“Cinderella Girl” by King & Prince (2018)

I thought it would be fun to do a little series highlighting popular Japanese songs that are essentially unknown in the broader English-speaking world. Enjoy! (or not!)  All translations by me unless otherwise noted.

“Cinderella Girl” was the debut single from Johnny’s and Associates boy group King & Prince. Released May 23, 2018, it was the 10th biggest selling single of 2018 selling almost 700,000 copies, which was the highest ranking of any non-AKB48 related group that year. (And if you want to know about that please check out this fine translation I did.) 

Sure, that’s impressive but--as anybody who has followed my work knows--chart positions and sales numbers don’t tell the full story. 

The real magic of “Cinderella Girl” is where it’s continued to rank in three years later. It was the number two Sparkling Johnny’s Prince Song (after Arashi’s “Love So Sweet”) as voted for by netizens and the number three song chosen by romance manga authors on Music Station. King & Prince were called upon to sing it on the annual New Year’s Eve musical extravaganza Kouhaku Utagassen two years in a row. It’s by far and away the group’s biggest karaoke hit, with popular karaoke chain JoySound’s chart showing that women from teenagers to grannies are singing it. In other words, this delightful fluffy song has cemented its place as a flowers and candy, chocolate box idol song that pretty much everybody knows if they have even a passing familiarity with female-centric pop culture.

The origin story of King & Prince is lengthy enough to deserve a full episode but I’ll give you the short version. The group began life as two separate trainee units that were squished together: “Mr. King” and “Mr. Prince.” 

“Mr. King” was formed from three of the most popular trainees at the time: Hirano Sho, Nagase Ren, and Takahashi Kaito. They were the cream of the crop, all three extremely handsome, charming, and reliable on stage and on camera.

“Mr. Prince” was more like the cult favorites unit, formed by adding loveably odd but very talented Kishi Yuta to fan favorite-fan service pair: Iwahashi Genki and Jinguji Yuta. 

Genki went on hiatus and eventually quit to go live his best life in Los Angeles (his instagram where he posts moody selfies has almost one million followers) and the other five have continued on as one of the most popular male idol groups in Japan.

While the group’s name may seem rather odd to native English speakers, the missing context is that the 王子様 (ojisama; prince) type is a standard vocabulary word in girls and women’s media. You can search the phrase and find article after article of things like “Is he a real prince!? Things guys have said that made our hearts flutter.” One example in the linked article is a guy stopping a woman carrying some cardboard boxes to the trash and firmly telling her that he’d take over from there. This is an image of romantic manhood that has almost completely gone out of fashion in English language media but is still alive and well among Japanese women (and among non Japanese women who enjoy Japanese romance manga.)

King & Prince is not a nonsense phrase. They were were molded--and named!!--to be a girl’s romance manga fantasy come to life. As they have gained some clout they have ditched the sparkle capes for a more contemporary sound and style but remain at heart the guys who will stop a woman struggling to carry some cardboard boxes and tell her (with confidence) not to worry. They’ve got it. We’re talking the hip thrusting “Naughty Girl”, the urban-flavored “Magic Touch”, and now the Babyface produced single, “Namae Oshiete” which looks like it is going to be a real panty dropper.

I love the current version of King & Prince and have already pre-ordered their new album (out July 21st!) but there will always be a special charm to their kitschy and somewhat old fashioned debut song. I guess, at the end of the day, all a girl really wants is for the guy who will always be your King & Prince to also have a magic touch in the bedroom. 

“Cinderella Girl” was the theme song to the drama Hana no Chihare Hanadan ~Next Season~ which starred King & Prince member Hirano Sho as Kaguraki Haruto, a knock off of the original Hana Yori Dango drama starring Arashi member Matsumoto Jun. Hanadan ~Next Season~ didn’t start a storm all over the world like the original did but “Cinderella Girl” lingered in our ears like a sugary blast of Hanae Mori Butterfly.

Unusually for a Johnny’s song, “Cinderella Girl” was written by the duo formerly known as Soulife (Kawata Souichiro and Sasaki Nozumu) who are better known for their girl group numbers. They were responsible for one of my all time favorite girl group mid-tempo ballads, the lovely “Futari Seson” and I think a big part of the charm of “Cinderella Girl” is how it captures this same girlish feeling.

The song opens with the chorus, which is a strong move for any pop song but the correct choice in this case because the chorus is phenomenal, as light and sticky as bubblegum. All rosy lyrics and syncopations: 

キミは　シンデレラガール

My precious one

You’re the only flowering heroine

どんなときも　ずっとそばで

まぶしい　その笑顔見せて

You are my Cinderella Girl

My precious one

You’re the only flowering heroine

No matter the time, I’ll always be by your side

Show me that dazzling smile

And then ends with these long languid phrases, stretched out: 

I wanna always be your sunshine (sunshine)

Always makes me happy!!

I wanna always be your King & Prince

While never a big fan of the AKB48 groups, I have seen more than enough performances on various music shows over the years to be familiar with their style. For the mid-tempo ballads like “Futari Seson” or “Sayonara no Imi”, the melodies in the verses are almost monotone, a sing-talky style just following along with the chords. (You can also hear it in a song like the viral hit “Poketo Kara Kyun Desu” by Hirame.) And then the choruses will kind of explode into a simple but catchy melody that is what we remember when we think about these songs. You absolutely do not hear anything like this Japanese girl group style in any other industry. It’s not only perfect for accommodating the less good singers in these massive girl groups but is also great for karaoke and cover versions.

So, enjoy! Watch the video and sing along as King & Prince invite you into their romantic castle and dance amidst some massive sparkle effects! I WANNA ALWAYS BE YOUR KING & PRINCE!!!!!!!!!!!!