|
|
|
|
|
GOLDSEA |
ASIAMS.NET |
ASIAN AMERICAN ISSUES
Is the U.S. Ready for Asian American Pop Stars?
(Updated
Tuesday, Apr 1, 2008, 05:57:21 PM)
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.]
BeatBoxB - hey props to fixin up her site for her and bringin out her voice! Big improvement!
Now as far as gender double standards...
Why is a 25-yo virgin guy considered a loser but a 25-yo virgin girl considered moral and upright?
Why are men who suffer from premature orgasm considered losers but women who do the same (if they even exist) highly prized?
Why do men have poles and women holes?
I could go on, but you get the picture. Men and women were simply born different. Now if you want to erase double-standards, go right ahead, but you'll have to erase ALL of them to be fair.
Duble-truble?
Tuesday, February 25, 2003 at 09:52:38 (PST)
[148.104.5.7]
look ed, why are my posts never posted, the last three had no insulting or hatefull words in them so why? am i banned or what?
The Malaysian Sensation
Tuesday, February 25, 2003 at 09:47:53 (PST)
[203.106.177.233]
[You keep repeating things you've said already. That's against the rules. Also, your posts really seem driven mostly be a desire to put down people. That's plain boring [yawning uncontrollably]. --Ed]
BeatBoxB:
as a "hip-hop" producer there's no doubt in my mind that the last thing you want to focus on is "talent", therefore you dismiss it as inconsequential. NO SURPRISE from one who's industry depends on hype, electronic manipulation, and garbage loosely interpreted as "MUSIC"
For your information Eve tempted Adam with her sexuality and THAT was the oldest trick in the book. It's a pitiful indication of where our society is heading.
harold ming
Tuesday, February 25, 2003 at 09:06:46 (PST)
[153.104.212.24]
Re: Jocelyn Enriquez, Norah Jones & More Asian American Singers
Asian American Dance Music Queen Jocelyn Enriquez is back with her 3rd album entitled "All My Life," courtesy of HER OWN record label JEM Records. From Feb. 11 to 22, 2003, she was on the cover (home page) of www.TowerRecords.com. I hope she'll have her 6th Billboard Chart No. 1 dance hit single this year through "No Way No How," her new album's 1st single.
Oh yeah, Sunday's multi-Grammy Award winning jazz singer Norah Jones is half-Indian (Asian American) and her mom is white. So yeah, these two are the biggest stars in Asian America's music world today after 1/8 Filipino Enrique Iglesias (Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 Hit: "Be With You"), 1/2 Japanese Yvonne Elliman (No. 1 Hit: "If I can't Have You") and Kyu Sakamoto ("Sukiyaki").
Other part-Asian Grammy winners in the past: Kirk Lee Hammett of Metallica whose mom is half-Visayan and James Iha of the Smashing Pumpkins.
Lastly, does anyone know if Vanessa Olivares of "American Idol" fame is half-Filipina? And whatever happened to the second CD of Josephine Banig Roberto who was grand champion on "Star Search"? I found her unofficial site but it seems dormant/outdated: http://www.banig.homestead.com
AA Music "historian"
Tuesday, February 25, 2003 at 08:54:08 (PST)
[198.81.26.235]
Mr.Chow
Chou is Taiwan spelling and Jay is from Taiwan. Chow is HK and Cantonese spelling. And it sounds the same.
to correct you
Tuesday, February 25, 2003 at 05:14:44 (PST)
[67.30.171.238]
What's up everyone, it's your fave Hip-Hop producer BeatboxB. It seems while ya'll been busy hatin'& lovin' Cat Kim, i decided to help the situation. The sound quality on her site was awful, so i emailed her some tips to fix that problem:) I also told her to let her music do all the talking and to add some more songs. She took my advice and it sounds BOMB now:) So for all you naysayers out there...IT'S ON! The girl looks HOT & she sounds HOT! I'm sure someone will try & find another reason to hate on her, but save it. WE DON'T CARE. I personally do not like NSYNC, CHRISTINA, AVRIL, or EMINEM. Does this mean they need my $16 bucks? Does this mean they haven't sold millions of records? HELL NO! What we consider "good" music is a matter of personal taste. AAgal admitted she liked Marky Mark (gag) so let's be real. Stop tring to convice me & everyone else out here what "good" music and real "talent" is. WE DON'T CARE! Everyone will buy & support who they like, so save your breath (or fingers). And one final thing, we all know if a guys sleeps with 100 chicks and walks around showing off his pecs he's a STUD. If a girl sleeps with 2 dudes and wears a thong in public, she's a SLUT. Now that IS "the oldest trick in the book".
BeatBoxB
Monday, February 24, 2003 at 14:04:42 (PST)
[152.163.189.136]
Yay! Zhou Jie Lun rules!
amazing talent yup yup, sure thing he is, I just became Jayish recently.
Pop music... hmm.... some are good, some are tolerable, some are a good waste of a time, some are just torture
ABC guy
Monday, February 24, 2003 at 11:29:56 (PST)
[68.4.81.19]
Guys,
It's Jay Chow not Jay Chou.
Mr. Chow
Sunday, February 23, 2003 at 19:01:31 (PST)
[24.69.255.204]
BTW, I'm greatly indebted to the person who's introduced me to "Jay Chou" via your jaychou.com link! :) Young, handsome, shy, sensitve, writes music, plays music, sings, raps, dances and classically trained in (several) instruments (gasp for breath!) and most importantly ... GREAT MUSIC!!! What more can you ask for?! Oooh, he's *REAL* baby!
Here's a site that'll give you some stuff about his personal bio:
http://multistars.com/jaychoustudio/JayNews.php
Too bad he's just met Vivian! :)
AAgal
Saturday, February 22, 2003 at 10:21:11 (PST)
[204.210.11.100]
Honestly, I had no intention of continuing on with this matter since I really do have better things to do with my life and I'm' quite busy at work, but I feel quite compelled to at this point, as there are just so many loose ends on this matter that I feel needs to be tied up. I'm going to play devil's advocate here, and basically challenge just about everyone, so if I come across sounding highly opinionated as " Miss Know-It-All", please forgive me, but it's because I feel so strongly about this, and partly because it's a reflection of one of the worst parts of our society, and partly because I can relate to this personally. Anyhow, everyone here DOES have a "choice" as to acknowledge or disregard what I have to say, and that's kinda what the theme of this whole fiasco is about ...
I'll start with the pessimists, beginning with "Women's fib". The tone that you carry suggests that you are embittered by hypocrisy which you claim, entail's the Women's Movement ("feminist bull*", as you put it). Your disdain seems to stem from women who are blessed with good genetics and use it unwarrantably for personal gain. A (very) few women can only defend your accusation with "don't hate me cuz I'm beautiful", but the rest of us have so much evidence against you, you'd better get Johnny Cochrane to defend yourself, hon! You claim there's no "personal integrity" at stake, and "far more to do with making do with what you got". That's a big crock of crap and a rather bold over-generalization to say the very least!! I personally DO believe in this integrity, as do many others out there, both men and women. I am a professional woman. I have gone through University, have competed toe-to-toe with some of the best out there in my field (a male-dominated one), and where I am in my profession today is a direct consequence of some smarts, lots of hard work and personal sacrifices. It had NOTHING - absolutely ZILCH - to do with my sexuality (and I'll just say that I'm "not ugly" either). Yes, there ARE women out there who use their sex appeal in a shameful manner, and I have witnessed it first-hand. I've had some ex-girlfriends in university who were renowned for "batting their lids" or "showing some leg" in order to leech off some poor, hard-working guy at the lab, or some unwitting male TA. They make me sick to the stomach! It's also one of the reasons why they're now my "ex-". I can say with absolute certainty, that this group is a very small minority of the female population. Does this suggest that I'm a "feminist hata", that I go through life as a bitter old spinster dressed in a bonnet and old maid's gown, tsk'ing at every young girl out there with knee-high skirts? Far from it! I looooooove to flaunt, yes I do baby, thank you very much! :) ... but NOT at my professional workplace! And for the record, at the same time there are guys out there who do just the same (flaunt). We knew of a guy in university who was known as "The Asian James Dean" who greased his hair more than Elvis and wore so many wife-beater t-shirts, he even puts Fabio to shame! But let's not lose perspective - the Women's Movement also stands for the downtrodden female - victims of sexual descrimination, physical and sexual abuse. Women's lib as "Women's fib", as you put it, is in actuality "Men's fib about Women's Lib". It's NOT just a "big joke", just as Asian rights, Black rights, or whoever's rights for that matter.
The second group of pessimists involved in this whole embroiled affair, are those who just simply cannot accept the notion of "pop music" or "pop star". The whole contradiction that vexes you, is the insistance that it should be a requirement for any "pop star" to also be a "musician", or technically proficient musically. Yes, you value true creativity and talent, and so do I. But does this imply we must *HATE* any pop stars who fall out of these (very rigid) categories? Very few actors/actresses have the theatrical background of "Sir Anthony Hopkins", but does that really imply we shouldn't admire them? Of course not! We love and hate people "as a whole", not just for a single aspect of them, and this includes pop stars - ESPECIALLY for pop stars, with pop music's loose-at-best definition. A pop star is a pop star, a musician is a musician, just as an apple is an apple and an orange is an orange. Does one hate eating an apple for not being an orange? Can one not admire a flower for just being pretty and pleasant? I feel every person has a unique flair in them, something special which they can bring to the world. Every pop star out there each has their own "special something" to offer and it isn't just music alone, and if everyone could at least try to keep an open mind to see it, the world could be a better place.
And finally, I need to pick on all you "optimists" out there. :) Again, my apologies for my apparent smugness. Asian women as "meek dolls? Are you kiddin?! Have you been hanging around your grandparents too long?! :) Believe me, even with my own parents who are in their fifties, many of us (what you'll call "old-timers" :), are quite liberal in our ways, and my younger self was probably the WORST example of "quiet" and "docile"! :) "What is soooo wrong about ANY woman wearing a bikini"? Nothing. Nothing at all, nothing whatsoever ... at the beach, at the pool, for a photo-shoot, or on a fashion runway ... but anywhere else ... you know the answer. Morally speaking, it's still not "wrong", but pragmatically, like I've mentioned before, however unfair it sounds, society DOES have a pre-conceived mindset that favors "prim and proper", so if you aren't at least making a small effort to match the mould, you're just making an uphill battle for yourself (i.e. "B.S. and stress"). You DO have the choice of course, but should be wary of, and accept its consequences. I'm sure all the "B.S. & stress" Cat will go through will ultimately be good for her when she conquers it, and it should also keep her well-grounded (that's why she's reading all this, neh?). In the words of Nietzche: "that which does not kill us makes us stronger". And Cat is gonna get through it all using "her head"! :) Bon chance, ma soeur!
I'll support anyone with anything great to say, but I'll only "remember" the ones who were real. Though it's now a little embarassing to admit it, I was an overzealous "boy-band" crazed little gal of not too long ago. As a little girl, it was Wham!, Duran Duran, Depeche Mode, The Police, Michael Jackson, to The New Kids on the Block, Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch as a young teen (blush)! Let's just say both Donny and Mark Wahlberg were innocent victims of my not-so-innocent little dreams! ;) (all guys gag here -> <- !) :P But the only boy-band I'm still listening to these days were the original, the greatest - The Beatles! Funny, cuz that's a group who's prime was way before I was even born. Explanation: they were *REAL*. These days, MNM is ma' main squeeze (in my dreams at least)! :)
It's apparent from everyone's posts that we all value different things, as we're all different persons (well, duh!!) so doesn't that suggest the question: "Is the U.S. Ready for Asian American Pop Stars?" to be a silly one, as it forces one to retort: "Which age group?", "Which race?", "Which sex?", "Which sexual orientation?", "Which religion?", "Which level of education?", "Which level of wealth?", etc, etc ... ??? Though I sincerely believe that the new information age makes us a smaller world by bringing it all into a little "TV set", it makes it bigger as well, because it's now "a TV set with tons more channels". As an individual, each person can only view so many channels, selecting only the handful that coheres to their personal tastes and preferences. But it DOES NOT mean they should sabotage the rest of the channels which they disapprove of! That's what this whole war-thingy in Iraq is about, neh?
AAgal, Live and let live.
Friday, February 21, 2003 at 10:13:25 (PST)
[204.210.11.100]
NEWEST COMMENTS |
EARLIER COMMENTS
|