CHAI - Plastic Love - Official Music Video

What this video is

Released November 11, 2020, this video is a document of the peak of the city pop internet revival, a phenomenon that saw Mariya Takeuchi's 1984 original accumulate tens of millions of YouTube views through algorithmic recommendation loops beginning around 2017–2018. CHAI's cover, released as their debut Sub Pop single, positions the band at the intersection of Japanese indie rock, international indie label culture,…

Why it matters

This video is a primary document of the early-2020s city pop cover phenomenon, demonstrating how internet virality reshapes how artists engage with their own national pop history. It also captures CHAI's 'pinkish punk' aesthetic philosophy applied to a pop standard, and marks the band's transition…

The director

Takahiro Shimoyama is a Japanese director and producer active in music video and live concert film production. Credits include directing King Gnu Live at Tokyo Dome (2023), co-directed with Takuro Okubo, and the CHAI 'Plastic Love' official music video…