It's almost too easy for people to find new music, from curated playlists on Spotify to fan recommendations on Reddit. With streams, views, and followers regularly touted in press releases, it seems unlikely for an artist to be popular without a digital portfolio. Or so one would think.
Snow Man — arguably one of, if not the biggest group in Japan — officially "debuted" on Spotify in October 2024 with their single "One," which serves as the ending theme for the massively popular anime series "Blue Lock." Until then, the only way to listen to Snow Man’s music was through their official YouTube channel (which only uploads limited content) or via CD. This new presence on Spotify, however, doesn’t necessarily mean that Snow Man's larger discography will be available on the platform; "One" is the only track from their new album RAYS with a digital release.
The nine-piece group exemplifies Japan’s unique preference for physical releases over everything else — in spite of the industry’s efforts turning over a new leaf in the past few years. The lack of digital access hasn’t put a dent in Snow Man's massive success. All of Snow Man’s studio albums and singles have hit No. 1 on Japan’s Oricon Charts — their 2020 debut "D.D." remains one of the best-selling debuts in Asian music history, selling a staggering 1.8 million physical copies. Their 2021 debut album, Snow Mania S1, sold 618K copies on the first day alone, marking the highest release-day sales for any act that year and surpassing BTS’ The Best. The following year, when their single "Grandeur" hit one million copies – the only release by any Japanese act to do so that year – they became the first male Japanese act in more than 20 years with a best-selling release two years in a row.
Fittingly, RAYS opens with "Empire," a track hailing the group as the "light that leads to the future" but with a healthy "reverence to the past" over a mix of orchestral and pop/dance instrumentation. The music video features the group among a series of grand old structures in a subtle nod to the group’s staying power — despite industry changes, Snow Man’s dominance on the charts has been near uninterrupted. As Snow Man expands their empire with sleek moves and confident tunes, here are five songs to get to know the act.
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While the group has long since established their own sound and identity, Snow Man debuted as a "brother" act to label-mates SixTONES, who dropped "Imitation Rain" on the same day. It was the first time in the label’s history that two acts had debuted on the same day with complimentary tracks meant to showcase their respective groups’ strengths. "D.D." — which stood for Dancing Dynamite — was an apt culmination of Snow Man’s roots in theater.
Six members of the act — Tatsuya Fukazawa, Daisuke Sakuma, Shota Watanabe, Ryota Miyadate, Hikaru Iwamoto, and Ryohei Abe — debuted in 2009 as part of the trainee idol unit Mis Snow Man. The group became a staple on the stage play series "Takizawa Kabuki," which put modern spin on traditional Japanese theater and was devised by Hideaki Takizawa, a singer/actor/producer who is largely credited with the Snow Man's genesis. Beginning in 2012, the sextet made a name for themselves in dance and acrobatics, and even appeared as backup dancers for their seniors at their label. In 2019, Ren Meguro, Maito Raul Murakami, and Koji Mukai joined Snow Man as its final three members.
By the time "D.D." was released in 2020, Snow Man were rookies in name and technicalities only. The futuristic electro-pop track clearly focused on Snow Man’s performative chops, rooted in agile physicality accentuated by frantic beats. They’ve long since expanded their musical landscape, but it’s easy to spot the theatricality that makes the cornerstone of their artistry even in their present work.
For fans of anime and manga, "Tapestry" is an easy gateway into the world of Snow Man. The song was used as the main theme for the live-action movie My Happy Marriage, starring Snow Man member Ren Meguro in the titular role of Kiyoka Kudo.
Over an easy dance beat, the song ties in directly with the themes of the Cinderella-esque story, where meek and submissive noblewoman Miyo Saimori — broken down by years of abuse at the hands of her family — finds herself in an arranged marriage with the infamous Kiyoka Kudo, played by Ren. To her surprise, the man is far from a cruel and callous army man, and the pair strike up a romance that eventually brings Miyo out of her shell.
"The sky is clear, but the rain is tapping my shoulders/ It must have been showing my sorrow, looking for a place to belong," Ren croons on the track, describing the hesitancy of falling in love after being burnt emotionally. The stretched out notes on the pre-chorus are a tempting invitation, while the pause before the chorus rings out is clearly the promise of a story coming to an uplifting close.
The internet may be divided about the animation on "Blue Lock" this season, but it’s certainly united in its love for the ending theme — the inspiring, spiriting "One" by Snow Man. The anthemic track about perseverance and persistence doesn’t build so much as soar as the group flex their vocal chops more than their physical performances. It also feels suitable for "One" to be the song that marks their foray into streaming.
The single’s release on Spotify is an example of the tectonic shift happening in the Japanese music industry in the past few years, during which more and more acts have pivoted to digital mediums. With the song talking about leaving behind the past and moving forward to achieve one’s dreams, "One" might show that the group isn’t stubbornly resistant to change despite their success — even established acts are dipping their toes into uncharted waters.
The theme song for the show "Trillion Game" (once again starring Ren Meguro), "Dangerholic" takes the high-stakes, high-rewards thrill of the story and infuses it into a casino-inspired rock and roll extravaganza. The group intermittently performed bits of the song onstage in the days leading up to the release, all smooth shoulder movements and vibrant wide-lapel blazers reminiscent of Hong Kong spy movies. The full version took it a notch higher, combining the high-octane progression with rap, giving the song a modern and bombastic spin.
The lyrics to "Dangerholic" are deceptively simple, looping in cries of "shout it out" and "break it down" in between proclamations of a single-minded drive to achieve their goals. The infectious foot-tapping and head-bobbing track secured them their eighth consecutive No. 1 on the Oricon Singles Chart, selling more than 800,000 copies in the first week. It also soared to the No. 1 spot on the Billboard Japan Hot 100 chart, beating out contenders like YOASOBI’s "Idol" and King Gnu’s "SPECIALZ," which accompanied the massively successful second season of the anime "Jujustu Kaisen."
Despite the title, "slow…" has anything but the desired effect. Wrapped in synth loops and a stripped down chorus, "slow…" steeps in jealousy and desperation as the group grows increasingly tired of mind games.
Clocking in at just under three minutes, the song hits the sweet spot of keeping things interesting while never getting too overpowering. Part of this credit goes to the push and pull progression, where the pre-chorus slowly grinds things to a halt before the chorus kicks in with a dance break. "slow…" was clearly the group’s chance to experiment with something darker and mature, and Snow Man lapped it up with gusto.