Is J-pop girl band Perfume destined for US stardom?

Jun 20 , 2019

J-pop girl group Perfume performing in San Jose, California in April. Perfume’s tour in the US was a big step for Japanese music outside Asia. The band’s appearance at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival was well received, with Rolling Stone magazine naming their performance one of the 16 best performances at the music event. Photo: Jason Yu

Authentic fan engagement, infectious electropop, intricate dance moves, and dazzling sci-fi backdrops at their concerts makes Perfume a powerhouse group in Japan, writes Jason Yu

“Left side say shopping, right side say spree! Together, both sides say shopping spree,” Perfume singer NOCCHi beckons the crowd.

Moments later, on cue, the entire audience of 2,700 attending the San Jose, California concert scream “shopping spree!” to the delight of NOCCHi and her Perfume bandmates.

Screaming these two phrases about Perfume’s love for shopping may sound a bit cheesy, but the audience were all too willing to please the techno-pop, electronica Japanese group. Their concerts are known to be energetic, cheerful, and most importantly, fun for the audience.

“Perfume concerts are always energetic, crazy and fun,” one male fan said. “They always talk to their fans and really care, you know?”

The group’s fan engagement, backed up by infectious electropop, intricate hand dance moves, and a dazzling sci-fi, technological backdrop at their concerts that made Perfume one of the powerhouse groups in their native Japan.

Going under their stage names, NOCCHi (Omoto Ayano), KASHIYUKA (Kashino Yuka), and a-chan (Nishiwaki Ayaka), the trio have been in the music industry for a long time. The group was formed at a talent academy in Hiroshima in 2000 when the three girls were only 11 and 12.

They would soon move to Tokyo in 2003 and meet two people that would transform Perfume from a small Hiroshima-based trio to one of the most successful groups in Japan. These two would be long-time producer and songwriter, Nakata Yasutaka, and dance choreographer MIKIKO.

Perfume’s long-time producer and songwriter Nakata Yasutaka’s vision for the band was a blend of electronic dance music and technology. She and dance choreographer MIKIKO helped make the band a Japanese household name.

Nakata’s vision for Perfume was a blend of electronic dance music (EDM) and technology. From showing Twitter messages to using silhouettes in the background during their concerts, the trio would sing techno-pop alongside. With MIKIKO, she would emphasise highly choreographed upper-body, robotic arm, and hand-dance movements – features that would make their dances iconic – rather than leg-focused routines.

In turn, these two were instrumental in making Perfume a Japanese household name, giving the techno-pop genre a resurgence in their native country.