Friday Night Plans

Overview

Friday Night Plans is a Tokyo-based musical act led by vocalist Masumi (born January 1996), its sole member. Associated with J-R&B, city pop and Japanese indie, it is best known for its 2018 cover of Mariya Takeuchi's 1984 song "Plastic Love" and for the 2019 song "Honda", used in advertising for the Honda Vezel.

Career

Early life and beginnings

Masumi was born in Tokyo to a Japanese father and a Filipina mother. She grew up mostly in Tokyo, visiting the Philippines only once every few years. Hearing her mother, a singer, perform Mariah Carey and Whitney Houston songs inspired her to sing. In junior high she wanted to sing on stage and became interested in Western music, watching MTV Japan daily and becoming a Justin Bieber fan. She attended a vocal school from high school through her third year of university while starting solo activity. Singer Taichi Mukai discovered her cover performances on Instagram around June 2017, and she was scouted to sing on "Maybe", a collaboration between producer StarRo and electronic duo AmPm, released in November 2017.

2018

She chose the name Friday Night Plans to capture the childhood excitement of making plans with friends, and officially began the project in July 2018. After meeting producer Tepppei in March 2018 at the suggestion of her label director, she released the debut single "Happy Birthday" on July 13, 2018, produced by Tepppei. It led to her selection as Apple Music's "New Artist of the Week". In August she issued Location: Los Angeles, a set of demos recorded during a June trip to Los Angeles. Her December 2018 cover of "Plastic Love" won acclaim overseas, entered the Japanese Oricon chart at number 30 and became one of the project's most popular songs.

2019

"Complex", the second EP, was released on November 15, 2019, entirely produced by Tepppei, and topped the iTunes R&B/Soul album chart. In December came "HONDA", the theme for Honda's VEZEL commercials, which became the act's first single to enter the Billboard Japan Hot 100. It and the follow-up "Unknown" were produced by Dr. Pay.

2020 onward

Releases in 2020 included "Decoy (5TATIC Remix)", "Unknown", "Down For Whatever" and "Kiss of Life". The albums "Embers" (April 2021) and "When I Get My Playground Back" (August 2021) followed, then "In The Rearview" (January 2022) and "Come and Go" (July 2022). In 2022 she performed at ITADAKI, SUMMER SONIC and a New Year's Eve party at LIQUIDROOM. "Arigatou" arrived in March 2023, followed by "Visitors" (June 2023), "Gateway" (January 2024), "blue hour" (January 2025) and "see you again" (December 2025).

Musical style

Friday Night Plans draws on J-R&B, city pop and Japanese indie. Its music reflects a wide range of influences, including Justin Bieber, Nigerian-Canadian musician Odie and Korean R&B singer-songwriter Dean.