7 Reasons Why I Love Japan’s Anonymous Artists

How do you feel about anonymous artists? Do you personally love the music from a creator but have no idea what their real name is, or what they look like? Well, this is a common phenomena in Japan, and I’m all here for it.

In late 2020, Ado, an anonymous Japanese artist, made a splash by releasing her very rebellious debut song “Usseewa” (meaning “Shut the F*%& up”) on Youtube. While it’s not surprising that some may hate the message and disrespectful nature of the song (especially when young kids start singing it. It has been banned in some places), that didn’t stop it from hitting #1 on the Billboard Japan charts.

According to Wikipedia, “The song peaked at number 1 on Billboard Japan Hot 100, Oricon Digital Singles Chart, Oricon Streaming Chart, and Spotify Viral 50 Japan. The music video of the song on YouTube reached 100 million views in 148 days after its release.”

“It also reached 100 million plays on Billboard Japan after 17 weeks from charting-in, which was the sixth fastest in history and the youngest for a solo singer. The song became a social phenomenon dominating Japanese music streaming sites and karaoke charts months after its release.”

More recently, I was checking out Japan’s Top 50 and I noticed she was dominating the charts, with 4 of her songs being in the top 5 positions. These songs appear to be part of the One Piece film which may add to it’s popularity, but regardless, she’s a newly debuted artists and she is getting some serious record deals!

While she has reached top fame, Ado remains anonymous. And I thought I would write more about this phenomenon as it’s not a new thing.

Japan’s Anonymous Artists

While Ado may be the top anonymous charter today, she is not the first, nor will she be the last big anonymous artist. In fact, Greeeen, a very popular Japanese band that debuted back in 2007, has maintained their anonymity til this day.

No one knows the member’s names nor have they ever revealed their faces. According to Wikipedia, “In their only performance on TV-U Fukushima’s music show Music Bar Palo Palo in 2007, the group even went as far as censoring their faces during the performance”.

Some other big anonymous artists include Yorushika, Eve, ClariS, Amazarashi, Man with a Mission, EGOIST, Zutomayo, Beat Crusaders, and many more. If you watch their MVs, it will usually feature animation, or it may have other actors in a movie-like setting.

Some anonymous artists may have made a public appearance or have revealed more about themselves after gaining fame, but there may still be very little know about them, and their privacy is generally respected. Japan doesn’t seem to have as much paparazzi running around trying to expose people, and concert-goers respect the no-photography rule as well.

For example, CHiCO with Honeyworks have been collaborating since 2014 and they were anonymous for quite some time, despite releasing many hits, even for anime series. Apparently, their appearance on The First Take in 2021 was the first time CHiCO revealed her face.

You can consider it a similar story to Kenshi Yonezu, who was the popular Vocaloid producer “Hachi” way before he started singing and releasing hits like Lemon, Peace Sign, Aine Kleine, and Loser under his real name.

Speaking of Vocaloid, I write more about why Japanese people stay anonymous in my All About Vocaloid Article. A lot has to do about Japan’s community and collectivist mindset, along with the inability to truly say what they want to say or express themselves. But through video sharing platforms like Nico Nico Douga and Youtube, they can get their stuff out to the masses anonymously. I highly recommend reading that article.

So today, I just wanted to share why I love the idea of anonymous artists. Not that I would love an artists just because they remain secret, but I love all that it stands for.

Why I Love The Idea Of Anonymous Artists

A bit about me before I start this list, I’ve always been someone who judges music by the music. Since I was young, I rarely had internet at home so I was a listen-only fan. Even now, I may discover new Japanese artists though anime theme songs then I’ll check out their discography on Spotify.

I usually don’t know what my favourite artists or bands look like nor do I care enough to look it up unless I’m writing an article. The only times I’d actually know what an artist looks like is if they were in a movie or show, like the Disney channel starts I grew up with.

Heck, even for One OK Rock, my favourite band for a decade now…I didn’t know what they looked like for the first 6 years, and I didn’t know all the member’s names either. Getting to see them in concert in 2019 was certainly an amazing experience, but seeing them live didn’t change how I felt about them.

I’ve never crushed on a celebrity or idol. Heck, I didn’t even have crushes on school. I’d only like people I was already friends with and gotten to know. To me, everyone just looks average. I don’t think people are hot, but I also don’t think they’re ugly. Fame and popularity wouldn’t influence my feelings either.

While this is how I see the world, I’m aware that the general public does care a lot about looks, status, and fortune. People are ignored until they get mass attention. Talents and charisma only matter if you’re attractive. People would bully people and discourage them from their dreams, but once they become famous, suddenly everyone loves and believes in them.

It’s a shallow world out there. And I know many new and/or insecure artists are aware of that, so being able to release your work anonymously is such an amazing thing.

Here’s some deeper reasons why I really love the idea of it:

1. The Artist’s Intentions Are Pure

I don’t think it would be a lie to say that there are many, many artists out there crave fame, money, and attention. They want to be loved and admired. They want to get on stage and have people screaming their names. They wanna be loaded and show off with brand name clothes and expensive cars.

In this day and age with influencer culture as well, people don’t have to be unique or creative either. Post a few cute pictures, maybe copy some viral dances, or just act out a silly scenario, and they can go viral and gets lots of followers. The more followers and likes one gets, the more money they can earn.

So when I hear about a new anonymous artists, I feel it says a lot about their intentions. If they wanted to be popular, they would show their face and put themselves out there, but instead, their releasing their pieces of art (music, art, books, manga, etc), secretly. In the case of the famous Japanese band Greeeen, they formed while they were still dentist students, and thus they didn’t want their music to get in the way of their professions.

A lot of Japanese musicians and producers are releasing their music on free video sharing sites like Youtube and Nico Nico Douga, so they don’t know if they’ll actually make any money when they put it out there. And even if they’re famous, releasing it on Youtube or Spotify will only give you so much in return. So it’s clear that many of these artists just want to get their music out there and have people hear it.

2. A Song Isn’t Judged By The Artist’s Looks

It’s very common for people to overrate something just because the person who made it or is in it is handsome or beautiful. They may also underrate you or assume the worst if you aren’t as attractive.

A great example would be Susan Boyle from Britain’s Got Talent. She ended up winning the competition (well deserved), but at the audition, people were expecting her to get 3 X’s and were ready to laugh her off the stage just because she’s not conventionally or objectively attractive. Even the judges had to admit they were cynical after hearing her beautiful voice.

In the Kpop world, many idol’s talents are ignored just because people think they’re ugly, fat, and so on. A great injustice has been going on against Namjoon, aka Rap Monster/RM of BTS, the biggest boy group in the world right now. While there are 7 people in the group, RM who is the leader, main rapper, English spokesperson, and songwriter of pretty much their whole discography…is the 2nd least popular of the group.

Since the beginning, he’s faced lots of hate comments and was told by many to leave the group. Why? Simply because ‘he’s not attractive’ to some BTS fans. They don’t think he’s handsome enough to be an idol. In Korea, the plastic surgery capital of the world, I can guarantee you, if RM fit their beauty standards more, he would be 10X more popular than he is now. It’s sad to see the heart and soul of the group being treated like scum when the group would not be the same without him.

Just like Susan, he may not be given a chance to be a solo artist just because labels are focused on what would sell. And in a place like South Korea, looks is of utmost important. So important, that while there are dedicated roles in groups for singers, rappers, and dancers, there’s an actual ‘visual’ role. Even if RM did a solo debut and released amazing music, he probably wouldn’t get much attention or love due to his looks.

While I don’t doubt the most popular members have their own charms and talents, their looks are definitely what helped get them to the top for rankings. J-hope, the least popular of the group, is objectively the best dancer, was a dancer before joining BTS, and he’s even in charge of teaching and fixing up the group in their choreography…yet, Jungkook and Jimin, the more popular members of the group, get more praise for their dancing.

Still don’t believe me? Let’s look at V, who is also one of the most popular members. I looked up why he’s so popular and these are reasons I’ve found: “He not only has extraordinary visuals but also has a highly appealing personality. These traits have made him famous and an ultimate ‘bias’ for many.” (source) “V was popular because he has that kind of look that is unexplainable. He’s something different, very charismatic. His character is so lovable and full of life.” (source) Looks and charm is more important than talent and creative skills in the Kpop world. It is what it is.

So I’m thankful that in a place like Japan, new musicians and singers can release music anonymously on a free streaming site like Youtube and Nico and have their piece of art looked at fairly. People won’t dismiss a great song just because the person singing it doesn’t appeal to their eyes, and I think that’s how it should have been in the first place.

3. A Song Won’t Be Judged By The Creators Actions/Past

On the other side of things, if someone doesn’t have the cleanest background, netizens will be fast to expose this and try to cancel them, even pushing others to not support them by checking out their art.

While I do totally agree that criminals should be punished for their crimes, and I always hate when famous individuals get let off or rich people could just pay bail instead of doing their time, I also don’t think a beautiful piece of work should lose it’s value just because the creator made a mistake or turns out to be a sick individual.

This point is multifaceted, so I want to make sure my thoughts are clear. If a new artist did something bad way in the past and they’ve already faced punishment, and/or have repented and changed since then, I think they deserve a fair chance. Music and art could be a new start for them and help them live a safe, clean, and crime-free life moving forward.

Secondly, if no one knew about their crimes while they were releasing stuff, and only years after were they exposed, it’s a bit odd to me that people will suddenly undermine what they created. If the art was considered a masterpiece 3 or 10 or 25 years ago, it doesn’t suddenly become trash because the artist is trash. The piece didn’t change at all, only your perception of the person behind it.

Now, I was never a huge Michael Jackson fan. I’m a 90s kid so he was most popular before my time. My parents listened to him so I knew some of his songs, and I did like a few, but I didn’t know much about him nor idolized him. When he passed away, I didn’t cry. When allegations came out, I wasn’t shocked either. Being “The King of Pop” doesn’t mean you can’t do bad things. We’re all human. We’re all sinners.

But for many of his fans, they were in pure denial because they viewed him so highly. For a lot of them, they didn’t want to believe it because they loved his music so much. They see his art as a reflection of him, so they want both of them to be good and pure. I understand the feelings of not wanting to support a ‘bad guy’, but I don’t see why the art and the creator always have to go hand in hand.

If the director of a series turns out to be a criminal, why should all the actors and crew who worked on the series suffer as well? If the creator of a popular book series turned out to be a criminal, how could fans of the series pretend the story didn’t have an impact on their life, teaching them lessons, allowing them to dream, and creating a community where they belong? We can’t change how a piece of work made us feel or how it changed our lives.

Imagine if we all found out Walt Disney was a horrendous guy…you really expect everyone and their kids to stop watching every Disney movie, stop buying princess dolls for their daughters, and ignore that bucket list dream of going to Disneyland one day? Most people only see Walt by his name, and they may appreciate his creations, but that’s about it. They were more attached to Mulan or Elsa that taught them to be themselves and be strong.

Just because the person is bad, doesn’t mean the music is automatically bad too. I like how anonymity allows people to see the piece of art for all it is, with no negative strings attached.

And just because a person is good, doesn’t mean the music is automatically good either. Anonymity prevents bias that naturally happens when we favour or admire a certain individual.

4. Anonymous Artists Have To Put In More Effort

This point is not at all to say regular artists don’t put in the work nor care, but for artists that are hot or popular, labels will use that to their advantage. They don’t need to work long and hard to create a new, groundbreaking song, it just has to be cool and catchy. It’s like how the popular girl at school is just expected to win Prom Queen, despite not being be the smartest, nicest, or most talented.

In the Kpop world, the idols are a product. They usually don’t write their own songs and most don’t have any creative freedom. They were trained to sing and dance, and everything else like their style and concepts are assigned to them.

The biggest girl group, BlackPink, was quite popular from the get-go as they debuted from one of the biggest agencies, and they were the successors of one of the first and biggest girl crush hip-hop groups, 2NE1. The CEO said it himself that BlackPink is pretty much a prettier 2NE1.

Now, BlackPink doesn’t release much music. But even with such a small discography, most of their songs follow the same formula. Their MVs don’t have much of a storyline, just them with expensive outfits in front of glamourous sets, as they do pretty easy dance moves. But because BlackPink already has the popularity, anything they release will break records because so many starving fans have been waiting ages for their comeback and will stream like crazy.

So it’s clear why a lot of non-fans may not see what they hype is, especially if they feel other groups have better music and dances than BlackPink. It’s also objectively believed that if you gave the same song to a smaller group that doesn’t have the same status, it wouldn’t be as popular nor get much praise…it may even be hated and ignored. Their songs are only popular because BlackPink is popular and fans will love anything BlackPink puts out.

So imagine if you didn’t have any of that fame or popularity beforehand. You don’t have the influence, the followers, the looks or the prestige….How could you top music charts? Your only option is to create an amazing song! If it’s not good, people won’t re-watch it nor share it, and thus it wouldn’t go viral.

People aren’t going to care about some sucky song a stranger released, especially if it’s boring or familiar. Anonymous artists really need to create something worthy of going viral to go viral. They need music that pleases the ears, lyrics that they can relate to, and/or vocals that touches the heart. Some anonymous Japanese artists have managed to do just that!

5. Anonymous Artists Could Take More Risks

While Japan is quite open to new music styles and genres as it is, people may still be hesitant to share something too risky or too different, especially if they’re name and face is tied to it.

In my Vocaloid article, I talk about why there’s so many dark and depressing songs, and that’s because they can use an artificial voice and hide behind a fake name. While it’s a message they want to share, they may not want to be tied to that directly.

So when Ado came out with “Ussewa”, it was like a Vocaloid song in regards to bold messages, but it actually had a human voice behind it. You can hear the anger and grit, how her voice changes based on what she’s saying, you could even hear the sarcasm. She was 19 years old then, thus it makes a lot of sense why, even though she may really feel that way, she couldn’t release it publicly.

YOASOBI may have a softer voice, but “Yoru ni Akeru” was still dark enough in it’s themes of self-harm and suicide that Youtube has age restricted it and it can’t be freely watched on other platforms. While YOASOBI is well loved now, it’s still probably nice to keep that distance between you and the songs you make, and to not be judged everyday due to the lyrics you sing or the story you share.

Perhaps there’s some established artists who have a pretty good reputation and decent popularity who would like to release an angry and rough song, but obviously, it’s a lot harder to be creative and really switch things up if you’re more public. It’s always interesting seeing what anonymous people come out with, and just how much range they have as well.

6. The Artists Can Maintain Their Sanity

For those who watched Hannah Montana, I’m sure the viewers thoughts are divided. Many people want the fame and attention, they want to get free stuff and be treated like royalty, so they wouldn’t understand why Miley wanted to keep her star identity a secret. But the other half would think she’s smart. It’s nice to be able to be a star and perform, but it’s also great to go home and be left alone.

There are so many celebrities that have gone insane, that have depression, that have gone to drugs, and some even committed suicide. While normal people may deal with this stuff too, there’s no denial that fame comes with a lot of pressure. It’s bad enough not having privacy and people are always in your business, but it also sucks not knowing who your real friends are. Regular people wouldn’t understand.

So when an artists chooses to remain anonymous, I not only think they get to remain more sane, but they get to remain more human. They remain more humble. If you’re a celebrity and you ask someone out, your chances are pretty high….but if you’re an anonymous artists, you’re odds of rejection are the same as anybody else. You can still create music that many can relate to.

Perhaps the newer generation is aware of how much fame and popularity corrupts people. They’re afraid of labels and signing ‘slave contracts’. They don’t want paparazzi’s in their business and following them everywhere, They don’t want their past being dug up and having everyone judging them. They just want to share their art with the world and keep their peace.

7. Anonymity Can Also Be Attractive!

While some people can only become real fans if they can connect with the artist on a deeper level, there is a whole nother community who just want good music. They really don’t care what the artists look like nor care to do research on them.

When it comes to Japanese media as well, a lot of fans are already used to not knowing one’s face for anime, manga, vtubers, Vocaloid producers and so on. For a lot of anonymous Japanese artists, it’s not just a marketing gimmick. This isn’t done with intention of getting attention, it’s usually done because they don’t want to be seen, or they don’t see a reason to be a seen.

When an artists chooses to remain anonymous, it’s appealing because both sides of the party value the music or art first and foremost. On top of that, it can be funny and interesting seeing how they get around performances and appearances while staying anonymous, and that can create some buzz on it’s own.

Sia, for example, was a songwriter for many artists, but later made waves releasing her own songs. While she would go to events and interviews, she would wear a really big wig that covered up most of her face. She admits, she was insecure about her looks and never really cared about fame.

In her music videos, Maddie, a young and unconventional ballet dancer, would perform in her place. Whether people liked her songs or not, people’s curiousity was sparked. They wanted to know who the lady behind the music and the voice.

For the Japanese band Greeeen, they chose to remain completely anonymous for a big reason: they were dentist students. They ended up getting pretty big but still chose to remain anonymous because they didn’t want their fame to get in the way of their professions. I’m sure you could imagine how many people would suddenly change dentists or show up at their place of work for a photo.

But that doesn’t mean anonymity is never done as a gimmick. How do you know? Well, a great example would be Kpop group called Pink Fantasy. They are a small group (not from the Big 3 or even Big 10 agencies) so they need to work harder to stand out. Thus they have Daewang, a masked member. She admits that she likes the attention, and those who work with the team say having a mask member helps with their choreography and concepts as well.

In the Japanese world, I find this happens more with bands because they need to perform on stage. One popular anonymous band that is still active is Man with a Mission, which debuted in 2010. All the members have aliases, and they wear wolf masks in their music videos and on stage. I personally really love their backstory of being created in a lab by Jimi Hendrix, being frozen in Antarctica while hearing music, and being called to the Japanese music scene XD

An older group that I think is one of the funniest and most entertaining anonymous bands is definitely Beat Crusaders. They were quite popular, and even provided the tracks for the anime Beck: Mongolian Chop Squad, yet….here they are with not only masks but…balloon heads? XD And they’re actually flying around on stage? How could you not love that? If you’re not showing your face, you may as well have fun and be creative!

Gimmick or not, even if people may be a little curious of who’s behind the mask, they wouldn’t follow or care so much if they weren’t attracted to what they artist or band put out in the first place. But for those who do follow, it can be fun to wonder and speculate who is behind the mask. Mystery is attractive to many.

On Youtube, for example, there were many popular animators who’d tell their funny and relatable stories. While people subscribed for the drawings and personality, a lot of fans would follow in hopes of a face reveal. They feel they are connected to this artist and that they know them, so of course some may be eager to see their face.

By the time an artist feels ready to reveal themselves, they would probably have enough popularity and support that they no longer worry about losing their fame and success. They know people love them for their art first and foremost.

Conclusion

Anonymous artists are a testament that a great song with amazing instrumentals, touching lyrics, passionate vocals, can still become popular. You don’t need a pretty face, popularity, or a high budget MV to get attention either.

We also must realize that not everyone who releases music wants to be famous or perform live. If writers, painters, and manga artists don’t need to show their face, why are musicians expected to? We listen with our ears, not our eyes.

I understand that seeing the creator can help with that connection, but sometimes it’s nice to have a song do it’s own talking. I love seeing how far a piece of art could go when it’s not tied to someone and their legacy.