We FINALLY get an official upload of a Crystal Kay music video from the Sony days, “Boyfriend -Part II-”

It might be happening y’all. After years of me (of all of us CK fans) cussing over there being no official uploads of Crystal Kay’s music videos from her Sony catalog, we might finally be getting them.

Today, out of the blue, the official Sony Music Japan YouTube channel uploaded the music video for “Boyfriend -Part II-”. I don’t know why this particular song on this particular day. This woulda been nice to have had back in January to commemorate the 21st anniversary of the song. Or even a couple of weeks ago to acknowledge the 24th anniversary of Crystal’s career.

Why is it that nobody seems to want to release things at times that makes sense and creates a story any more!?

HENNYWAY.

I guess we should be glad that Sony is actually acknowledging Crystal Kay and that we have at least one official upload of a video from her Sony catalog. Here’s to hoping it’s the start of us getting all of them. The Sony Music Japan YouTube channel is random as hell, and sometimes goes on this these kicks where it just uploads a bunch of old music videos on the down low.

The product placement in this video is...interesting, and honestly feels like something which may have been the influence of Verbal of M-Flo. The smiley’s in the video are more than just a random theme. I THINK it’s all product placement for The Smiley Company, who make all sorts of smiley related goods. It’s cute and it’s fun, but in two instances we see Smiley being used it’s on what are clearly riffs on other brands; Starbucks and Wendy’s, which made me think ‘Why did somebody just get Crystal a Starbucks or a Wendy’s bag?’ But maybe there was a huge campaign in 2003 where Crystal Kay was the face of The Smiley Company and was plastered all over Shibuya. If any of you can shed light on any of this, please do. This ambiguity is one of the shitty aspects of Japan’s lack of digital preservation, matched with Crystal’s team having not done more to amplify her so that campaigns she were a part of were known.

And also, why did Sony not let a bitch put one of their radios or stereo systems in the music video?

Girl. You shoulda been fired the whole management and marketing team.

Crystal Kay - Boyfriend -Part II- | Sony Music Japan

It’s always interesting for me looking back on “Boyfriend -Part II-” because I can both see and hear so much of the DNA of it in “One”, a song I still adore and play regularly to this day. Also, “Boyfriend -Part II-” has aged so well. It’d fit right in now with this resurgence we’re getting with dance music, 2 step and garage. The song still sounds great and the video is still good. The only thing which hasn’t aged too well is the dance break. It sounds a lil’ outdated and the green screen sequence is a mess, but no more of a mess than what Warner Bros. and Marvel Studios have given us for their multi million dollar budget superhero movies.
Shit like this is why Sony and Crystal’s team need to do the work to push the old shit. Because it’s all still good and fits within the landscape of today. And even if it didn’t. So what? Celebrate it.

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💿 CK album reviews: I Sing | For You | Vivid | Shine | Spin the Music | Call Me Miss... | All Yours | Color Change! | 4Real | Crystal Style | Almost Seventeen | 637 -Always & Forever- | C.L.L. ~Crystal Lover Light

📀 CK Special Editions: X, a Crystal Kay collaborations Best album | Euphoria, a Crystal Kay dance album | Sparkle, a Crystal Kay Christmas album

🎧 CK Spotify Playlists: This is Crystal Kay | Crystal Kay: Ballads