM that reflect fans’ feelings.
In a certain sense, you’re able to create works that resonate with fans because you’re a fan yourself. Is there a reason that you decided to take a more artistic approach with LIPxLIP?
shito: I’m usually there providing direction when the voice actors for LIPxLIP (Koki Uchiyama and Nobunaga Shimazaki) do their recordings, so we’ve worked together for a long time. I feel like we’ve developed strong communication skills, based on a common understanding, that make it easy to convey what kinds of expressive approaches to use. Both Uchiyama and Shimazaki understand LIPxLIP’s expressive approach, and they’ve also both grown tremendously. In the past, we on the production side have made the decisions entirely on our own, but now we talk with the voice actors to create even better expressive approaches and nuances.
Which songs on the album especially stand out to you two?
Yamako: For me, “Meoto,” which Aizo sings differently than any of LIPxLIP’s past songs. I was surprised that he’d developed the ability to sing like that! Also, I really want people to listen to “Last Stage,” which ties into the future of the group. It conveys what LIPxLIP is feeling in a raw, true-to-life way.
shito: The standout for me is “Oshi no Maho.” I wrote it starting with the idea that I wanted to make a really crazy song. The vocal artists had broadened their range, so I wanted to try a song that was unlike anything LIPxLIP had ever done before.
It has the most shouted choral parts of any LIPxLIP song.
shito: HoneyWorks does sound production for the “real” idol groups Karen Na Ivory and Takane No Nadeshiko, so we’ve shown up for some idol events. The way the crowd shouts along, and the energy that comes from the crowd, is really fun. We wanted to put that into a LIPxLIP song.
How did you write the lyrics for the parts with the shouted sections?
shito: We used as our template the things that male fans shout at shows by female idols. There’s a certain format to it, with fans replacing parts of their favorite idols’ or groups’ names. We went to actual shows and listened in, paid close attention to what people were shouting, and looked at that template when writing the lyrics.
In “Julieta,” whose title comes from the name LIPxLIP fans call themselves, you can feel the unit’s love for their fans. I feel like the song also links to another of LIPxLIP’s iconic songs, “Romeo.”
Yamako: “Julieta” is the sequel to “Romeo,” and it has the same concept. With “Romeo,” we didn’t know how to convey that aesthetic. We had to figure it out as we went along, exploring how to depict this world of princes and princes, where to get materials to work off of, and how to decide on those aesthetics. When we wrote “Julieta,” though, we already had an image of the LIPxLIP characters and what kinds of “princes” fans would enjoy. I think we were able to project an even more finished and polished image of the two as princes.
In 2023, HoneyWorks’ “Kawaikute Gomen (feat. Kapi)” took the number 1 spot on Billboard JAPAN’s year-end “TikTok Songs Chart.” The music video features Chu-tan (Chizuru Nakamura), a character on Heroines Run the Show! The Unpopular Girl and the Secret Task, and people really liked how it showed her cheering for LIPxLIP while shining in her own way. This song is reaching global audiences. Are you thinking of turning your attention overseas as well in the future?
shito: The fundamental stance of LIPxLIP is that of creating songs that we want characters to sing, not creating songs with the aim of generating buzz. That stance hasn’t changed. Within those bounds, though, we’d love to do a virtual overseas show. They can go anywhere (laughs).
I’m sure some people discovered LIPxLIP by seeing them in the “Kawaikute Gomen” video.
shito: Ever since “Kawaikute Gomen” went viral, when making character songs, we’ve focused even more on how the characters would move and what they would think, not on buzz.
Yamako: These are, at heart, character songs, so they tell a story within the world inhabited by the characters. It’s like we’re thinking about how LIPxLIP would be successful within that world — how they would work hard in that world — and we act based on that. In the real world, Chu-tan’s song went viral, but within HoneyWorks’ world, she’s just an ordinary fan. We’re going to continue to create great works while keeping on drawing that line between the real world and the world our characters inhabit.
—This interview by Mio Komachi first appeared on Billboard Japan
Creepy Nuts’ domination of the Billboard Japan Hot 100 continues as “Bling-Bang-Bang-Born” marks its 10th week atop the Japan Hot 100, on the chart released April 3.
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The MASHLE Season 2 opener is back at No. 1 for downloads this week, though figures dropped slightly by about 9.8% from last week to 17,122 units. The hip-hop hit also continues to rule streaming for the tenth consecutive week with 22,797,748 streams, down by about 1%, and video views and karaoke for the third straight week. The song also rises 12-6 for radio airplay this week.
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Omoinotake’s “IKUOKU KONEN” rises 4-2, the highest position yet on the Japan Hot 100 for the three-man band. The theme of the drama series Eye Love You holds at No. 2 for streaming for the fourth week in a row, second only to “Bling-Bang-Bang-Born” with 12,482,594 streams. Downloads for the love song rises 4-3 with 6,818 units, increasing by 7.6%, and video moves 9-7 with 1,359,223 views, up 28%. The track also climbs in other metrics, including radio (36-18) and karaoke (56-30), possibly influenced by the airing of the final episode of the fantasy love story the song serves as the theme.
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“EDEN” by Knight A, a group produced by SutoPuri’s Nanamori, debuts at No. 5. The song is at No. 1 for sales with 124,876 copies sold in its first week, which is about 2.8 times more than the track at No. 2 for the metric.
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ILLIT’s “Magnetic” bows at No. 8. ILLIT, pronounced “I’ll-it,” is a brand-new girl group assembled from HYBE’s audition program R U Next? The group consisting of three South Korean and two Japanese members released its debut mini-album called SUPER REAL ME on Mar. 25, and “Magnetic” is the lead single off the set. The song made a spectacular debut, coming in at No. 7 for streaming with 7,308,883 streams, No. 23 for downloads with 1,973 units, No. 12 for video with 1,085,090 views, and No. 84 for radio.
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The Billboard Japan Hot 100 combines physical and digital sales, audio streams, radio airplay, video views and karaoke data.
See the full Billboard Japan Hot 100 chart, tallying the week from Mar. 25 to Mar. 31, here. For more on Japanese music and charts, visit Billboard Japan’s English Twitter account.
As a leader in a new generation of K-pop acts, IVE‘s Show What I Have world tour boasted a wholly appropriate name for which the girl group delivered an electric, emotional finale to its U.S. leg in Newark.
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For the sold-out crowd at the massive Prudential Center arena, IVE brought their hit singles — which includes eight entries on the Billboard Global 200 to date — b-side tracks and cover performances to life via heavily conceptual staging for each of the 24 setlist songs interwoven with frequent commentary from the group and video interludes.
Highlights of the night included the theatrical umbrella routine recalling “Singing in the Rain” for “Mine” and the haunting visuals accompanying horror-themed stages for “Hypnosis” and “My Satisfaction.” While IVE’s signature flowy choreography spotlighted in deep cuts like “Blue Blood” and “Heroine,” the crowd’s fervent chanting during hits “Love Dive” and “Kitsch” underscored the fervor and dedication of IVE’s fans — affectionately known as DIVE — even when making their New Jersey debut.
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As a special treat for fans, the IVE members split into duos and solo performances to pay homage to diverse artists, with covers ranging from Ariana Grande to Indonesian singer-songwriter NIKI and English crooner Richard Sanderson. While the inclusion of covers by Spice Girls (Rei and Gaeul performed “Wannabe”) and IVE’s new Columbia Records label mate Little Mix (where Yujin and Leeseo duetted on “Woman Like Me”) were astute in aligning themselves as the next global girl group, the performances acted more of a reminder that IVE has already carved out a distinct identity and color as the prom queens of K-pop and isn’t so easily able to adopt other personas in the pop sphere.
But beyond the polished performances and elaborate stage production, the IVE members’ raw emotions might have left the strongest impression during Show What I Have.
Early into the show, IVE leader An Yujin became visibly emotional and cried while singing their fan-dedicated power ballad, “Shine With Me.” After the crowd cheered her through the performance and the group checked in with her, the 20-year-old assured everyone she was fine and laughed while pointing the blame to the track’s lyrics written by Jang Wonyoung — followed by an adorable apology from Wonyoung.
The heartfelt sincerity returned at the show’s end when the sextet gave their final messages to the crowd.
“Even though our languages are different, just seeing how you guys are so focused on our songs, connecting and enjoying with us, is really cool,” Gaeul pointed out. “I couldn’t imagine all these seats filled up like this. I’m really touched.” Liz added that IVE is now “more than just family; we are not able to separate from each other.”
In a moment rarely seen among top K-pop performers, Yujin sincerely opened up about regaining her self-esteem thanks to the tour and her group.
“Recently, I kind of lost my confidence,” the star, with six years in the industry, shared through voice cracks and tears with Leeseo holding her hand. “I thought, ‘Maybe I cannot do it?’ before I came here. But the first day in L.A., I got so much energy and love from DIVEs there that I’m getting more confident. I promised a lot to myself before I came here. I can’t say exactly what I promised but I think I did it all — I did everything I promised to myself… it was really precious time.” Capped off by Yujin’s heartfelt thanks and promise to return, Liz quickly led the girls into a group hug on stage, encapsulating IVE’s essence of the night in gratitude towards fans and one another.
As the concert closed with the massive finale track of their debut English single, “All Night,” IVE left the crowd with an indelibly upbeat mark by unexpectedly singing the song’s refrain an additional seven times — begging the sound team to “please” play it one more after six — before officially exiting. With today’s announcement of their new EP, IVE SWITCH, out at the end of April, the promise of future performances and shared moments confirms that this is hardly a farewell but a preview of more for them to show ahead.
Read on for exclusive photos from IVE’s Show What I Have concert at Newark’s Prudential Center, as well as reflections from the tour at its conclusion for Billboard readers.
IVE
Aysia Marotta/Photos provided by Starship Entertainment
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Aysia Marotta/Photos provided by Starship Entertainment
JANG WONYOUNG: “Despite not having officially debuted in the U.S before our world tour, I came with half excitement and half worry whether big venues like The Forum, where famous overseas artists have performed, would be filled. But starting from L.A., seeing the venue packed with DIVE enjoying our songs and dances gave me such great energy. It felt like we were able to finish the U.S tour well with strength all the way to our last stop.”
GAEUL: “It was so much fun to be able to perform in front of our DIVE here in the U.S., their energy was great. They were so loud — it gave us so much inspiration. We are so thankful for all the love and support from our fans.”
LIZ: “I was so happy to visit cities I’ve never been to before. One of my favorite moments besides seeing all our DIVE in America was meeting Anne Hathaway at the Atlanta Hawks game. It was our first basketball game and we loved it!”
LEESEO: “It feels wonderful to perform on stage in front of our U.S. DIVE, to try many delicious foods in the U.S, and to create precious memories with my sisters!”
REI: “The members and I made so many amazing memories on the U.S. leg of our tour. It is truly something we will never forget.”
AN YUJIN: “I’m so happy that I got to meet so many DIVEs through our world tour. I can’t wait to come back to the U.S. for Lollapalooza. It’s an honor to be able to perform there as our first U.S. festival – we will come back with a stage that could surprise you!”
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Aysia Marotta/Photos provided by Starship Entertainment