Gen Hoshino was really the male solo breakout star of last year. This guy came out of nowhere to claim the title of king of sales for a male solo artist in Japan. Outside of idols or former idols anyway.. and even then, I believe that he gave the idols a run for their money with his sales. He used to be an actor that wasn't too well known. I can think of two films that I know him from(Love Exposure and Drag me to Hell..) and that's about it. Gen soon traded in a script for a microphone though. Each of his releases gained momentum until he got to the top of the singles and album charts. Pop Virus is his latest release that debuted at the top of the charts with two hit singles tied to the highly anticipated album.
TRACKLIST
01. Pop Virus
02. 恋
03. Get a Feel
04. 肌
05. Pair Dancer
06. Present
07. Dead Leaf
08. KIDS
09. Continues
10. サピエンス
11. アイデア
12. Family Song
13. Nothing
14. Hello Song
Gen Hoshino has a very bright demeanor when he performs. Its a brightness that shines out positivity in all of his music. This is one of the reasons that he is so popular in Japan. Many Japanese people see his music as a huge pick me up when they aren't feeling it in the course of life. Pop Virus doesn't live up to it's name of being a strictly pop album like the name tries to entitle. Hoshino's music has never gone down a road of being just J-pop. He instead used this album to continue to dapple in happy sounds that don't have one sole genre. Two of the singles used to promote Pop virus have a made in Japan sound that is heard in the instrumentals as traditional Japanese instruments make appearances in the tracks, however, the instruments don't take over the tracks enough to makes listeners think they're watching a Japanese period drama. The album's producers also like the mess around with keyboards and synchronizers for a light hearted beat that signals that the night is long. Violins are the last instrument that seal the deal of the experimental production that Gen Hoshino loves to stick together in his albums. Pop Virus comes across to me as an soulful modern Jazz album doused in Pop ideals. There's a lot of Jazz, pop rock, and groovy house RnB tracks that keep listeners in a sensation of being in the arms of a loved one. A problem that I had with Pop Virus is that the tracks get too relaxed in a formula of being chill. Maybe it was just me because, I was searching for that track to made me want to spin around in circles similar to his last album; Yellow Dancer but none of the track quite got to that level. Tracks such as Get a Feel and Present overdosed me in funky soul instead so, I'll take that for now.
I think it would be cool to hear Gen Hoshino lay down the vocals for a more techno pop track. Hmm, I have a good feeling that the track will still be somewhat soulful since Gen brings a soulful influence when he opens his mouth to sing. He's taken Soul and Jazz into the mass mainstream again as a male solo artist in Japan….. Don't worry, I'm well aware of what JUJU has done for Jazz in Japan over the years as well as the greats from the 2000s such as Mika Nakashima. He just took different musical styles and put a bouncy Genki vibe on is strictly for Japan, which works simply because he has a voice like the butter melting off your fresh out of the oven pancakes, yet full of punch at the same time. I definitely enjoy his vocals a lot.
Pop Virus isn't Gen Hoshino's best work to date. The album is good enough to be a decent highlight of his career though. Check out all the singles tied to Pop Virus if you don't want to listen to the full album. Here's the newest single below:
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