| "Plastic Love" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 2021 reissue single artwork, originally used for 1980 "Sweetest Music" single | ||||
| Single by Mariya Takeuchi | ||||
| from the album Variety | ||||
| Language | Japanese, English | |||
| Released | March 25, 1985 | |||
| Recorded | 1984 | |||
| Studio | Onkio Haus (Tokyo, Japan) | |||
| Genre | City pop | |||
| Length | 4:53 | |||
| Label | Moon | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Mariya Takeuchi | |||
| Producer(s) | Tatsuro Yamashita | |||
| Mariya Takeuchi singles chronology | ||||
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| Alternative cover | ||||
 Original 1985 single cover | ||||
| Music video | ||||
| "Plastic Love" on YouTube | ||||
"Plastic Love" (Japanese: プラスティック・ラヴ, Hepburn: Purasutikku Ravu) is a song by the Japanese singer Mariya Takeuchi from her 1984 album Variety. Written by Takeuchi and arranged by Tatsuro Yamashita, the song was released as the album's third single on March 25, 1985. "Plastic Love" is a city pop song; its upbeat arrangement contrasts with melancholic lyrics that describe a woman who embraces a hollow, hedonistic lifestyle after being scorned by a lover. Upon its initial release as a single, the song was a moderate success in Japan, peaking at number 86 on the Oricon Singles Chart and selling around 10,000 copies.
During the late 2010s, an eight–minute remix of "Plastic Love" went viral after being frequently recommended by the YouTube algorithm. By 2019, the video had received over 22 million views, and it received over 55 million views by 2021 before being removed due to a copyright strike. The song's popularity led to an international resurgence of interest in city pop. Along with Miki Matsubara's 1979 single "Mayonaka no Door (Stay With Me)", "Plastic Love" became a "gateway" for younger fans into the city pop genre, and it has been regarded as the most well–known song in the genre.
In 2018, a cover of "Plastic Love" by Friday Night Plans peaked at number 30 on the Oricon Singles Chart. A re–issue of Takeuchi's original single on 12 inch vinyl peaked at number five on the Oricon Singles Chart in 2021, and became the best–selling analog single of 2022 in Japan; Warner Music Japan also released a music video for the song. A cover by Japanese idol group Juice Juice peaked at number three on the Oricon Singles Sales chart in 2021, and ranked at number 85 on Oricon's 2022 year–end Singles Chart.