Phony (song)

"Phony" combines pop, drum and bass, and techno genres.^[2] The song features the repeated lyric "phony" and onomatopoeic hooks.^[1] Higakiyuuka from KAI-YOU described it as having a catchy melody, a musical structure that is "surprising in a good way", and literary lyrics.^[1]

Tsumiki said that compared to previous Vocaloid voicebanks, KAFU can transmit an overwhelming large amount of information and show more "flesh-and-blood". These characteristics are reflected in this song, with Tsumiki stating that the production is fresh and exciting, and the vocal style is completely different from traditional songs.^[3]

A music video for "Phony" was released on June 5, 2021, and is a hand-drawn animation with lyrics subtitles. The illustrations were created by Japanese illustrator Uedatsubasa, and the film was edited and produced by Tsumiki.^[4]

This song placed at number 13 on the Heatseekers Songs chart released by Billboard Japan on December 15, 2021,^[5] and peaked at number 10 on the Heatseekers Songs chart in the fifth week.^[6]

In the YouTube Top User Generated Songs chart released by Billboard Japan on January 12, 2022, it entered the top 20 and ranked third,^[7] later rose to second place in the 24th week, and eventually surpassed "Kamippoi na" and won first place in the 31st week.^[8]

The song ranked second on the Top User Generated Songs chart for the first half of 2022,^[9] and won the second place on Billboard Japan Niconico Vocaloid Songs Top 20 chart on December 21, 2022.^[10]

Wagakki Band covered "Phony" and released their music video on YouTube on 1 June 2022. It gained over 450,000 views on YouTube following release.