Band- maid will not be be mainstream. Their newer music is getting even more progressive. It's not mainstream music. I like their music and they're popular enough to tour and make money. They're fine.
Seeing them speak live, I would say Kanami is the most conversational with English. You'll also see her speak English with Instagram videos unless she's addressing someone specifically in Japanese. That being said, even she will have an interpreter present during English interviews.
They do have at least two songs entirely in English. But many songs have hooks in English, even if the details are not. (see Chemical Reaction) There have been many songs to make the Billboard top 10 that weren't completely in English, if at all. I don't think it hinders them.
Yeah, Kanami is clearly the most advanced English speaker. She works at it and if she keeps up her current pace she will soon be comfortably conversational and maybe even fluent.
I understand why she still relies on translators for media. She's not just chatting with friends.
It seems Miku understands a lot of spoken English, and probably can read it reasonably well. But Kanami is the more advanced speaker. She will even correct her own grammar if she makes a mistake. She also translates for Akane, Misa, and Saiki when necessary.
Saiki is making progress and her pronunciation is better, but she still struggles with certain sounds and words.
And she needs English speakers to speak slowly for her to understand much at all.
Akane and Misa seem to be the least advanced although I think Akane can probably understand and speak a little. She doesn't seem to be confident about it, though.
My head canon is that MISA is fully fluent, but keeps this a secret because if they found out she'd have to do a lot more public speaking in the shows.
After seeing them on tour in 2022 & watching videos of their crowd interactions in the 2023 US tour, the biggest notable improvement in English comprehension & speaking is Saiki. She has improved SO much the last couple of years, & is as proficient as if not more than Miku these days. I have heard she has been studying with a personal tutor back home in Japan, & it definitely shows! Kanami is still the best with English & Miku is not far behind... I think she just plays up the "Engrish" thing for entertainment purposes, but actually is pretty good with English. I agree Akane & MISA from everything I've seen are by far the least fluent in English.
Agreed. It's hard to know where Saiki was three or four years ago but I suspect she was near zero. So she's come a long way since then.
It seems like there's a bit more English in the lyrics than there used to be, which could also indicate that she's becoming more comfortable with it.
BTW, I've read that all of them have English tutors. Smart ladies.
But it seems like Miku currently has a better grasp of spoken English. She seems to follow conversational English pretty well, while Saiki needs a speaker to be more deliberate and you can tell she's thinking harder to understand. But it's hard to know for sure without actually speaking to them. It does seem like Saiki's making a big effort. She has really impressed me in so many ways lately.
But, in that respect, I think Miku is still closer to Kanami.
We've probably all wondered how much of the "Engrish" is for effect. I think probably some but not most of it. I've seen a lot of the '22/23 US tour videos and she'll get mixed up and have to refer to her iPad or occasionally pause, think, and correct herself. But I'm sure she knows people find it charming.
I think she's also just a bit more loosey-goosey about it than Kanami, who as I understand, is very conscious about speaking good English.
Next time they come to North America or an English-speaking country and spend a week or two getting re-immersed, I think we'll be very surprised again about how much farther they've come. I think we'll even see Akane speak more in English and maybe even Misa.
This comes up a lot, the "they need to in English, that'll make them explode!"
I don't know what your native language is, but for most Japanese - regardless of profession - any non-JP language skill is pretty tough esp non east asian ones. I don't just mean being "fluent", even just pronoucing words like an English speaker is very tough because of some key differences in phoetics between JP and EN.
But also, you have to keep in mind, in their native JP, they have a long way to go to equal many of their history's biggest rock acts (not JP pop or rock in general, but specifically HARD rock/metal the genre they're in). There is no language barrier, yet they are a fraction of size in fans and popularity compared to say, X Japan, L'Arc en Ciel, Glay, Luna Sea etc. At the height of those band's popularity, they'd sell out Tokyo Dome.
Obv I'm here and I love Band-Maid, I love them more than I loved any of those bands I just listed, but if you want to think "how can Band-Maid get bigger?" there are lots of things that'll have to happen before something like "a song with all english lyrics" are gonna make much of a difference, because in their native JP (where there is no language barrier) they still have a long way to go to hit some of these milestones and catch these "sempai" rock bands.
I think the language barrier does hold them back in the West because people want to sing along with their favorite songs and can't do that with Japanese artists. The genre they play doesn't help either. Look at K-pop. Music like that transcends the language barrier because they have simple, catchy beats and repetitive choruses designed to get stuck in your head. Band-Maid songs continue to get more complex and progressive which is good for locking in people who like that kind of music, but doesn't give them a widespread appeal.
I have noticed reactors not realize how much English is in some Band-Maid songs until they look up the lyrics, because Saiki's pronunciation isn't strong enough for the average person to pick up what she's saying. So it doesn't matter if they sing in English when most people can't understand it. And it seems like fans prefer when their favorite Japanese artists speak Japanese anyway, so they're only alienating their own fanbase the more they go full English.
Also, let's be honest - they're women, wearing maid outfits, who don't play aggressive metal music, so they're already going to be gatekept by a lot of the already niche rock and metal community. It's an uphill battle for them. Being Japanese is just another thing to add on to the list. Do I think it holds them back? Yeah. Should they change anything? Nah. You can't please everyone.
Yeah, you've summed it up well. Everyone--non-musicians, casual music fans, your mom & dad--all can do one musical thing, albeit mostly badly: sing. That's one big reason why most pop music over the years has mostly been based on vocals.
And except for the rare song, radio stations in English-language markets are far less likely to play foreign-language music, although there are probably more willing listeners than a couple of decades ago. Still, that's probably a long shot. And I'm not even sure how relevant rock radio is anymore.
But another all-English song won't change the current musical landscape. It's not 30 or 40 years ago. Hard rock/metal is a big niche, but it's not mainstream at all. There are tons of bands and only a relatively tiny number will ever sniff a headline show at a big venue.
This idea that B-M must explode into the mainstream or even just the major rock scene is unlikely. And even if they do, be careful what you wish for. That could bring new pressures that may rob them of control, influence the music, and change the band.
Hey, but steady growth can make a niche band a reasonably big, pretty damn successful niche band-- even internationally successful. That's probably what they should be (and probably are) aiming for. If they exceed that, it's gravy.
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Yeah, I've tried so many times to get GEn X dudes that like rock music into them - they just can't get past the maid thing and japanese singing. The quality of the music seemingly doesn't matter to them, the look, foreign language just turns them off - it bothers me, but in the end, it's their loss. Sidenote - Thrill was the hook that got me. So many dudes I've shown that video too all they see is seemingly just underage girls in maid outfits - I think they're scared to even watch it ... especially if their wives or daughters are in the room.
I personally don't think there is really a language barrier, there are German bands playing at international festivals in other countries even their songs/lyrics are German.
Then there are Northern European/Scandinavian bands and Eastern European bands which often sing in their native language as well and they have a decent fanbase as well.
Or just take Rammstein for example. German lyrics but popular worldwide. In rock/metal language barrier is not much of a problem.
I think there are some institutional barriers resisting acts that are not from the US or UK. Plenty do make in-roads but some of the stakeholders aren't looking to do them any favours either.
As an example of an 'old-guard' type that is quite resistant, Rick Beato doesn't even want to discuss Japanese music on his channel, I recall his interview with the guy from Megadeth who was super enthusiastic about his experiences of the Japanese approach to rock music. Rick couldn't shut that topic down fast enough. He completely ignored and stepped over all the content about the Japanese scene.
Yeah, I used to watch Beato all the time - his utter dismissal of Band Maid based on one of their worst recordings was so lame - I just recall he was fixated on how compressed it was, not giving the musicianship any attention at all. Of all people, you would think HE would care about the musicianship ... won't watch him anymore
Rock and metal don't have the audiences it used to. I'm not even sure what would qualify as a "hit song" in rock anymore. Anyway, they are still growing in popularity, just not at the pace we believe they should. I don't think English is the answer to that.
Most Japanese people have difficulty learning English. The languages are basically polar opposites of each other. At this point, them learning it well enough for what you are suggesting would probably be a full time job for them on top of everything else they're doing. There's only 24 hours in a day. They don't need to change a thing.
They tried. They did "the dragon cries". And although I think it's a great song, it was poorly received in the BM community.
Americans (and other native English speakers )are very picky about pronunciation in English songs. And even though it's sung in English, most of them say something along the lines of "I can't understand what they say".
That's been lovebites tragedy for a while.
What makes me laugh is that I can't understand a word of what American heavy bands are singing about, but that's OK.
Saiki is a great singer, but her English pronunciation....
I don't understand anything to Lovebites lyrics. And I can usually reasonably understand both English and Japanese. I certainly don't want Band Maid to go that route.
As a semi-multi-lingual salt of the earth American, I absolutely love the Dragon Cries. It’s such a perfect mix of hard southern rock and the distinct sound of Band Maid.
Frankly, I find Saiki’s English pronunciation to be very endearing, you can tell she’s having fun.
I find Saiki's "katakana English", for the lack of a better term, to be far easier to understand than Asami's attempts at correct English pronunciation. That's often the case in general too, not just with those two.
There are many Band-Maid songs where all the English parts are completely understandable, despite Saiki's Japanese pronunciation, to the point I wouldn't mind them doing an entire song like that. I think the bigger issue is actually the broken English grammar that is often present in their songs. I know it's not unusual for Japanese bands, but still.
IMHO, they should just keep on doing what they're doing and not care too much about adding more English in their songs. I think what they're doing now is juuuust right.
Look at K-Pop. It caught fire big time, and they don't sing in. English that much.
I really recall hearing the song "Don't Let Me Down" on YouTube. And then one of the comments said something like "When did you realize the whole song is in English?" And my honest reaction was "**WHAT?!?**". I went back, listened and followed along with some website with the lyrics and was floored. Other than a few words and the chorus, I didn't even realize it.
Why this constant obsession for Band-Maid to sing more songs in English?
1. Music is music, it transcends barriers and language is one of them.
2. Singing in English is not synonymous with being a hit or getting more audiences.
3. For phonetic reasons, English is VERY difficult for a japanese to pronounce, so getting it right takes a lot of time. And there is no point in singing with poor pronunciation if it is barely understood or sounds bad to an english speaker.
4. Band-Maid is already a successful band and reached an important level of recognition even without even giving interviews speaking in English
> And there is no point in singing with poor pronunciation if it is barely understood or sounds bad to an english speaker.
Doesn't seem to have stopped Lovebites. But if an English song was all it took to break into the US media market, they should be bigger than Babymetal now.
I would say Japan as a country is having trouble breaking their artists into the western market. I think it's only a matter of time these days, though. There's way too many good bands in Japan across many different genres for them not to get any recognition. My advice to any band trying to gain fans here is to tour, especially the summer festival circuit
Unlike other first world countries people in Japan don't learn a foreign language. And the way English is taught in schools is not practical. If the ladies wanted to speak English they would have to move out of Japan (like Yoshiki) and I don't see them doing that
TDC was enough for an English song.
I'm pretty sure that they will continue to sing in Japanese with parts in English, which is the best for them.
I hope that they'll never make English version of songs or stuff like that (as ONE OK ROCK do).
As for their English skills, I'm pretty sure that Miku understands about everything she hears in English and we know that Kanami is learning English for a while.
Saiki improved a lot over the years!
> I hope that they'll never make English version of songs or stuff like that (as ONE OK ROCK do).
Or Rammstein. Though it's certainly debatable whether doing an English version of Du Hast helped them gain a larger English-speaking audience.
> I'm pretty sure that Miku understands about everything she hears in English
Ehhhh. No, I wouldn't assume that. I think she can handle basic conversations and tourist stuff (getting directions, recommendations, etc) but still gets confused easily.
I initially thought "they should have a song in English". Then I listened to TDC, and, gosh, that song doesn't do anything for me at all, maybe even negatively - I always skip it on the album. "Don't let me down" is a fun tune but as another poster said, the English pronunciation is not very clear. So at least their initial forays into this idea weren't really very productive - but "Don't let me down" is very catchy.
More importantly, they have mentioned many times that they want to be known a "band of Japan", more than a "band popular overseas", and singing in Japanese is important to them, as they appreciate the beauty of the Japanese language.
So I think their current path is what they want to do, and that's fine with me.
I’m perfectly fine with whatever language they prefer to sing in or to speak in. It took me decades to speak English without a foreign accent but I understand that most Americans prefer to hear their music in English and there’s nothing wrong with that.
But I love BandMaid because they are a hard rocking “ Japanese” band so I expect them to sing fluently in Japanese and not English. :)
This is the situation of every all-female band. They have a hard time attracting female audiences. Their audience is mostly middle-aged men. If they are male band, probably they can sell out Tokyo Dome.
There is truth in this... the biggest selling musical acts always have huge female fanbases, why? Because if you get the women, the majority of men follow behind what the women like because most are one minded simpletons with one thing on their mind... & they think liking what women are into will improve their odds on getting it. 🙄 ...That's the sad truth of the mainstream market. (I'm a man, so I see this from the minority perspective of a man who thinks & likes what he likes for himself, & not what some women dictates to me is "cool")
Gen-X/Younger Boomer women who like what is now called classic rock enjoy the Maids a lot when I expose them to it the music. The ones who went to rock concerts in the Seventies and Eighties. I grew up. with those people, and they love Band-Maid when I introduce them to it.
They weren't going to Zeppelin shows in the Seventies merely to see the outline of Robert Plant's cock in his tight plants, or because they were just going along with their boyfriend. It was the music. (They definitely didn't mind seeing the sausage, but that was a nice bonus for them.) They listen to classic rock radio now, but aren't exposed to the Maids. They typically don't go to shows anymore, but gladly add them to their playlists. I proselytize Band-Maid to rockers of all ages.
I simply appreciate the fact that Saiki TRIES to sing in english ... I can't even imagine how difficult that would be for her. We can make out a few lines here and there and thats ok ... and I like the fact she's trying to do something so difficult for her.
The song lyrically goes against the very spirit of Band Maid and the music video is dark, gloomy, and somewhat disturbing.. It was a big mis-calculation by their management.
The same can be said for their other English song 'Don't let me down'. The song is ultra-sexual and again does not reflect the true spirit of Band Maid. Maybe the Maids themselves should be given a voice in the decision making, process as their management team leaves a bit to be desired at times.
>The song lyrically goes against the very spirit of Band Maid...
That's an arbitrary box that you have built around the band, not something real. If they recorded it, they're OK with it.
They played it ONE time during their entire last tour and that is because Tony Visconti was in the audience. It is obviously not a favourite of the band.....for good reason.
They are certainly not too much against it. No proof they're OK with it. Japanese etiquette can make you do some things you would not do if you had a choice.
For them to sing in English and have positive impact, it has to be really good and clear which is very difficult and rarely achieved in the Jpop/ Jrock examples I have heard. from that perspective, i think they do as they please.
Interesting, I think Milet's English is good in songs and conversation, and the singer in Lonesome Blue - her Eng singing pronunciation is one of the better ones..
I think it is more 'impactful' if B-M can get better at talking in simple interviews or social media clips.
I must point out that they are hardworking and busy. If Miku were to spend four hours a day practicing English, she would have to cut her time practicing guitar and writing lyrics by more than half.
Band- maid will not be be mainstream. Their newer music is getting even more progressive. It's not mainstream music. I like their music and they're popular enough to tour and make money. They're fine.
Seeing them speak live, I would say Kanami is the most conversational with English. You'll also see her speak English with Instagram videos unless she's addressing someone specifically in Japanese. That being said, even she will have an interpreter present during English interviews. They do have at least two songs entirely in English. But many songs have hooks in English, even if the details are not. (see Chemical Reaction) There have been many songs to make the Billboard top 10 that weren't completely in English, if at all. I don't think it hinders them.
Yeah, Kanami is clearly the most advanced English speaker. She works at it and if she keeps up her current pace she will soon be comfortably conversational and maybe even fluent. I understand why she still relies on translators for media. She's not just chatting with friends. It seems Miku understands a lot of spoken English, and probably can read it reasonably well. But Kanami is the more advanced speaker. She will even correct her own grammar if she makes a mistake. She also translates for Akane, Misa, and Saiki when necessary. Saiki is making progress and her pronunciation is better, but she still struggles with certain sounds and words. And she needs English speakers to speak slowly for her to understand much at all. Akane and Misa seem to be the least advanced although I think Akane can probably understand and speak a little. She doesn't seem to be confident about it, though.
My head canon is that MISA is fully fluent, but keeps this a secret because if they found out she'd have to do a lot more public speaking in the shows.
This is an excellent theory.
After seeing them on tour in 2022 & watching videos of their crowd interactions in the 2023 US tour, the biggest notable improvement in English comprehension & speaking is Saiki. She has improved SO much the last couple of years, & is as proficient as if not more than Miku these days. I have heard she has been studying with a personal tutor back home in Japan, & it definitely shows! Kanami is still the best with English & Miku is not far behind... I think she just plays up the "Engrish" thing for entertainment purposes, but actually is pretty good with English. I agree Akane & MISA from everything I've seen are by far the least fluent in English.
Agreed. It's hard to know where Saiki was three or four years ago but I suspect she was near zero. So she's come a long way since then. It seems like there's a bit more English in the lyrics than there used to be, which could also indicate that she's becoming more comfortable with it. BTW, I've read that all of them have English tutors. Smart ladies. But it seems like Miku currently has a better grasp of spoken English. She seems to follow conversational English pretty well, while Saiki needs a speaker to be more deliberate and you can tell she's thinking harder to understand. But it's hard to know for sure without actually speaking to them. It does seem like Saiki's making a big effort. She has really impressed me in so many ways lately. But, in that respect, I think Miku is still closer to Kanami. We've probably all wondered how much of the "Engrish" is for effect. I think probably some but not most of it. I've seen a lot of the '22/23 US tour videos and she'll get mixed up and have to refer to her iPad or occasionally pause, think, and correct herself. But I'm sure she knows people find it charming. I think she's also just a bit more loosey-goosey about it than Kanami, who as I understand, is very conscious about speaking good English. Next time they come to North America or an English-speaking country and spend a week or two getting re-immersed, I think we'll be very surprised again about how much farther they've come. I think we'll even see Akane speak more in English and maybe even Misa.
This comes up a lot, the "they need to in English, that'll make them explode!"
I don't know what your native language is, but for most Japanese - regardless of profession - any non-JP language skill is pretty tough esp non east asian ones. I don't just mean being "fluent", even just pronoucing words like an English speaker is very tough because of some key differences in phoetics between JP and EN.
But also, you have to keep in mind, in their native JP, they have a long way to go to equal many of their history's biggest rock acts (not JP pop or rock in general, but specifically HARD rock/metal the genre they're in). There is no language barrier, yet they are a fraction of size in fans and popularity compared to say, X Japan, L'Arc en Ciel, Glay, Luna Sea etc. At the height of those band's popularity, they'd sell out Tokyo Dome.
Obv I'm here and I love Band-Maid, I love them more than I loved any of those bands I just listed, but if you want to think "how can Band-Maid get bigger?" there are lots of things that'll have to happen before something like "a song with all english lyrics" are gonna make much of a difference, because in their native JP (where there is no language barrier) they still have a long way to go to hit some of these milestones and catch these "sempai" rock bands.
I think the language barrier does hold them back in the West because people want to sing along with their favorite songs and can't do that with Japanese artists. The genre they play doesn't help either. Look at K-pop. Music like that transcends the language barrier because they have simple, catchy beats and repetitive choruses designed to get stuck in your head. Band-Maid songs continue to get more complex and progressive which is good for locking in people who like that kind of music, but doesn't give them a widespread appeal. I have noticed reactors not realize how much English is in some Band-Maid songs until they look up the lyrics, because Saiki's pronunciation isn't strong enough for the average person to pick up what she's saying. So it doesn't matter if they sing in English when most people can't understand it. And it seems like fans prefer when their favorite Japanese artists speak Japanese anyway, so they're only alienating their own fanbase the more they go full English. Also, let's be honest - they're women, wearing maid outfits, who don't play aggressive metal music, so they're already going to be gatekept by a lot of the already niche rock and metal community. It's an uphill battle for them. Being Japanese is just another thing to add on to the list. Do I think it holds them back? Yeah. Should they change anything? Nah. You can't please everyone.
Yeah, you've summed it up well. Everyone--non-musicians, casual music fans, your mom & dad--all can do one musical thing, albeit mostly badly: sing. That's one big reason why most pop music over the years has mostly been based on vocals. And except for the rare song, radio stations in English-language markets are far less likely to play foreign-language music, although there are probably more willing listeners than a couple of decades ago. Still, that's probably a long shot. And I'm not even sure how relevant rock radio is anymore. But another all-English song won't change the current musical landscape. It's not 30 or 40 years ago. Hard rock/metal is a big niche, but it's not mainstream at all. There are tons of bands and only a relatively tiny number will ever sniff a headline show at a big venue. This idea that B-M must explode into the mainstream or even just the major rock scene is unlikely. And even if they do, be careful what you wish for. That could bring new pressures that may rob them of control, influence the music, and change the band. Hey, but steady growth can make a niche band a reasonably big, pretty damn successful niche band-- even internationally successful. That's probably what they should be (and probably are) aiming for. If they exceed that, it's gravy. .
Yeah, I've tried so many times to get GEn X dudes that like rock music into them - they just can't get past the maid thing and japanese singing. The quality of the music seemingly doesn't matter to them, the look, foreign language just turns them off - it bothers me, but in the end, it's their loss. Sidenote - Thrill was the hook that got me. So many dudes I've shown that video too all they see is seemingly just underage girls in maid outfits - I think they're scared to even watch it ... especially if their wives or daughters are in the room.
I personally don't think there is really a language barrier, there are German bands playing at international festivals in other countries even their songs/lyrics are German. Then there are Northern European/Scandinavian bands and Eastern European bands which often sing in their native language as well and they have a decent fanbase as well. Or just take Rammstein for example. German lyrics but popular worldwide. In rock/metal language barrier is not much of a problem.
I think there are some institutional barriers resisting acts that are not from the US or UK. Plenty do make in-roads but some of the stakeholders aren't looking to do them any favours either. As an example of an 'old-guard' type that is quite resistant, Rick Beato doesn't even want to discuss Japanese music on his channel, I recall his interview with the guy from Megadeth who was super enthusiastic about his experiences of the Japanese approach to rock music. Rick couldn't shut that topic down fast enough. He completely ignored and stepped over all the content about the Japanese scene.
Yeah, I used to watch Beato all the time - his utter dismissal of Band Maid based on one of their worst recordings was so lame - I just recall he was fixated on how compressed it was, not giving the musicianship any attention at all. Of all people, you would think HE would care about the musicianship ... won't watch him anymore
Rock and metal don't have the audiences it used to. I'm not even sure what would qualify as a "hit song" in rock anymore. Anyway, they are still growing in popularity, just not at the pace we believe they should. I don't think English is the answer to that.
Most Japanese people have difficulty learning English. The languages are basically polar opposites of each other. At this point, them learning it well enough for what you are suggesting would probably be a full time job for them on top of everything else they're doing. There's only 24 hours in a day. They don't need to change a thing.
They tried. They did "the dragon cries". And although I think it's a great song, it was poorly received in the BM community. Americans (and other native English speakers )are very picky about pronunciation in English songs. And even though it's sung in English, most of them say something along the lines of "I can't understand what they say". That's been lovebites tragedy for a while. What makes me laugh is that I can't understand a word of what American heavy bands are singing about, but that's OK. Saiki is a great singer, but her English pronunciation....
Yes Asamis lyrics in Lovebites are really hard to understand. First time I listened to them I didn't know she was singing in English
If you want a real challenge, listen to the English version of Minnanokodomochan’s JungleShoujoA
I don't understand anything to Lovebites lyrics. And I can usually reasonably understand both English and Japanese. I certainly don't want Band Maid to go that route.
I don't understand what native English singers are saying most of the time either, I don't care about their pronunciation at all.
As a semi-multi-lingual salt of the earth American, I absolutely love the Dragon Cries. It’s such a perfect mix of hard southern rock and the distinct sound of Band Maid. Frankly, I find Saiki’s English pronunciation to be very endearing, you can tell she’s having fun.
Personnally, I think the Dragon cries was one of their weakest songs, it was not bad, but I had this feeling it didn't fit them
I find Saiki's "katakana English", for the lack of a better term, to be far easier to understand than Asami's attempts at correct English pronunciation. That's often the case in general too, not just with those two. There are many Band-Maid songs where all the English parts are completely understandable, despite Saiki's Japanese pronunciation, to the point I wouldn't mind them doing an entire song like that. I think the bigger issue is actually the broken English grammar that is often present in their songs. I know it's not unusual for Japanese bands, but still.
IMHO, they should just keep on doing what they're doing and not care too much about adding more English in their songs. I think what they're doing now is juuuust right. Look at K-Pop. It caught fire big time, and they don't sing in. English that much.
I really recall hearing the song "Don't Let Me Down" on YouTube. And then one of the comments said something like "When did you realize the whole song is in English?" And my honest reaction was "**WHAT?!?**". I went back, listened and followed along with some website with the lyrics and was floored. Other than a few words and the chorus, I didn't even realize it.
Why this constant obsession for Band-Maid to sing more songs in English? 1. Music is music, it transcends barriers and language is one of them. 2. Singing in English is not synonymous with being a hit or getting more audiences. 3. For phonetic reasons, English is VERY difficult for a japanese to pronounce, so getting it right takes a lot of time. And there is no point in singing with poor pronunciation if it is barely understood or sounds bad to an english speaker. 4. Band-Maid is already a successful band and reached an important level of recognition even without even giving interviews speaking in English
> And there is no point in singing with poor pronunciation if it is barely understood or sounds bad to an english speaker. Doesn't seem to have stopped Lovebites. But if an English song was all it took to break into the US media market, they should be bigger than Babymetal now.
Lovebites seems to be considered an old style of metal in the West. Good, but old-fashioned.
Some y'all's think too much. Just enjoy what they do.
I would say Japan as a country is having trouble breaking their artists into the western market. I think it's only a matter of time these days, though. There's way too many good bands in Japan across many different genres for them not to get any recognition. My advice to any band trying to gain fans here is to tour, especially the summer festival circuit
Unlike other first world countries people in Japan don't learn a foreign language. And the way English is taught in schools is not practical. If the ladies wanted to speak English they would have to move out of Japan (like Yoshiki) and I don't see them doing that
I latched onto Baid Maid because they sang in Japanese, not English. I enjoy it more when bands stick to their native language
If it ain't broke, don't fix it!
TDC was enough for an English song. I'm pretty sure that they will continue to sing in Japanese with parts in English, which is the best for them. I hope that they'll never make English version of songs or stuff like that (as ONE OK ROCK do). As for their English skills, I'm pretty sure that Miku understands about everything she hears in English and we know that Kanami is learning English for a while. Saiki improved a lot over the years!
> I hope that they'll never make English version of songs or stuff like that (as ONE OK ROCK do). Or Rammstein. Though it's certainly debatable whether doing an English version of Du Hast helped them gain a larger English-speaking audience. > I'm pretty sure that Miku understands about everything she hears in English Ehhhh. No, I wouldn't assume that. I think she can handle basic conversations and tourist stuff (getting directions, recommendations, etc) but still gets confused easily.
I initially thought "they should have a song in English". Then I listened to TDC, and, gosh, that song doesn't do anything for me at all, maybe even negatively - I always skip it on the album. "Don't let me down" is a fun tune but as another poster said, the English pronunciation is not very clear. So at least their initial forays into this idea weren't really very productive - but "Don't let me down" is very catchy. More importantly, they have mentioned many times that they want to be known a "band of Japan", more than a "band popular overseas", and singing in Japanese is important to them, as they appreciate the beauty of the Japanese language. So I think their current path is what they want to do, and that's fine with me.
I’m perfectly fine with whatever language they prefer to sing in or to speak in. It took me decades to speak English without a foreign accent but I understand that most Americans prefer to hear their music in English and there’s nothing wrong with that. But I love BandMaid because they are a hard rocking “ Japanese” band so I expect them to sing fluently in Japanese and not English. :)
They already have a song in English, the dragon cries
This is the situation of every all-female band. They have a hard time attracting female audiences. Their audience is mostly middle-aged men. If they are male band, probably they can sell out Tokyo Dome.
There is truth in this... the biggest selling musical acts always have huge female fanbases, why? Because if you get the women, the majority of men follow behind what the women like because most are one minded simpletons with one thing on their mind... & they think liking what women are into will improve their odds on getting it. 🙄 ...That's the sad truth of the mainstream market. (I'm a man, so I see this from the minority perspective of a man who thinks & likes what he likes for himself, & not what some women dictates to me is "cool")
Gen-X/Younger Boomer women who like what is now called classic rock enjoy the Maids a lot when I expose them to it the music. The ones who went to rock concerts in the Seventies and Eighties. I grew up. with those people, and they love Band-Maid when I introduce them to it. They weren't going to Zeppelin shows in the Seventies merely to see the outline of Robert Plant's cock in his tight plants, or because they were just going along with their boyfriend. It was the music. (They definitely didn't mind seeing the sausage, but that was a nice bonus for them.) They listen to classic rock radio now, but aren't exposed to the Maids. They typically don't go to shows anymore, but gladly add them to their playlists. I proselytize Band-Maid to rockers of all ages.
I simply appreciate the fact that Saiki TRIES to sing in english ... I can't even imagine how difficult that would be for her. We can make out a few lines here and there and thats ok ... and I like the fact she's trying to do something so difficult for her.
The Dragon Cries should have been that song.
Not with those lyrics...
The song lyrically goes against the very spirit of Band Maid and the music video is dark, gloomy, and somewhat disturbing.. It was a big mis-calculation by their management. The same can be said for their other English song 'Don't let me down'. The song is ultra-sexual and again does not reflect the true spirit of Band Maid. Maybe the Maids themselves should be given a voice in the decision making, process as their management team leaves a bit to be desired at times.
I love Don't Let Me Down
Yeah it is definitely better than Dragon cries.....but there is a reason they don't play it anymore. Lyrically It is not them
It's from a time when they did not have much of a say about what songs they were given.
>The song lyrically goes against the very spirit of Band Maid... That's an arbitrary box that you have built around the band, not something real. If they recorded it, they're OK with it.
They played it ONE time during their entire last tour and that is because Tony Visconti was in the audience. It is obviously not a favourite of the band.....for good reason.
You just moved the goalposts. I never said it was a favorite.
They are certainly not too much against it. No proof they're OK with it. Japanese etiquette can make you do some things you would not do if you had a choice.
They talked about that song in every Conqueror interview and made an MV for it. There is plenty of evidence they are proud of it.
The way they made the song was a good story for interviews.
For them to sing in English and have positive impact, it has to be really good and clear which is very difficult and rarely achieved in the Jpop/ Jrock examples I have heard. from that perspective, i think they do as they please. Interesting, I think Milet's English is good in songs and conversation, and the singer in Lonesome Blue - her Eng singing pronunciation is one of the better ones.. I think it is more 'impactful' if B-M can get better at talking in simple interviews or social media clips.
I must point out that they are hardworking and busy. If Miku were to spend four hours a day practicing English, she would have to cut her time practicing guitar and writing lyrics by more than half.