Music Corner 40: BananaLemon

BananaLemon is a Japanese R&B/hip-hop group who consider themselves “Neo J-pop”. They made their debut in 2016 with their first song “#SorryNotSorry”, released on iTunes. BananaLemon currently consists of four members: Nadia (main vocalist/leader), Mizuki (dancer/rapper), Saarah (lead vocalist), and the newest member of the group, Lety (rapper), who joined last April after original member R!NO left in late October 2018. Their name is derived from “the sweetness of a banana and the sourness of a lemon”. The group was formed through producer STY, who is well known in the industry for working with famous groups such as EXILE, Girls Generation, Koda Kumi, Daichi Miura, and many more.

BananaLemon’s style of music showcases their powerful vocals, rap expertise, and catchy compositions, geared toward the world. Not only do they have the vocal and rap skills, but impressive choreography capabilities. BananaLemon brings a special sound to the industry geared toward the international music scene with their 90s R&B flavor. Each member possesses a uniqueness and provides “that special something”, whether it be with vocals, rapping, or dance. BananaLemon provides a major support to the international community with their multi-cultural background and it shows in their music style. These girls can switch from Japanese to English fluidly in their tracks, plus their blending of Western and Japanese styles makes it even more seamless. Their sixth and seventh singles, “Girls Gone Wild” and “Look At Me, Look At Me”, gained much traction in the United States and Europe, which goes hand in hand with their East Meets West/Neo J-pop style. Due to all this traction BananaLemon has gotten overseas, they have performed many concerts and events all over, including in Korea, Taiwan, and the United States.

Through BananaLemon’s latest dance practice release “JOYRIDE (#SorryNotSorry pt2)”, the girls show not only their masterful choreography but the vocal capabilities of each girl. The composition of this track brings you back to the late 90s/early 00s with a heavy R&B dance beat and catchy chorus. In their song “Beautiful”, BananaLemon shows they can slow it down for an empowering ballad which sticks with you due to its powerful lyrics and vocals. Their latest digital single “Slapanese” shows an interesting side of the girls as it has a heavier hip-hop feel to it, featuring everyone rapping, and it brings a heavy Western vibe. Their 90s-00s Essential R&B Medley shows how much fun these girls have and their multicultural musical background as it includes a variety of both Japanese and English R&B tracks.

Currently, BananaLemon has 15 digital singles that can be all found on Spotify, iTunes, AppleMusic, and most digital streaming sites. Check out their official website, Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube.