Music

This burger-based Japanese girl group is bent on fast food domination

by Jeremy Mersereau

Japan has no shortage of absurd, unbelievable, visually-overloaded musical exports, but this one just might take the cake beef patty. Hamburgirl Z is a 15-member girl group themed after the greatest food known to man: the burger.

Each member of Hamburgirl Z is costumed after a classic ingredient that make up the The One Food That Rules Them All. Every aspect of the burg spectrum is represented: there’s a member for beef, lettuce, tomato, egg, pickles, avocado, mushroom, pineapple, and uh, eggplant. I’m guessing Eggplant’s probably the Chris Kirkpatrick of the group. 

“All Hamburgirl Z songs are full of love for hamburgers,” says Beef (Rinya) in a statement. “We want to have people of all generations interested in hamburgers. We truly love hamburgers, and we want everyone else to love them, too.” Is there a nobler goal than inter-generational hamburger appreciation? Move on over, cancer research!

Hamburgirl Z is the brainchild of manager Shintaro Yabu, who came up with the idea of a promotional music group to help sell hamburgers on the Japanese island of Awaji-shima. Hamburgirl Z is another in a long line of Japanese “idol” groups, which basically means they’re an all-singing, all-dancing corporate brand extension who won’t ever get their musical merits discussed in a poptimist thinkpiece. Idol culture is alternately insane, troubling, hilarious, absurd, and deeply troubling, but that’s another story. For now, hamburger dance!