APOKI is Korea’s first and No. 1 virtual K-pop artist with the concept of “a rabbit-like being living somewhere in space.” Trained in K-pop, her music and dance charm the globe, and as a fashionable, unrivaled virtual artist, she has over 5 million followers on social media worldwide.
APOKI released two Japanese versions of her songs in the past in Japan, a mega market of virtual artists in the world. She recently participated in the EP “Countdown” (Released May 24, 2023) by Girls², a popular girl performance group. APOKI gave her first live performance at DreamHack Japan 2023, an Esports event held for the first time in Japan in May 2023. APOKI is gathering much attention.
Released today is APOKI’s sixth single, “Hold On,” which is her first original Japanese song. The song is produced by Chizzy Stephens, a major songwriter writing songs for famous artists, including Jennifer Lopez, Chris Brown, Justin Bieber, and DJ Snake. With an American-style chill pop sound mixed with APOKI’s emotional vocals, “Hold On” is bursting with pain and expectations, expressing the start of love. The lyrics are written by Mayu Wakisaka, a talented songwriter collaborating with popular groups, including TWICE, NiziU, OH MY GIRL, and Tomorrow X Together. “Hold On” is a gem of a pop song created by a rich assembly of songwriters from Japan, South Korea, and the United States.
When it comes to APOKI, her music videos always attract mass attention as each video uses cutting-edge CG. In the “Hold On” music video LOTTE’s WATERMELONBAR, a highly popular popsicle in both Japan and South Korea, appears. A major point of this music video is how the excitement at the start of love is expressed through a sweet setting. In addition, CANDY GIRLs, created by world-renowned illustrator Yoshitaka Amano, also appear in 3D. APOKI and CANDY GIRLs will have more opportunities to co-star each other in the future. It can be said that only APOKI can come up with a creative work packed with such a playful spirit.
Regarding this single, APOKI gives the following comments. “As someone who loves Japan, it has been my dream to sing an original Japanese song someday. When we were shooting the music video, I got asked what my favorite popsicle was, and I replied, ‘WATERMELONBAR’. Lucky for me, we got LOTTE’s support and WATERMELONBAR appears in this music video! The popsicle is cute and yummy, and I always want to eat it in the summertime. I learned for the first time that the Watermelon Bar is loved for a long time in both Japan and South Korea. This summer, please dance and sing along to this music video, which I extremely love!”
In addition to announcing the release of this single, APOKI also announced the release of her long-awaited first album, “SPACE,” this autumn. Tune your ears to the single “Hold On,” the first song from the full album, a compilation of APOKI’s world!
Source: Press Release