Wednesday, August 7, 2024

From Bali with Love: Two Idol Songs for Pokémon

I've been going on (with Ash) about two idol songs that are "next to" Pokémon, and at this point I feel they should be explained before going into other matters of relevance. These are, of course, tied to the "Island of Paradise" event back in March, which I attended by way of Ash, but only on the first day. The more relevant parts occurred on the second day... which I scrapped for another matter to deal with, and with greater justification in fact. That second day holds the key, along with the idol group whose songs become the crux of this post.

At that time, JKT48, the Indonesian sister group to Japan's hugely popular AKB48, was invited to perform at the event, in that very park for the Pokémon Go happenings and few other Pokémon ones. They performed a selection of their most popular songs, including two specific ones that I know very well from their early years. Those two songs (in their Indonesian versions, certainly) also happened to be performed on stage along with Pikachu - a few of them, female ones (of course) wearing idol outfits - and this is why I now consider the songs "next to" Pokémon and even put one of them in singing competitions, the first one below.

I want you!
I need you!
I love you!
When you and I meet
Closer and closer, the two of us become
Maximum High Tension
I want you!
I need you!
I love you!
Deep within my heart
Bigger and bigger, all my feelings for you
Heavy Rotation
-- "Heavy Rotation", official + free-translated lyrics 

The first of these (in addition to the first being performed with Pikachu) happens to be "the first" in many ways, as it was the original group's first single and first hit, which also became the very first song the sister group covered in the local language and likewise also their first hit. It's all about love and attractions... which might be very much the case for any Pokémon fan when they deal with all the things they are so fond of, including the effort to go to the island and play Pokémon Go there - especially being entertained with the idol group on the second day. For them, Pokémon might just be like a "favorite song" they play on repeat - which also happens to be part of the lyrics in the bridge, not quoted here (as it's the chorus).

My love’s in a Fortune Cookie
And the future won’t be as bad as what it seems
Hey! Hey! Hey! 
Don’t you know your luck will change
When you’ve got a big smile on your face
In my heart's a Fortune Cookie
Look at my fate, make it so much better than today
Hey! Hey! Hey! 
Hey! Hey! Hey! 
Never let life get you down and don’t let it defeat you
Miracles can happen that will totally surprise you
Something tells me someday there’ll be love and it will just be you and me
-- "Fortune Cookie in Love (Koi Suru Fortune Cookie)", official English lyrics

Meanwhile, the other song is (or was, at the time, and roughly at that) a co-debut with the original group. It's all about the mysteries and wonders of love... encapsulated in a treat that I have to mention is not Chinese but American in origin likely by way of Japanese people - it's complicated, and I'll stop there. Going on about Pokémon, though, every effort in it could be described as opening a fortune cookie - raids in Pokémon Go are especially emblematic of this - but they all have to be taken in stride. As for personal singing efforts, for this one, Ash and I will get to that some other time, even if the song bears mention right now.

Even now, after the "Island of Paradise" event has long passed, some things still have left their impressions, whether it be the Pokémon caught that day, the people encountered and met, or even the performance of that idol group - with these two songs performed with the de facto mascot of Pokémon. That last one leaves impressions in its own way of adjacency, and I consider that a fascinating link that I as a Pokémon fan (and minorly of other things like idol songs) am only happy to promote along with Pokémon itself.

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