Plastic Love

"Plastic Love" (Japanese: プラスティック・ラヴ, Hepburn: Purasutikku Ravu) is a song by the Japanese singer Mariya Takeuchi from her 1984 album Variety. Written by Takeuchi and arranged by Tatsuro Yamashita, it was released as the album's third single on March 25, 1985. "Plastic Love" is a city pop song; its upbeat arrangement contrasts with melancholic lyrics that describe a woman who embraces a hollow, hedonistic lifestyle after being scorned by a lover. Upon its initial release, the single reached number 86 on the Oricon Singles Chart and sold around 10,000 copies. In the late 2010s, an eight-minute remix of "Plastic Love" went viral after being frequently recommended by the YouTube algorithm. By 2019, it had received over 22 million views, and it received over 55 million views by 2021 before being removed due to a copyright strike. The song's popularity led to an international resurgence of interest in city pop. Along with Miki Matsubara's 1979 single "Mayonaka no Door (Stay with Me)", "Plastic Love" introduced younger fans to city pop, and it has been regarded as the best-known song in the genre. In 2018, a cover of "Plastic Love" by Friday Night Plans peaked at number 30 on the Oricon Singles Chart. A re–issue of Takeuchi's original single on 12 inch vinyl peaked at number five on the Oricon Singles Chart in 2021, and became the best–selling analog single of 2022 in Japan; Warner Music Japan also released a music video for the song. A cover by the Japanese idol group Juice Juice reached number three on the Oricon Singles Sales chart in 2021 and number 85 on Oricon's 2022 year–end Singles Chart.