[JP 8] Shinunoga E-Wa popularity explodes?! Another win for Fujii Kaze?

Source:Fujii Kaze's Youtube Channel

Shinunoga E-wa , roughly translated to "I'd rather Die"  is now making waves all over the world. This song is included in Fujii Kaze's first album "HELP EVER HURT NEVER" released in 2020. 

What's amazing is that it is neither a single, nor an MV, and it is just one of the album songs 

As of September 25, the song had reached the number one spot on Spotify daily in 17 countries, including Thailand, Vietnam, Singapore, Indonesia, Egypt, Canada, France, and others. It also did well on the global chart and helped Fujii Kaze pass Yoasobi in terms of monthly Spotify listeners to become the top j-pop artist based on monthly listeners currently.

What then made the song so viral online?

You guessed it,it's TikTok!

Yoasobi's "Yoru ni Kakeru" and Sekai no owari's "Habit" are just two examples that TikTok has helped Japanese artist break through or achieve a second success with.

In Shinunoga E-wa case, it first went viral in Thailand. At the end of July ,the song was used in various viral videos in TikTok, which increased its popularity throughout Southeast Asia. After that, its popularity started to spread outside of Asia, eventually reaching America. The number of Shinunoga E-wa plays has also increased by about 10x compared to the previous month.

Additionally, Fujii Kaze's average monthly listeners on Spotify increased from about 2 million in August to over 4 million in September, surpassing YOASOBI's monthly listener by the second weekend of September.

Until now, the majority of Fujii Kaze's listeners were Japanese, but based on Spotify, the percentage of foreign listeners has currently surpassed 50%.

The song has also gained massive popularity in its native Japan and has attain the daily top spot on Spotify Japan.

To commemorate the song popularity,Kaze's YouTube channel has also posted videos of his Shinunoga E-wa performance at the renowned Nippon Budokan in 2020

I thought it was pretty smart that they released a video to show off his live performance, and amazing piano playing abilities. This offers a different viewpoint from a simple 10 second TikTok video, while also showcasing the charm and stage presence of Fujii Kaze. 

Additionally, the video serves as further proof that he is not just another run of the mills singer, but also has impressive piano skills; many of the Youtube comments were sufficiently impressed by his piano skills, and has also encourage new fans to look up his other songs.

However, despite what new fans may think, Fujii Kaze has already achieved mainstream success in Japan, ranking at 21 in the Billboard Japan Artist 100 2021, after releasing his hit song "Kirari," his debut album, and taking part in Kohaku Uta Gessen for the first time in 2021.

Another major win for Fujii Kaze is the sales of his second album "LOVE ALL SERVE ALL reaching 200,000+ released in 2022 this year,which is impressive for a solo artist in Japan.

All in all,Fujii Kaze is a powerful contender especially in this age of singer-songwriter warring era that is currently ongoing in modern jpop.

He is able to sing, play the piano, compose music, and even dance in a silly way(see here)

Additionally, he is only 24 years old, so you can expect him to produce more great songs in the future. With Shinunoga E-Wa, perhaps Fujii Kaze may be eventually the most popular Jpop singer worldwide?

Source: AramaJapan/Natalie.mu 

Link to other JP articles