[article] J-pop divas fight it out

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J-pop divas fight it out

Ayumi Hamasaki and Hikaru Utada -- who shall be crowned queen?

Across Asia, from Japan to Singapore, the two doe-eyed newcomers are vying for pop supremacy. Their latest CDs, released a few days apart in late March and early April, are flying off the shelves and have sold in excess of five million copies each.

Who deserves to be crowned queen of J-pop? As the Japanese invasion of the Singapore charts continues its advance, it looks like a contest between the image-conscious chameleon and the R&B sweetheart. TOMMY WEE reports

EVERYTHING is tense in the J-pop boxing ring. Two pop princesses are slugging it out for ultimate pop supremacy. So, pull up a ringside seat.

Hikaru Utada and Ayumi Hamasaki have been raining punches on each other since early this month, when both their albums, Utada's sophomore studio effort, Distance, and Hamasaki's greatest hits compilation, A Best, were released a mere five days apart.

One week, Utada is top of the highly prestigious Ori-Con charts (the Japanese version of the US Billboards). The next week, she is knocked down by Hamasaki.

Across Asia, sales of both albums are at a competitive five million copies each and counting.

In Singapore, both albums have surpassed the 10,000 mark in terms of unit sales, and are vying for space at the top of the Singapore Phonogram And Video's (SPVA) Chinese charts.

Says Mr James Kang, 27-year-old marketing and promotions manager with music label Musicstreet, which imports Hamasaki's albums: "Due to the considerably small J-pop market size here, sales of anything in excess of 3,000 is an impressive feat."

At this point, Hamasaki has the slight advantage, with sales edging towards platinum status of 15,000. Media comparisons of the singers are rife.

Utada and Hamasaki are J-pop's much-needed answer to Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera. Deliciously different and fresh, they are the storm-in-a-teacup that has everyone gushing.

In the red corner, weighing in at a slight 40 kg, is 22-year-old Ayumi Hamasaki, the most powerful J-pop earner, with 218 billion yen (S$3.2 billion) last year, attempting to do the unthinkable: Earn even more this year.

She has bright, big eyes, porcelain skin and is as adorable as a manga cutie (Japanese animation).

In the blue corner, weighing in at 41 kg, stands 18-year-old Hikaru Utada, Japan's teenage R&B darling and champion of the non-image. She is spunky, spritely, smiley and oozes way too much sensuality for a girl of her age.

Based in New York, where she attends Columbia University, Utada is hitting home-runs without being, well, home.

In Singapore, a non-Japanese-speaking country dominated by a myriad of international and Chinese pop faces such as Stefanie Sun, William So and Faye Wong, these two albums are making a scene, so to speak.

Hamasaki and Utada are household names one does not hear in conversation, yet the sales figures speak volumes about their appeal.

Twenty-thousand Singaporean fans, who bought their latest albums, cannot be wrong.

FAIR TO COMPARE?

ALTHOUGH it is easy to casually lump all J-pop artistes together, 19-year-old Ms Tan Leng Tuan, an arts and social sciences undergraduate at the National University of Singapore and a keen fan of J-pop, would be the first to tell you the two are very different.

She says: "Ayumi Hamasaki changes her image very often, and is quite commercialised. For A Best, she's got six different covers for fans to collect. People get excited about her image, because she has the courage to try new looks. That's quite gimmicky, but it works.

"Utada comes across as a more genuine singer. She's younger and the American influence in her R&B songs is obvious, but she has a very good voice. She places more emphasis on her songs, rather than her image."

Tertiary student Tan Hui Xian, 19, agrees: "The promotions for Ayumi are crazy. She keeps putting out singles and different re-mixes of those singles, each time with a new image. It's more about the dressing, the look, and she keeps hungry fans guessing.

"Utada doesn't bombard people with different images. She lets her songs do the talking. Her songs are also easier on the ears."

Bank officer Susan Lee, 25, supports that opinion: "Utada's voice is not as sharp and irritating. I prefer her style, which has more feeling."

Ms Lee's colleague, Mr William Wan, 28, begs to differ: "Ayumi's singing is very pleasant. She looks good all the time, and knows how to keep fans interested with every new image. No one else is doing that. I like her cat image, very sexy and cute."

Perhaps shrewd marketing and imaging does make the difference between artistes' successes.

Says Ms Tan Puay Hoon, 24, promotions executive with Warner Music Singapore: "An artiste's profile is very important. You can't really compare Utada and Hamasaki now because Utada is still in school, so there are definitely restrictions on her in terms of actively promoting and recording songs. It's been a year since Utada's First Love album, so she's been quite low in profile.

"Ayumi is more cute, while Utada is more plain. But Utada's a more substantial singer."

JAPAN -- THE GREAT POP MACHINE

LIKE a tireless factory churning out slickly-packaged replicas of modern-day pop stars, J-pop's Namie Amuro, Suzuki Ami and Noriko Sakai will live on in newer, updated versions of the ever-evolving, picture-perfect J-popster.

If you appreciate sophistication, image and appearance, they are a-dime-a-dozen. If you enjoy song and vocal quality, the Japanese have it covered.

Utada rolls with the punches, keeping it real and braving the industry's elements. She can be easy, personal, but ultimately single-faceted and boring.

Hamasaki dodges those punches. Constantly unpredictable, striking when you least expect it, and going to great lengths to keep herself "dangerously new".

For sheer audacity, polish and fearlessness, Hamasaki smashes home a stiff upper cut, and wins by a high-pitched knockout.

J-POP PRINCESSES: How they measure up

AYUMI HAMASAKI
NICKNAME: Ayu
DATE OF BIRTH: Oct 2, 1978
AGE: 22
BIRTHPLACE: Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan
HEIGHT: 156 cm
WEIGHT: 40 kg
NUMBER OF COPIES OF LATEST ALBUM, A BEST, SOLD ACROSS ASIA: Five million
SONG-CRAFT: Easily-recognised, radio-friendly pop tunes. Writes her own songs
SINGING VOICE: High-pitched. Potentially annoying
STAR QUALITY: Absurdly profitable. One advertisement for Kose Cosmetics' Lip Gloss sold 500,000 sticks within two days
THE LOOK: Enigmatic chameleon of J-pop, with an amazing 12 image overhauls in her 1-1/2-year career
BIGGEST CAREER ACHIEVEMENT: Became the biggest earner in J-pop last year, with 218 billion yen (S$3.2 billion)
BIGGEST CAREER CONTROVERSY: Posing topless for her 1999 album, Loveppears. Also accused of putting voodoo in her music
CHART DOMINANCE: Her compilation CD, A Best, has been at No. 1 for the past two weeks on the Singapore Phonogram and Video (SPVA) chart. She is the only J-pop female artiste to hit No. 1 in Singapore, with her last album, Duty
WHAT'S GOING FOR HER: Her promotion-intensive, visually-flamboyant look
WHAT'S GOING AGAINST HER: Her promotion-intensive, visually-flamboyant look. How long can she sustain the revamps?

HIKARU UTADA
NICKNAME: Hikki
DATE OF BIRTH: Jan 19, 1983
AGE: 18
BIRTHPLACE: New York City
HEIGHT: 158 cm
WEIGHT: Fluctuating between 40 kg and 42 kg
NUMBER OF COPIES OF LATEST ALBUM, DISTANCE, SOLD ACROSS ASIA: Five million
SONG-CRAFT: Lightweight R&B, Americanised pop. Writes her own songs SINGING VOICE: Mature. Husky, mellow and richly satisfying
STAR QUALITY: Magnetic. Appeared on Tokyo radio's Countdown Station programme and was hounded by pursuing media. Eventually, only 500 people were allowed to watch through a glass window into the studio
THE LOOK: Personable and down-to-earth, if low-profile, college girl
BIGGEST CAREER ACHIEVEMENT: Her 1999 debut album, First Love, sold out almost immediately at record stores in Japan upon its official release, instantly entering at No. 1 on the Ori-Con charts (the Japanese version of the US Billboard)
BIGGEST CAREER CONTROVERSY: She was criticised by the Japanese press for not speaking in "formal, polite and traditional" Japanese
CHART DOMINANCE: First Love set the record for the fastest-selling album in Japanese history. First single Automatic stayed in the Top 10 Singles chart for two months. In Singapore, First Love has sold more than 30,000 copies
WHAT'S GOING FOR HER: Her youthful, fuss-free image and credible songwriting
WHAT'S GOING AGAINST HER: Her low profile

From The Straits Times (Singapore), 20 April 2001