Beckii: Superstar at 14

Many who hang around here realize that I’m not exactly the biggest fan of Beckii Cruel. I don’t exactly get why she’s popular and my “review” of Danjo/After School was not the most informative, detailed or the most helpful to anyone who wants to know about her.

Yet even though I don’t have that high of an opinion of her music I was still interested in the hype behind her. So when I heard about the BBC3 documentary entitled “Beckii: Superstar at 14” I figured I would watch it and see if it would change my mind about her.

Before watching I (like many Japanese music fans) had assumptions about how a western media outlet would cover someone who is in Beckii’s position. The most obvious thing being that the focus would be that on the kinds of fans that she attracts. And yes, while there is a little bit about that the primary focus is definitely on Beckii herself.

After watching this I still don’t like Beckii Cruel the idol, but I admire Rebecca Flint the person. She’s pretty level headed for being thrust into the cold harsh would of Japanese idols. She appears to understand that her shelf life is pretty limited and is just having fun with the entire thing while it lasts. Her parents look like they see a cash cow and a slip up by her father during an interview segment confirmed that feeling.

There were a couple of other interesting things I noticed when watching this documentary. First, there’s a hell of a lot of H!P featured as background music and it was strange hearing that kind of music on a BBC network. Second, her fans send her some strange and in one case, very expensive items. Her thoughts on her more hardcore fans were something I did not expect to hear, but at least it was honest & not some corporate BS answer. I wonder how her Japanese fans who have watched this feel about her statements.

It was also pleasant to hear an artist admit that they don’t make much money off their songs. (Unless they sell a certain number of units) I won’t get into how the logistics actually work, but at least someone told the truth. There is also a bit of harsh reality that goes along with being a star in Japan which is exemplified by a side story featuring Gemma Cruel. (a member of Cruel Angels) That section is kind of sad actually. Especially when she’s checking out her YouTube stats for male viewers, she looked kind of heartbroken at the results.

Although this doesn’t really dive deep into the whole idol world, it was an interesting peek into some of the behind the scenes work.