I feel like my blog has been a little too high brow lately with a flood of posts about classy divas like Beyoncé, Wynter Gordon and La Toya. It's time to get back to my trash roots and I can't think of a better way to do it than write about Japan's latest gift to music. With Ami Suzuki currently working the register at her local McDonalds, my interest in J Pop has waned. The manufactured girlbands annoy me and my prayers for a Seiko comeback remain unanswered. Happily, one stunning lady has stepped up to the plate and hit a home run for the land for the rising sun. Hyna is 22 years old and looks like she just walked off a porn shoot. That's literally all I know about her. Not that it matters. One look at her riveting debut video tells me all I need to know. The bleached blond icon-in-waiting spends most of the video strutting around in bondage wear Xtina rejected for "Not Myself Tonight" for being too tacky. She also manages to dance around with shirtless hotties and pose like a $10 hooker, while miming to the best Lady Gaga knock off I've heard in ages. In other words, Hyna is ten kinds of amazing and demands your complete attention. Thanks to Jacques for giving me the heads up!
Korean pop music is on fire in 2011 with amazing acts like LPG and INY delivering some of the classiest anthems of the year. Well, you can add another name to that list of international superstars. Kan Mi Youn's "Paparazzi" is an absolute gem. This 80s flavoured floorfiller takes catchy to a whole new level with its insane chorus and cute vocal hooks. So who is this stunning diva? Well, she first came to fame in 1997 as part of Baby V.O.X - one of Korea's first all girl groups. The glamorous 29-year-old stuck around for 7 albums but went solo in 2006. In true pop trash style her ballad heavy debut was a massive flop, so for her second bite of the cherry, Kan Mi Youn embraced dance music and scored a top 10 hit called "Crazy". She's enjoying even more success with "Paparazzi" and it's easy to see why. This is ten kinds of fabulous and boasts equally an adorable video in which the diva stalks a soap star. As with most Korean film clips, the choreography is flawless and the proceedings are infused with bright colours and good humour. Why are no Australian pop tarts churning out stuff like this? Drop the guitars, girls. No one cares. Now put on a dress and hop to it! Source URL: https://popmusicrecords.blogspot.com/search/label/Asian%20Pop Visit pop music records for Daily Updated Hairstyles Collection
With K Pop taking over the world, it's easy to forget that Korea isn't the only Asian nation churning out amazing music. We all worship at the feet of Ami Suzuki (who continues to fly the flag for Japan) and adore Hong Hong's hottest diva La Chiquitta but the Philippines is often overlooked. The home of Charice has its own burgeoning pop scene and from the tracks I've heard - P Pop is utterly defining! The genre has come under fire from rabid K Pop fans, who think it steals from their faves but those bitches need to chill the fuck out. P Pop is just finding its feet. Of course, they are going to look to their fabulous neighbours for inspiration - the same way that Australian and British pop acts look to America for guidance. Why can't we all just eat Kimchi and get along?
If you put your preconceptions aside, you might just like what you hear. Take the Pop Girls. These five beauties are the current queens of P Pop and I'm more than a little obsessed. While Korean girlbands fight against their inherent cuteness and desperately try to be edgy, the Pop Girls embrace their inner campness and sound like a cross between S Club 7 and Steps. From what I can tell without being able to read Tagalog, the Philippines' favourite band first came to fame with "Crazy Crazy", an upbeat dance anthem, before re-emerging with new members and a pure pop sound. I love their new direction. "Sige Sige Sayaw" is such a catchy song. Sure the video looks like it was filmed at Timezone in 15 minutes before the after school rush but they look adorable and I stan for their cheap choreography. Bring on their next pan-Asian smash! Source URL: https://popmusicrecords.blogspot.com/search/label/Asian%20Pop Visit pop music records for Daily Updated Hairstyles Collection
Poor Ami Suzuki must be shaking in her stilettos. And, no. Avex hasn't kicked her to the curb - yet- for having more flops fan releases than Dannii. Rather, her cherished reputation as Asia's biggest Kylie copycat is under fire. The culprit that dares to fuck with the legendary Miss Suzuki? A newcomer from Korea called NS Yoon Ji (or NS 윤지 if you want to be fancy). As much as I want to hate this hot bitch for cutting Ami's grass, I can't. Stealing from Kylie is a sure sign of exquisite taste and her song is genuinely amazing. But before I get on to that - let's get the Minogue thievery out of the way. "X" must have left a lasting impression in Asia because the video concepts for "Wow" and "In My Arms" keep on getting recycled. NS Yoon Ji clearly believes that more is more and rips off both. The neon glow sticks and white wig (at approximately 35 seconds) are more than a little familiar, while the boxes that appear around the 1:10 minute mark will have you asking yourself - how do you describe a feeling?
Ok, so the video is less authentic than the Louis Vuitton purse you bought your least favourite aunt in China Town for $15 but that doesn't mean it's bad. Unlike the handbag. For starters, Ms Ji actually looks hot in that damn wig and dances up a storm with moves not seen since BoA's "Eat You Up" video. Extra points for paying homage to Dannii by re-enacting the telephone scene from "All I Wanna Do". You just know Ami is kicking herself for not ripping that off first! The song itself is a revelation. I haven't been this taken with a K-pop anthem since Mina released her last flop. "Dance" is a vocodered explosion of pop perfection. I love the catchy chorus and fierce production. However, the rap almost steals the show. "Shake it like a tambourine" is my new favourite saying! So where can you get NS Yoon Ji's modern classic? It's on her album (looks more like an EP to me) called "Time To Fly High". I'm not sure where to order a physical copy - I plan to ask random Koreans on the street - but it's pretty easy to find online. I think I have a new obsession...
Singapore's Sun Ho is the latest Asian superstar to waste spend her millions on a bunch of A List producers in the desperate hope of cracking the American market. It's a strategy that failed to pay dividends for Utada and my beloved BoA but here's hoping the most famous Ho in Asia has more luck. The striking diva first appeared on my radar in 2008 when she recorded a duet with Olivia Newton-John called "Isn't It Amazing". That collaboration inspired me to do some digging and I was surprised to discover that she had a string of US and UK club hits extending back to 2003. Interestingly, Sun's latest single is something of a departure from her usual dance sound. "Fancy Free" has more than a touch of P!nk about it. I like the attitude filled pop/rock anthem in its original form - nothing gets me going like a deluded 38 year old ranting about her endless sex appeal - but the remixes really bring the song to life. No surprise then that "Fancy Free" is already a top 10 smash on the US club chart. The rest of her album sounds promising too. With contributions from Darkchild, Danja, Rob Knox and Chuck Harmony already in the can, we should be hearing a lot more from the pride of Singapore in 2010. In the meantime, check out the amazing Dave Aude remix of "Fancy Free" (below). The video isn't exactly shabby either!
Move over RuPaul and Dana International - pop music has a new drag icon! Fresh from the back alleys of hottest club in Hong Kong, La Chiquitta has recorded the campest single of 2010. The title speaks for itself. "Tranny In The House" is an hilarious ode to the glitz and glamour of drag life, making it the perfect Mardi Gras anthem. I really don't know where to start. This is one of the stunning jams that you just have to hear for yourself (see bottom of post). I'm not sure what's more appealing - La Chiquitta's stunning voice (think Heidi Montag meets Kim Zolciak) or the classy lyrics. My favourite line is "if you want it hot and heavy, call the tranny when you're ready". Cathy Dennis is so jealous right now! Produced by expat Australian DJ Stonedog, the song is the latest offering from Volume nightclub's in-house record label and will feature on their first compilation scheduled for release in Summer (ie. our Winter). Can you imagine if someone had the balls to do this in Australia? Courtney Act on Nevermind Records or Maxi Shield courtesy of Midnight Shift Music Pty Ltd? Fabulous. Anyway, enjoy my brief chat with Hong Kong's hottest tranny and grab a copy of her genre defining masterpiece on Ebay. See you on Oxford Street in about an hour. Happy Mardi Gras!
Girl, how did you get into drag? Was it always your ambition to be Hong Kong's premiere drag queen? If I'd gone to drag school I'd probably get the title "Least Likely To Succeed" in our yearbook. I was the laziest, most half-hearted brat queen when I was starting - I didn't wanna shave my pits and legs, I wore the shortest heels, I only had one wig in my closet and somebody always had to do my make up for me. I started out in a trio called The Glitterazzis and we performed every month at Volume for almost a year until we had to take a break due to exclusivity issues. To answer the second question, I didn't see myself doing anything more than a monthly show for Volume. That was already THE ultimate dream for me. Like I said in a recent blog entry, to dress up in drag is a fantasy for so many gay men. But to dress up in drag and be applauded for a performance is something else. It gives you a certain kind of high. Now, to be a drag queen, and to be given a chance to record your own song, then, be backed up by legitimate media is so much more than I could ever ask for. I can retire now. But of course I won't. I'm only just beginning to conquer the world!
I've been called a lot of things but never legitimate. Thank you! Now, there is a long history of drag queens becoming pop stars - Divine, Dana International, Madonna etc. Were those pioneers an inspiration to you? No, they weren't. I didn't know them then. My exposure to drag culture was hideously limited. But they are now. It helps to have an idol that, you don't necessarily have to imitate, but whose stature and craft you will want to achieve someday. Like Lypsinka's prolific artistic career, Mitzi Macintosh and her dame-ness, Chelsea Buns and her world-famous dress and costume line, Ru Paul and her fame and beauty and the young but already-famous (and fellow Filipino) Ongina for just being the drag darling of the world.
"Tranny In The House" is amazing. Did you help write the thought provoking lyrics? Tell us about working with DJ Stonedog. It only really started with two lines and by accident too. "There's a tranny in the house", I exclaimed when the guys were having too much fun and I wasn't getting the attention a queen rightly deserves. "Call the tranny when you're ready!" I said as a final warning. The boys found it funny. They were in stitches and that just pushed me to keep on going. I knew I was coming up with something brilliant, something life-altering, something bigger than all of us! So, I started recording the words that were coming out of my mouth, like a visionary writing down the words of a great apparition. The rest is history, recorded in mp3 format, and sold at HK$80 (about $10 AUD) per copy!
The best thing working with DJ Stonedog is that he owns a bar. You get a free drink for every brilliant idea. So you are motivated to keep your brain working. Other than that, he is down to earth, he doesn't have an ego that you have to constantly massage, he treats you like an equal and he's not imposing. Your input is welcome and he makes sure that you feel comfortable in the entire process. Most of all, he knows exactly how to deal with my whims and tantrums, being a retired drag queen himself!
I understand the gay scene in Hong Kong is relatively conservative. How has your music been received? You must have broken down barriers. I am backed up by friends from the community. A lot of them are expats who are used to the more liberal gay life and a huge chunk of them are also locals who are pushing for change in the way their culture sees homosexuality, and every concept attached to it, and are embracing "that" more liberal way of gay life. To say that I have broken barriers would be over-glorifying myself. I might have challenged homophobia and dragophobia a little bit by prancing around the stage in a short frilly skirt and sequined panties and then announcing that I'm a top but I don't think that broke barriers. What I think I did, and I will claim credit for this, is that I gave my people a cute, catchy tune to dance to while they're doing the more noble job of breaking barriers. And it comes in five different remixes too!
I believe you had an interesting experience in an elevator recently.... Picture this: 5:30am winter morning. 8 gay guys from the Chinese New Year dance party trapped in a 2.5 by 2.5 foot lift that could only fit seven people. After 30 minutes and eight calls to the Helpline, they finally decided that the gay boys weren't joking and that they, indeed, needed help. At the first sign of help, a knock from the outside, I yelled "Help us, please!" Yelled, literally. Then I was told off. I said, "Everybody, I don't mean to shout, but there's a tranny TRAPPED in the fucking lift!" I finally got to retouch my eyeshadow at 6:30 in the morning.
LOL! Are you interested in recording more stunning dance anthems or was "Tranny In The House" a one off? There is actually another song in the works and I have recorded it before "Tranny". It was meant to be released before "Tranny" but because we were having so much fun with "Tranny", we ended up finishing that first. Plus, DJ Stonedog had a feeling "Tranny" was a better first release. And he was right.
Will La Chiquitta ever visit Sydney or do we have to fly to Hong Kong to bathe in your glamour? After my performance for Mr. Gay Hong Kong in October, my partner, who was born and raised in Sydney, started contacting people who were connected with this year's Mardi Gras. And we got an email telling us that there would be something for me for the Fair Day, if we were to go anyway. But we had very limited time and resources to plan it, so we're postponing it to next year. And I hope that the slot is still available then. I will definitely find a way and a chance to perform in Sydney, no matter how small. The most supportive "Chiquitta friends" that I have here in Hong Kong are Aussies. They love me. I have a feeling I can capture the heart of Sydney.
Finally, I have to ask - are you really a top? Gays of Hong Kong beware! We are about to run out of copies of the CD to sell. Soon, you will find my CD on Ebay. The highest bidder for that will find out for himself!
Ebay will probably crash! Thanks for your time. Kisses, Mike!
So I had this great idea a couple of weeks ago. Bored and repulsed by just about everything on Australian radio, I decided to devote my blog to the only region currently churning out great pop music with any regularity - Asia. The plan was pretty simple. I would hold a month long Asian pop festival featuring a selection of my favourite Japanese and Korean acts. I knew it would turn off a lot of readers but I've never let that stop me in the past. The first step was supposed to be easy. I needed a glamorous new banner to herald my brief transformation and reasoned that nobody represents Asian appreciation better than Miley Cyrus. In retrospect, it probably wasn't my wisest decision. The intention was to take the piss out Miley-gate (and rail against militant political correctness in the process) but I ran the design (above) by my Vietnamese BFF, who advised me against it - after she had finished laughing.
After binning Miley, I settled on something more inclusive and universal - smut. My second attempt at a new banner would simply feature some random dude wearing as little as possible. Easy, right? I thought so too before wading through a small mountain of porn to find an image that was sleazy without being too lewd. Do an unfiltered Google search for "Hot Asian Guys" to see what I mean! The final product (above) wasn't going to win me any awards but I was reasonably happy with it. On a whim, I decided to run it by a different friend who remarked that it looked like "a poster for a Thai sex holiday". Charming. By that stage my enthusiasm for the whole concept had started to wane. Everyone I had mentioned it to expressed a distinct lack of interest and somewhere along the way it all just became too hard, so I canned the idea altogether. Despite the fact that my Asian pop festival was a massive flop before it even started, it hasn't affected my love for the music. So instead of devoting an entire month to the genre, I'm simply going to feature Asian pop stars more regularly - starting with the Queen of Japanese dance (and Kylie's #1 fan) Ami Suzki.
I've written more about Ami than any other Japanese pop star on this blog. It's no exaggeration to say that she's one of my very favourite divas making music today. Her past two albums have been sublime and I'm still working on reviewing her latest opus "Supreme Show". That post will happen (I hope) but in the meantime, Ami has gone and recorded new music for an upcoming greatest hits compilation. Her new song "Reincarnation" was released in Japan this week and it represents a radical change in sound. No surprise given the absence of her usual producer Yasutaka Nakata (the current king of Japanese techno-pop). It took me some time to get into "Reincarnation", and while I still think it lacks the grandeur of "Free Free" or "One", it's nevertheless a great pop song. M-Flo's production is heavier and less melodic but there's no denying the originality on display. I just think the track needs a good edit. At close to 6 minutes, "Reincarnation" sounds more like an extended club mix than a pop song. Happily, the video clip (below) is something of a triumph. Ami looks lovely, the photography is gorgeous and there can be no claims of plagiarism this time around. Enjoy!
I feel like my blog has been a little too high brow lately with a flood of posts about classy divas like Beyoncé, Wynter Gordon and La Toya. It's time to get back to my trash roots and I can't think of a better way to do it than write about Japan's latest gift to music. With Ami Suzuki currently working the register at her local McDonalds, my interest in J Pop has waned. The manufactured girlbands annoy me and my prayers for a Seiko comeback remain unanswered. Happily, one stunning lady has stepped up to the plate and hit a home run for the land for the rising sun. Hyna is 22 years old and looks like she just walked off a porn shoot. That's literally all I know about her. Not that it matters. One look at her riveting debut video tells me all I need to know. The bleached blond icon-in-waiting spends most of the video strutting around in bondage wear Xtina rejected for "Not Myself Tonight" for being too tacky. She also manages to dance around with shirtless hotties and pose like a $10 hooker, while miming to the best Lady Gaga knock off I've heard in ages. In other words, Hyna is ten kinds of amazing and demands your complete attention. Thanks to Jacques for giving me the heads up!
