Flashback Friday: Perfume - Voice | The fushizen na girls are fighting

11th August, 2026 marked the 16th anniversary of Perfume’s single “Voice”. So we gon’ run it back for this installment of Flashback Friday. Also, with all things on the Perfume front being silent with the group on hiatus, I’m down for any ol’ reason to talk about some Perfume shit.
“Voice” was Perfume’s second single from their third studio album JPN, after their double A-side “Fushizen na Girl” and “Natural ni Koishite”. And I didn’t realise until long after and when I was in closer proximity to the Perfume fandom just how divisive “Voice” was when it released. The Perfume standom can be a mess and have some really questionable takes on Perfume’s songs (and I’m sure they’d say the same about me). But even so, I do get why some fans looked at “Voice” sideways.

“Fushizen na Girl” was just a great song. And it also felt like it was cut from the same cloth as the singles from their second studio album Triangle, so there was a familiarity and a throughline. The ol’ ‘First single from a new album sounding like a single from the previous album’-itis which is common in Japanese music. “Natural ni Koishite” was a bop. But even if fans weren’t too hot on it, it didn’t really matter, because there was “Fushizen na Girl” — which was the main song of the double A-side anyway. But then “Voice” comes along and I don’t think it’s what fans expected. Especially not after “Fushizen na Girl”. It was a bit too cutesy and a bit too plain. But it also made fans question what Perfume’s direction was. With “Fushizen na Girl” and even “Natural ni Koishite”, the direction seemed kinda clear. And then here’s “Voice”, flying in the face of that.

I liked “Voice”. I found it charming and thought that it had a really cool music video which did a lot for the song. A big issue I had with Game and Triangle when I first listened to them is that I felt like the songs didn’t have enough personality. They had style in abundance, but no personality. There was a coldness to everything. But with “Voice” coming off the back of “Fushizen na Girl” and “Natural ni Koishite”, there was a different energy and a warmth to Perfume’s music that it just didn’t have before. And I was beginning to get a better sense of who Perfume were and Yasutaka Nakata’s whims as a producer and a writer. But I completely get why some fans didn’t like “Voice”.

It’s funny looking back on this now. Because divisive singles and wondering what the hell is the direction with Perfume’s music would become regular thoughts, discussions and arguments amongst fans for the next 13 years.

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💿 Album reviews: Game | Complete Best | Triangle | LEVEL3 | JPN | Cosmic Explorer | The Best “P Cubed” | Future Pop | Plasma | Nebula Romance: Part 1 | Nebula Romance: Part 2

🎛️ ?J Extended Mixes: Mawaru Kagami | Moon | Cosmic Treat | Nebula Romance