Pop Star (Ken Hirai song)

Last updated
"Pop Star"
Pop Star.JPG
Single by Ken Hirai
from the album Ken Hirai 10th Anniversary Complete Single Collection '95-'05 Utabaka
B-side "Tameiki Kip"
Released2005
Genre J-pop
Length4:43
Label Defstar
Songwriter(s) Ken Hirai
Producer(s) Ken Hirai
Ken Hirai singles chronology
"Omoi ga Kasanaru Sono Mae ni"
(2004)
"Pop Star"
(2005)
"Bye My Melody"
(2006)
Music video
"Pop Star" by Ken Hirai on YouTube

"Pop Star" is a song by Japanese singer Ken Hirai. The single went on to top the 2005 Oricon Charts and is known for its remarkable music video, featuring Ken in seven different personas, including a raccoon and his own manager. [1] The Video also helped Ken break into the US and Canadian Markets where Stations would play the video despite the fact that it was in Japanese.[ citation needed ] The song was featured in the Nintendo DS game, Moero! Nekketsu Rhythm Damashii Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan 2, as well as on Taiko No Tatsujin 8 and Taiko No Tatsujin Portable 2 for the PSP. It is also a track in the Konami's jubeat ripples series. Its latest appearance is in the Namco game Happy Dance Collection for the Nintendo Wii. The song was also featured in the Japanese drama Kiken na Aneki starring Ito Misaki.

Certifications

Certifications for "Pop Star"
RegionCertification Certified units/sales
Streaming
Japan (RIAJ) [2] Gold50,000,000

Streaming-only figures based on certification alone.

Related Research Articles

<i>Donkey Konga</i> Donkey Kong spin-off video game series

Donkey Konga is a GameCube rhythm video game series starring the ape Donkey Kong, developed by Namco and published by Nintendo. The series' games are intended to be played with a special controller called the DK Bongos that resemble two small bongo drums, but can optionally be played with the standard GameCube controllers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bump of Chicken</span> Japanese rock group

Bump of Chicken is a Japanese alternative rock group from Sakura, Chiba. The band members are Motoo Fujiwara, Hiroaki Masukawa (guitar), Yoshifumi Naoi (bass) and Hideo Masu (drums). Since their conception in 1994, they have released 27 singles and 10 albums. They are a popular group in Japan; every release since their third single, "Tentai Kansoku", has charted in the top ten on the Oricon Weekly Charts. Their music has been used in various video games and as theme songs for movies, television shows and anime in Japan.

<i>Taiko: Drum Master</i> 2004 video game

Taiko: Drum Master, also known as Taiko no Tatsujin: Taiko Drum Master in Japan, is a rhythm game developed and published by Namco for the Sony PlayStation 2 as part of the popular Japanese video game franchise Taiko no Tatsujin. It was released in North America in 2004, and Japan in 2005.

<i>Taiko no Tatsujin</i> Video game series

Taiko no Tatsujin is a series of games created by Namco. In the games, players simulate playing a taiko drum in time with music. The series has released games for the arcade and for console and mobile platforms including PlayStation 2, Advanced Pico Beena, PlayStation Portable, Nintendo DS, Wii, Nintendo 3DS, Wii U, PlayStation Vita, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Microsoft Windows, iOS, Android and Japanese feature phones.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kurenai (song)</span> 1989 single by X

"Kurenai" is a song by Japanese heavy metal band X Japan, written by Yoshiki. One of the band's oldest songs, they have been performing "Kurenai" since 1985, and several versions have been released, most significantly as their major-label debut single on September 1, 1989.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Won't Be Long</span> 2006 single by Exile & Koda Kumi

"Won't Be Long" is a collaboration single by Japanese group Exile and singer-songwriter Koda Kumi. It debuted on No. 2 on Oricon and stayed there for the weekly ranking, bringing its monthly rank to No. 6.

The discography of Ai Otsuka, a Japanese singer-songwriter, contains eight studio albums, two compilation albums, eleven live DVD albums, and twenty-two singles.

Japanese rock duo B'z has released 22 studio albums, 12 compilation albums, eight extended plays (EP), 57 singles and 19 live albums. With more than 82 million sales in Japan, the duo is the best-selling artist in Japan and with 100 million sales one of the best-selling music artists of all time.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Atsuki Kodō no Hate</span> 2002 single by Bz

"Atsuki Kodou no Hate" (熱き鼓動の果て) is the thirty-third single by B'z, released on June 5, 2002. This song is one of B'z many number-one singles in Oricon charts. The song was featured in the arcade drumming game Taiko no Tatsujin and also on the Nintendo DS rhythm game Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Linda Linda</span> 1987 single by The Blue Hearts

"Linda Linda" (リンダリンダ) is a single by the Japanese punk rock band The Blue Hearts that was released on May 1, 1987. Lyrics and music were written by Hiroto Kōmoto, the band's lead vocalist, and was arranged by The Blue Hearts. The track reached #38 on the Oricon charts during its release year.

Ayane is a female Japanese singer from Saitama Prefecture, who is mainly known for having performed several songs used in video games and anime.

<i>Fakin Pop</i> 2008 studio album by Ken Hirai

Fakin' Pop is the seventh original studio album by Japanese singer Ken Hirai. It was released on March 8, 2008 on the Defstar Records label.

<i>Truxton II</i> 1992 video game

Truxton II is a 1992 vertically scrolling shooter arcade video game originally developed and published by Toaplan in Japan and Europe. It is the sequel to Truxton, which was released earlier on arcades in 1988 and later ported to various platforms.

The Japan Game Awards is the Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry's awards ceremony, which was created in 1996 as the CESA Awards. While it represents the Japanese video game industry, it is not limited to Japanese video games, but also includes international video games.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Go Shiina</span> Japanese composer (born 1974)

Masaru Shiina, known professionally as Go Shiina, is a Japanese music composer primarily known for his work in video games. He joined Namco in 1997 and was best known during his time with the company for writing music for a number of games in the Tales, Mr. Driller, and God Eater franchises, He gained widespread recognition with his score for Tales of Legendia in 2005. Since then, he has also contributed music for several titles in the Tekken, Ace Combat, and The Idolmaster franchises. In addition to video games, Shiina has also composed soundtracks for various anime series and films, starting with the 2011 film Sakura no Ondo and Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba, as well as composing and arranging songs for bands and other artists.

Ken Hirai is a Japanese R&B and pop singer. Since his debut, Hirai has worked as a model, actor, composer, lyricist, singer, and brand ambassador.

Sano Takayuki (佐野貴幸), more commonly known as samfree or SAM, was a Japanese music producer heavily involved in composing and arranging songs using Vocaloid software. He was also notably involved in producing theme songs for various anime television series.

<i>The Idolmaster Must Songs</i> 2015 video game

The Idolmaster Must Songs Presented by Taiko no Tatsujin is a PlayStation Vita rhythm game, released by Bandai Namco Entertainment on December 10, 2015. Though a title of The Idolmaster series, its game system is drawn from Taiko no Tatsujin. Must Songs was released in two versions, each featuring different music: Aka-ban and Ao-ban. Aka-ban features earlier music in the original The Idolmaster series, and Ao-ban features music from the 2nd Vision games; both versions contain 40 songs. The game received a score of 32 out of 40 from the Japanese video game magazine Famitsu.

<i>Taiko no Tatsujin: Drum n Fun!</i> 2018 video game

Taiko no Tatsujin: Drum 'n' Fun!, released in Asia as Taiko no Tatsujin: Nintendo Switch Version!, is a rhythm game developed and published by Bandai Namco Entertainment. It was first released in Japan and other parts of Asia in July 2018, and in North America, Europe and Australia in November. The title's release marks the first release of a Taiko no Tatsujin game to Western audiences in over a decade. On November 30, 2023, it was delisted from the Nintendo eShop.

<i>Undertale Soundtrack</i> 2015 soundtrack album by Toby Fox

Undertale Soundtrack is a soundtrack album by Toby Fox, released in 2015 for the video game Undertale.

References

  1. 古屋蔵人 Kurando Furuya 映像作家100人 -- 2007 Page 107 "In 2005 he was the finalist at the Clio Awards for the music video "Umino Nakae" hy Tamio Okuda. The music video he directed for Ken Hirai's song "Pop Star" received Best Pop Video Award at Space Shower TV and Best Pop Video at MTV."
  2. "Japanese single streaming certifications – Ken Hirai – Pop Star" (in Japanese). Recording Industry Association of Japan . Retrieved October 25, 2023.Select 2023年9月 on the drop-down menu