Has there ever been such a popular and influential contemporary Japanese artist in Korea? Both the Korean and Japanese music audiences are bewildered by the first Japanese artist ever to land on the Top 100 chart on Melon, a Korean sound source service platform, and hold an overwhelmingly successful showcase in Korea in April. Seeing that he managed to captivate not only the preexisting J-pop fans but also the general Korean public, it isn’t too far-fetched to say that he has completely rebuilt the image of Japanese music in Korea. We are, of course, talking about the artist behind “NIGHT DANCER”, imase. 

A former member of alternative rock band SUPERCAR, lyricist, and producer Junji Ishiwatari said that imase’s sudden rise to stardom was “a true event that is stranger than fiction (嘘みたいな本当の出来事).” His comment clearly stresses the rise of imase as a completely new wave that is unlike any other case that came before him. It took him no more than a year to enter the mainstream music industry since he casually took up a musical instrument just because a friend of his did. Five months into his debut, he was hired to sing the Pocari Sweat jingle which is something that only the top artists were ever offered, and his TikTok views were speeding towards 1.1 billion. This was even before “NIGHT DANCER” came into the world. 

imase’s career, in many ways, is an illustration of where Japanese music is today. First thing to make note is the period in which he began his career. It was in 2020, when the people’s lives were largely restricted by COVID-19 all over the world. It became difficult to leave the house causing musical instrument sales to soar, and so did the number of people who made music by building themselves a home recording environment. People who discovered the delight of musical creation slowly but surely gained popularity, and they have started to put themselves out there as the world returned to normalcy. This is where we are now. Natori, who hit the jackpot with “overdose” one step ahead of imase, and idom, whose unique music world has been very well received by the general public, are two artists who are gaining prominence at the moment. But imase is head and shoulders above the flock. 

Of course, his success today would have been impossible without his prized weapon: TikTok. Instead of taking his battle to YouTube, where it is the norm to present only the finished works, he used TikTok where uploading parts of something still under progress is well accepted. To imase who has yet to build the capabilities of a pro, the app was a window through which he could receive feedback, and what kept him motivated. Also, he is a part of a generation of which knowledge of the social media sphere is unmatched - he didn’t hesitate to utilize elements that would get his popularity to soar. 

His key strategy was to first put together a chorus with a simple catchy melody that would appeal to the masses, then upload a video of himself playing it on the drum pad. What people responded to was “Have a nice day.” The song amassed a whopping 500 million views in a single month, and his signature falsetto became a key part of his identity as an artist. After that, he officially debuted by building on his chorus, topped the Japanese viral chart the same week, and began riding the winds of public acclaim.
 

“NIGHT DANCER” was solely responsible for putting him on the map in Korea. His short form content spread among the social media users from early this year, and the ensuing flux of challenge videos have continued intensifying his popularity. Aimyon (あいみょん), Fujii Kaze (藤井 風), and Yuuri (優里) have been gaining more recognition as well, but imase’s popularity among the general public is unmatched.

K-pop stars like Stray Kids and IVE talking about and interacting with the song contributed to his incredible success, but it isn’t only the K-pop fans who are into this song. His popularity isn’t limited to a certain group but spread throughout social media users at large. This goes to show that “NIGHT DANCER” is what came out of Gen Z’s tendency to enjoy content if they like it, regardless of its country of origin. It is also proof that Korean and Japanese music is being accepted as quality content as national borders are increasingly becoming blurred with the use of streaming and social media. Then why is this song in particular so popular in Korea?

As mentioned before, imase has been working on creating a catchy melody that could capture the ears of the general public in a short amount of time. He places notable importance on pronunciation and cadence when writing his lyrics, which helps to bring down the language barrier by engaging the listeners with the song’s rhythms alone. And culmination of these two major strengths is most pronounced in the measure that sings: “Do-o-de-mo-i-i-yo-na-yo-ru-da-ke-do,” which is the first thing we hear as soon as we hit the play button. Placing the measure that is an amalgamation of his strengths at the opening seems to have worked in the song’s favor.
 

Musically speaking, this song contains sounds that are familiar to the Korean audience. Pop music trends across the world have been converging for some time now. Hence, the mixture of synth pop, black music and city pop isn’t alien to Korean ears. This is why imase’s music doesn’t feel out of place when it’s played in the streets of Hongdae. His preference for music by famous Japanese R&B artists SIRUP, iri, and VivaOla, and Korean artists DEAN and DPR LIVE may have contributed to creating music that catered to both country’s audiences.

He dropped a Korean version of “NIGHT DANCER,” held a showcase in Korea, and is appearing in many YouTube videos, aiming to make inroads into the Korean music scene. Japan’s view of their home-raised artists succeeding overseas has been positive, and they are analyzing the factors to his success. His latest track entitled “Nagisa” highlights his signature sense of rhythm with an added city pop flair and has been received very well so far. His latest activities show us that Japanese artists’ popularity will likely continue for the time being. 

imase thinks that he is able to share similar sensibilities with a wider audience because he “didn’t receive formal musical education” and is “a person who quickly responds to changes in the trend (ミーハー), rather than being fully immersed in one thing.” In a world where the road for an amateur to become a pro has been abbreviated beyond our imagination, imase shows us that there’s lots of room for those who have the gifts of using the latest trends as much as those who have been training for a long time. But above all, now that social media has combined the entire world into one real-time market, artists like imase will continue unleashing unlimited amounts of potential. The success of this musician who unwittingly rose to prominence is providing a sense of direction to the general public and those in the music field alike.