Susan Boyle came to Japan last year and she joined the national TV program on December 31st then. She was known to Japanese before that stage but probably that show made her more famous in Japan as it has usually about 50% rating every year.

Her first concert tour in Japan seems to have been decided. Coming April she will sing in the Budokan, where is the holy place for the Japanese marshal arts like Karate, Judo or Kendo.  Bodokan maybe famous among Rock music fans not only in Japan but in the world because it’s often used for big name artist concerts.  The first Rock group that used this was the Beatles back in 1966.  After that, many Rock musicians started using this hall.  Many live recording albums were published through Budokan.  Eric Clapton, Cheap Trick, and many more used it for live recording albums.

This time, Susan Boyle will sing there before 10,000 audience with full orchestra on the 1st of April.  Wings to Fly is of course included in the song list now.

If it’s OK with her, her live album is also expected again from this concert stage.

There is John Lennon Museum in Saitama ( close to Tokyo ), Japan.  This museum was built about 10 years ago under the licence from Yoko Ono.

Recently this museum announced that they would close it soon.

This was intended to close 5 years after the opening, but people liked it.  It stayed more 5 years in Japan.

All the exhibits in the museum was really great because everything is genuin John Lennon’s things by Yoko Ono.

Beatles broke up 40 years ago. But they are still alive with big influence to the next generation in the world as if they were still playing music.

In my personal opinion, Beatles don’t need a museum or historic facility for them because they are always alive inside us and their music never stops. If they are the PAST,  museum would mean something. But we don’t need the history or place to look back as far as the music still moves the world more than any others.

It’s the 7th Japan concert tour for Whitney Houston, and her last tour in Japan was 1997.  13 years have passed since then.

During the last decade, her gossip was too much. Most of the news about her coming from the world was not good news.

As far as I read the report of the concert, it seems not to be bad at all.  Although Whitney looks old, but it’s natural.  When I first picked up her CD was more than 20 years ago.

Her talent is irreplaceable.  Don’t stop singing, Whitney !

SUSAN BOYLE came out to the world with her amazing voice. And again, she made it.

Her Japanese debut CD, I dreamt a dream, has a bonus track called WINGS TO FLY.  Please listen to it by clicking above YouTube Video.

This is an old hit song in Japan, which was sung by also an old pop group called AKAI TORI or Red Birds in English translation.  They first composed this song about 40 years ago ! 

At the first time, this song was not a huge hit song although it was popular among young pop music fans in Japan. For 10 or more years  after this song’s release,  this song, WINGS TO FLY, was not sung by people. It was rather a forgotten song for a long time.

When Japanese professional football league started in early 1990′s, someone picked up this song as a supporter’s song for Japan football league.  So many started to sing in the football stadiums.

With the re-wake up of this song by football league of Japan, J-League, this song’s meaning of lyric began to be known widely in Japan, and finally, many schools of Japan, especially elementaly schools and junior high schools, selected this song for a song of students of the times.  That made this song one of national songs of Japan.

We, Japanese, know this song as a song of hope. This song is not a simple hit song of old time.

About Susan Boyle’s recording,  I think this is the best version that has ever been recoreded.  I’ve never heard of such a beautiful voice over this song.  Her voice completely made this song greater than before. It’s an angel voice that this song has long searched for.

I’m so glad to have found Susan’s version.  My senior brother bought the original single record of Red Birds about 40 years ago, and it’s still in the storage of my house.

This time, I think I need to buy this song again because Susan Boyle finally made it perfect.  I do think the original composer of this song is also pleased with it.

My wife said she became to like this song for the first time in her life although she heard of this song too many times.  She added ” why don’t you buy her CD ?”

*** You can buy SUSAN BOYLE / JAPANESE EDITION CD
through Amazon Japan.

HIKARU UTADA is, probably, the Japanese top musician who can work not only in Japan but in the world.  She was born in the USA and her bilingual ability helps herself work in the world music market.

Also her parents are also singer and producer respectively, so her destiny to become a musician might have been decided when she was born already.

But one negative aspect she has may be her love career if we dare to find it.

She go married some years ago, but already divorced. And recently she was reported to have been steadying wth a new boy firiend ( an artist ), but again recently she said that the new love was already over again.

News says she is too busy going around the world and she has no time for love.

Namie Amuro has been a popular singer not only in Japan but in some Asian countries.  She was recently reported that Atsushi of a comedian group, LONDON BOOTS, is her new lover and they went to Sedona, Las Vegas and LA in the USA together for secret tours.

Namie Amuro is from Okinawa island of Japan, so she looks a little different from standard Japanese beautiful girls.  Okinawa is now on topic of American military base, but other than that topic, Okinawa is a really beautiful island.

Namie Amuro has been singing as a top singer in Japan for more than 10 years, and it’s an amazing career when thinking of other KOMURO families decadence in the music hit chart.  Namie Amuro would make some hit records by coorperation of Tetsuya Komuro’s composing songs. As known well, Komuro’s big time is totally over and all the Komuro’s songs went out of fashion.

But Namie Amuro kept the top singer status even after that.  It means she can get along without Komuro songs and she is talented enough to stand alone.

Namie Amuro’s new CD is on the top of the chart in Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore, South Korea and Japan.  Indeed she is a great singer now.

Vivian Hsu was a very popular girl from Taiwan 10 or more years ago. Actually recently we’ve not seen her since then, and some are expecting her to come back to Japan again.

Today, I saw her picture.  She became a little adult looking ( of course ) and she seems to be OK because her face looks happy.

The news says that she started her blog for Japanese fans, which is titled “Vivian Hsu’s Beautiful Day“. 

One of my friends was a huge fan of her and he said that Vivian made Japan and Taiwan much closer.

I also remember she was trying hard to be accepted in Japan.  Her attitude was really touching then.

Now she is grown and maybe she can again contribute Japan – Taiwan relationship. Her character makes us happy.

In Japan, TITANIC has long had a record of biggest theater sales among foreign movies.  Including domestic movies, the top3 biggest selling and highest grossing movies are all Hayao Miyazaki animation films, Spirited away, Howl’s Moving Castle, and Princess Mononoke.

But the foreign movie’s sales record seems to be replaced by AVATAR soon.

I’ve not seen Avatar yet, but all through the generations, this movies has a good reputation and they all are enjoying this movie.  As far as I know, this movie seems to be a war movie between galaxy, maybe just like star wars, it’s not like a real war because the 3D world and future story are unreal.

Ithink I need to check it when I have time.

MANABU OSHIO, a musician ( some may don’t call him musician but just TV character or something), was arrested because of use of prohibited drugs at an apartment with a girl, who died at the time. 

Many suspected that Manabu Oshio first used the drug and gave her the same drug, but Manabu Oshio denied and said that he was given the drug by the girl, who died in the same room with him.

She can’t testify as she’s dead and nobody knows the truth.

But Manabu Oshio seems to be prosecuted by the charge that he didn’t help her when she was about to die.  Actually Manabu Oshio went away from the apartment when she fainted and he just called his assistant to let him attend the room instead of himself.

Probably all the people think Manabu Oshio hides many facts behind the death of his partner.

As an addition, the partner was found dead in naked.