Levenson’s photo has become so closely associated with the song that Warner Music used it for the 12-inch re-issue it released this month. Just put my name on it and I will take off the strike.’ We were happy to see it reinstated exactly with all of the comments intact.” “I found out that Plastic Lover was not making any money, and people were upset,” Levenson said. YouTube user Plastic Lover-an anonymous student-and Levenson were in contact via other people over the photo’s use. “I clicked on the link, and it came up with a big page that says ‘struck by Alan Levenson,’” said the photographer, who was immediately flooded with nasty hate mail. Months after the original strike request, it finally went through. Levenson’s lawyer advised him to strike the YouTube video to see if folks cared. It was a great photo that was being used without permission. I think it’s a great photo, and I don’t say that about all my photos.” “Everybody questions the algorithm, but my feeling is that people looked at the photo and saw something about it. “YouTube is like a thumbnail operation,” Levenson told Pitchfork. The combination of the now iconic photo, the instantly catchy vibes, and the earworm appeal of Takeuchi’s performance continued to propel the viral hit. The now iconic portrait, which was originally for another Takeuchi single, was taken by American photographer Alan Levenson. That is, until a copyright strike over the thumbnail photo caused the track to vanish. As Pitchfork notes, the unofficial upload, posted to a channel called Plastic Lover, racked up over 24 million views. The song’s comeback this November isn’t the first revival for “Plastic Love.” Decades after its original release, seemingly out of nowhere, an extended version of the song went viral on YouTube in 2017. “No matter how many other guys would pursue her, she couldn’t shake the feelings of loneliness that the loss created.”īut when a 12-inch single was released in Japan in March 1985, it only reached #86 on the Japanese music charts however, the album on which it appeared, Variety, was a number one smash hit. I wanted to write something that had 16 beats and lyrics capturing what life in a city was like.” According to Takeuchi, the lyrics are about a woman who lost her true love. “I also wanted to write something danceable, something with a city pop sound. “I wanted to write a rock song, a folk song, a country song,” she added. “I was writing songs at the time because it was fun for me.” (Full disclosure: I am a columnist at The Japan Times.) “I was pregnant with a child at the time, so it wasn’t like I was really able to indulge in the bubble-era excess in the same way as others could,” Takeuchi told The Japan Times. Written and sung by Mariya Takeuchi, “Plastic Love” is pure “city pop,” a loosely-defined, breezy genre that has been described as “music made by city people, for city people.” Few things evoke the heady 1980s bubble era Japan more than city pop tunes. According to Warner Music Japan, its re-issued 12-inch single also broke the country’s top ten sales chart for the first time. This month, well over three decades after its original release, the song’s full-length official video was finally uploaded to YouTube. Recorded in 1984, “Plastic Love” is the song that continues to make comeback after comeback.