When K-Pop and Japan Collide
As K-Pop continues to reach people globally, many groups have started to release full albums with new tracks or translated versions of songs in English, Chinese, and Japanese. It’s no secret that some of the biggest names in the western music scene help contribute to English albums and tracks, but did you know that the same goes for those in the Japanese music scene? It may seem like a no-brainer, but with collaborations within the K-Pop sphere less common, it’s exciting to see some of my favorite names in the Korean music industry and the Japanese music industry come together. In this article, I’ll be focusing on some of the collaborations between Korean and Japanese musicians, including producers who have worked with both.
A.C.E
Okay, so this first one is a little bit of a stretch, but hear me out! A.C.E had one of the coolest covers recorded for their track “Under Cover.” We all know “Under Cover.” It’s a classic, a bop, and arguably the best track by A.C.E. Back in May 2021, Matt Heafy of the American metal group Trivium released a metal cover of “Under Cover.” For those unfamiliar with Matt and why he counts as K-Pop meeting Japan, Matt was born in Japan to a Japanese mother and American father. A lot of Trivium’s releases have Japanese-inspired lyrics, with some of their songs coming from Japanese mythology and history. He took to Twitch to show fans his progress so far, and said that Danny Lee, the CEO of Asian Agent, mentioned he should cover the track. Matt ended up listening to the song and liking it, so he released this cover! Choice even joined his stream to help him learn the Korean pronunciation.
As somebody that is part of the metal-to-K-Pop pipeline, this is one of my favorite examples not just of artists collaborating with each other, but also respecting each other. While metal and K-Pop may not be everybody’s cup of tea, metal god Matt Heafy’s “Under Cover” cover has endeared him to K-Pop fans while also showing that K-Pop can be enjoyed by everybody.
A.C.E leads into my next topic too…
Remixes
Everybody loves a good remix. ATEEZ is known for their remixes, which mainly appear on their Japanese releases. In fact, the entirety of their first Japanese release, TREASURE EP. EXTRA: Shift The Map, is almost exclusively remixes, save for the Japanese versions of “Utopia” and “Aurora.” However, one name that stands out in the EDM and remix world is Steve Aoki.
Steve has collaborated with three groups in K-Pop. The first group he worked with was BTS on their remix of “MIC Drop,” which also featured American rapper Desiigner (though he is not featured in the music video). Steve and BTS came together once again for “Waste It On Me,” an original track featured on Steve’s album Neon Future III. The music video features an all Asian-American cast, including Ken Jeong, Ross Butler, Devon Aoki, and Jamie Chung. That’s not even mentioning all of the amazing stars who cameoed in the video!
After collaborating with BTS, Steve worked with MONSTA X on the effortlessly catchy “Play It Cool.” The track appears on MONSTA X’s Take.2 We Are Here. in Korean, and on Steve’s Neon Future IV in English. A music video for the English version was released, showcasing MONSTA X’s incredible dance skills while Steve sings along to the track while going for a drive.
The last K-Pop group that Steve collaborated with is A.C.E., remixing “Goblin (Favorite Boys)” in a track called “Fav Boyz” and featuring American rapper Thutmose. There are still lots of neon colors, but the “Fav Boyz” music video leans more into a cyber, futuristic world rather than the modern take on the past seen in the “Goblin (Favorite Boys)” music video.
In an interview with South China Morning Post back in January 2021, he also indicated that he would like to work with BLACKPINK in the future. We’ll be keeping an ear out for that!
Kang Daniel
For Kang Daniel’s Japanese debut last fall, he pulled out all of the stops and featured two of Japan’s biggest names: MIYAVI and CHANMINA. However, this isn’t the first time that Kang Daniel worked with MIYAVI – Daniel made an appearance on MIYAVI’s 2021 album Imaginary on the track “Hush Hush,” released on September 15, 2021. In March 2022, they released a Korean version of “Hush Hush” for the Disney+ series Rookie Cops, which also stars Daniel. Only a month later, the duo released a music video for the Japanese version of “Hush Hush” in collaboration with KOLLEKTION, an NFT platform.
Joy Ride, Daniel’s Japanese debut, features six tracks in total. Title track “Joy Ride” opens the album and is followed by “TPIR,” which was pre-released two months before the mini-album and reunited Daniel with MIYAVI. “TPIR” is a soft pop track, and the lyric video features Daniel roaming the streets of Japan. It’s a truly sweet lyric video, showing the fun-loving, goofy side of Daniel.
“Loser” is track four and features CHANMINA. This song first appeared on The Story and features Korean rapper Dbo. Whether performed in Korean or Japanese, “Loser” is a chill track that sees Daniel adopt a rap-like flow with his vocals. Dbo and CHANMINA both bring something different to the table for their features, helping the two versions stand out in Daniel’s discography.
FNC Entertainment Artists
I know this doesn’t come as too much of a surprise, but there is a long history of FNC Entertainment utilizing Japanese producers for the Japanese releases by FTISLAND, CNBLUE, N.Flying, and SF9. Lee Hongki and Lee Jaejin of FTISLAND and J.Don of N.Flying have also released solo music in Japan and worked with these same producers as well. Two of the names that come up the most often are Yuzuru Kusugo and Satoshi Shibayama. Not only have these producers worked with some of our favorite K-Pop and K-Rock acts, but they’ve also produced for Japanese rock group UVERworld, who you may recognize as providing the anime openings to My Hero Academia, Bleach, Blue Exorcist, The Promised Neverland, and many more.
One of my personal favorite finds was seeing Taka’s name appear in the credits for two of my favorite Japanese FTISLAND tracks. For those just now venturing into the Japanese music realm or only somewhat familiar with Japanese groups, Taka is the lead singer and main lyricist and composer of the rock group ONE OK ROCK, arguably one of the biggest rock acts not just in Japan but worldwide. The group is signed to Fueled By Ramen for their releases in the U.S. and Warner Bros. for their releases elsewhere.
While Taka didn’t lend any of his incredible songwriting for title track “Primavera” and “My Birthday” (Hongki had that covered!), Taka is listed as a co-composer. The songs were both released on 5…..GO, an album that celebrated FTISLAND’s fifth debut anniversary in Japan. While many know of ONE OK ROCK’s rock tracks, Taka and FTISLAND went a softer route for “Primavera,” a mainly acoustic ballad that shows off Hongki’s vocals and only brings in the drums and electric element during the chorus. With “primavera” meaning “springtime” in Spanish and the group’s Japanese debut being in spring, it’s a truly fitting title and song to show the Japanese Primadonnas that they’re loved. “My Birthday” plays off that same formula, though the chorus and bridge are a bit heavier in comparison to “Primavera.”
As a side note, ONE OK ROCK put on one of the best live rock performances, and if you ever get the chance to see them in concert, TAKE IT.
Starting next month, The Kraze will be featuring a monthly column all about Japanese K-Pop releases! With scheduled releases for NCT Dream, the solo debut Rockhyeon of FAVE1, Stray Kids, CLASS:y, and OnlyOneOf already announced, it’s sure to be a fun opening column. Stay tuned!
Edited by Deshalia Murray