Did you know that there is a 1998 J-Pop song out there that can calm any baby down whenever they cry?
Yes, the internet has recently found out that children up to age two would immediately stop crying as soon as you play Takashi Sorimachi’s song, “Poison” – which is also the theme song to his hit 1998 series, “Great Teacher Onizuka” (GTO).
This is knowledge to Takashi himself, who was interviewed by his agency Ken-On’s YouTube channel about the phenomenon earlier this month, admitting that he was told by his friends that their kids would immediately stop wailing as soon as the music from the song began to play.
When asked if he thinks that it only works on Japanese babies or if the song has the same effect on foreign children, Takeshi responded, “The baby probably won’t stop crying at the sound of my voice. I think they stop crying when they hear the first melody. Maybe it’s stimulating the baby’s brain.”
He was then shown videos of children from several countries including New Zealand, the UK, Brazil, and the US doing similar things, and couldn’t help finding it amusing.
A researcher from the Acoustical Research Institute of Japan recently explained the phenomenon, saying that the first guitar riff of the melody was the secret to capturing the baby’s attention.
“The frequency shifts a lot, so it’s easy to get their attention,” he said. “I think Poison has a very interesting structure.”
He also added that Takeshi’s low-sounding voice in the chorus where the melody is in high register also calms the baby.
“I’m happy to think that my work continues to help others,” said Takeshi. “My friends tell me that they listened to this song with their babies and it stopped them from crying. I’m very happy.”
Takeshi added jokingly that he would have been happier to know this particular fact back when his two children were much younger.
“My older daughter used to cry all the time…. She woke me up at around 2am every night. We used to go for drives. So I wish I had known about this,” he said.
(Photo Source: Ameba News, SOHU)