China Rose

AmerikaJinMusume’s a Singer?

Well, I was linked to an International Wota blog entry that talks about the YouTube “dancing sensation” AmerikaJinMusume now becoming a singer in addition to being a model in Japan. AmerikaJinMusume’s blog entry about the song, titled “Mayonaka no Sayonara”, explains that Harada Ken from Avex composed the song and she wrote the lyrics. You can listen to a preview of the song at her Myspace, where she goes by the name “Umi”, which means “sea” (for the ’sea’ in Chelsea).

Now, before anyone bashes me and/or supports me, I’d like to make a clear stance on the whole subject, especially given the immense hate that was floating around when she appeared on Haromoni and danced for the Morning Musume girls. For those of you who do not know the Haromoni story, you can read a translation for it on Just Another H!P Blog. The Youtube video does not work anymore. For those of you who do not know AmerikaJinMusume/Chelsea, she is an American girl who posted videos of her dancing to Hello!Project songs on Youtube. She quit school to become a model in Japan, and occasionally moves back and forth between Japan and the United States (so it seems).

I don’t hate her. I enjoy watching her dances, and I thought it was amazing that she was able to appear on Haromoni and dance for Morning Musume. I do believe that there are other people who deserved that chance more (and are more famous than her), but it’s still cool that she was able to do that. We could debate that opinion for as long as you’d like, it’s still not going to change the fact that she appeared on Haromoni. End of story.

Now her ambitions have sprung forth into the music industry. Listening to her song on Myspace, however, made me wonder if this is the right choice. Sure, she has a nice voice, but at the same time, it screamed generic to me. What do I mean by “generic”? For me, it’s basically a voice that does not stick out in the crowd of singers that already exist. It’s not something that will make my head turn and go “I recognize that singer!” just by hearing her voice. The melody for the song is pretty (Harada Ken did compose it, after all), and her voice does fit it to an extent, but it just feels like I’ve heard that voice in so many pop songs that it just does not stick out for me.

Now, I know I’m not the best singer, but I do have a good ear when it comes to music. I may not have the musical knowledge that music majors would have, but I can tell whether or not I enjoy something and what exactly about it I’m enjoying (most of the time). I’m sure I’d enjoy the song, but it’ll fall into the category of “just another pop song” for me. The singing does not stand out, and the only thing catching my attention is the melody at the moment.

In Sekai no Melody, for example, you can hear a variety of voices. Some people have deep alto voices, others have high soprano voices. We have a whole range of voices and voice types. Some don’t stand out, but there are some that, no matter what, you can definitely tell to whom that voice belongs. Examples off the top of my head would be Sorachu, Kimitsu, Andromaeda, and Katie. I can pick out Sorachu in almost every song that she sings in. Even though she blends well with other people, she doesn’t fade into the background at the same time. She has strong vocals for solo lines at the same time. She can adapt to just about any genre. To me, the great difference between Sorachu and AmerikaJinMusume is the fact that Sorachu has a strong voice that stands out, while AmerikaJinMusume has a voice that just blend in with the rest of the crowd of singers.

AmerikaJinMusume’s not bad, but she just does not give that POW feeling that Utada Hikaru or Hamasaki Ayumi gives. Even Nishino Kana, whom I recently discovered, gives a more distinct feeling. She’s not the best singer that I’ve heard, but her “glowly days” song was just so catchy and her voice stands out to me. To me, AmerikaJinMusume’s not someone I’d support or hate either way, because her voice just too “common” to really give a good evaluation. Sure, she is a good singer in terms of abilities and whatnot, but as a singer, you need more than just techniques under your belt. You need that voice that stands out from the crowd.

Well, I guess you could at least applaud her for trying to aim for something more, even if it’s something that’ll probably not work out in the end. I feel like people are just making too much of a fuss over someone who is becoming just another common pop singer, and trying to force people to choose sides in the matter. It’s either you like her or you hate her, and I don’t get why people must make it be that way.

And I must add this as a sidenote: Just because I don’t find her singing “ZOMGFUCKING AWESOME”, that doesn’t mean I hate her. It’s just she’s not someone who wows me. There’s no reason to associate not being wowed with hate. I don’t get why everyone has to do that immediately whenever someone goes, “oh she’s not that great.” Okay? Okay.