LOL! Maybe she should do some more collaborations, y'know like what she did with Neyo...

LOL yes :laugh

her take with NeYo on Do You shouldn't have been released as a digital single :(

at most she should have make a PV with Ne Yo on that one , that will be hot

^ aww the PV idea would be soo cool, I hated how it was a digital single too! That was soo stupid.

:weep R.I.P :weep

LOL

MMMMM Hikki looks great thanks for these!!

First of all, mainstream American music is not much worse quality-wise than mainstream Japanese music. Is Hey Say Jump! much more creatively artistic than, say, Chris Brown, Rihanna or Kanye West in the States? I don't think so :no Both countries have crappy artists.

Hikki was able to introduce a style of music in Japan that already was bubbling under and was exploding in other parts of Asia. I don't think it would be very easy for Hikki to start new musical trends in the States.

As Karen said, I don't think it would've sold over 1 million copies and been the #6 album of the year if it was just going off of Hikki's popularity.

That's my opinion about it, I think that 99.9% of western music sucks. I just do. I only like my show tunes and the occasional Kelly Clarkson album.

I think I agree with you somewhat, America's musical trends are in the crapper already, it'd be impossible for Hikki alone to save them. But that's what she's good at, I don't want her being mainstream, I'd rather her fail than her be mainstream, it's just not who she is.

And popularity totally could push an album. Look at Heart Station, if it weren't for Hikki's name, and the two major tie-ins, it would have bombed.

I think EXODUS definitely did sell well because it was her. Highest selling English album over there yet, ain't it? Although, heck if I didn't adore that album <3

You discount how easy HS is to get into, GRACE.

HS was more accessible in terms of music and far less.....out there than UB was, imo. I'd imagine a lot of people saw it as a return to form for Hikki. Not MY own opinion of it, but I can definitely see that.

I honestly think that a combination of FOL's tie-in, POL's tie-in and Hikki's name are responsible for how well this album has sold. Don't misunderstand me, I still think the album would have done well enough, no matter how bad it really is, but nowhere NEAR as well as it is with out them.

Uhhh, how do you explain ULTRA BLUE selling over 900k then? It had crappy singles sales and even crappier tie-ins. Hikki just has a very stable fanbase who loves her music. Tie-ins have nothing to do with it.

Oh, tie-ins help a whooolleee lot, but I don't think they're ENTIRELY responsible. Those tie-ins help get her music out there and played. Last Friends was an utter coup for Hikki in terms of helping stabilize the longevity of HS.

I have nothing notable to say other than I completely agree with you. You're one of the few sane non-Japanophile people in this entire forum.

Any artist that can sell in excess of a million copies of any album is mainstream, in my opinion. Even if their music is very experimental, if it can be enjoyed by the masses it qualifies as mainstream, which really isn't a bad thing. Even though in the US Utada may seem like an underground, avant garde act that is exclusive to select saavy hipsters, in Japan she sells like mad, and therefore she is very pop.

Anywho, I'm very eager to get some concrete news on her upcoming English album, because I found the most comepelling material of her career thus far to be on Exodus. Even though I love her Japanese work, both Heart Station and Ultra Blue had awful production that was at times too muddy and messy, or otherwise simply outdated. Thankfully, her undeniable songwriting talents are what made both of those albums great, but her quirky, playful songwriting in combination with the slick production on Exodus is what made that album my favourite. I think it was a flop in America simply because of the lack of promotion and the bad timing. If it were rereleased two or three years later and promoted aggressively, I really think it could have been a huge success because the album's style is very much in line with current North American trends; it has tons of great dance tracks and club anthems, catchy hooks, Stargate-esque guitar-driven songs (Easy Breezy, About Me), and perhaps most importantly Timbo.

Oi.

Japanophile..?? LOL is this a real word or what? :P

Anywayz, even tho I dun like Exodus, I would rather to see her releasing Exodus part II than releasing a mainstream album. That's all I wanna say.

And I won't say all the mainstream JPop suck, but at least 80% do...

bah, the only thing keeping EXODUS from being mainstream is the fact that it wasn't accepted by the mainstream. Otherwise it'd fit right in, save for the fact I think Hikki's compositions are better.

I'm guessing you're saying that because I don't find everything Japanese to be automatically better than everything Western, which, unfortunately is the mindset of many people I've met :laugh I love love love Western music :heart

Why are YOU here?

Really? "Kremlin Dusk" is mainstream? Just look at the title :lmfao

I totally agree with you here. However, I think Timbaland's two songs were two of the weakest on Exodus. "Let Me Give You My Love" is seriously TERRIBLE.

Japanophile: Link