If the amount of clips on YT and other places are any indication, Scandal seems to be on TV in Japan at least once a week for the last 10 years. Are they household names over there or what. Does the Japanese public appreciate what a national treasure these girls are, or are they just another band.

I'm pretty sure I've seen a question like this posted before, but I don't feel like going back and looking for it.

People overseas seem to have this impression that because they think SCANDAL's a great band that that equates to them being wildly mega-popular in Japan. That, unfortunately, is NOT the case.

SCANDAL is nowhere near what you could consider a "household" name in Japan. They're moderately successful, but they're nowhere close to being as popular as an actual super-popular band like, for example, ONE OK ROCK. SCANDAL's CD releases typically make it to ＃2-3 on the Japanese music charts but don't stay up there for very long (only once have they hit ＃1 [ENCORE SHOW], and that was only for a day). Also, if you asked anyone on the street in a major city like Tokyo, probably only a handful out of every 100 would have heard of them. TV doesn't seem to be a big indicator of popularity as many artists big and small are featured a lot as well.

They also don't seem to be close to hitting dome status, which usually is a good indicator of an artist's popularity. I don't think they could sell out a performance at Tokyo Dome (55,000 capacity).

Perhaps one day they'll hit top status in Japan, but they're not quite there yet.

Yeah, Scandal is not that popular in Japan. I think they're nowhere near the popularity of the likes of AKB48 though I don't know any song from that group nor even a single member of them. Since Scandal can't sell out Tokyo Dome which have a big capacity, is there any other girl Band (not idol group) who can? They're considered as the representative of the girl band of Japan if I'm not mistaken. Maybe the reason why they were not that popular is that their genre is not what most Japanese listens to.

Osakashnaide wrote:Since Scandal can't sell out Tokyo Dome which have a big capacity, is there any other girl Band (not idol group) who can? They're considered as the representative of the girl band of Japan if I'm not mistaken. Maybe the reason why they were not that popular is that their genre is not what most Japanese listens to.

Doesn't seem like there are any other all-girl bands who even come close. When news sites and the like say that SCANDAL is the frontrunner of Japanese all-girl bands, it does seem like that part's 100% true.

Although the number of all-girl bands seem to be at an all-time high right now, they as a whole are still considered as something rather "new" in music and aren't nearly as popular or accepted as male-fronted bands. Maybe and hopefully that'll change in the future.

Hmm.. So I do a little research and found out that BABYMETAL have played at Tokyo Dome for two nights and both were sold out. WOW.. Although I don't like them at all, I can respect them for their success and for the people who loves them.

They're not an all girl band though. But they really have their unique genre.

They are not a girl band but AKB48 have sold out the Tokyo Dome several times.

That's what I thought. Japanese loves the idol group. I don't have an idea how they look but I believe Scandal won't lose to them when it's just 'LOOKS' that we'll be talking about. I'm glad Scandal became a band as they are right now and not some member of an Idol group knowing that they came from a sing and dance school and that Haruna and Timo wanted to ba a dancer before they become Scandal.

@Osakashnaide

Well that is AKB48 in my signature although that was how they looked back in 2008, but I love SCANDAL just as much.
Oh and Mami is a huge idol fan just like me, she had a signed picture of Sayu from Morning Musume and the other girls used to make fun of her about it

Heh.. So they are that many? I listen to many Japanese songs since I was a kid but I don't think I know a song from an Idol group. And there's no other Japanese artist I love as much as Scandal, though I like One Ok Rock but I only listen to some of their songs. Unlike Scandal where It encourage me to improve my Japanese just so I can understand all their videos that I can see

@Osakashnaide

Jade will hurt me if I say any more about them here, just google AKB48 if you want to know more about them

That's okay. I'm not really interested.

Anyway, who's Jade? 

I think I'm asking too much already. Let's just conclude that Scandal as a band are successful in Japan but nowhere near what international fans think of.

thoseguiltyeyes wrote:They also don't seem to be close to hitting dome status, which usually is a good indicator of an artist's popularity. I don't think they could sell out a performance at Tokyo Dome (55,000 capacity).

I don't think they could even sell out other arenas such as Saitama's one (35,000 capacity).

SCANDAL is definitly popular in their own genre scene (rock girlbands), but elsewhere not really. A band who can sell out Budokan and Yokohama arena proves that they are doing just fine, but not star levels.
I believe some of their songs are more popular than them as a band. People might remember and still enjoy listening to Shoujo S, Shunkan Sentimental and Yoake no Ryuuseigun without realizing that those are Scandal' songs.

Yup. Life is unfair that way. But for them who started their career playing live at a park where just a few people would watch them, they've already reached their dream to play live at the Osaka Jo hall. Sure they're not as big as the other artist but many, and I mean MANY other band of the same concept dream of reaching the status that they have obtained for themselves. I'm pretty sure their junior at Caless called Girlfriend wanted to be a girlband as famous and as adored as their senior, the Scandal.

For the curious here is some data from various sources. Anyone can do this if they want to.

I ran Google Trends (a proxy for interest) and limited it to just Japan (Google is the overwhelming search engine in Japan, like most places, as it powers engines you think are different as well). First I compared them to some of the bands they toured with in the fall and they are "more popular." Interest in SCANDAL peaked in 2013, but I guess that's not surprising for a band that's been around ten years or more. I started the data on 8/21/2006.
https://imgur.com/a/nOlmV

Then I compared them to AKB48 and ONE OK ROCK. Interest in AKB48 has also declined over time.
https://imgur.com/a/S7TJD

Here's also homepage site traffic info on SCANDAL vs. AKB48. Now, lots of people never go to a band's homepage, they interact on social sites, but this way it's apples to apples.
https://imgur.com/a/08tdE

"Scandal band Japan" has about 3,600 search queries per month vs. 823,000 for "AKB48."

But as with everyone here, I just like them, so it doesn't matter to me if other bands are bigger. I just want them to continue making music for as long as they enjoy it.

Yup, it's not like the Japanese is their only audience. Even now, we're hoping that Scandal would come to play live in our country.

It is safe to say that SCANDAL is still considered as a niche act in Japan despite of considerable overseas fan base. Definitely, not as wildly popular like rock bands like l'arc~en~ciel, ONE OK ROCK or even the all-female glam rock pioneers Princess Princess.

Well, I do know a Japanese woman who laughs at me when I told her that I like One Ok Rock. She said she hates One OK Rock. Well, not necessarily hate, just don't like it. She also told me that it's not just her, a lot of woman she knows (japanese) don't like One Ok Rock. But she knows Taka (OOR Vocal) because of his famous parents. Contrary to that, she don't know the name Haruna, Mami, Tomo, and Rina, after saying that she likes Scandal. (she's in Osaka so it won't be weird for her to know Scandal) Maybe just as someone said, scandal songs are more popular than the member or even the band themselves here in Japan.

Osakashnaide wrote:Anyway, who's Jade?

That would be me.

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mbowie4321 wrote:Interest in SCANDAL peaked in 2013

That definitely reflects on SH as well. Membership and participation here peaked around 2013 but has been in very steady decline ever since, even despite the consistent news postings here.

It does not really matter how famous they are anyway, some Indie idols only have an audience of around 30 but I still love them, SCANDAL are Mega Stars compared to people like that.
I will always be curious to see what they do next and as well as their music I really like them as people.

This is very informative. I guess i'm late to the party, only just discovering Scandal, but I love that their entire existence has been cataloged here on SH. I guess when you fall in love with something so much, you have a hard time believing that other people don't see the awesome combination of musical talent and intriguing personality that Scandal brings to the table.

When it comes to music appreciation I have always admired how Japan seems to enjoy bands and artists that America have either not yet learned to appreciate or have long since dismissed because their sound is no longer "in style."  Since I am primarily a hard rock/metal fan, I think it's really cool that Japanese fans knew the value in bands like KISS, Queen and Cheap Trick before they ever had a hit song or record; and bands like Mr. Big and Whitesnake are still recording live albums from Japanese tours because the shows are just as good there as they were during these bands' heyday.

With this in mind, I like to think that Scandal is doing the flip side to this effect-- they are so cool that their own country don't appreciate them as much as international fans, but at some point Japan will realize what a fabulous band Scandal truly is and start rewarding them appropriately with album sales, bigger concerts, etc.

Incidentally, and I've written this before, I discovered Scandal because I knew Japan had an appreciation for hard rock.  I wouldn't call Scandal hard rock, but I am glad I found them in a YouTube search.

Oh, Jade's the admin. Hajimemashite.

As Tonymiller said, it wouldn't matter how big their audience is. Japanese people values their customer (listener in this case) as if they're god. At least that's what my Japanese friend told me. It's just the more that people listen to them the more that they would continue this journey of them. They've already rocked my world. If a lot of Japanese don't feel the same then nothing to do about it. It all comes down preferences at the end of the day.

Just a personal opinion here, based on what (little?) I know of Japanese music after receiving a free copy of Utada Hikaru's First Love back in 1999, loving it and never looked back since.  

I guess it depends on how SCANDAL want to fare in all this. I do believe (and I'm sure we all share this sentiment) that they are in it for the music, and how famous they'll get following an increase in their popularity among the Japanese masses depends on multiple factors.

For fun, I clicked on Oricon's website just now, and found an artiste ranking chart based on interviews with 20,000 people for 2017:



https://www.oricon.co.jp/special/2017/favorite-artist-ranking/index2.html

The list goes down to 50, and the likes of ONE OK ROCK that have been mentioned in posts above is only #39.

So, what does it take to be famous by the masses in Japan? Looking at the list from what I know of these artistes/bands, I'm guessing (not in any particular order) - longevity (senpai apple pie in the business), Johnny's (legions of female fans), had music in films/drama, had acted in films/drama, idols (legions of otaku fans), and most importantly, these guys had to have hits (memorable hits, more than one hit).

I don't think SCANDAL has to have RINA acting with Kimura Takuya, or MAMI writing music for the next award-winning Shinkai Makoto film, or TIMO hosting a food review show on TV to make it. They are doing things anyway to increase their presence in the media (eg fashion/lifestyle mags) and more importantly, the music print media. Becoming Fender endorsees is no mean feat, and even it's just a measly set of signature drum sticks, RINA had been a Pearl endorsee for years already, way before the the other three had Squier signature guitars.

I am a fan of a Seattle band called Pearl Jam since 1992. They've been around for decades. As luck of the draw has it, many great bands of their ilk have singers that are now dead, and these bands consequently evolve into other incarnations. Pearl Jam didn't win as many awards as Taylor Swift. The first time the general populace noticed them was from a single which was actually a cover, and that was years after they released their seminal work in their catalogue. To this day, this band can still sell out stadiums like Wrigley Park in Chicago.

SCANDAL doesn't need a dome tour next year (they can if they wanna). But I do hope if they keep at it, the fame will come - if that's important. As a fan, I rather see them do well on their own terms.

Looking at that list, that top 16, is there an all girl band ( not necessarily a rock band like Scandal but a band nonetheless) listed in there? Just as I thought, Scandal is very good at what they do, being an all girl rock band. The problem lies in that an all girl rockband is not that popular to the Japanese. One Ok Rock, as famous as they are, I believe that Mami and Tomomi were the better bass and guitar player than those of OOR. Though their vocalist is really a great rock singer and Haruna is nowhere near him. As for Rina, I don't know nothing bout drums but I think Rina is talented but not on a prodigy level. 

You said they can try dome if they want to, but we've already said that with their fame as of now, they won't fill it, and that won't be nice. I prefer their tour this year where they would play with smaller venues where they could slowly introduce themselves more to the old and new fans at the same time.

Osakashnaide wrote:Looking at that list, that top 16, is there an all girl band ( not necessarily a rock band like Scandal but a band nonetheless) listed in there?

Even though they're not a "true" band, Perfume is the only one who comes close. They seem to be the only group (excluding idol groups) in that entire ranking whose members are all women.

So yes, all-girl bands are not that super popular in Japan.