Story of Fujii Kaze | The Singer behind the Viral Hit Song "Shinunoga E-Wa"

[@davepokemon]

I only found Fujii Kaze recently from the "Tiny Desk Concert Japan" video. I have been consistently listening to his music since then; he is probably my favourite Japanese Artist at the moment.

[@Kushunjpop]

@@davepokemon It was an amazing performance for sure. I'm curious what made you click on a video where you don't know the artist.

[@lawailing94]

that explains why his asia tour starts in south east asia first :D so glad to have attended his show in KL it was so lit :D hope it comes to KL and asia again next year

[@Kushunjpop]

@@lawailing94 South East Asia has always have a sizeable J-pop fanbase I think, hopefully he'll get to further increase his influence there!

[@LizCHalmmer-l8f]

His rise to stardom is pretty fast it seems, but he definitely deserves it 👌 His work has d uniqueness that i think music industry these days is missing

[@Kushunjpop]

@@LizCHalmmer-l8f Most artists inevitably follow trends, but every once in a while someone like Fujii Kaze will come along and carve his own path .

[@aisialee1474]

Mr.Fujii Kaze is A Legend Musician of The Millennium Era. His Music is Pure Genius. I firmly believe it and His music really convinces me, how multi-talented this person is. By listening his songs, i'm learning Japanese now and feel so lucky. Viva Fujii Kaze🎉🍀♾

[@HATHANHsummerrainmoonlight]

Oh he is Gen Z, he was born in 1997 😅

[@aisialee1474]

@HATHANHsummerrainmoonlight what did 🍣sushi A say to 🍣sushi B? wasabi 😉

[@hontoai1241]

I discovered him during the pandemic on Instagram... Really life changing. Hope he became famous enough to come to Eastern Europe too

[@Kushunjpop]

@hontoai1241 Life changing indeed🙏 I wonder if there's a sizable J-pop fanbase in Romania.

[@ZackMako]

This without a doubt is the best story cover video on KZbin. You really did a great job kushun-san, also can i just say your storytelling is immaculate. As for Fuji kaze, he is a music genius and a genius outside of music cause I have never seen someone capitalise on a songs success as Fuji Kaze did with Shinunoga e-wa (maybe it's the label) like i dont think we have ever a Japanese song have this much success internationally. And lastly, Kushun-san I know this is the last video for 2024, so I just wanted to say Thank you for making this an amazing year. And I hope 2025 will be another good year for j-pop, amazing recaps, j-pop talks, anisong talks and maybe some new concepts 👀. Wait...Did u just tease a Sheena Ringo story video????!!!!!

[@Kushunjpop]

@@ZackMako Thank you so much! I'm gonna have to disappoint you because there probably still 1 or 2 more videos coming this year😂 Not sure when I'll make the Sheena Ringo video because it's likely gonna be long as hell😅

[@ZackMako]

@Kushunjpop OMG I thought you were gonna take a break for holidays and come back next year 😭😭. I am honestly glad there will be more videos 😊 will definently check them out 👀 And with Sheena Ringo....Yeah her career is so full of things that she will probably need a 30+ minute video 😭 that maybe could extend to a full hour (if we will be mentioning her awards lmao) and this will be the case with most 90s and early 2000s j-pop artists like Hikaru Utada, Namie Amuro and Arashi to name a few, so yeah it will definently be a challenge and time consuming to make videos about old artists.

[@dowxi]

I'm glad i saw him perform live last week here in the Philippines.

[@waranghira]

Been a fan since his Shiina Ringo and Tokyo Jihen covers. Sadly, can't afford tickets when he finally performed in our country.

[@fairlykirari]

愛ある素敵な動画を作ってくれてありがとう！ 彼が高校を卒業してKZbinを再開した頃からのファンです。 デビュー前のライブ チケットが人気すぎて数分でsold outになり、やっと当たったチケットもコロナが始まり中止なるなどしましたが、武道館コンサートが当たりやっと行けました。 風くんの優しいピアノ演奏が始まったら感動で涙がでました。 今もファンから会費を取らず奉仕してくれるなんて本当に嬉しいです。 これからもずっと風くんを応援します。

[@Kushunjpop]

@@fairlykirari シェアしてくれてありがとう！超人気歌手になってもこれほどファン思いのは風くんぐらいかなと思っとる！武道館は羨ましいわ😭

[@jvamaral]

Another great video!

[@ethan-lq1xg]

Garden randomly popped up in my discovery weekly last year, and I’ve been a fan since then!

[@tuandingkang3263]

Wow I had no idea of the journey behind the rise and the heights in popularity he actually reached. I only consumed his occasional hits that comes with a wave of covers and the free covid and tiny desk lives. I'm actually interested in his other works now, might check out the albums. Also, I'm keeping a look out for the Sheena Ringo video

[@Kushunjpop]

@@tuandingkang3263 Honestly that sounds plenty enough but personally his best songs are hidden within those albums so do give them a listen!

[@eburt3334]

I missed when he was in NY and it makes my heart so sad!

[@Natsu88246]

Kaze is goated

[@にゅ-とらる]

ありがとう!!!❤🎉

[@EggSandwichyoi]

This is amazing❤

[@Vykk]

My glorious king

[@DarkCrystal_951]

I'm really surprised that Shinunoga E-Wa wasn't popular after it's initial release, I guess from a now perspective it makes sense with all the edits and stuff but maybe it wwasn't the style. Also the effort you put into these videos are so goated, like how did you find a graph of the song's popularity lol and like edits etc. I also liked your final message about his name and how he's true to his culture and not conform to westernized standards to attract international audiences, its really interesting. I can't wait for the next video. :DDD

[@Kushunjpop]

@DarkCrystal_951 Thank you! The lyrics are definitely not that easy to appreciate like "I prefer you over breakfast/lunch/dinner". Haha just tryna be thorough with my research that's why it took 2 weeks to make😅

[@lucie_tan99]

Thank you for this video❤. I ❤ 藤井 風さん❤ His songs make me inspired to be a good human better again and love myself again❤

[@Kushunjpop]

@@lucie_tan99 That's what music is about! Motivational music is abundant in Japan but you rarely find someone as genuine as Kaze-kun. Hope you're doing good❤️

[@nupriyanka]

🌻🍀🍊🐘Thank you for being with me since piano classes....

[@matsumurahokuto]

Hi, Thanks for the video!! I would like to add something though: While The Best album does sound like a cash grab (lol), in the documentary show he had with NHK released in October, he did talk in-depth how he wants to challenge himself by writing an all-English album since he's now signed the Republic Records to further walk into the global spotlight, but he's still in the progress in writing his music because he put such high standards on himself (he never compromises on the quality nor the meaning of every single of his songs, and English is not his mother tongue after all). The Nissan stadium tour and Asia tour this year were supposed to be his new album tour but since his album is nowhere around complete yet but the dates are booked already, he needed to make a theme for these booked dates thus it's Feelin' G(o)od for the stadium tour and a showcase for his best songs so far for the Asia tour. Hope this info helps? (Watching the documentaries NHK did for him is really helping to know more about him but unfortunately I don't know if these shows have English subs around the internet because I can understand Japanese and don't need subs ;_;)

[@Kushunjpop]

@@matsumurahokuto Hi thank you for the explanation! I think it totally makes sense! (I know im nitpicking a bit) I just look at Taylor Swift's Eras Tour and Coldplay's world tour, both only performed best songs from different albums that's why I don't see the necessity. But also greatest hits album is more of an Asian thing these days so it is what it is😂 Thank you for telling me about the documentary again cuz most J-pop contents are unavailable in my country even Kaze-kun's recent concert film😭

[@vspirit]

Mmmh I'd hesitate to label it cash grab as it doesn't have a physical release, other than a vinyl that's only available in extremely limited quantities. The whole reason the compilation was released in the first place was because of the tour anyway, which is an international one where fans would only know of his more popular songs, since his earlier albums were only released within Japan. Despite that, he used the opportunity to introduce some of his lesser known ones (I say that but a lot of overseas fans seem to know them anyway, since his is a no-skip discography out of which every fan seems to have a different favorite) so the setlist was overall a very well-balanced one. I know it's tempting to write just about anything off as a cash grab, especially in this day and age when artists and labels are mainly out to make a quick buck, but I think certain artists warrant deeper consideration, not least of all this one, as his team has always marketed him in a way that it's clear they don't see him as a cash cow, but a rare gem to be preserved as carefully as possible. Kudos to his team for that. Really hope Republic won't ruin that.

[@Kushunjpop]

@@vspirit I agree Kaze-kun is definitely not the type to do that, and honestly I think as long as fans are willing to buy then it's a win-win for both sides. HEHN records is his label so he has massive control over it but yea universal is the wild card.

[@prinsesytah]

I recently saw him during his Manila stop of his tour, and it's insane how he's even better live. Can't wait for your Sheena Ringo video!

[@sora_milize6620]

Great video as always, I love this channel. Sheena ringo's my favourite japanese artist, looking forward to a video about her!!

[@ilya_chmo]

wow, I'll wait for sheena ringo video!

[@GracielaLeira]

I am afraid that the omnipresent lyricism in his music will be partially dimmed when trying to compose in another language different from his own. He will certainly be successful singing his songs in English because he is a great musician and speaks English well, but I am not so certain that the final product will be exactly at the same level of mastery that he has accustomed us to. Songs have souls of their own that dictate the effect they have in those who are listening: that miracle consistently occurs despite and beyond languages. As a person who lives and functions in a world that speaks a language different from her maternal one, I can assure you that there are nuances in the human experience that are told way better in our maternal tongue. If I were Kaze, I would continue writing songs in Japanese, or in his local dialect because it doesn’t matter. I bet that many of us would continue listening to his music sang in a language that we don’t understand because it really, really doesn’t matter!!!

[@Kushunjpop]

@@GracielaLeira Unfortunately I totally agree with you, his English is extremely good for a Japanese, but still a long way to go compared to native speakers. So lyrically it's almost impossible for him to compete with English songwriters. And yea as a semi-trilingual, I understand that there are things that can't be conveyed even if you translate word by word.

[@GracielaLeira]

@ semi-trilingual….. that’s a good way to put it😀