Japamyu is Kyary Pamyu Pamyu's fourth studio album, released on September 26th, 2018 in digital and CD format.[1] It is currently Kyary Pamyu Pamyu's shortest album.
Background and release[]
The full album was released in late 2018, but the songs Harajuku Iyahoi, Kimi no Mikata, and the original Sai & Co were all released as singles in 2016 in 2017. Instead of the original Sai & Co being included in the tracklist of Japamyu, a new Sai & Co remix was included as the last track on the album tracklist. The album debuted at number 12 of the Oricon Weekly Albums chart, selling 10,407 copies on its first week of release as well as at number seven of the Oricon Weekly Digital Albums chart with 876 downloads.[2][3]
The limited edition is packaged inside a photobook, similar to all other Kyary Pamyu Pamyu limited editions. Neither the limited edition or standard edition CDs were made in very large quantities, and a vinyl record release was not created, unlike Pamyu Pamyu Revolution, Nanda Collection, Pika Pika Fantajin.[4]
While many of Kyary's fans enjoyed the album, there was a large amount of people who thought otherwise. They claimed that "after 4 years of waiting for a new album, and only receiving various singles, Japamyu should have been a big hit." Unfortunately, these people were dissatisfied with the decreased amount of songs from the previous albums, and they complained that it was also scattered with songs they had already heard, such as Harajuku Iyahoi and Todoke Punch. Because of this, there was not much of an attempt to restock them, causing physically released CDs to be rarer and more difficult to purchase at its standard price.
Kyary explained that she had acknowledged the negativity and admitted to have taken a break, stating that she tried to keep her fans occupied with the singles, but she also informed them that she doesn't want to release songs on a routine like a robot. "I want to turn dreams into realities, like Katy Perry does." she says.[5] Some time after the critical comments settled down, she announced that she was already thinking of her next move, which involved 'mixing things up'. This mindset was highly reflected on her 2021 single, Gentenkaihi.
Tracklist[]
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | Virtual Pamyu Pamyu | 1:40 |
| 2. | Kizunami | 3:48 |
| 3. | Harajuku Iyahoi | 3:41 |
| 4. | Oto no Kuni | 4:03 |
| 5. | Kimi no Mikata | 3:04 |
| 6. | Chami Chami Charming | 4:36 |
| 7. | Enka Natrium | 2:49 |
| 8. | Koi no Hana | 4:39 |
| 9. | Todoke Punch | 2:58 |
| 10. | Sai & Co (Album Edit) | 4:33 |
Download / Stream[]
Audio[]
Trivia[]
- The name Japamyu is a portmanteau of the words 'Japan' and 'Pamyu'.
- It is one of two albums, the other being Candy Racer, lacking an opening song named directly after the album title.
- The original Koi No Hana was released by Capsule as part of their album High Collar Girl in 2001, and Todoke Punch was released as a track of Easta in 2017.
References[]
- ↑ https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/international/8471746/kyary-pamyu-pamyu-new-album-japamyu-see-cover-art
- ↑ https://www.oricon.co.jp/rank/ja/w/2018-10-08/p/2/
- ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20181003213531/https://www.oricon.co.jp/rank/dia/w/2018-10-08/
- ↑ https://www.generasia.com/wiki/Japamyu
- ↑ https://www.japantimes.co.jp/culture/2018/11/15/music/queen-kawaii-kyary-pamyu-pamyu-reflects-reign/#.XSEK6-hKhPY