Tsunku, mastermind of the ever-changing Hello! Project, has done it again. Just a few days ago, a 60-second teaser PV of Hello! Project Taiwan’s newest duo Frances & Aiko surfaced on the Internet. And boy did the flames fly high.
It’s a sad day in j-pop history when its own fans do not bother to do their research and try to see things from a producer’s perspective before pointing fingers and screaming blasphemy. It is my desire, then, to address the main concern of the populace – the fact that French-Chinese Frances and Japanese-Chinese Aiko are only eight and six years old, respectively.
In the late 70′s and early 80′s, when the era of classical Japanese pop was at its peak (with big-shot names like Pink Lady climbing to stardom), the budding industry of Cantopop (Cantonese pop) was blossoming in Hong Kong and other areas of Southern China. A common trend for Cantopop artists was to begin their career by performing cover songs.
When I was younger, my parents listened to tapes of many old-school Cantopop artists (such as revered “song gods” Roman Tam, Sam Hui, Anita Mui) on their cassette players. Whenever I hear these songs again, it brings me back to a time of my life where all seemed right in the world – when I had no stress of college, income, or living independently. A time when I could lounge around in the humid summer heat next to a rotating fan and admire the stillness of sunny day.
One of my favourite songs is actually Faye Wong‘s 容易受傷的女人 (Easily Hurt Woman):
Imagine my surprise one day, when I was listening to one of Nakajima Miyuki‘s albums… and lo and behold – it was a very familiar-sounding song!
I was both shocked and delighted to hear the familiar tune in another language in which I am familiar. Nakajima Miyuki is revered as one of the goddesses of classic Japanese pop, and her voice has impressed me before, but I never knew that one of my favourite childhood songs actually had roots in her original ルージュ (Rouge):. As a lover of both Japanese and Cantonese pop, I was happy to know that much of Cantopop was inspired from old-school J-pop.
First things first – IT’S OUT!! The long-awaited album featuring all of current Hello! Project, many of them shuffled into blasphemous “revival” groups like Tanpopo#… In fact, how do you even read that? Tanpopo-pound? Tanpopo-hash? Tanpopo-sharp? The last option seems pretty feasible, since all the younger girls have such screechingly sharp voices. Good choice, Tsunku. Good choice.
Putting all sarcasm aside, I offer up my thoughts on the album as a whole. Before we delve into my criticism, a disclaimer: I listen to old-school J-pop, and many of these songs are rearrangements of some good 80′s or early 90′s hits. Thus, should I ever diss Hello! Project’s arrangements, you will know why – I simply like the Silver Age of idol music way too much.
Ever since I heard Korean dance-pop singer Sori’s mini-album Lips sometime this spring, I knew I would be forever hooked on her infectious tune. The title track, “Real Lips” (below) has this really retro but extremely danceeble beat. It’s not a rock-out-like-there’s-no-manana dance track, but kind of coy and cute.
I was surprised when I learned Lips was her debut release – I wanted more musical goodness from this girl! And finally, several months later, I get it – in the form of her digital single Disco Party 1982, which doesn’t have any sort of track called that at all.
The lone track on the digital single (which is a really popular form of release in Korea) is Boy Boy (feat. JCO of Plastik Mic) and its remix. I don’t care so much for remixes, so I loaded up the original first on my music player and nonchalantly hit the play button. I was expecting something “typical” K-pop (i.e. a Sori-infused version of Nobody), but instead I was rather blown away by the style she has created.
When we speak of “East Asian” entertainment, most people’s minds automatically shift towards peppy J-pop girl groups (like Morning Musume), hot-and-spicy K-pop dance acts (like Wonder Girls), soulful Taiwanese solo artists (like Wang Leehom), or metrosexual-looking boybands (like Johnny’s Entertainment groups). Very rarely does one encounter a member of the East Asian music fan community that thinks of Malaysian singing idols as part of the “East Asian entertainment” umbrella.
Fortunately, the number of Malaysian idols is significant enough to make it a feasible part of the East Asian music industry. In fact, some of Malaysia’s top teenage stars have sold thousands upon thousands of albums both to their native country and mainland China. Just like the Korean idol industry carries specific traits that set it apart from its Japanese counterpart, the Malaysian idol industry has some peculiar aspects that render it quite the curious oddity.
