The iconic city pop tune track now has full-length official music video

Mariya Takeuchi's 'Plastic Love' was originally recorded back in 1984 and has enjoyed a recent uptick in popularity with thanks to Plastic Lover, an unofficial upload on YouTube that cultivated 24 million views before it was deleted. Even still, three decades after its original release, the track recently broke Japan's top ten sales chart for the first time and got a full-length official music video — which gives us a reason to listen to it another 24 million times.

The background of 'Plastic Love' is still somewhat similar to the world we are living in currently, and perhaps that's why it still resonates with music fans. In a fast-paced world, we are all chasing that glamorously shiny lifestyle, but often neglect what's actually important, leaving a big hole in our hearts. 'Plastic Love' has a hypnotic groove and catchy melody but with lyrics that give off a hollow plastic feeling, we could all still relate to.

'Plastic Love' depicts a woman who has been scorned by a lover and becomes convinced that true love does not exist. Instead, she knowingly treats love as a game, engaging in hollow, hedonistic behavior. According to Takeuchi, the song's character "lost the man she truly loves" and "couldn’t shake the feelings of loneliness that the loss created." Ryan Bassil of Vice described the song as "ode to a specific breed of loneliness: of being broken yet surrounded, lost to the night in fancy shoes and dresses; seeking out love beneath glowing lights while tip-toeing around the fear of commitment.

From MixMag/Asia News, Dec 4 2021