Next-Gen TikTok Pop Icon Sasane Talks Creative Roots & Playful Spirit: Billboard Japan Monthly Feature Interview
Categoria: Musica
Billboard Japan asked the budding pop icon how all of that creativity came together into music.
Por Billboard | 13/08/2026
Billboard Japan chatted with Sasane for its monthly series “MONTHLY FEATURE” spotlights artists and works currently making an impact on the scene. The rising 18-year-old artist has been turning heads lately with her debut single, “mosi mosi?” Since March 2025, Sasane has been posting acoustic guitar cover videos on TikTok, drawing major attention at home and abroad with her distinctive visual sensibility and character. “mosi mosi?” — memorable for its opening line, “Hello, hello, can you hear me?” and its addictive hook, “ Denpa, denpa no kai-denpa ” — is her first original song, released in April. It’s become a full-blown viral hit, racking up over 3 billion plays on TikTok and topping Billboard Japan’s JAPAN Heatseekers Songs chart (released June 10). She wasted no time following up with her second single in July called “otukare,” which is already generating major buzz on social media. From childhood dance training to design studies in high school, she’s absorbed a wide range of cultural influences. We asked the budding pop icon how all of that creativity came together into music. You’ve explored a wide range of creative pursuits like dancing and modeling. I started dancing when I was six, because of my mom. It was hip-hop, and I loved it. That’s what made me want to show something from within, to express myself. What part of dancing did you enjoy? I enjoyed expressing sound through my body and moving however I felt. I kept at it seriously until about my first year of junior high, and even performed at small local recitals. Getting a reaction from people made me happy. So for me, it’s always been about the audience. Is dance also your earliest music-related memory? Yes. I loved TLC. I started listening to them because of my dance teacher. There was a playfulness to their music, and dancing to it was fun. You mainly post acoustic guitar cover videos on TikTok. When did you start playing guitar? Right when I started posting. Around March 2025? Yes. I normally get bored of things easily, but figured if people were watching, I could keep going, so started posting partly as practice. This might be hard to put into words, but where do you think the line is between getting bored and staying interested? Hmm, I guess it’s whether it’s fun or not? But like I said, getting a reaction is really important too. Does communication on social media motivate you as well? Yes, definitely. Sometimes people send me these really long messages, and I think, “Why would they write all this for someone like me?” It makes me happy. I heard you studied design in high school. Yes. I think it’s helped with things like video backgrounds and how I present myself. I love magazines and collect them, and the collages I make from cutting them up are actually the backgrounds in my cover videos. I’m always conscious of making sure that just from seeing