CHANMINA is not down to conform with traditional beauty standards. “BIJIN” is the latest track from the Japanese-Korean-English-speaking rapper-singer that challenges expectations from women, especially Asian women.
Styled in a traditional Japanese setting, the video shows CHANMINA as an empress conditioned to perfection and valuing physical appearance above everything else. She also recounts the hurtful comments she received in the past about her looks and how she channeled her pain through music. “As my mind grew insane back then, my talent blossomed / Every happiness and unhappiness I went through was unordinary,” she sings in Japanese.
She is then confronted with the “expert of beauty,” portrayed by iconic Japanese actor and avid CHANMINA fan Masahiro Takashima, who laid out the rules she should follow (e.g. “daily calorie intake must not exceed 900 kilocalories per day”) or else she would be exiled. The video ends tragically.
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The song was produced by longtime collaborator, Ryosuke “Dr.R” Sakai, who’s worked with her on her past hits such as “Angel” and “Never Grow Up.” “BIJIN” is the lead single of an upcoming bundle of the same title due on April 14 under Warner Music Japan. Stream “BIJIN” here.
On a March 18 Twitter thread, CHANMINA shared her experience after she made her debut in 2017, when she was just 17 and received comments about how she should go on a diet and eventually lost 16 kilos.
2017年
世間に知られるようになってからすぐ
曲のコメント欄が殆ど
私の見た目に対する批判でした
私は当時17歳でした
何をしても悲しい気持ちで
顔中がニキビだらけ
ストレスで体重が一気に16キロ落ちました
その時のコメント欄が
『綺麗になった』『ダイエット法を教えて』だったのを覚えています。— ちゃんみな CHANMINA (@chanmina1014) March 18, 2021
She ended it by encouraging women to be beautifully confident and that it “took me a while, but now I’m very happy.” We’re with you, CHANMINA!
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Watch CHANMINA slay on the music video for “Bijin” below:
CHANMINA is set to kick off her “THE PRINCESS PROJECT 5” tour on May 11 at Orix Theater in Osaka, followed by a show on May 19 at Nagoya Kokaido Hall in Aichi and on May 25 at Nakano Sunplaza in Tokyo. For more details and how to buy tickets, visit her website.
