It' hard to believe that Puffy, the female folk-pop singing duo, made their major label
debut just two short years ago with the single "Asia no Junshin." In that brief
span of time they have literally taken the music world by storm. Brainchild of the
legendary music producer Tamio Okuda, Puffy came on the scene when it was drowning in
Avex's slickly produced, cleverly marketed dance music stars like Namie Amuro and trf.
There seemed little-to-no hope for this outdoorsy, wholesome pair to make it in the
techno-driven pop-rock Japanese music market. But that very same market had reached the
Avex saturation point, and was ready for something new and fresh to blow through and give
the music scene some new life.
Enter Puffy, 22-year old Yumi Yoshimura from Osaka and 24-year old Ami Onuki from Tokyo,
who sport "puffy" long curly hair, overalls and T-shirts, multiple pierced ears
and platform tennis shoes. Puffy sing simple, catchy tunes full of repetitive hooks that
easily make that all-important transition to karaoke format, making their songs hot
property as commercial jingles. None of this has been an accident of fate. Producer Okuda
enlisted the aid of Yosui Inoue, one of the most prolific songwriters in Japan today, to
pen their song lyrics, while Okuda carefully orchestrated Puffy's meteoric ascent every
step of the way. From commercial tie-ups with Kirin, Shiseido and Yamaha to their own
late-night talk show on TV Asahi on Wednesdays called "Pa Pa Pa Puffy!," this
duo with their down-to-earth style, relaxed and playful manner and distinctive look have
even spawned their own line of dolls and T-shirts, all in an effort by manufacturers to
cash in on their girl-next-door appeal.
Since their debut, Puffy have released such hit singles as "Nagisa ni Matsuwaru Et
Cetera," "Circuit no Musume" and their current hit "Tararan"
(which currently hovers at number 24 after having been in the top ten of Oricon charts for
several weeks) all of which have rocketed up sales, karaoke and radio request charts
within days of their release. Puffy's trademark image has also been carefully nurtured and
handled by Okuda to appeal to a segment of the female (and male) Japanese population that
has long been overlooked by marketing machines whose primary purpose was catching the eye
(and yen) of Japan's amuraa (Amuro wannabes).
Puffy, like singers Chara and Kenji Ozawa and the groups Spitz and Ulfuls, are a part of a
new movement in the Japanese music world that more accurately reflects what the average
teenager or college student on the streets really looks like, thinks about and finds
authentically cool. If several years or even decades later Puffy aren't remembered for
their musical talents, they will most certainly be remembered for breaking open the stale
1990's music market, as well as helping to shatter the stereotypical image of Japanese
female idol singers that has held sway for several decades. Puffy have been instrumental
in opening up the market to greater possibilities for female singers, ultimately resulting
in greater diversity of the types of music Japanese women can find success in the domestic
music market. Not bad for just two years under their belts.
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