History Music / MariyaTakeuchi

* NostalgiaFilter: The young listeners of "Plastic Love" or other City Pop hits regularly have the same wistful, "rose-tinted glasses" sentiment of feeling weirdly nostalgic over [[TheEighties an era]] that many of them... late Gen X, Millennials, and Gen Z... were too young or born too late to appreciate. Wordsmiths have actually coined a neologism for this phenomenon: [[https://jwbarlament.medium.com/anemoia-nostalgia-for-a-time-you-never-knew-ebbe757799bc "Anemoia"]].

* CreatorsOddball: The somber and westernized "Plastic Love" is actually the Creator's Oddball out of Mariya Takeuchi's more lighthearted, wistful, or romantic output such as "Single Again" or "Fushigi na Peach Pie". She based the work on the CityPop style of her husband, Tatsuro Yamashita (who also did the arrangement for the song).

CreatorsOddball: The somber and westernized "Plastic Love" is actually the Creator's Oddball out of Mariya Takeuchi's more lighthearted, wistful, or romantic output such as "Single Again" or "Fushigi na Peach Pie". She based the work on the CityPop style of her husband, Tatsuro Yamashita (who also did the arrangement for the song).

* NostalgiaFilter: The young listeners of "Plastic Love" or other City Pop hits regularly have the same "rose-tinted glasses" sentiment of feeling weirdly nostalgic over [[TheEighties an era]] that many of them... late Gen X, Millennials, and Gen Z... were too young or born too late to appreciate. Wordsmiths have actually coined a neologism for this phenomenon: [[https://jwbarlament.medium.com/anemoia-nostalgia-for-a-time-you-never-knew-ebbe757799bc "Anemoia"]].

* NostalgiaFilter: The young listeners of "Plastic Love" or other City Pop hits regularly have the same "rose-tinted glasses" sentiment of feeling weirdly nostalgic over [[TheEighties an era]] that many of them... late Gen X, Millennials, and Gen Z... were too young or born too late to appreciate. Wordsmiths have actually come up with a neologism for this phenomenon: [[https://jwbarlament.medium.com/anemoia-nostalgia-for-a-time-you-never-knew-ebbe757799bc "Anemoia"]].

* SequelGap: A music video example: being a not-so-famous song from her discography, the incredible fame of "Plastic Love" by Mariya Takeuchi in TheNewTens made Warner Japan create [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XMmUXamntPI an official music video]] for this song after 35 years.

* ApprovalOfGod: Mariya Takeuchi herself acknowledged the meme of City Pop and "Plastic Love" getting millions of hits on Website/YouTube in a 2019 Creator/{{NHK}} interview.
-->'''Mariya Takeuchi:''' "For some reason around two years ago a mysterious phenomenon began happening where my work from 36 years ago (Plastic Love) began becoming popular among overseas youth. To be honest I think I'm probably the one that's the most surprised with the number of views. I made the song when I was in my twenties and I was going for a western taste with my music then. The fact that in the exact home of western music the youth of today are listening to my music makes me truly happy. And personally I think it was because it was made while I was overseas and I thought it one of my favorite songs to have arranged and played off that album. I feel that introducing the world and this era (Heisei) to this music is very very big achievement."
* AscendedMeme: An unknown BSide-type single overshadowed by Takeuchi's bigger hits in her native Japan has somehow become one of her most famous works worldwide due to the power of memes. This then culminated to Warner Music Japan releasing an [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T_lC2O1oIew official music video]] for the song a good 35 to 37 years later. That's [[MemeticMutation meme magic]] in action right there!

* AscendedMeme: An unknown BSide-type single overshadowed by Takeuchi's bigger hits in her native Japan has somehow become one of her most famous works [[PeripheryDemographic worldwide]] due to the power of memes. This then culminated to Warner Music Japan releasing an [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T_lC2O1oIew official music video]] for the song a good 35 to 37 years later. That's [[MemeticMutation meme magic]] in action right there!

* GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff:
** The phenomenally popular and mmemetic "Plastic Love" (竹内 まりや) wasn't as huge in Japan as Mariya's actual hits, "Genki wo Dashite" (元気を出して), "Fushigi na Peach Pie" (不思議なピーチパイ), "Suteki na Holiday" (すてきなホリデイ), and "Single Again" (シングル・アゲイン). However, among overseas fans or mostly English-speaking fans, they mainly know Mariya for "Plastic Love" and as the face of CityPop.
** Furthermore, many youths from the 1990s in the Philippines might be able to place the melody of the 1989 song "Single Again" as the same melody used by the 1990 song "Lumayo Ka Man" (Even If You Leave) by Rodel Naval. What's essentially the Filipino version of "Single Again" soared to triple-platinum in the country in two months.

* SurprisinglyGoodEnglish: Would you expect anything less from a woman who won a national recitation contest? She was also an exchange student, thus allowing her to learn English as a second language. In fact, here's her comedically [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=icKXHtcvDTY interviewing]] famous actor and fellow singer Tetsuya Takeda in perfect English.

* SurprisinglyGoodEnglish: Would you expect anything less from a woman who won a national recitation contest? In fact, here's her comedically [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=icKXHtcvDTY interviewing]] famous actor and fellow singer Tetsuya Takeda in perfect English.

* SurprisinglyGoodEnglish: Would you expect anything less from a woman who won a national recitation contest? In fact, here's her comedically [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=icKXHtcvDTY interviewing]] famous actor and fellow singer Tetsuya Takeda in English (Takeda is pretending to not know much English).

* SurprisinglyGoodEnglish: Would you expect anything less from a woman who won a national recitation contest?

--> "''I'm just playing games, I know it's plastic love...''"

She made her singing debut in 1978 as a proto-{{Idol|Singer}} under [[Creator/RCARecords RCA Japan]], but quit in 1981 due to burnout from five albums in three years. During her hiatus, she married musician Tatsuro Yamashita-- today widely considered one of the major pioneers of City-Pop and 80's Japanese music in general-- and began writing her own songs. She returned with a bang in 1984 with the chart-topping album ''Variety''. This album includes her song "Plastic Love", which wasn't a big hit at the time but would become a worldwide internet sensation 35 years later.

* AntiLoveSong: "Plastic Love", which Takeuchi herself described as a song about a woman who lost the man she truly loves.

Tatsuro has produced all of her albums and singles from ''Variety'' onward. Every full album from then on except one has hit #1 on the Oricon charts and all have been certified platinum.

In addition to her own work, she has served as a lyricist for other J-Pop singers, including penning a few songs for "Eternal Idol" Music/SeikoMatsuda, as well as Akina Nakamori and many others. On a sadder note, Mariya wrote nearly a dozen songs for IdolSinger Music/YukikoOkada prior to her untimely death (for more on her, see her page). She has self-covered some of her songs originally meant for others.

Beginning in 2014, Mariya veered away from studio albums and focused more on singles. In 2020, she rerecorded an earlier single "Song of Life". While the original did okay, the redo-- which coincidentally is her 50th single-- shot to #1, making Takeuchi at 65 the oldest Japanese woman to earn a #1 single. It's also her first #1 single since "Camouflage" in 1986.

* ''Souvenir'' (2000) [-)live album, and the only one under Moon to ''not'' top the charts-- it hit #3)-]

Mariya Takeuchi (竹内 まりや) (born March 20th 1955) is a Japanese SingerSongwriter signed to Moon Records, currently owned by Warner Music Group, who is best known for being one of ''the'' defining voices of the "CityPop" movement in TheEighties-- think 60's Western rock-&-roll mixed with some funk or jazz and you'll have kind of an idea of the genre she tends to work in. She is one of the best-selling female artists in Japan with a career spanning over 40 years.

* ''Portrait (1981)

Mariya Takeuchi (竹内 まりや) (born March 20th 1955) is a Japanese SingerSongwriter signed to Moon Records, currently owned by Warner Music Group, who is best known for being one of ''the'' defining voices of the "City-Pop" movement in TheEighties – think 60's Western rock-&-roll mixed with some funk or jazz and you'll have kind of an idea of the genre she tends to work in. She is one of the best-selling female artists in Japan with a career spanning over 40 years.

She made her singing debut in 1978 as a proto-{{Idol|Singer}} under RCA-Japan, but quit in 1981 due to burnout from five albums in three years. During her hiatus, she married musician Tatsuro Yamashita – today widely considered one of the major pioneers of City-Pop and 80's Japanese music in general – and began writing her own songs. She returned with a bang in 1984 with the chart-topping album ''Variety''. This album includes her song "Plastic Love", which wasn't a big hit at the time but would become a worldwide internet sensation 35 years later.

Beginning in 2014, Mariya veered away from studio albums and focused more on singles. In 2020, she rerecorded an earlier single "Song of Life". While the original did okay, the redo – which coincidentally is her 50th single – shot to #1, making Takeuchi at 65 the oldest Japanese woman to earn a #1 single. It's also her first #1 single since "Camouflage" in 1986.

* ''Variety'' (1984) [-{first album where she wrote her own songs, also first album with Tatsuro}-]

* ''Souvenir'' (2000) [-{live album, and the only one under Moon to ''not'' top the charts – it hit #3}-]

* ''Longtime Favorites'' (2004) [-{a cover album}-]

!!Tropes Applying to Mariya Takeuchi's Music
* GratuitousEnglish: Several of her songs have this, especially in the chorus. Mariya ''can'' speak it extremely well, so any English in her songs is guaranteed to be both grammatically correct and pronounced almost flawlessly.
* SurprisinglyGoodEnglish: Would you expect anything less from a woman who won a national recitation contest?

Mariya Takeuchi (竹内 まりや) (born March 20th 1955) is a Japanese SingerSongwriter and instrumentalist signed to Moon Records, currently owned by Warner Music Group, who is best known for being one of ''the'' defining voices of the "City-Pop" movement in TheEighties – think 60's Western rock-&-roll mixed with some funk or jazz and you'll have kind of an idea of the genre she tends to work in. She is one of the top-selling female artists in Japan.

In addition to her own work, she has served as a lyricist for other J-Pop singers, including penning a few songs for "Eternal Idol" Music/SeikoMatsuda, as well as Akina Nakamori and many others. On a sadder note, Mariya wrote nearly a dozen songs for IdolSinger Music/YukikoOkada prior to her untimely death (for more on her, see her page). She has self-covered some of her songs meant for others.

* CoveredUp: Her song "Heart to Heart" from ''Miss M'' was adapted into English for the Music/{{Carpenters}} as "Now" in 1983. This was Karen Carpenter's final recorded song before her death.