Maya Ellison
Plastic Love is a song by Mariya Takeuchi, first released in Japan in 1985. It remained relatively unknown outside of Japan until the late 2010s when an eight-minute remix of the song went viral on YouTube. The remix video, created by a user named Plastic Lover, combined the song with a photograph by Alan Levenson, and it quickly amassed millions of views, introducing the song to a global audience. The video was eventually removed due to a copyright strike by Levenson, but not before it had reached over 55 million views, sparking a resurgence of interest in the city pop genre. The story of Plastic Love and its journey from an obscure 80s Japanese song to an enormously popular hit showcases the power of the YouTube algorithm in shaping music discovery and popular culture.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Year of release | 1985 |
| Original language | Japanese |
| Genre | City pop |
| Songwriter/singer | Mariya Takeuchi |
| Video director | Kyoutaro Hayashi |
| Video release date | November 11, 2021 |
| Video views by 2019 | 22 million |
| Video views by February 2021 | 55 million |
| Video views by 2023 | 63 million |
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What You'll Learn
Why did the 'Plastic Love' video gain so many views?
The "Plastic Love" video by Mariya Takeuchi gained a lot of views due to a combination of factors, including the song's catchiness, the YouTube algorithm, and the thumbnail photograph used in the video.
The song "Plastic Love" was first released in 1985 in Japan and remained relatively unknown outside of the country until the late 2010s. The song has an upbeat arrangement but melancholic lyrics, with most of the song in Japanese and portions of the chorus and refrain in English. The contrast between the music and the lyrics, along with the song's overall appeal, likely contributed to its popularity.
During the late 2010s, an eight-minute remix of "Plastic Love" went viral on YouTube. The video was a fan-made version that looped several parts of the song to extend its length. It was uploaded by a user named Plastic Lover and featured a thumbnail photograph taken by Alan Levenson, which was originally used for Takeuchi's 1980 single "Sweetest Music."
The YouTube algorithm frequently recommended the "Plastic Love" video to users interested in 1980s hits, Japanese pop, or disco classics. As a result, the video gained traction and acquired over 22 million views by 2019. The algorithm's recommendation played a significant role in the video's popularity, as it exposed the song to a wider audience who might not have otherwise discovered it.
In addition to the algorithm, the thumbnail photograph by Alan Levenson also contributed to the video's success. The wistful black-and-white headshot of Takeuchi captured the attention of many users and became strongly associated with the song. When Levenson issued a copyright strike and the video was removed in 2018, there was a significant public outcry, with some fans expressing their strong connection to that specific upload.
The combination of the song's catchiness, the YouTube algorithm's recommendations, and the captivating thumbnail photograph all contributed to the "Plastic Love" video gaining tens of millions of views. The video's popularity also led to a resurgence of interest in the city pop genre, with "Plastic Love" becoming a gateway for younger fans to explore this type of music.
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Who is Mariya Takeuchi?
"Plastic Love", a song by Mariya Takeuchi, has garnered over 55 million views on YouTube by 2021. The song was first released in 1985 in Japan and remained relatively unknown outside the country until it became extremely popular on the platform during the late 2010s.
Mariya Takeuchi is a Japanese singer and songwriter from Izumo. She is known for her work in the Japanese city pop genre during the late 1970s and 1980s. Takeuchi's early work laid the foundation for the genre, and she is considered one of the era's first pop idols. She scored a number-one album in 1980 and later collaborated with her husband, singer-songwriter Tatsuro Yamashita, on an album called Variety, which topped the Japanese charts in 1984. "Plastic Love" is the second track on this album.
Takeuchi's career spans several decades, during which she has sold over 16 million records in Japan. She is known for such classics as "Sutekina Holiday", "September", and "My Heart Is That Eternal Rose", "Twinkle", and "Himitsu". Takeuchi's song "Plastic Love" became an international sensation, with its upbeat arrangement, melancholic lyrics, and a combination of Japanese and English vocals. The song's popularity led to a resurgence of interest in city pop, with younger fans discovering the genre through "Plastic Love".
The music video for "Plastic Love", starring Japanese actors Sawa Nimura and Shuhei Uesugi, was released on YouTube in November 2021. It was directed by Kyoutaro Hayashi and captures the mood of the song by blending themes of loneliness and adventure with nostalgia. The video's thumbnail, a black-and-white headshot of Takeuchi, played a significant role in the song's popularity on YouTube, and its removal due to a copyright strike in 2018 briefly halted the song's viral journey. However, it was later reinstated with proper attribution to the photographer, Alan Levenson, and the views continued to climb.
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What is the song 'Plastic Love' about?
"Plastic Love" is a song by Japanese singer-songwriter Mariya Takeuchi from her 1984 album "Variety". The song was first released in 1985 in Japan and remained largely unknown outside the country until the late 2010s when it gained enormous popularity, largely due to a fan-made remix video posted on YouTube. The video accumulated tens of millions of views before being taken down due to a copyright strike from the photographer, Alan Levenson, whose work was used without permission.
The song is considered a classic example of the "city pop" genre, which emerged in Japan during the economically prosperous 1970s and 1980s. City pop is characterised by its blend of various genres of western popular music, including new wave, synth pop, disco, and jazz. "Plastic Love" combines a funk bassline and flamboyant brass with soaring vocals, resulting in an effervescent sound.
Despite the song's upbeat arrangement, the lyrics, mostly in Japanese, convey a sense of melancholy. The song depicts a woman who, after being scorned by a lover, becomes convinced that true love does not exist and instead treats love as a game. Takeuchi herself described the song's character as "having lost the man she truly loves" and being unable to "shake the feelings of loneliness that the loss created". Vice writer Ryan Bassil characterised the song as "an ode to a specific breed of loneliness: of being broken yet surrounded, lost to the night in fancy shoes and dresses; seeking out love beneath glowing lights while tip-toeing around the fear of commitment".
The song's popularity has led to its music video release and a resurgence of interest in the city pop genre, particularly among younger fans. "Plastic Love" is now regarded as the most well-known song in the genre and has sparked a wave of fan art, memes, mashups, covers, and remixes.
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Why was the 'Plastic Love' video removed?
"Plastic Love" is a song by Japanese singer-songwriter Mariya Takeuchi, first released in 1985. The song remained relatively unknown outside of Japan until the late 2010s when an eight-minute remix version went viral on YouTube. The remix video, uploaded by the YouTube account Plastic Lover, combined several parts of the original song to extend its length.
The video gained immense popularity, with over 22 million views by 2019 and 55 million views by 2021. However, in 2018, it was removed from YouTube due to a copyright strike issued by Alan Levenson, the photographer responsible for the video's thumbnail image. The photograph, a black-and-white headshot of Takeuchi, was originally used for her 1980 single "Sweetest Music" and was used in the "Plastic Love" remix video without permission.
Following the removal of the video, Levenson received hateful and antisemitic messages from some fans of the song, and he was initially unwilling to negotiate. However, he eventually agreed to lift the copyright strike once he was properly credited as the photographer. The video was restored, and by February 2021, it had accumulated over 55 million views.
Despite the resolution, the "Plastic Love" remix video was eventually removed from YouTube again due to a separate copyright claim. The specific details of this subsequent copyright claim are unclear, but the removal caused outrage among fans who had a strong connection to that specific upload. The song's popularity on YouTube sparked a resurgence of interest in the city pop genre, with "Plastic Love" becoming regarded as the most well-known song in the genre.
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How did the 'Plastic Love' video gain popularity?
The music video for "Plastic Love" by Mariya Takeuchi gained popularity through a combination of factors, including the song's addictive melody, the YouTube algorithm, and the cultural significance of the song's era in Japan.
Initially released in 1985 in Japan, "Plastic Love" gained little traction outside the country until the late 2010s. During this time, an eight-minute remix version of the song, uploaded by the YouTube account Plastic Lover in 2017, began to gain attention. The remix looped several parts of the original song to extend its length. The video also featured a black-and-white thumbnail photograph of Takeuchi, originally taken for her 1980 single "Sweetest Music." This combination of the song and the photograph created a unique and meaningful experience for viewers, with some associating the image with the song's lyrics and melancholy mood.
The remix video began to be frequently recommended by the YouTube algorithm, leading it to go viral. By 2019, the video had received over 22 million views, and it continued to gain popularity, reaching 55 million views by 2021. The song's popularity sparked a resurgence of interest in the city pop genre, particularly among younger fans, and it has been regarded as the most well-known song in that genre.
However, the "Plastic Love" video was removed from YouTube in 2018 due to a copyright strike from Alan Levenson, the photographer of the thumbnail image. This removal sparked outrage among fans, who had formed a strong connection to that specific upload. Eventually, Levenson agreed to lift the copyright strike after being credited as the photographer, and the video was reinstated with over 63 million views.
The popularity of "Plastic Love" also led to the release of an official music video by Warner Music Japan in 2019, further contributing to the song's enduring legacy.
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Frequently asked questions
The "Plastic Love" video had over 22 million views by 2019, and over 55 million views by February 2021 before it was removed due to a copyright strike.
The "Plastic Love" video was removed due to a copyright strike from Alan Levenson, the photographer responsible for the video's thumbnail. The photograph was originally used for Takeuchi's 1980 single "Sweetest Music", not "Plastic Love", and was used without permission.
The removal of the "Plastic Love" video sparked a range of reactions, with some fans expressing outrage and others lamenting the loss of a beloved upload. The video's removal also led to a resurgence of interest in the city pop genre, with "Plastic Love" becoming a gateway for younger fans to discover this style of music.
Yes, the "Plastic Love" video was reinstated on YouTube after Plastic Lover and Alan Levenson came to an understanding, with proper attribution to Levenson as the photographer. The video reached 63 million views before being removed again due to a separate copyright claim.
