The Real Life of Teenage Girls [7]Why "LINE Lyrics Prank" and erica Spread Among High School Girls
The Harajuku Kawaii Research Lab studies trends among teenage girls. This time, we welcomed singer-songwriter erica, popular among junior and senior high school girls, and nao, former member of I WiSH and music producer, as guests. Ayaka Asami from Dentsu Inc. Marketing Solutions held a roundtable discussion with these three guests and three modern high school girls.
What exactly was the "LINE Lyrics Prank" that used lyrics from erica's song "A Song for You," and why did it go viral? We also explore why erica resonates so strongly with teenage girls today.
❤ The "LINE Lyrics Prank" is a confession method that conveys feelings directly while leaving an escape route!?
Asami: I heard the "LINE Lyrics Prank" is trending among middle and high school girls. Does everyone know about it?
High School Girl A: Oh! Yeah, I think I saw that. I know about it.
High School Girl B & C: Yeah, we know about it.
Asami: How do you do a "LINE Lyrics Prank"?
High School Girl A:You suddenly start sending your crush or boyfriend one line of lyrics at a time via LINE. They have no idea it's lyrics, so they're like, "Huh?" and get totally surprised.
Asami: I see, so it' s a prank where you confess your feelings using lyrics.
High School Girl A: You can't get shy and stop halfway—you have to send them all the way through.
High School Girl C: Momentum is key, right?
Asami: The lyrics used for that are from this song by erica, " A Song for You " (*).
※"Song for You": Released as a digital single in January 2013. Included in the album "Confession Song ~Song for You~" released in May 2014. Reached #10 on the Recochoku Daily Chart. The part used for the "LINE Lyrics Prank" is the 15-line section starting with "Sorry for the suddenness."
High School Girl A: A lot of people use these lyrics.
Asami: You don't send it to friends? Just to people you like or your boyfriend?
High School Girl C: Isn't it kind of awkward to send it to friends? (laughs)
High School Girl B: It's pretty much a full-on confession, you know.
erica:I've seen a lot of people with crushes use "LINE Lyrics Prank" to confess, but what I've seen on Twitter and such is mostly couples sending them to reaffirm their love. I've seen so many examples on Twitter where expressing their feelings through lyrics again deepens their love.
Asami: What's it like among you high school girls?
High School Girl A: The other day, I saw a girl with a crush send the whole song to the guy she likes, and it worked out!
erica: Like, a real confession?
High School Girl A: She sent him the lyrics in a real-life surprise confession, and he was like, "Actually, I liked you too." It was amazing!
Asami: That's amazing! That's the power of erica's lyrics.
erica: I never imagined lyrics would be used like this as a real communication tool, so I'm surprised and happy. As adults, we often lose the ability to express ourselves honestly with words, but I want everyone to be able to speak their feelings clearly. That's why I intentionally made the lyrics easy to understand in 'A Song for You'.
Asami: Maybe it's good that it's such a direct, straightforward confession. Since it's lyrics, it feels easier than confessing with your own words, right?
nao: I've actually heard from high school girls that if they confess using lyrics, even if it fails, they can use "it's just lyrics" as an escape route.
Asami: By the way, what kind of song did you originally intend to create when making "A Song for You"?
erica: After releasing the love song "Confessing Love" (*), I started receiving tons of love troubles via blogs and letters. I'd been replying through my blog, but it suddenly hit me: "I'm a singer-songwriter who can create both music and lyrics—I want to make a song for them." That was the spark.
I wrote this song specifically for a girl who wrote to me saying she'd been agonizing over confessing her feelings for a long time. Since it was just for her, I never expected it would get released.
After making it, I replied, "I uploaded it to YouTube, so give it a listen!" Later, I got a letter saying, "I confessed to the person I liked using this song, and it worked!" Word spread by word of mouth, and lots of people heard it on YouTube. After it became a CD last year, it even got used in "LINE Lyrics Prank" videos. Actually, it's a song I made about four years ago.
*"Koi, Tsugeru" (Confessing Love): Released as a digital single in March 2010. Also included on the album "Tsugeru Uta ~Songs for You~". Insert song for TBS's "Koi n Tossu".
Asami: So the song really took on a life of its own. The YouTube views have surpassed 5.9 million, right? (As of April 22, 2015)
High School Girl B: Wow, that's amazing!
❤ Why erica Resonates with Junior High and High School Girls
Asami: Even before the "LINE Lyrics Prank" became a topic, erica was already popular, especially among junior and senior high school girls, right?
erica: I'm 29 now, and I try to sing authentically, but the songs really resonate with middle and high schoolers. I used to get a lot of love advice requests from them. Things like, "I like the same guy as my friend," or "I've fallen for my teacher." Many girls couldn't talk to anyone else and came to me. Since I've experienced similar kinds of love myself, I write lyrics from that same feeling.
Asami: How do you manage to hold onto that junior high/high school sensibility?
erica: That's down to my producer, nao. I passed an audition when I was 20, but I wasn't allowed to date until I turned 25.
I'm pretty serious (laughs), and I'd just moved from the countryside, so I just faithfully followed the rules. Not having a boyfriend for five years meant I was just daydreaming. I could have crushes, but I couldn't actually date, so I stayed stuck in that high school feeling of being all fidgety and unable to confess. My dating experience level just froze, I guess.
High School Girl B: It's rare to find someone who really gets how middle and high schoolers feel.
erica: When I post lyrics on Twitter, middle and high schoolers always say, "I get it!" Maybe my heart is still that age. And the sheer volume of letters I get—reading them, I feel their pain so deeply. Most of the songs on this album were inspired by letters from middle and high schoolers.
Things like, "I can't talk to them even though they're right there," or "I can't even say good morning." You know? That feeling like you don't have the right to say good morning or anything.
Especially with seniors, you're in different classrooms, so you never see them, right? If you miss your chance, it gets pushed to next week, and you're left feeling frustrated and helpless. We get a lot of letters like that.
Asami:That's so real. That's why it resonates and people relate to it, right?
High School Girl B: Erica, you were at that JOYSOUND event, right?
High School Girl A: The Diva Girls' Gathering one. I went to see it.
erica: I was there! Oh, so we've already met then.
High School Girl A: That was the first time I heard "A Song for You." I was drinking a smoothie and just got lost in the song.
erica: That makes me so happy!
High School Girl B: It instantly brought back the feelings I had when I was in love. I thought, "This song would be perfect to listen to at a time like this."
Asami: It didn't just wash over them—it truly reached them and stayed in their memories. It's a song that resonates with girls' feelings, isn't it?
❤Lyrics in modern love songs feel incredibly intimate
Asami: nao, do you think girls' love lives have changed since your time with I WiSH (2002-2005) compared to now?
nao: I do. Girls have become more independent, or rather, more grounded. Guys haven't really changed—they haven't gotten more effeminate—so relatively speaking, women seem to have become stronger.
Asami: nao-san, you debuted with the well-known song "Tomorrow's Door." Compared to that time, is there anything different about love songs today?
nao: Back when I was active with I WiSH, love songs often portrayed girls as quiet, reserved, and devoted, with boys taking the lead by saying things like "Come to me." Now, it's more grounded, and women's voices are definitely stronger.
The lyrics have changed too—lyrics that feel "really close" are very current. erica's lyrics feel like a friend giving you relationship advice.
High School Girl B: "Distance"?
nao: Like I WiSH's debut song "Door to Tomorrow," back then it wasn't about "what love is," but there was a bit of distance. It was more like a worldview where two people, with different strides, walk side by side, taking one step at a time. Or like in "Kabutomushi," where they subtly blur the feeling of liking someone by using the metaphor "I am a rhinoceros beetle."
High School Girl B: "Kabutomushi" is aiko's song, right? Yeah, that's true.
nao:Nowadays, it's changed to expressing feelings directly, right? Like "I love you so much I can't stand it" or "I tried falling in love with you," using words like "love" or "crush" in the lyrics.
❤ Through street performances, erica's unique style blossomed
Asami: By the way, nao, did you think erica would be an artist accepted by junior and high school girls from the moment you met her?
nao: No, I wasn't particularly thinking about middle or high school students.
erica: I actually messed up during the audition. I got so nervous my mind went blank, I forgot the lyrics, and just sang "La la la" to get through it.
nao: It's not about being good or bad. What we look for in auditions is all about the "voice." It started with thinking, "She has a nice voice."
Then, as a way for you to look inward, we had you do street performances. "Sing the songs I wrote in your own way," "Try composing too, just by watching and imitating."
High School Girl C: I thought once you got your debut, the producer would bring out your potential, but you actually have to create it yourself, huh?
nao: For idols, it's about how well you can project yourself into the worldview created by lyricists and composers. But singer-songwriters have to create their own message.
Asami: What was the process like for erica-san's unique qualities to blossom? Was there a specific trigger?
nao: At first, she lacked confidence. It was tough, but I think she gained fundamental confidence when she finally built her identity as a singer. That's when it clicked. It took about four years.
erica: Passing the audition was incredibly competitive, so at first I thought the agency would handle everything and I was just in a "waiting" state, wondering "When will I debut?" But younger artists kept emerging, and I couldn't keep up with what was expected of me. I was pretty discouraged.
Street performances were incredibly tough. At first, no one gathered even when I sang. But after selling out 1,000 CDs with my own hands during 42 days of street performances, the agency and record company finally started moving. That's when I realized if I don't make a move, nothing around me will change.
That's when I thought, "Maybe I can finally change." Determined to reinvent myself, I cut my hair short and poured all my pent-up feelings into a love song. I created a confession song called 'Confessing Love'. After that, I started receiving lots of letters.
This song became the catalyst. I wanted to speak for the feelings people couldn't express themselves, so I focused on creating "confession songs" – songs where people could confess all kinds of worries and feelings they'd never been able to voice before.
nao: Your natural friendliness and approachable, unpretentious personality—that "authentic self" —combined with your character, gradually resonated with the romantic feelings of junior high and high school girls.
Asami: They say it's not you who defines your authenticity, but those around you. Through street performances and such, erica's true self blossomed, and it resonated with junior high and high school girls. The term "confession song" is catchy too, very junior high/high school girl-like, right?
nao: You know how people say "I confessed" (toko-tta)? Since it's a song, "Why not call it a 'confession song'?" just felt natural.
erica: At first, it was just a vague desire to be popular, a love for singing, or a longing for the entertainment world. But repeating the same routine every day—working during the day, doing street performances until the last train at night, writing lyrics until morning—I finally understood why I wanted to sing and what I truly wanted to do. That's when I changed.
nao: Ultimately, if you don't have confidence in your work or the ability to express yourself, it won't resonate with people, right?
High School Girl B: Deep~!
❤Creating genuine appeal comes from unwavering authenticity and confidence in your work
nao: Back when I was with I WiSH, YouTube didn't exist yet. It was right around the time ringtones transitioned to full-song downloads, and the media for getting your message out was overwhelmingly limited to TV, radio, magazines, and newspapers.
erica: Nowadays, people listen to all kinds of songs on YouTube and such, so everyone's ears are more refined. They don't just listen to what's popular; they actively search for and listen to songs they like on YouTube and other platforms. That's why I think middle and high schoolers' ears are so refined. Even with popular songs, some people just say, "It doesn't resonate with me at all."
nao:Precisely because we live in an era where you can listen instantly and Google anything, maybe we're returning to what's truly essential. When faced with an abundance of everything and asked, "What makes something good?", I think it comes down to consistency and confidence in the work itself.
Asami: Is this different from the past?
nao: Back then, media channels were limited, so you could craft information effectively. Now, with YouTube, Twitter, and smartphones making sharing commonplace, even carefully crafted things get exposed.
Going forward, what captures people's interest will be more about the essence itself. Things like the strength of your message, how clear it is, or your confidence in your songs – those are what will become appealing.
erica: 'A Song for You' wasn't a tie-in either; we just uploaded it to YouTube. Even so, the fact that people listened to it makes me happy—I think it's because they simply felt it was "good."
nao: SNS is ultimately just a tool and infrastructure. We need to polish the core aspects more, and strengthen not just the songs, but also our humanity and overall capabilities.
erica: I also want to challenge myself not just to make songs that "work," but to truly capture what I feel in the lyrics and music. I hope to always sing with sincerity, feeling like I'm becoming best friends with everyone who listens, growing together with them.
Since releasing 'A Song for You,' we've started receiving letters saying things like "I want to propose" or "I can't tell my child"—so I want to fall in love, get married, and turn all kinds of confessions into songs.
(Continued in Part 2 )
❤What is Harajuku Kawaii Lab?
Launched in December 2012 as a joint project between Dentsu Inc.'s "Gal Lab" and Mynavi's " JOL " service (which supports girls' dreams), it's a team specializing in researching the "now" of teenage girls in junior high, high school, and college. While based in Harajuku, their research extends beyond Harajuku to study the real lives of girls nationwide.
Related Projects
❤Dentsu Inc . Gal Lab
A cross-functional planning team within Dentsu Inc., primarily composed of young female employees. It aims to revitalize not only businesses but also Japanese society as a whole by harnessing the mindset and powerful lifestyles of gals.
❤Mynavi JOL
With 60,000 teenage female members nationwide (primarily junior high and high school students) registered. " Dream Station JOL Harajuku " has become such a staple destination that it's considered a must-visit spot when in Harajuku.
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Author
erica
Born in 1985. From Yamanashi Prefecture. Moved to Tokyo in 2006. Discovered by nao, former keyboardist of I WiSH, who recognized her talent and began producing her as a singer. A powerhouse artist who sold out 1,000 self-produced CDs through 42 days of street performances. Her "confession songs" (kokuuta), featuring heart-wrenching lyrics about confessions, heartbreak, and unrequited love, resonated strongly with junior high and high school girls, spreading her recognition through word-of-mouth. With YouTube video views exceeding 15 million total, she gained attention as a social media-driven, word-of-mouth artist. She gained popularity among junior high and high school girls as the "Confession Song Charisma Girl." Her new song "I Hate You" ( <a href=" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=alMUu2hmhC8" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=alMUu2hmhC8) </a> was released on Wednesday, June 3rd. <a href="http://auroraerica.jp/" target="_blank">http://auroraerica.jp</a> / Twitter: <a href="https://twitter.com/erica1119_music" target="_blank">https://twitter.com/er</a> ica1119_music Facebook Page: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/erica1119music" target="_blank">https://www.facebook.com/erica1119music</a>
nao
Born in 1980. From Tokyo. Began composing music after purchasing a synthesizer during junior high school. Debuted as "I WiSH" with vocalist ai (Ai Kawashima) in 2002 while attending Seikei University. Their debut song "Ashita e no Tobira" (Door to Tomorrow) was selected as the theme song for Fuji TV's "Ainori" and became a massive hit, achieving million-seller status. After I WiSH disbanded in 2005, he served as sound director for Ai Kawashima while also composing and arranging songs for numerous artists. He currently produces the artist "erica," who is popular among junior high and high school girls as the "confession song charismatic girl."
Ayaka Asami
Dentsu Inc.
As a strategic planner, I have been involved in marketing, management strategy, business and product development, research, and planning for numerous companies. In 2010, I joined GIRL'S GOOD LAB (formerly Dentsu Inc. Gal Lab), the industry's first female-focused marketing team. I researched the ever-evolving insights of women and female consumption trends. From 2011, I participated in the Dentsu Inc. Diversity Lab. As leader of the "LGBT Unit," conducted Japan's first large-scale LGBTQ+ survey on the challenges facing Japan's LGBTQ+ community and consumption patterns centered around LGBTQ+ individuals. Utilized these research findings to provide strategic solutions and ideas for companies and executives. Official columnist for Forbes JAPAN. Author of 'The Hit-Making Research Guide: Marketing Research Techniques to Boost Your Product Sales' (PHP Institute). Her core belief is: "When the form of LOVE changes, consumption changes."
