I don’t wanna feel Blue anymore...
As a veteran fan, I’ve been watching over many artists as they went through their careers. Going solo or going independent, almost every artist I like felt the need to get more freedom and control over their career and subsequently went through significant changes. I felt the need to write down some of my restless thoughts. This time I won’t be talking about NEWS though, I already said enough.
I’ll start with Gackt and Hyde who are very self-centered but also very talented and I have immense respect for them as artists and entertainers.
Gackt went solo in 1998, after leaving his position of a vocalist in a moderately successful Visual Kei band Malice Mizer. He left at the peak of the band’s popularity but it was apparent that the band wasn’t effective with two leader-like figures. More importantly, it really was too small for Gackt’s ideas, as he wanted to write music, produce and direct every aspect of his career. He came back with a bang, making an impact with both his music and TV appearances. He wasn’t immediately commercially successful but his strange personality, extravagant lifestyle and willingness to accept any gig, be it music shows or weird TV commercials, made him very recognizable and earned him a solid place in Japan’s music industry and much more. Gackt is one of those people who is large-than-life. He lives in fucking castles, drives elite cars and does everything his way. He is incredibly pretentious but the thing is it’s hard to call him out because he’s just that good at everything. Gackt wrote his first book containing his autobiography, the details of him leaving the band, and his often bizarre views on things in 2003, but by that time he made 4,5 albums and a movie and became a household name in Japanese entertainment. At the time when I read it years ago it did actually have a great impact on me. I find such books very pretentious but if anyone can write them, it’s Gackt. But even with an immense talent and vision, Gackt would have a really hard time without loyal allies. He summoned You, the guitarist he met in his first band, and the man has been by his side for the next 20 years, along with his other guitarist Chachamaru. Even a genius needs someone to rely on.
Hyde wrote a similar book modestly called THE HYDE only in 2012 and that is where he revealed he was planning to leave L’Arc~en~Ciel in 2001 as the band could not agree on anything and he had things he wanted to do on his own. However, after restoring communication between the members and playing a successful tour, he decided something so great deserved to be saved so since then the members continued to work both in Laruku and on their other projects. The book frankly made me raise eyebrows quite a few times for its vanity and pretentiousness. It’s clear he has been spoiled with attention all his life and now has an army of fanboys, including other artists, who worship him religiously. But hey, that’s Hyde, one of Japan’s top artists. He isn’t just pretty and charming, he wrote some fantastic music that also sells and has distinct artistic vision. On his first hiatus Hyde recorded Roentgen, an absolute masterpiece of an album. The other members also participated in other projects, both solo and other bands, but they at some point they still come together to create the magic that is L’Arc~en~Ciel. Each of these individual projects is definitely weaker but I’m just glad that thanks to this compromise L’Arc~en~Ciel still exists.
There’s Alice Nine who I lately love more than their music. They started their career as a part of a large brand PS Company that hosted many other artists and held common events, not unlike Johnny’s. It also turned out they had some similar rules and regulations, such as strongly discouraging tattoos. Being signed to the company granted a good start and all the necessary resources but at some point the members felt like they wanted to decide what’s best for them. It must have been a difficult decision to lose that kind of safety net, but they had enough experience and expertise to make it work. They already managed their music and design but they also took over other things such as directing music videos and did it so well you can hardly tell the difference. But what really made it work was excellent teamwork and loyal fans. They might not have the same budget now and it has to be challenging but it’s clear for them it’s more important to have freedom than to gain more money or popularity and I really respect that.
There’s also a J-rock vocalist Shin, whose former band ViViD had a very swift success before prematurely disbanding. Now he has a fairly successful solo career and used Youtube to do cover songs of other artists, especially his beloved L’Arc~en~Ciel and GACKT, and collaborations with other J-rock artists, in addition to his own material. It’s a modest but dignified career.
Now pop bands are different because normally they’re very dependent on other people to write their music, provide choreography and styling. Moreover, their company ensures they get roles and TV appearances. Leaving a company can be a rough wake-up call.
Which brings me to a complicated tale of TVXQ’s and JYJ’s demise. Now I think the 3 members’ decision to leave the band was very understandable and at the time, it really felt like they could make it work, having real talent and solid team-work. But looking back, I cannot blame the other side for staying either. They really had a lot to lose. Even after wining the lawsuit, and up to this day, JYJ are unable to fully participate in the Korean, and to a lesser extent Japanese, music industry. The first year in Japan seemed very successful with A-nation appearance and Tokyo Dome. But as soon as TVXQ made a comeback, they were dropped like a hot potato. And the change was felt immediately. SM made a lot of questionable choices in terms of performances and style. However, it soon became apparent how much I was taking for granted. Even if some of the SM choices were very questionable, there was some weight behind it. Once the members began self-producing, I was struck with the bad outfits, questionable back dancers, vulgarity, and most importantly, the lack of real hit songs. Moreover, the lack of strict management led to some members slacking off in dancing and performing. Essentially, they followed the fate of JTL, a group formed by the three members of k-pop legend H.O.T that left the company a decade earlier. But by far the most disappointing part was the deterioration of the members’ relationships who drifted away so much that soon JYJ concerts were 70% solos with a few half-assed band songs. While Jaejoong enjoys a successful career in Japan, most of his songs are not memorable. Junsu really flourished in the musicals but his solo career is dramatically overproduced and sorely lacks a sense of direction. Yoochun had the most potential as a songwriter but we know how that turned out. Eventually, I almost stopped caring because of both the music and the feeling of betrayal.
Finally, there’s JE. The thing with JE is that, while it clearly doesn’t pay its artists that much, it allows a great deal of freedom. It’s a sort of a soft exploitation. If you get to debut, your possibilities are limitless. Even if you lack musical talent, you can act, host shows, do comedy, write books or get other opportunities you would never get otherwise. And there’s definitely a lack of production and skilled professionals (though it got better in recent years) but that also allowed some artists to step up and discover new talents, like Massu did with costumes and stage. Unlike in K-pop, nobody’s going to hold you back from leaving but also you’ll have noone to blame but yourself if you fail. I wish there was a middle ground between amateurish but earnest J-pop groups and sleek but overproduced K-pop groups that all look the same these days.
Changes is artists’ careers are natural but freedom is a double-edged sword. It may come at a price. In the end, an artist cannot do everything themselves. Not everyone is talented enough to write good music, not everyone has taste to make good style decisions. It’s ok to do what they are good at and leave the rest to others. Yet, it’s not easy to find someone who they can fully trust and they might end up in a worse place than before. One needs to know their true abilities and recognize their limits. It’s safe to say most companies exploit their artists but sometimes, it might be worth to be exploited than step out and into irrelevance.
I’ll start with Gackt and Hyde who are very self-centered but also very talented and I have immense respect for them as artists and entertainers.
Gackt went solo in 1998, after leaving his position of a vocalist in a moderately successful Visual Kei band Malice Mizer. He left at the peak of the band’s popularity but it was apparent that the band wasn’t effective with two leader-like figures. More importantly, it really was too small for Gackt’s ideas, as he wanted to write music, produce and direct every aspect of his career. He came back with a bang, making an impact with both his music and TV appearances. He wasn’t immediately commercially successful but his strange personality, extravagant lifestyle and willingness to accept any gig, be it music shows or weird TV commercials, made him very recognizable and earned him a solid place in Japan’s music industry and much more. Gackt is one of those people who is large-than-life. He lives in fucking castles, drives elite cars and does everything his way. He is incredibly pretentious but the thing is it’s hard to call him out because he’s just that good at everything. Gackt wrote his first book containing his autobiography, the details of him leaving the band, and his often bizarre views on things in 2003, but by that time he made 4,5 albums and a movie and became a household name in Japanese entertainment. At the time when I read it years ago it did actually have a great impact on me. I find such books very pretentious but if anyone can write them, it’s Gackt. But even with an immense talent and vision, Gackt would have a really hard time without loyal allies. He summoned You, the guitarist he met in his first band, and the man has been by his side for the next 20 years, along with his other guitarist Chachamaru. Even a genius needs someone to rely on.
Hyde wrote a similar book modestly called THE HYDE only in 2012 and that is where he revealed he was planning to leave L’Arc~en~Ciel in 2001 as the band could not agree on anything and he had things he wanted to do on his own. However, after restoring communication between the members and playing a successful tour, he decided something so great deserved to be saved so since then the members continued to work both in Laruku and on their other projects. The book frankly made me raise eyebrows quite a few times for its vanity and pretentiousness. It’s clear he has been spoiled with attention all his life and now has an army of fanboys, including other artists, who worship him religiously. But hey, that’s Hyde, one of Japan’s top artists. He isn’t just pretty and charming, he wrote some fantastic music that also sells and has distinct artistic vision. On his first hiatus Hyde recorded Roentgen, an absolute masterpiece of an album. The other members also participated in other projects, both solo and other bands, but they at some point they still come together to create the magic that is L’Arc~en~Ciel. Each of these individual projects is definitely weaker but I’m just glad that thanks to this compromise L’Arc~en~Ciel still exists.
There’s Alice Nine who I lately love more than their music. They started their career as a part of a large brand PS Company that hosted many other artists and held common events, not unlike Johnny’s. It also turned out they had some similar rules and regulations, such as strongly discouraging tattoos. Being signed to the company granted a good start and all the necessary resources but at some point the members felt like they wanted to decide what’s best for them. It must have been a difficult decision to lose that kind of safety net, but they had enough experience and expertise to make it work. They already managed their music and design but they also took over other things such as directing music videos and did it so well you can hardly tell the difference. But what really made it work was excellent teamwork and loyal fans. They might not have the same budget now and it has to be challenging but it’s clear for them it’s more important to have freedom than to gain more money or popularity and I really respect that.
There’s also a J-rock vocalist Shin, whose former band ViViD had a very swift success before prematurely disbanding. Now he has a fairly successful solo career and used Youtube to do cover songs of other artists, especially his beloved L’Arc~en~Ciel and GACKT, and collaborations with other J-rock artists, in addition to his own material. It’s a modest but dignified career.
Now pop bands are different because normally they’re very dependent on other people to write their music, provide choreography and styling. Moreover, their company ensures they get roles and TV appearances. Leaving a company can be a rough wake-up call.
Which brings me to a complicated tale of TVXQ’s and JYJ’s demise. Now I think the 3 members’ decision to leave the band was very understandable and at the time, it really felt like they could make it work, having real talent and solid team-work. But looking back, I cannot blame the other side for staying either. They really had a lot to lose. Even after wining the lawsuit, and up to this day, JYJ are unable to fully participate in the Korean, and to a lesser extent Japanese, music industry. The first year in Japan seemed very successful with A-nation appearance and Tokyo Dome. But as soon as TVXQ made a comeback, they were dropped like a hot potato. And the change was felt immediately. SM made a lot of questionable choices in terms of performances and style. However, it soon became apparent how much I was taking for granted. Even if some of the SM choices were very questionable, there was some weight behind it. Once the members began self-producing, I was struck with the bad outfits, questionable back dancers, vulgarity, and most importantly, the lack of real hit songs. Moreover, the lack of strict management led to some members slacking off in dancing and performing. Essentially, they followed the fate of JTL, a group formed by the three members of k-pop legend H.O.T that left the company a decade earlier. But by far the most disappointing part was the deterioration of the members’ relationships who drifted away so much that soon JYJ concerts were 70% solos with a few half-assed band songs. While Jaejoong enjoys a successful career in Japan, most of his songs are not memorable. Junsu really flourished in the musicals but his solo career is dramatically overproduced and sorely lacks a sense of direction. Yoochun had the most potential as a songwriter but we know how that turned out. Eventually, I almost stopped caring because of both the music and the feeling of betrayal.
Finally, there’s JE. The thing with JE is that, while it clearly doesn’t pay its artists that much, it allows a great deal of freedom. It’s a sort of a soft exploitation. If you get to debut, your possibilities are limitless. Even if you lack musical talent, you can act, host shows, do comedy, write books or get other opportunities you would never get otherwise. And there’s definitely a lack of production and skilled professionals (though it got better in recent years) but that also allowed some artists to step up and discover new talents, like Massu did with costumes and stage. Unlike in K-pop, nobody’s going to hold you back from leaving but also you’ll have noone to blame but yourself if you fail. I wish there was a middle ground between amateurish but earnest J-pop groups and sleek but overproduced K-pop groups that all look the same these days.
Changes is artists’ careers are natural but freedom is a double-edged sword. It may come at a price. In the end, an artist cannot do everything themselves. Not everyone is talented enough to write good music, not everyone has taste to make good style decisions. It’s ok to do what they are good at and leave the rest to others. Yet, it’s not easy to find someone who they can fully trust and they might end up in a worse place than before. One needs to know their true abilities and recognize their limits. It’s safe to say most companies exploit their artists but sometimes, it might be worth to be exploited than step out and into irrelevance.