"Pretender" is a song recorded by Japanese band Official Hige Dandism, released on May 15, 2019, through Pony Canyon in physical single format to serve as the theme song of the 2019 film The Confidence Man JP. Upon release, it was a commercial success, and spent seven weeks at number one on the Billboard Japan Hot 100 and thirty-four weeks at number one on the streaming chart, breaking the record held by "Marigold".
Composition and lyrics The song is written by vocalist/pianist Satoshi Fujihara and composed in the key of A-flat major and is set in time signature of common time with a tempo of 92 BPM. "Pretender" features a piano, guitar, electric bass, and drums. Begins with melodic guitar arpeggios, the song is described as a sad love song about a man who thinks he is not worthy to fall in love with the woman he likes, and saying 'goodbye' as an expression of giving up.
Music video The video of "Pretender" was released on April 16, 2019, and directed by Takuto Shimpo. It was filmed in Taipei, showing the band performing with the night view of Taipei as the background, while theatrical scenes of local Taiwanese models and actors are inter-cut in between. On May 22, 2019, the video for the acoustic version of the song was released. It was directed by Yoshiaki Muto, features the band performing with the night view of Tokyo as the background. As of October 2025, "Pretender" has over 500 million views on YouTube, became their most viewed music video, while the acoustic version has over 8 million views on YouTube.
Track listing
Personnel Words, music and programming: Satoshi Fujihara Arrangement: Official Hige Dandism Vocal and piano: Satoshi Fujihara Guitar and chorus: Daisuke Ozasa Bass and chorus: Makoto Narazaki Drums and chorus: Masaki Matsuura Guitar technician: Tatsuya Mochiduki (Innovator Associates Inc.) Drums technician: Genki Wada Recorded and mixed by Masahito Komori Mastered by Ted Jensen (at Sterling Sound)
Charts
Weekly charts + 2019 weekly chart performance of "Pretender" Chart (2019) Peakposition Japan Weekly Singles (Oricon) 9 Japan Hot 100 (Billboard) 1 + 2025–2026 weekly chart performance of "Pretender" Chart (2025–2026) Peakposition South Korea (Circle) 62
Year-end charts + Year-end chart performance of "Pretender" Chart (2019) Position Japan Hot 100 (Billboard) 3Tokyo (Tokio Hot 100) 1 Chart (2020) Position Japan Hot 100 (Billboard) 2 Chart (2021) Position Japan Hot 100 (Billboard) 20 Chart (2022) Position Japan Hot 100 (Billboard) 26 Chart (2023) Position Japan Hot 100 (Billboard) 44 Chart (2024) Position Japan Hot 100 (Billboard) 53 Chart (2025) Position Japan Hot 100 (Billboard) 61 South Korea (Circle) 164
All-time charts + All-time chart performance for "Pretender" Chart (2008–2022) Position Japan (Japan Hot 100) 3
Certifications
Awards + Year Ceremony Award Result 2019 2019 MTV Video Music Awards Japan Song of the Year 2020 Space Shower Music Awards Song of the Year 34th Japan Gold Disc Award Best 5 Songs by Download 2021 39th JASRAC Awards Domestic Works
Covers Peaky P-key did a cover of the song for the game D4DJ Groovy Mix. In 2019, Pentatonix covered the song on their PTX Japan 5th Anniversary Greatest Hits album. YESUNG, one of the main vocalists of legendary K-Pop group Super Junior, covered the song in SMTOWN LIVE 2024: SMCU PALACE @TOKYO millsage did a cover of the song for the game BanG Dream! Our Notes.
References