Pop quintet HICARI have announced the release of their new single ‘Stellar'. Taking influences from the likes of CHVRCHES, The 1975 and St. Lucia, HICARI create huge pop anthems with synth hooks that will sound as at home in an arena as they do on your headphones.
The new single ‘Stellar’ is no exception to this with its upbeat sensibilities rooted in 80s and 90s pop. Lyrically, however, the track delves deep, tackling the subject of body image and the pressures to conform to modern-day, media perceptions of unrealistic beauty.
It's a delicious bubblegum pop track, with a great hook, upbeat vocals and an all important message about avoiding the shaming and hating; it's a positive message about self confidence and inner beauty that is seriously lacking in pop music today. It's as inspirational as it is catchy.
Lead vocalist Shai comments, “From the age of 11 to 18 I’d been bullied for being chubby and it has always played on my conscience. My mum always told me otherwise but I was convinced that I wasn’t good enough to be seen as attractive. Where I grew up, physical ‘beauty’ was seen as the only thing that made you worthy of being someone and so I grew up determined to be what people thought was beautiful. Now I see how subjective beauty is, we all perceive it differently and so for me ‘Stellar’ was being on both sides of the spectrum.” Vocalist and keyboard player Ryan adds, “As a kid in school, I always fell for girls who had talent and great personalities. I remember completely falling for a girl because she had such an incredible voice, I couldn’t come to terms with why other guys only talked about the ‘popular’ girls who had nice faces and big boobs. ‘Stellar’ is celebrating how innocent and oblivious I used to be, and rejecting how society has tried to teach me that ‘real beauty’ is on the outside.” Hailing from Liverpool, HICARI, which means 'light' in Japanese, are a multicultural band of friends who are made up of Shayaan Oshidar (Lead Vocals), Ryan Bickley (Lead Vocals, Keyboard), Tatsu Saiki (Guitar, Keyboard), Paddy Morrison (Bass) and Will Brown (Drums). 2016 saw HICARI first achieve recognition with their debut single 'Catch Fire' and its remix surpassing over a quarter of a million hits. During the summer, they played to festival crowds including LIMF (Liverpool International Music Festival) & Fusion Festival. They were also invited to perform at the Manchester City vs Bucharest game at the Etihad Stadium.