What do a Japanese pop star and a freshman at Penn State have in common? Apparently, we all are.

Recently, Penn State fans on Twitter noticed that the #WeAre had a new emoji with it, but it had nothing to do with the Nittany Lions. Instead, the hashtag was taken over by a Japanese talent agency in an attempt to promote its new Netflix special and single.

Starto Entertainment, which purchased the hashtag, is a Japanese agency that promotes up-and-coming Japanese pop bands. Starto’s bands also dropped a single in April, entitled STARTO For You (We Are). All proceeds from the song will be donated to the victims of the 2024 Noto Peninsula earthquake, which took place in Japan on January 1.

Starto also launched a Netflix special documenting a concert with 14 of its bands, made up of 75 members and complete with behind-the-scenes footage. Starto’s concert was the culmination of the charity work done by the bands and the song, while the #WeAre on Twitter was meant to promote the Netflix special about the concert.

Folks interested in purchasing the single can find details about the song, written in Japanese, here. Until the label’s promotion ends, get ready for #WeAre…Better tweets to have a strange connection to a Japanese pop song.

About the Author

Joe Lister

Joe, shockingly, was Onward State's managing editor from 2024-25. It was an honor. He's off employed doing journalism things, hopefully. If you want to complain about anything he's ever written, you can find him on Twitter (iamjoelister), email ([email protected]), or Signal (iamjoelister.93).

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