"PONPONPON" is a song and debut single by Japanese singer Kyary Pamyu Pamyu. It was released as the lead single for her EP, Moshi Moshi Harajuku, and later included on her debut album, "Pamyu Pamyu Revolution". The song was written and produced by Yasutaka Nakata of Capsule. The music video, a psychedelic tribute to kawaisa and Decora culture, was released to YouTube on July 16, 2011 and became a viral hit. On 27 July 2012 was released a limited edition of a 7' LP with A side: PONPONPON -extended mix- and Side B: Cherry Bon Bon -extended mix-, exclusive for DJs. The song was launched on iTunes internationally in 23 countries, and set records for a Japanese song, reaching #1 in Finland and #4 in Belgium. As of 2012, the song sold over 1million digital downloads. As of 2016, the music video has over 100million views on YouTube. Internationally, the song has been featured in G-Eazy's single "Lost in Translation", FACE's "Night Fever", and was featured in The Simpsons episode "Married to the Blob". PONPONPON is featured on 2012 Japan game, Just Dance Wii 2.
Music video
Development
The music video for "PONPONPON" was shot by Jun Tamukai. The theme of the music video is "kawaii", which means cute in Japanese. Tamukai regarded Kyary as a person bending the definition of "kawaii" by mixing it with weirdness. The art directorSebastian Masuda, of fashion brand 6%DOKIDOKI, adopted the randomness of "a room of a girl who isn't good at tidying up", adding "a taste of the 60-70s". The fashion stylist and designer for the video was :ja:飯嶋久美子|Kumiko Iijima.
Synopsis
The video is a mix of 2D and 3D animation. It depicts two worlds, the first of which was created by Masuda Sebastian and looks like a room of a girl; the other is her own mental world, where her face is pink-colored. The video starts with a microphone standcoming out of Kyary's ear. The microphone stand is used to imitate the image of Freddie Mercury. In the chorus, Kyary performs a dance choreographed by air:man with the lyrics inserted as kinetic typography. When Kyary claps during the bridge, slices of bread appear because "pan" is the Japanese onomatopoeia for the sound of a clap, as well as the word for bread. A combo television unit into which a cassette is inserted is a reference to the fact that analog broadcasting stopped in Japan and was switched to digital broadcasting on July 20, the same day the song was released on iTunes Store. Kyary parodies the "Hige dance" from the 70s comedy show8 Ji Dayo! Zenin Shugo wearing a mustache and does the "kamehameha" move from the Japanese manga seriesDragon Ball.
