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For The Loss Of A Star

26 Jun 2009 by Legendria

At 8am on Friday, 26 June 2009, I was awakened by the beep of an SMS from my brother. ‘Are you going around today with one glove, black armband, face mask and black hat as tribute?’, it read. I replied drowsily, ‘Michael Jackson’s Day ke?’ (Is it Michael Jackson’s Day?). And my eyes grew wide as I read the next SMS, ‘No. He just died.’

A person who really knows me would know that I had admired Michael Jackson since I was a child, since he started singing solo and even throughout his many changes. I have every one of his albums, with the exception of the 25th Anniversary album, and even had my dad buy me the movie and music video collection when it came out. I still remember when KFC in Malaysia had the Michael Jackson promotion where you can take a picture with his life-size standee. I was ecstatic, even though it wasn’t really him.

At this moment, Facebook is filled with dedications and tributes to the ‘King of Pop’. He has touched numerous fans with his songs, many of which are soulful and has the power to make you dance around or make you weep in tears. He was a true genius in music.

However, at the same moment as tears and tributes are shouted out, there are jeers and criticisms alongside them. As I looked through my newsfeed, most of my friends’ status updates were paying homage to Michael Jackson, but some of the people commenting on their status were writing some pretty mean stuff.

As the ‘King of Pop’ has passed away after the Malaysian newspapers were printed and as CNN is not available for my Astro, I had to google to find out the real story. I read only the headline story of his death and immediately closed the browsers after that because even on the news website, there were already twisted articles written about him. The pop idol that many have loved was not even buried in peace yet and already the vultures have descended with their repulsive behaviours and ugly words.

I am not ashamed to admit that I loved him, that I admired him, even when he went through drastic appearances, even when he was accused of crimes ranging from molestation to breach of contract. No matter what people said about him, he undeniably changed the world of music, contributed many wonderful songs and touched souls everywhere. Just because he was famous and rich, people sought to take advantage of him, to bring him down, out of greed, out of jealousy and out of pure hatred. Yet underneath it all, he was still human, a human like any other with feelings and emotions, capable of making mistakes and wrong decisions but also capable of making a change in people’s life. The people who ridiculed and condemned him without concrete proof and reason forgot that they themselves are human just like him and it is without a doubt that they will face the same ridicule and condemnation that they inflicted on him, God will see to that.

As I am writing this post, I am forced to disable comments for it as I have seen the ugly side of people who are not able to hold their tongues and their fingers from saying and writing discriminatory and uncalled remarks on the passing of Michael Jackson. Who cares about which religion he is in? Who cares what he was accused of doing? Who cares whether he abused drugs? We have lost a great figure in music and all these people could think about is ‘what more bad things can I say about this man’. It is often times like this when we will see the blackness of a person’s soul and heart. May God save your pitiful self.

It is a sad day for his fans, friends and family, and even the sky in Malaysia mourns his death as it rains throughout the day, as though the tears of his many loved ones fall from the heavens.

To the late and great Michael Jackson (from 1958 to 2009), at the age of 50, you left this chaotic world to finally rest in peace, away from prying eyes and condemning mouths. Your life was not in vain for you have touched many with the music of your creation, with your wish to ‘heal the world’. Your music and your memory will still live on in the hearts of your loyal fans, your true friends and your beloved family. We have loved and will still love you always and forever. Rest in peace.

Commemorative picture with a life-size standee of Michael Jackson. May you rest in peace. God bless.

Category: Inspiration, Music, Tribute Tags: Michael Jackson Leave a Comment

Asian Invasion

20 Jan 2009 by Legendria

Prepare for invasion!! Alert all troops!! Asia is hitting the world…in a big way!!

No, no, no, it’s not war, well, not the nuclear-guns-missiles war anyway. It’s the war of music!!

Yessiree, if you’ve been living under a rock, or deafening yourself with your headphones, then you don’t know that the Asian artists are readying themselves to invade the West. Artists like Utada Hikaru, BoA, and Koda Kumi are branching themselves out of their home-turf and Asia, and sticking their big music toe into the Western door. Since I’m more of a Japanese/Korean music fan, the artists that I’m talking about are mainly from there so forgive me if I have no clue about other Asian artists.

I just only notice this trend when I was watching MTV’s JKMusic program, which showcases the latest of Japan and Korea’s music videos. BoA came on the screen suddenly and it pulled my attention ‘coz I saw the video earlier at a restaurant but couldn’t make out the music. Imagine my surprise when she sang the song in pure English!! BoA, or rather Boa Kwon, is a Korean singer who sings, and have sung, in Korean (duh, of course), Japanese, Mandarin Chinese and now, English (is there no end to her multi-lingual talent?). I just only found out that her first English single, ‘Eat You Up’, was released on October 21, 2008!! My God, am I late with the news, either that, or MTV Asia is late with the coverage.

BoA -- Eat You Up (Asian version)

BoA -- Eat You Up (US version)

In my personal opinion, BoA should just stick to the Asian version of the music video. 1) ‘Coz her dance moves are GREAT there, and 2) She just doesn’t look natural in the US version, kinda like she’s trying too hard.

Anyway, reading about BoA’s debut US album made me think about other Asian artists that tried, some failed, to generate some Western traffic their way. Koda Kumi actually sang a duet with Fergie, ex-member of the Black Eyed Peas, a while back. The song was titled ‘That Ain’t Cool’, released on June 11, 2008. The tune was good, the duet was fine, but the lyrics? Not exactly what I would call inspirational writing. Also, Koda Kumi really needs to work on her English pronunciation. At one line, she sounded as though she was speaking Japanese, I couldn’t make out a single English word. The only other pure English song I know she sang is ‘A Whole New World’ with Peabo Bryson in her Best -- Second Session album, and that too wasn’t very English-friendly.

But of course, the one I love the most is my favourite, Utada Hikaru, a.k.a Hikki (don’t ask me why the fans call her this). She was actually born in the US, and was known as Cubic U way before she returned to Japan. Unfortunately, her debut album, Precious (1998), wasn’t successfully released in the US, but after translating it to Japanese, the sale of the album just blew up in her home country. She then decided to return to her roots and came out with Japanese albums First Love (1991), Distance, (2001) Deep River (2002), Ultra Blue (2006) and recently, Heart Station (2008). In 2004, Utada Hikaru re-attempted to enter the American market with another English album, Exodus. She teamed up with legendary Timbaland on some of the songs, but apparently, the West is not ready for her composing and songwriting power (or are they actually afraid of her power? ). I find it a pity that she still hasn’t grown popular in America, even though she was the one who wrote and sung the ever-popular opening themes for Kingdom Hearts 1 and 2.

Utada Hikaru -- Simple & Clean (Kingdom Hearts)

Utada Hikaru -- Sanctuary (Kingdom Hearts 2)

There are a few more Asian artists that I can mention, such as Che’nelle (who’s actually born in my country, Malaysia) and Anggun (from Indonesia). We don’t have that many well-known Asian actors and Asian singers in the other side of the world, but I won’t be surprised if we turn out to be next big trend and capture the world’s undivided attention.

Category: Music Tags: BoA, Koda Kumi, Music, Utada Hikaru Leave a Comment

Reunion: Speed (J-Pop Group)

18 Dec 2008 by legendria

I could only stare dumbfounded at the screen as I read the news. I simply couldn’t believe it. I couldn’t believe that (1) it has actually happened, and (2) that I didn’t know about it. How could I not know that one of my favourite J-Pop groups, Speed, has returned to the music industry?

Ok, let me just give a brief intro to those who don’t know who I’m talking about.

Speed is an all-girl Japanese singing group, which consists of 2 lead singers, Imai Eriko and Shimabukuro Hiroko, and 2 back-up singers/dancers, Uehara Takako and Arakaki Hitoe. The girls debuted back in 1996 after attending Okinawa Actors School, singing J-pop, J-hip hop, R&B and dance music, and is one of the biggest selling female group in Japan. After putting out 3 albums (plus 3 compilation albums) with 11 singles, Speed disbanded in 2000.

However, in 2001, the girls grouped for a short reunion, holding a one night outdoor concert for an earthquake charity where they sang a new song, One More Dream. They held another concert in 2003, this time for the charity ‘Save the Children’ to raise money for poor children around Asia. Throughout their two reunions, the group came out with 3 singles, 1 album and 2 live concert albums.

And now, they have reunited again!!! And I didn’t know!!! Oh, what a lousy fan I am. I only noticed that they came out with a maxi single, Ashita no Sora (Ashita No Sora CD and Ashita No Sora CD+DVD versions), when I was browsing Amazon.com for their Save the Children concert DVD, which I still can’t find in Malaysia. The maxi single has 3 songs, Ashita no Sora (translated Sky of Tomorrow), Something New and White Love?STEADY?Body&Soul 2008, and also includes the instrumental version of each song. The DVD has the music video of Ashita no Sora as well as an Off Shot video. While I’m all delighted and excited, what I’m truly feeling is sadness…..sadness because nobody seems to be selling the maxi single in Malaysia, and it came out way back in November 2008!!!

I can’t believe it’s been more than a decade since I first heard of them. I mean, they don’t look like they’ve even aged much.

: Speed – Starting Over album

: Speed – Ashita no Sora maxi single

They have matured in other ways though. After disbanding, Arakaki Hitoe (the oldest of the 4, born April 7 1981) has gone to New York’s art school and is an accomplished artist with her graffiti-style paintings, having published an art book called Vibe Art, holding private art exhibitions and having her work featured on American hip hop album covers. Uehara Takako (second oldest, born January 14 1983), however, still stayed in the music industry, releasing 2 albums (First Wing in 2000 and Pupa in 2003), but extended her skills into acting in TV dramas and movies.

Imai Eriko (born September 22, 1983) also stayed in the music industry, at first as Eriko with Crunch, then as solo artist Imai Eriko and finally as elly. Like Takako, Eriko was also busy dabbling in acting but not busy enough to get married in 2004, giving birth to her son, Raimu. Sadly, Eriko divorced from her husband, 175R vocalist Shogo, in 2007. The youngest of the group, Shimabukuro Hiroko (born April 7 1984) remained one of the most popular member after Speed’s disband, having released 2 albums as a solo artist and 1 English jazz album as Coco d’Or with altogether 14 singles under her belt. She is, perhaps, the only one to totally focus on a music career.

I’m still upset that I can’t find Speed’s new maxi single. My last resort had been to download from the Internet (which I have) and to watch their video on YouTube (which I have) but it’s still not enough!!! Sigh, looks like I have to resort to ordering from Amazon.com again. If you like J-pop music, you really should give Speed a try (not the drug, the Japanese group). In my honest opinion, they are one of the top female groups in Japan, even better than MAX, and I’m HAPPY that they’re back, hopefully to stay for a long time.