|
|
|
|
|
GOLDSEA |
ASIAMS.NET |
ASIAN AMERICAN ISSUES
IS THE U.S. READY FOR ASIAN AMERICAN POP STARS?
ime was when we saw literary fame or Hollywood stardom as the final frontier for Asian acceptance in the U.S. More recently the frontier shifted to pro sports and national politics.
A year into the 21st Century we see Asian lights going on in the literary world, Hollywood and pro sports. We even see Asian Americans in two cabinet posts. But one arena remains starkly devoid of Asian stars -- the pop music scene.
James Iha, Smashing Pumpkins guitarist/backup vocals & solo recording artist
|
Classical stars like Yo-Yo Ma, Seiji Ozawa and Vanessa Mae are old news. We've noted Japanese imports like Shonen Knife, Keiko Matsui and Pizzicato Five. We've marveled at the unlikely hit "Sukiyaki". Many of us have spotted James Iha in Smashing Pumpkins and Jeff Lin in Harvey Danger, or maybe even heard of Asian American bands like Seam and Versus.
But where is pop music's Chow Yun-Fat, Ichiro, Chang-rae Lee, Norman Mineta?
One indication of our lack of presence in pop music is the fact that Ming-Na and husband Eric Zee have even financed a record label (Innovazian) in hopes of promoting an Asian American pop/R&B boy group -- a sort of private Head Start program for pop music. Few of us even know its name (At Last). Its first CD sold all of 3,000 copies.
Those of a paranoid or cynical bent will postulate conspiracies among racist, short-sighted heads of major record labels. The sociologically inclined will see pop music as the inner sanctum of American culture and Asians as the perpetual outsiders.
But for purposes of this page, put on your music critic/historian hat and prognosticate the most likely path by which an Asian star will ascend to the American pop firmament. Will it be a Canto-Pop, J-Pop or K-Pop star storming the U.S. via the import route? Will it be a surprise chart-topper by an AA artist (say James Iha with another, more successful solo album)? Or will there be a frontal assault by a wave of AA groups/artists currently playing the club and auditorium circuits?
This interactive article is closed to new input.
Discussions posted during the past year remain available for browsing.
CONTACT US
|
ADVERTISING INFO
© 1996-2013 Asian Media Group Inc
No part of the contents of this site may be reproduced without prior written permission.
|
|
|
|
WHAT YOU SAY
[This page is closed to new input. --Ed.]
(Updated
Tuesday, Apr 1, 2008, 05:57:33 PM)
The other day, my friend and I were looking at PAX TV and the show, Next Big Star (I think that's the name). There were the usual contestants but then we saw...them. Five young men SOAKED in Asian fineness! The group was called "At Last" (Not a bad name...easy to remember and we were certainly saying it the whole night) and they were beautiful! Those guys could sing! Before the song was even halfway over my friend and I were putting dibs on the ones we liked. I can't remember the song they sang, but they did it so well. I hope that get a deal...It would be nice...
Jade
kangtalvr@yahoo.com
Tuesday, January 08, 2002 at 21:42:17 (PST)
Tune out,
You said it. Although smart marketing helps too. Why else would otherwise talentless people like Madonna, Britney Spears, and indeed, 99.9999% of the poptarts and boy bands make it? Plus, ever notice how black pop stars never have quite the same impact or pop-ularity as the white ones even if they're as "talented" (or rather, "untalented") as their white counterparts? Especially if their skin is such that they cannot bleach their hair credibly? That's right folks, white is still *right* in the pop business.
Asian Dominatrix
Tuesday, January 08, 2002 at 15:35:21 (PST)
Toi San Jai,
I'll even go a step further and say not only is it record labels that control the music industry, but that they would have you believe that only pretty girls and handsome boys can make music. I realize that its part of the marketing strategy, but think about it. Almost all bands and singers both male and female are usually good looking. The few times you do see ugly or out of shape musicians it is because they're talent could not be denied. Of course in rap, I don't think looks and fitness matter as much. With heavy bruisers like 8-ball, E-40 and even Ice Cube making rap songs, part of raps theme is looking mean or menacing.
Thats why I still like Jazz, Blues and Eastern music when it comes to "real" musical art. Jazz and blues men like Duke Ellington, Mile Davis and Leadbelly weren't pretty but they were pretty amazing musicians. Did you ever see the late Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan from Pakistan? His music was featured in films like "The Last Temptation of Christ", "Natural Born Killers" and "Dead Man Walking" and he made a few albums with Peter Gabriel, Michael Brooks and Eddie Vedder of Pearl Jam. The man was a blimp but a musical genius.
Now I'm not saying pretty people can't make music, but looking at popular, comtemporary, American music; you would think only pretty people could.
Tune out
Monday, January 07, 2002 at 14:25:44 (PST)
Okay, about the Payola thing... I am a former radio DJ, so I know exacly how the music industry works. Payola happens everywhere. Ever notice how you hear some hot ta def song, and it's even number one on the listener requests, yet you never hear it ever again after a couple weeks? Chances are, the record label could not afford to pay the station off. What the listeners like doesn't mean crap. The record labels control everything. That's why you get all those "crap"pers like Jay Z and Nelly making it big, while the true talent, like Necro and Foreign Legion will always stay down.
<>
You know, there is such a thing as an R&B ballad.
About the reggae thing... it's very different. Jamaicans are pretty similar to American blacks, so they can relate. They were taken from the same region of Africa to become slaves in the Caribbean. Reggae was their avenue to vent their anger and to talk about injustices. The same thing was true of early hip hop. Reggae itself is pretty diverse, so you can't even label it as a musical genre alone. There is ballad reggae, hip hop reggae, rock reggae, etc. Hip hop reggae is very hard and angry, rivaling anything regular hip hop puts out. Hey, but nothing beats my favorite reggae song of all time... "Flex... Time to Have Sex!" by Mad Cobra.
Toi San Jai
Eric@kristinkreuk.net
Friday, January 04, 2002 at 20:57:16 (PST)
NEWEST COMMENTS |
EARLIER COMMENTS
|