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Pretender (Official Hige Dandism song)
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Wikipedia article
{{Infobox song
| name = Pretender
| cover = Official Hige Dandism - Pretender.png
| alt =
| type = single
| artist = Official Hige Dandism
| album = Traveler
| language = Japanese
| B-side = Amazing
| released =
| recorded = 2019
| studio =
| genre = J-pop
| length =
| label = Pony Canyon
| writer = Satoshi Fujihara
| producer =
| prev_title = Stand by You
| prev_year = 2018
| next_title = Shukumei
| next_year = 2019
| misc =
}}
"'Pretender'" is a song recorded by Japanese band Official Hige Dandism, released on May 15, 2019, through Pony Canyon in physical single format to serve as the theme song of the 2019 film 'The Confidence Man JP'. Upon release, it was a commercial success, and spent seven weeks at number one on the 'Billboard' Japan Hot 100 and thirty-four weeks at number one on the streaming chart, breaking the record held by "Marigold".
Composition and lyrics
The song is written by vocalist/pianist Satoshi Fujihara and composed in the key of A-flat major and is set in time signature of common time with a tempo of 92 BPM. "Pretender" features a piano , guitar, electric bass and drums. Begins with melodic guitar arpeggios, the song described as a sad love song about a man thinking himself not being worthy to fall in love with the woman he likes, and saying 'goodbye' as an expression of giving up.
Music video
The video of "Pretender" was released on April 16, 2019 and directed by Takuto Shimpo. It was filmed in Taipei, showing the band performing with the night view of Taipei as the background, while theatrical scenes of local Taiwanese models and actors are inter-cut in between. On May 22, 2019, the video for the acoustic version of the song was released. It was directed by Yoshiaki Muto, features the band performing with the night view of Tokyo as the background. As of May 2022, "Pretender" has over 400 million views on YouTube, became their most viewed music video, while the acoustic version has over 7 million views on YouTube.
Track listing
Personnel
*Words, music and programming: Satoshi Fujihara
*Arrangement: Official Hige Dandism
*Vocal and piano: Satoshi Fujihara
*Guitar and chorus: Daisuke Ozasa
*Bass and chorus: Makoto Narazaki
*Drums and chorus: Masaki Matsuura
*Guitar technician: Tatsuya Mochiduki (Innovator Associates Inc.)
*Drums technician: Genki Wada
*Recorded and mixed by Masahito Komori
*Mastered by Ted Jensen (at Sterling Sound)
Charts
Weekly charts
{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"|+ Weekly chart performance of "Pretender"
! scope="col"| Chart (2019)
! scope="col"| Peak
position
|-
!scope="row"| Japan Weekly Singles (Oricon)
| 9
|-
!scope="row"| Japan Hot 100 ('Billboard')
| 1
|}
Year-end charts
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"|+ Year-end chart performance of "Pretender"
! scope="col"| Chart (2019)
! scope="col"| Peak
position
|-
!scope="row"| Japan Hot 100 ('Billboard')
| 3
|-
! scope="col"| Chart (2020)
! scope="col"| Peak
position
|-
!scope="row"| Japan Hot 100 ('Billboard')
| 2
|-
! scope="col"| Chart (2021)
! scope="col"| Peak
position
|-
!scope="row"| Japan Hot 100 ('Billboard')
| 20
|}
Certifications
Awards
{| class="wikitable"
|+
! Year !! Ceremony !! Award !! Result
|-
| 2019 || 2019 MTV Video Music Awards Japan || Song of the Year ||
|-
| rowspan="2"|2020 || Space Shower Music Awards || Song of the Year ||
|-
| 34th Japan Gold Disc Award || Best 5 Songs by Download ||
|-
| 2021 || 39th JASRAC Awards || Domestic Works ||
|}
Covers
* Peaky P-key did a cover of the song for the game 'D4DJ Groovy Mix'.
References
Category:2019 singles
Category:2019 songs
Category:Billboard Japan Hot 100 number-one singles
Category:Japanese film songs
Category:Official Hige Dandism songs
Category:Pony Canyon singles
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