Ai Goes Back To L.A.

[Mulboyne]

[YT]bJr-k6nfzcc[/YT]
"Story"

LATimes: Ai's American dream
"So today I was thinking: 'Should I speak Japanese, or English tonight?' " Universal Japan recording artist Ai said from the El Rey Theatre stage recently. The near-sellout crowd, mostly Japanese expatriates and Asian Americans living in Los Angeles, screamed replies, some in English, some in Japanese. "I'll just speak music," she said with a laugh, before launching into an up-tempo R&B jam -- in Japanese with an English chorus. And so it goes for Ai Carina Uemura, a biracial, bilingual rising R&B star in Japan, whose El Rey show was her formal U.S. debut. The singer was actually born in L.A., graduated from the Los Angeles County High School for the Arts and played her most important local show to date just 12 miles away at the El Rey...Yet the road from her alma mater to the El Rey stage actually stretched about 12,000 miles: She first became a bona fide Japanese pop star in the land of her ancestors..."Ai and Crystal Kay are the best singers in Japan today," says Sherman Oaks-based J-pop producer Joey Carbone...Uemura has been described by some as the Japanese answer to Beyoncé for her sultry vocals and hip-hop attitude. More "fierce" than cute, Uemura evokes comparisons to Beyoncé and Alicia Keys on tracks like "Butterfly" -- where she effortlessly switches between Japanese and English...more..

[halfnip]

As long as she sticks to the ballads, she is definitely one of the better R&B type of artists in Japan. Hell, "Story" was one of the songs we chose for my freakin' wedding.

I beg to differ that Crystal Kay is the "best" in Japan. I suppose this guy hasn't heard her sing live before...

AI represent the half-nip half-Italiano!

[Greji]

I beg to differ that Crystal Kay is the "best" in Japan. I suppose this guy hasn't heard her sing live before...

Agreed, however, she ain't that bad. But, she is a school mate of one of my daughters and along with Beni and some others have a group of fellow "halfies" that are a pompous bunch of asses. My daughter informs me they don't invite full blood Japanese, or FGs to any of their parties, although they do make minor exceptions for kikokushijou who are good enough if both languages. I think the brats give them a LPT.

I took my daughter to a joint in Yotsuya when they were having one of these get-togethers and she wouldn't even let me go inside, apparently because I was a "muggle" and might embarrass her. I think she only consented to allow me to take her, because I was headed that way and she was late...

You might be able to get in Halfnip, but your age and common sense would probably disqualify you

[Catoneinutica]

Agreed, however, she ain't that bad. But, she is a school mate of one of my daughters and along with Beni and some others have a group of fellow "halfies" that are a pompous bunch of asses. My daughter informs me they don't invite full blood Japanese, or FGs to any of their parties, although they do make minor exceptions for kikokushijou who are good enough if both languages. I think the brats give them a LPT.

I took my daughter to a joint in Yotsuya when they were having one of these get-togethers and she wouldn't even let me go inside, apparently because I was a "muggle" and might embarrass her. I think she only consented to allow me to take her, because I was headed that way and she was late...

You might be able to get in Halfnip, but your age and common sense would probably disqualify you

Would a Latino/a with a "mestizo" heritage qualify? Same thing, innit?

[james]

My daughter informs me they don't invite full blood Japanese, or FGs to any of their parties

i wonder if the irony of their being the product of both cultures yet accepting members of neither is completely lost on them..

[halfnip]

Agreed, however, she ain't that bad. But, she is a school mate of one of my daughters and along with Beni and some others have a group of fellow "halfies" that are a pompous bunch of asses. My daughter informs me they don't invite full blood Japanese, or FGs to any of their parties, although they do make minor exceptions for kikokushijou who are good enough if both languages. I think the brats give them a LPT.

I took my daughter to a joint in Yotsuya when they were having one of these get-togethers and she wouldn't even let me go inside, apparently because I was a "muggle" and might embarrass her. I think she only consented to allow me to take her, because I was headed that way and she was late...

You might be able to get in Halfnip, but your age and common sense would probably disqualify you

Without disclosing too much information on meeself here, she actually attended the same HS as yours truly. Although she commuted from Yokohama apparently...

I happened to meet her the first time at a few MTV backstage after party shindigs and the 2nd time was actually at a friends house where a bunch of us gathered for some good ol' homecooked BBQ. There were a lot of FG's only because they were all parents and the kids were all hapa's.. She seemed OK and down to earth, although did seem a bit too shy. The wifey kept telling me to mention that we were from the same school, but I'd rather eat bowl after bowl of natto before having to get on my knees and play the "common folk" just to get her to talk to me.

I've seen her on the train heading from Juban to most likely Yotsuya as she goes to Sophia. Next time you're headed to one of those parties, please invite us all. Me likes Sophia girls..

[Greji]

[quote="halfnip"] Next time you're headed to one of those parties, please invite us all. Me likes Sophia girls.. ]

Hey, they have them all the time and I can't get in, I think my kid is the bouncer. You probably blew it, when you showed up in front of the parents, which would classify you with the rest of us untouchables!

[xenomorph42]

Ai, is a really down to earth girl. Her mom and my mom have been friends over 40 years. Her mom being from LA. They have a nice house overlooking Los Angeles. When she got married, she moved to Japan-Kagoshima. Since she was little child, I remember her always being mesmerized by music. We used to babysit her and her younger sister.
But I knew, she would be something big, because she had so much tenacity. But her parents are too cool and kept her head from swelling like all so many artists out there that think, they have the right to be snobbish.
I think she can make it in LA, even though,(she use to sing at the First AME church-gospel) it`s a tough nut to crack. Talent alone will not guarantee her success, you also need a ton of collections, which she is slowly accumulating. I know she wants to try more heavy R&B/Funk style, that perhaps in Japan wouldn`t work. Music tends to be a little fruitier.
But in the states, you have to be able to sing those notes well, otherwise the press and editorial pages will have a field day with you. Other than that, she most definitely has the talent to pull it off.