[2007] This really convinced me! Utada is THE best!

[ImpactBreaker]

Hikki's mom was very famous? I don't think she was that famous at all....

Anyway, wanna listen to japanese best vocals? Sorry but Hikki loses the spot easily to artists like Ayaka, Asuca hayashi and mink. Those three don't sound like they're having an asthma attack while singing, while Hikki....sorry Hikki, I love you even so.

[truehappiness]

Originally Posted by ImpactBreaker

Hikki's mom was very famous? I don't think she was that famous at all....

Anyway, wanna listen to japanese best vocals? Sorry but Hikki loses the spot easily to artists like Ayaka, Asuca hayashi and mink. Those three don't sound like they're having an asthma attack while singing, while Hikki....sorry Hikki, I love you even so.

You do know that the news article about having no.1 and no.2 albums by a female solo artist at the same time on the Oricon album chart was "done again" by Ayu, right?

Well, 36 years ago, guess who the last artist was that achieved that?

Hikki's mom. Keiko Fuji.

Keiko Fuji (藤 圭子 Fuji Keiko), real name Junko Utada (宇多田純子 Utada Junko, Born July 5, 1951 in Iwate Prefecture, Japan), is an enka singer and actresss well known in Japan. She had success in the 1960s and 1970s with her ballad-type songs.

She is also the mother of one of the currently most popular female singers in Japan, Utada Hikaru, and is the wife of Teruzane Utada, a record producer.

All current gossip and rumours aside (see below), she is one of the most gifted singers ever to grace a microphone in her country Japan, and her voice is as important to the genre of Enka music (popular in the 1960s and 70s) as singer Tammy Wynette is to Country and Western music. Under-rated, under-appreciated, and now besmirched, still, no one can take away Fuji Keiko's immense talent and ability to move people's emotions with her voice. She is a far superiour singer than any other who has ever recorded in the Japanese language, including her formidable superstar daughter, who has clearly inherited her mother's talents.

BTW, Hikki has terrible stage presence. Like, Kaori Mochida of ELT can't really sing that well anymore, but hell, she puts on an amazing show

[ImpactBreaker]

Originally Posted by truehappiness

You do know that the news article about having no.1 and no.2 albums by a female solo artist at the same time on the Oricon album chart was "done again" by Ayu, right?

Well, 36 years ago, guess who the last artist was that achieved that?

Hikki's mom. Keiko Fuji.




BTW, Hikki has terrible stage presence. Like, Kaori Mochida of ELT can't really sing that well anymore, but hell, she puts on an amazing show

LOL the article you quoted says "underrated". I don't think an extremely popular artists would be ever called "underrated".

[Enfluerage]

Originally Posted by truehappiness

You do know that the news article about having no.1 and no.2 albums by a female solo artist at the same time on the Oricon album chart was "done again" by Ayu, right?

Well, 36 years ago, guess who the last artist was that achieved that?

Hikki's mom. Keiko Fuji.




BTW, Hikki has terrible stage presence. Like, Kaori Mochida of ELT can't really sing that well anymore, but hell, she puts on an amazing show

lol... That Wikipedia article was so badly written.

"She is a far superiour singer than any other who has ever recorded in the Japanese language, including her formidable superstar daughter"

- if Keiko Fuji was more popular, I'm sure that article would have been flagged by wiki's staff as being non-neutral. Not to mention the spelling mistake hahaha.

Even worse is the article that the wikipedia entry references... lol.. It claims Utada Hikaru sold 40 million albums in Japan
(the record holder for female artist is 29.3 million - Yuming)

But as for comparing Utada and Hamasaki Ayumi... I'd say that Utada Hikaru is an exceptionally talented music singer, songwriter and producer. Probably highly intelligent and above average singer...

The quote by truehappiness is funny but silly:

Originally Posted by truehappiness

"I don't think that you can compare anyone who sang "formally" [i.e Hikki, Hitomi Shimatani, and so on..] to Ayu.. since Ayu was simply picked up after being heard at a karaoke bar.."

- a fan of classical music would compare Hikki to Cecilia Bartoli, Sarah Brightman etc, and make the same statement you just did about Hikki.

In my opinion, Hamasaki Ayumi's is Japan's highest selling solo artist BECAUSE she wasn't some super talented music artist who went to opera school or had a rich music producer as her dad and an ex-superstar as her mum.

Instead, "She was picked up after being heard at a karaoke bar" ..... worked excessive hours and went to vocal training... - while always singing and writing from the heart..... and BECAME number 1.

Hikki is popular because of her talent and background.. Hamasaki Ayumi is even more popular because she deserves it more.

[truehappiness]

Originally Posted by Enfluerage

lol... That Wikipedia article was so badly written.

"She is a far superiour singer than any other who has ever recorded in the Japanese language, including her formidable superstar daughter"

- if Keiko Fuji was more popular, I'm sure that article would have been flagged by wiki's staff as being non-neutral. Not to mention the spelling mistake hahaha.

Even worse is the article that the wikipedia entry references... lol.. It claims Utada Hikaru sold 40 million albums in Japan
(the record holder for female artist is 29.3 million - Yuming)

But as for comparing Utada and Hamasaki Ayumi... I'd say that Utada Hikaru is an exceptionally talented music singer, songwriter and producer. Probably highly intelligent and above average singer...

The quote by truehappiness is funny but silly:



- a fan of classical music would compare Hikki to Cecilia Bartoli, Sarah Brightman etc, and make the same statement you just did about Hikki.

In my opinion, Hamasaki Ayumi's is Japan's highest selling solo artist BECAUSE she wasn't some super talented music artist who went to opera school or had a rich music producer as her dad and an ex-superstar as her mum.

Instead, "She was picked up after being heard at a karaoke bar" ..... worked excessive hours and went to vocal training... - while always singing and writing from the heart..... and BECAME number 1.

Hikki is popular because of her talent and background.. Hamasaki Ayumi is even more popular because she deserves it more.

I love Ayu, but her beginnings came from being picked up at velfarre [a now closed avex dance club / karaoke place], where she was discovered by max matsuura. Then he wanted her to become a singer, so she got lessons or w/e and then she sent him letters and then that made max wonder if she could write her own lyrics.. then it just grew from there ~~

[xiaou-xijiang]

Originally Posted by Enfluerage

Hamasaki Ayumi is even more popular because she deserves it more.

In your own opinion, of course.

[Enfluerage]

Originally Posted by xiaou-xijiang

In your own opinion, of course.

hahaha =)

You're right of course, I should have written IMO in front (ie: that she deserves it). Because many people would disagree with that statement....

BUT I did start my conclusion with IMO (see my post again).

That being said, Hamasaki is the highest selling solo artist of all time in Japan and in terms of "Star Power" (ie: commercials, sales, media power, social influence etc - as Forbes would put it) ... I believe it is safe to say Hamasaki Ayumi is more "popular" than Utada.

Originally Posted by truehappiness

but her beginnings came from being picked up at velfarre [a now closed avex dance club / karaoke place], where she was discovered by max matsuura. Then he wanted her to become a singer, so she got lessons or w/e and then she sent him letters and then that made max wonder if she could write her own lyrics

why does it matter how she was discovered or what her origins were? Many successful people flunked school, were orphans or were illiterate. How is this any different to singers?

For example, I used to like Andrea Bocelli... And yet, even he was criticized by classical purists for not singing (as you put it)... "formally"

Or put it another way... If Koda Kumi were to suddenly dress up in Chanel evening gowns and hire a classical orchestra... Would her singing skill be any different (assuming she didn't go to vocal training etc)? Of course not!

And yet, there would be many people who think so, due to her shift into a different "cultural role" in society.

[kirei_ayumi]

ah~ my favorite song from hikki! she ended that beautifully

[*Petit*]

Originally Posted by ImpactBreaker

Hikki
Anyway, wanna listen to japanese best vocals? Sorry but Hikki loses the spot easily to artists like Ayaka, o.

ayaka had about as much formal training as ayumi had before she debuted. Technically she's not better than utada.

Technique is one thing, another, and more important thing (to me and most it seems), is voice quality, and ayumi is my favourite in that departement. However recently, like the evolution live in some show recently, her singing comes off as screaming to me which was HORRENDEOUS beyond words. I actually like this performances better: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mdPlqm-9YQA, she's never off the melody like in some of the lives she did for LOVEppears. Probably because her ear was still fine.

this is my personal taste though, I like female voices better the higher pitched they are, which is why I also enjoy yhe voice of artists like aya matsuura, masami okui, megumi hayashibara and even W. I absolutely do not like female voices that almost sound like male ones >_<, but luckily there hardly are any in japanese music.