[article] Dagens Nyheter on the Tokyo Superstars documentary...
Translation of an article in today's Dagens Nyheter ('news of the day'), Sweden's largest newspaper:
Their songs become hits in Japan
Dagens Nyheter, 070420
http://www.dn.se/DNet/jsp/polopoly.jsp?d=2219&a=641079
TOKYO SUPERSTARS, SVT2 20.00
Two Swedish guys sit in Stockholm and write songs for the Japanese market. There, the songs are performed by Japanese boybands and become mega hits.
The difference between the unglamorous songwriting in Sweden and the Japanese hysteria can hardly be any greater. Axel Belinder and Stefan Engblom are both about 20 years old and write songs that become hits in Japan, but not for some glamorous celebrity life in their native Stockholm. Though they obviously make plenty of money off their songwriting.
"But it takes time before we get the money," they say.
In the one-hour documentary "Tokyo Superstars", they are given the opportunity to travel to the Japanese capital, Tokyo, to write a new song together with a Japanese colleague. Here they can listen to their own music - the translated Japanese version. Here they get to meet not only the young boy artists who are megastars in Japan, but also the idol worshippers, girls and women from twelve to fifty years old - and occasionally even older. They look up to their young idols in a sometimes moving way, care about how they're doing and follow in their footsteps. From one concert to another. Obviously they also buy their idols' CDs. They are fantastically happy and laugh almost constantly.
There's a huge market for boybands in Japan. Most of these young megastars are unknown in Sweden and other countries, but the market in Japan is quite sufficient. The country has a population of over 127 million and Tokyo roughly 8 million.
The female consumers of popular music have become a power to be reckoned with in the Japanese economy. They are major consumers not only of the music itself. The boy idols also have their own TV and radio shows and promote everything from soft drinks like Coca Cola to mobile phones.
The entertainment and talent company Johnny's & Associates control the market completely. The young talents, tomorrow's stars, are schooled in a special apprenticeship system and are to be fully taught before their debut. Johnny's also have their own stores in Japan, small shops where people queue from morning to evening.
Mr Kanatani, a top executive at the company, claim that no one in the youth pop genre has become a star in Japan without going through Johnny's. At least not in the last ten years. There are no other agencies that concentrate on young boybands, he says.
In Tokyo, Stefan Engblom and Axel Bellinder get to meet the band who are to perform their songs in a dressing-room before the concert. And during the concert they are almost shocked by what they've caused as they hear their own music meet with cheers from the huge audience.
"It's bizarre to listen to; I mean, it's our own intro."
"Compared to what we produce in our basement, this is a whole other world!"
The film "Tokyo Superstars" is produced by Marita Lindqvist and Pontus Andersson.
Tomas Lisinski
translated by Kayen
Stefan Engblom and Axel Bellinder have written, for example, Akaku Moyuru Taiyou, Boom! Boom! POWER, and GYM's My Angel.
Their songs become hits in Japan
Dagens Nyheter, 070420
http://www.dn.se/DNet/jsp/polopoly.jsp?d=2219&a=641079
TOKYO SUPERSTARS, SVT2 20.00
Two Swedish guys sit in Stockholm and write songs for the Japanese market. There, the songs are performed by Japanese boybands and become mega hits.
The difference between the unglamorous songwriting in Sweden and the Japanese hysteria can hardly be any greater. Axel Belinder and Stefan Engblom are both about 20 years old and write songs that become hits in Japan, but not for some glamorous celebrity life in their native Stockholm. Though they obviously make plenty of money off their songwriting.
"But it takes time before we get the money," they say.
In the one-hour documentary "Tokyo Superstars", they are given the opportunity to travel to the Japanese capital, Tokyo, to write a new song together with a Japanese colleague. Here they can listen to their own music - the translated Japanese version. Here they get to meet not only the young boy artists who are megastars in Japan, but also the idol worshippers, girls and women from twelve to fifty years old - and occasionally even older. They look up to their young idols in a sometimes moving way, care about how they're doing and follow in their footsteps. From one concert to another. Obviously they also buy their idols' CDs. They are fantastically happy and laugh almost constantly.
There's a huge market for boybands in Japan. Most of these young megastars are unknown in Sweden and other countries, but the market in Japan is quite sufficient. The country has a population of over 127 million and Tokyo roughly 8 million.
The female consumers of popular music have become a power to be reckoned with in the Japanese economy. They are major consumers not only of the music itself. The boy idols also have their own TV and radio shows and promote everything from soft drinks like Coca Cola to mobile phones.
The entertainment and talent company Johnny's & Associates control the market completely. The young talents, tomorrow's stars, are schooled in a special apprenticeship system and are to be fully taught before their debut. Johnny's also have their own stores in Japan, small shops where people queue from morning to evening.
Mr Kanatani, a top executive at the company, claim that no one in the youth pop genre has become a star in Japan without going through Johnny's. At least not in the last ten years. There are no other agencies that concentrate on young boybands, he says.
In Tokyo, Stefan Engblom and Axel Bellinder get to meet the band who are to perform their songs in a dressing-room before the concert. And during the concert they are almost shocked by what they've caused as they hear their own music meet with cheers from the huge audience.
"It's bizarre to listen to; I mean, it's our own intro."
"Compared to what we produce in our basement, this is a whole other world!"
The film "Tokyo Superstars" is produced by Marita Lindqvist and Pontus Andersson.
Tomas Lisinski
translated by Kayen
Stefan Engblom and Axel Bellinder have written, for example, Akaku Moyuru Taiyou, Boom! Boom! POWER, and GYM's My Angel.