Kyary Pamyu Pamyu

Kyary Pamyu Pamyu channels the approach of American pop figures Katy Perry and Gwen Stefani through a Tokyo perspective that fuses adorable and unsettling qualities in both sound and visual presentation. She gained notice for tracks such as “PonPonPon,” “Candy Candy,” and “Fashion Monster,” reaching audiences in Western regions as well as Asia largely through online video circulation.

Born Kiriko Takemura, she first pursued fashion and assembled striking ensembles that mixed Harajuku streetwear with a blonde wig, prompting an acquaintance to nickname her “Kyari” for the Western-girl resemblance suggested by the phonetic Japanese rendering. She later extended the name to Pamyu Pamyu to heighten the playful tone and began working as a fashion blogger and model.

At a fashion event she met Yasutaka Nakata, producer of the J-pop group Perfume and half of the duo Capsule, who persuaded her to attempt singing and guided her first release, the 2011 single “PonPonPon.” The track gained traction in Europe as well as Japan, followed by the Moshi Moshi Harajuku EP in August and the December single “Tsukema Tsukeru” shortly before her initial American appearance in Culver City, California.

Her debut full-length album, Pamyu Pamyu Revolution, appeared in May 2012 and supported a nationwide Japanese tour along with her first European concerts. In 2013 she entered a distribution agreement with Sire Records for the United States, completed a global tour, and issued her second album, Nanda Collection.

During 2014 she put out several singles, among them “Family Party,” adopted as the closing theme for the film Eiga Crayon Shin-chan: Gachinko! Gyakushu no Robo To-chan, ahead of the July release of her third album, Pika Pika Fantajin, which contained her first English-language song, “Ring a Bell.” She ended the year by confirming work with Yelle and U.K. producer SOPHIE on fresh material. In 2015 she issued the singles “Mondai Girl” and “Crazy Party Night (Pumpkin no Gyakushū)” before touring Japan through the close of the year.