Posted on Monday, 7th September 2009 by Miri
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.
I suppose we must put aside the obvious fact that many members of Berryz Koubou and C-ute actually joined at a young age (Hagiwara Mai held the position of youngest member to debut in H!P until little Aiko stepped onto the scene, with a birthday just a few months later than Mai’s). Even though H!P caters to a predominantly Japanese market, let’s move down south a little bit and take a look at the culture of Taiwan, southern China, and South Asia, where Tsunku appears to be focusing his energy with H!P Taiwan.
our two newest shining stars, Frances & Aiko!
Child stars have always been a common thing in China, and even more so in South Asia. The “princess of Chinese songs,” Timi Zhou, was only 3 years old when she debuted on CMs and television (with her first album appearing two years later). She has grown up beautiful, happy, and very down-to-earth. No scandals have fallen her way, nor did anyone blame companies of “exploiting” her for money. She’s always carried a shining charisma and seems to be super happy on the stage. Frances & Aiko are no different – if anything else, they seem ten times as excited to be there in front of hundreds of people, singing and dancing just like their role models.
various images of young Timi Zhuo
If we go down further south, we run into Malaysia, where raising pop stars at a young age is typical (see my old post: Introduction to Malaysian Idols). Most of the current idols in Malaysia actually started their careers around the ages of 4 or 5, by making music video VCDs. Could any of them sing really well? Of course not. But they were pure, adorable, and carried a healthy dose of charisma that brought a smile to the faces of their fans. Nowadays, the two best-known groups Four Golden Princess and M-Girls are in their late teens or early twenties, and they are every bit as happy and “normal” your average girl.
Malaysian idols: M-Girls then and now
The pop industry in Japan and Korea is definitely not as easygoing as that of China/Taiwan, and likewise China/Taiwan aren’t as relaxed as those of Malaysia. I do see where Tsunku is headed, though, and I personally think Frances & Aiko are adorable. There’s also been a lot of discussion about whether this is “morally correct,” to which I must mention that the girls’ parents must have approved of the decision before UFA was able to supposedly “exploit” them for money. And contrary to popular belief, many girls at a young age know that they want to be singers and superstars. Even though I would personally not choose that kind of hard life for myself nor my children, I don’t think that fans have the right to rain on the parades of those who do want to pursue that kind of work.
I’m not saying that I fully support what these girls are getting into, but I likewise do not support fans badmouthing two young girls living out their dreams. It’s rude to assume that either the girls or their management “suck” just because they can’t sing on-key (they’re children, for Christ’s sakes!) and because they’re a bit younger than your typical Maki Goto or something. Can’t we all accept things from an objective viewpoint that takes into consideration that perhaps – just perhaps – Tsunku and UFA know what they’re doing?
Hanging with the Ice Creamusume members before the concert!
I look forward to seeing what both of these groups do in the future!
P.S. There’s also been a bit of controversy over the meaning of the song title, 大小姐. I’ve heard anything from “Little Big Missy” to “Big Little Lady” to “Big Miss”. Frankly, 大小姐 is a euphemism in Chinese that is very hard to directly translate to English. When you say to a little kid, “Oh, you’re pretending to be such a 大小姐!” that basically means something along the lines of, “You’re pretending to be all high-class and bossy!” (in a joking way). It’s how you would describe little girls who dress up in their mommy’s dresses and parade around the house with a lace fan and oversized straw hat, admiring themselves in the mirror and decking themselves in plastic jewelry. 大小姐 literally means “Eldest Young Lady” (where “young lady” is a single noun, not an adjective + noun, and is often used to mean “Eldest Mistress”) – it’s what servants would call the oldest daughter (i.e. “young lady”) of the house’s master, but in modern times it’s also used as an expression for a snobby high-class girl.
Posted in Hello! Project, Japanese music industry, Scandals and controversies, Taiwanese music industry | Comments (4)
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