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Naomi Suzuki - Pray For You (2021 Remix)

  • Writer: Paige H
    Paige H
  • Mar 4, 2021
  • 3 min read

On 20 January 2021, Japanese singer, actress and presenter Naomi Suzuki released her highly anticipated remix of “Pray For You”, originally released in September of 2020. Produced by Neil Palmer, the song seeks to soothe the soul and reminds us as a listener that we only have one life on earth, and we should seek to make it the best we possibly can.


Naomi was born in Japan, but was scouted by a British record producer, who recognised her talent and invited her to record 3 singles in the UK. Whilst organising an exhibition for the late Princess Diana, she was also invited by Phillip M Moll to be a part of the duo AJ Unity, a fusion of Japanese traditional vocals, and western style musical composition. It was with this group that Naomi scored number 14 on the US charts with the album “Sweet Roses” and retained number one for 3 weeks in a poll voted on by over 1,400 radio stations across the world. Overall, the message of the band is simple: To be human is to show kindness, strength, and to freely express yourself in whatever way you wish.



With her career, Suzuki has done plenty for her homeland in the form of fundraising, particularly after the 2001 Japanese tsunami which tore across the north of Japan. Despite being in poor health at the time, Suzuki recorded a charity single, with all proceeds going to the victims of the tsunami. She also penned the track “Home” with victims of the disaster, allowing them to express their emotions to a worldwide audience. 5 years later her support never wavered, as she organised a memorial concert in London, donating all of the money from ticket sales to those affected. In 2015, she became the first Japanese singer to perform at the houses of parliament, giving a spectacular performance which drew the attention of both the UK and Japanese press outlets.


Aside from singing, she has also appeared in a scene of “Bridget Jones’ Diary” alongside British actor Hugh Grant as well as other British dramas. Additionally, the BBC aired a documentary about her life in the late 90’s, and she has appeared in countless magazines and newspapers promoting the charities she supports and Japanese culture. Across London, she is well known for her radio show called “London Calling”, where she tells listeners all about her life in the UK, whilst also promoting Japanese music, and spreading awareness for the victims of the 2011 tsunami.


Suzuki is also a regular face at the UK’s Matsuri celebrations, the most recent of which were forced online as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Here, she presented “Naomi’s wonderland”, which featured a range of traditional Japanese musical performances. When asked about the event by jpopgo.co.uk, she said: “It’s one of the biggest Japanese events in the UK and includes traditional Japanese culture as well as new generation’s pop culture, cosplay – and J-Pop songs like I did, really a mixture of Japanese things”.


The track “Pray For You” itself is stylistically lounge Jazz, a world away from the traditional element usually found in Suzuki’s tracks, with a modern, western style vocal, Paired with a smoothing, funk bass line and wraparound synthesizers. So far, it has received airplay on BBC radio London, as well as amassing over 22,000 plays on YouTube, and a further 3,000 on Spotify. The music video for the song features Suzuki, adorned with a headscarf and her signature pink coat singing the song in the streets of London as the lyrics appear on screen. The video can be found here.


Naomi Suzuki’s passion is to help bring Japanese music into the mainstream charts of western countries like the US and the UK, alongside educating people about Japanese culture and traditions. With the rise in foreign music consumption as a result of the success of K-Pop bands such as BTS and BLACKPINK, time will tell whether big name Japanese artists will be able to break into the market, with Naomi Suzuki being a frontrunner in the bid to take the charts by storm. To listen to her song “Pray For You (2021 Remix)” follow these links:



 
 
 

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