Nakata may be the virtuoso—“Nakata-san is in control of everything from lyrics to making tracks,” Kyary told us—but like all great pop stars, there is something essential yet intangible about her contribution to the music and how it’s presented. In an interview published in Kyary’s 2011 book, Oh! My God!! Harajuku Girl, Nakata acknowledges the way she activates creativity in those around her, saying, “Everyone who gathers around Kyary feels like, ‘If I were with Kyary, I’d be able to express things that are new to me.’ That is, of course, how I feel too.” She’s like the producer behind the producers. With her surreal style, born out of Tokyo’s cutting-edge Harajuku fashion district over which she now reigns, Kyary motivates you to take risks. Just as important, the pretty oddities about her—the bunny-hopping dances and not-quite-perfect voice—make Kyary easily relatable and supremely memorable. In Kyary, accessibility and experimentation combine so that she herself comes to represent pure potential, as though through her, any unusual idea—like the male foxes with vinyl pink bras that appear in her video for “Tsukematsukeru”—might find a major audience.

Brands like the aforementioned cell phone company have latched onto the same quality, and Kyary has become ubiquitous in Japanese advertising, appearing in spots for Adidas, Coca-Cola, Kentucky Fried Chicken, Panasonic, Suzuki, confectioners and countless others. Not unlike Nakata, these companies use the beguiling singer as a cute and cool prism through which to project themselves. By embracing her stranger side, they’ve made some truly weird, eye-catching ads, like the “Fashion Monster” series she did for the clothing store g.u., in which Kyary appears biting necks and sporting a foot-tall hairstyle, coiffed to look like a flying vampire bat. With Kyary—and with more and more artists these days, as her model of music-making via marketing proves successful—her body of work extends beyond singles and albums to include photo shoots, promo spots and a public persona. Impressively, rather than being emptied out by her ceaseless product-hawking, Kyary’s brand has become even stronger. It makes sense: for the queen of exaggerating sweetness and smiles until they become ugly, what could be more perfect than to make the act of selling part of her art?

In the following interview—conducted in Japanese at the Tokyo offices of her management company, then translated—Kyary discusses her unique appeal to advertisers, learning English (or not) and planning her next world tour.