No, not the Genius.

From the songwriter/producer who brought you Kyary Pamyu Pamyu and the choreographer behind BABYMETAL, I present…  A group that is flashy in a different way but will never be as popular in the West.  This Spotlight is dedicated to EDM-idol trio Perfume, known for their pounding beats, incredibly-intricate dance routines (performed in heels), instantly-recognizable hairstyles and love.

They’ve performed at the Tokyo Dome, Nippon Budokan, Paris, New York, and South by Southwest. They’ve been covered by Pentonix and are friends with OK Go.  They’re probably the hardest working women in show business.

But we’re getting ahead of ourselves….

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Part I: Dream Fighters

Once upon a time, there were 3 pre-teen girls living in Hiroshima, who wanted to be J-Pop idols more than anything. In fact, they had met each other at a special training school and in their second year were finally allowed to form a group together, naming themselves ぱふゅ〜む (“Pafu~yu〜mu”).  Armed with big dreams and… not much else, Ayaka Nishiwaki, Yuka Kashino and Ayano Ōmoto (“A~chan”, “Kashiyuka” 1(Though she wouldn’t adapt that stage name until a little later) and “Nocchi”) practiced diligently day and night with their choreographer MIKIKO to “not lose to anybody.” (If you want to know what that environment was like, have a look at this video.)

At the ages of 13/14. they released two singles in their hometown before graduating. They were… certainly high-spirited, but still had a lot to learn. Nonetheless, they were considered worthy enough of moving to Tokyo and becoming junior indie idols.

 

I’m not saying this performance of their 2nd single,”Kareshi Boshuchu” (“Looking for a Boyfriend”), is good, but do keep it in mind as we move forward.

Meanwhile, there was an eccentric electronic-music producer named Yasutaka Nakata, gaining a name for himself with his group Capsule 2which also included vocalist Toshiko Koshijima.  Somewhat serendipitously, he became their producer and there was… friction at first. He Romanized their name to “Perfume” and coached them to deliver their vocals as plainly as possible while seated down–exactly the opposite of how they were taught.  A~chan & Kashiyuka mention breaking down crying in the vocal booth.

     

As Nakata later noted, how much could a 23-year-old man and 14-year-old girls have in common?

While continuing their studies, Perfume released a trilogy of singles 3(the second of which was used in an episode of American Dad when Stan refers to it as future “Japanese funk”) plus B-sides in 2003-2004 heavily indebted to the “Shibuya-kei” style of the 1980s, chirpy in both voices & electronics.  They became regulars at one shopping area’s open stage (showcasing their dancing prowess by performing hip-hop moves over Lil’ Kim’s “How Many Licks”–more on that later), handed out their own flyers on the streets of Akihabara and performed at small festivals to maybe a dozen people–half of which were from their label.  Despite all their efforts, they were still not making inroads.

But they did not give up, and their management gave them a shot at a major-label debut anyway, as a “good experience to go out on.”  The 3 of them convinced the higher-ups to keep MIKIKO on as their choreographer & they released another trilogy of singles in 2005-2006–but not before Nakata gave their sound and image a huge makeover.  He envisioned “near-future technopop idols,” with auto-tuned vocals (which he now wrote) and plain, single-color outfits.  If the members of Perfume objected to this change at the time, they certainly did not show it.

Their second of these singles, “Computer City,” reached #45 on the Oricon singles chart, but still few people took notice.  They released a greatest-hits album and a live DVD, promoting the former inside of an Apple Store.  “We hope you at least remember our name by the end of the show,” A~chan says.

 

Their 4th major-label single, “Chocolate Disco,” finally saw Nakata figuring out what to do with Perfume.  It’s a Valentine’s-Day-themed song, about the Japanese tradition of girls buying chocolate for boys they like 4(it’s reversed on White Day a month later.  Thanks for the correction, E.S.!), and the wishes of the speaker to “Please let this feeling reach you / The day of showdown has come”.  In fact, most of Nakata’s lyrics for the next 5 years would focus on teenage-girl melodrama.

Though not big at the time, it won them a major fan in the form of radio DJ Kaela Kimura, who promoted them heavily on her show.  That attention led to them being picked up by national-broadcaster NHK for a recycling PSA campaign, using their new song “Polyrhythm.”  Maybe you’ve heard it:

At long last, in September of 2007, here was their big break.  “Polyrhythm” went to #7 on the Oricon charts, and all of their subsequent singles cracked the top 3.

From here, their rise was swift, as if all the stored fuel finally ignited. Just as Brian Epstein put the young Beatles in suits but otherwise let them be themselves, people came for the J-Pop beats but stayed for the girls’ unique personalities (more on that later).  They appeared on Music Station and other famous programs, graced magazine covers, hosted variety shows, performed at famous venues before thousands, everything they had ever dreamed and more.  Yet the members to this day remain humbled by their success.  I don’t think you can chase something for that hard and that long and not be grateful.