Why Do You Think Crystal Kay Doesn't Chart Well?
 

I've noticed that her album and singles sales are really inconsistent! She'll have a single at #10, then it drops down to 40 or something for the next one! What's up with that? Does she not get promoted a lot by her record company?

She's probably to exotic for a market like the Japanese. Being that most of the citizens in Japan are Japanese it would be hard for a half African/Half Korean singer to really do to good. Her voice and looks are very different than what most of the Japanese might expect, or accept, for that matter.

I think, due to the circumstances, she does quite well.

But this is all my opinion. I could be 100% wrong for all I know. XD

Lack of Live Performances?

that's what I feared...I didn't want to think that it might be like a race thing y'know? But that does suck, she is awesome! I fell in love with her after Love Don't Cry, her voice is really beautiful.

I hope she does break into the top 10 more. I know All Yours debuted at number one, but it didn't sell many copies I think. =[

Actually, being mixed seems to be a good thing in Japan when it comes to the music industry.

Like Leah Dizon, her being mixed gave an interest boost.

^that's what I thought! with Eiji Wentz and Becky and such. but Crystal idk why her singles and album sales are so inconsistent. it's strange

I don't know much about Crystal's career, but it could be as Keishi said, lack of performances or publicity?

She does have a wonderful voice, I love when she sings live but acapella.

Well, the race thing sound somewhat reasonable, but then again BoA's done pretty well and she's not Japanese whatsoever (but on the other hand she has a 100% Asian appearance at any rate whereas Crystal Kay doesn't look Asian at all). I personally don't find CK's music to be very good, so I dunno =\ You also gotta look at Shimatani Hitomi, who is fully Japanese and has GREAT music, but she barely charts at all.

The music industry's just unpredictable these days?

Nah, I think Lead Dizon is popular because of her looks and the fact that she used to be an import model. She has quite a few raunchy photos out there XD

Shimatani Hitomi is very under-rated. Maybe it's what kind of music style they have or how they're presented to the media. A cute or sexy image always seems to grab the attention faster than a normal person would.

I don't want to offend any Leah fans; I don't hate her in any way.
She went from super-raunchy import model go-go dancer girl into Leah Dizon: Mecha Kawaii ^^v. I think the Japanese have transformed her into super cute, which seems to be very present there, even though they seemed to have kept her sexy image intact at some certain angles. To the people who are aware of her import model days, it seems like her "cute" image is a facade. (See Kanjani8 x Leah video) That's why Leah is quite popular (or hated) despite being a foreigner like Crystal is.

That was long *bricks self* DID I MAKE ANY SENSE AT ALL? >:

LOL That might be true. I got scared to Google her at some point >__>;
Nishikido Ryo said he liked Leah because she look foreign, but I think he's lyyyiiiiinggg XD

I completely agree. I think Leah Dizon is eye candy first, musician second...her singles barely outnumber her photobooks. She didn't choose Japan to start her singing career by accident; she knew she has a big fanbase there because of her gravure days...I think she has potential but her image dominates her popularity, IMO. And lmao Ryo is lying. He thinks she's hot. Simple as that, rofl.

And YES Shimatani is totally underrated! Considering she's got one of the best voices in the industry and experiments with so many sounds, I dunno why she's not #1. Plus, she's really pretty. What more do the people want?! :eviltongu

To be on topic though, I respect Crystal Kay because her number one focus always seems to be her music first, albeit I have yet to find a song of hers to fall in love with.

Well sorry your favourite singers aren't as hot and sexy as Leah, but I think you guys have to live with it. ;)

I used to be a big fan of Leah's actually. I don't mind her being sexy/etc.. It's the way they market her that bothers me the most @_@

Crystal has a great voice and good style, Leah's music is really overrated... let's see her next single but i'm not hoping anything better than the other two singles she has released (and I think it isn't very difficult to make a single better than her previous...)

The reason why leah sells so well??

crystal = african american / asian
leah = caucasian / asian

I don't like her fantasy name (Crystal Kay) I preffer her real name :P She has a good voice and her album didn't sold that bad

Well she was doing pretty well a few years ago, but I don't know what happened now.

i wish she'd do better...her voice is one of the best on the jmusic scene...but i agree, it's probably due to her heritage...it stinks that that might be the reason :( i hope its not haha! she's beautiful! :)

^ the funny thing is that Leah isn't even fluent in Japanese, haha...she's only really just conversational in japanese :P she's learning tho.

I think the race thing is a huge part.

But also her singles chart inconsistently, because they are not consistently quality songs. I'm not a huge fan of hers, but I do like some of her songs. She has a lot of boring stuff.

Umm, Crystal Kay's realy name is Crystal Kay. It's ehr first and middle. Her full name is Crystal Kay Williams, isnt it?
And maybe - jsut maybe - its because her name sounds like a mix between crystal meth and special k. (drugs .. XD)

^ LOL I never even realized that possible combination XD I'm reminded of Sailor Moon mostly though, because of Crystal Tokyo and the like.

I think that she's inconsistant on the charts because her music isn't always great. She has some awesome songs but also lots of mediocre ones in my opinion.

I think it's because she always releases album-filler tracks as singles. After awesome singles like "Koi ni Ochitara," "TwoAsOne" & "kirakuni," Kuri just busted up everything for me with that "kitto..." single, "konna ni chikaku de" and "anata soba de" (sp? for all...o.O) Anyway, she just keeps releasing the wrong stuff as single material.

What she NEEDS to do is hook up with m-flo permanently like the rumors said she was...atleast that's what I would want her to do.

^THAT'D BE AWESOME!! Plus aren't they looking for a new singer since the m-flo loves... project is over??

In my opinion her singles for ALL YOURS was great! All three!

^hear hear ... yeah that album was very good ... well she will be one of those artists you know because they 1) make good music and 2) don't sell good ... like ... like K-Fed ... that was a bad one ... I know

I was reading some posts in the BoA thread and it got me thinking: Why doesn't Crystal Kay go into the American market? (or has she tried already?)

^I think she's planning on it. A lot of Eastern artists are going to try and break into the Western market. Crystal speaks fluent English and one of her idols is Janet Jackson so it's no surprise if she does try to launch her career in America.

She would have a decent chance in the US compared to BoA imo.

^...seriously? BoA wouldn't do well here. Crystal has a really good chance, her voice is amazing and plus she's got a specific look. Even if that didn't work in Japan, I'm sure it'll work here. BoA....no.

[font=times new roman]she release in America once.
it went Utada style unfortunatly.. but worse.
no-one even knows were it charted in the U.S.

but unlike Utada she didn't even visit America to promote it.


more info on it here btw.

Argh... I hate that "because she`s african american asian" part >.< I soooo hate it!! If someone has talent he`s popular :P ... or so I would want it to be :( I think her voice is great :yes
Btw, what`s her real name? slowmoth said this is her fantasy name or whatever so I wanna know her real name :D

Crystal Kay's real name is Crystal Kay Williams.

I think if anything Crystal's race helps her. There's a fairly large amount of mixed stars in Japan, people find them exotic. The fact that shes part black helps too, since Japanese people associate R&B with black people. They even used to call it black music.

As far as discrimination goes, I think other asians have it the worst in Japan.

Crystal already tried to debut in the USand flopped horribly .... worse than Utada =\ .... I think her music is too "Westernized", which could be why =\

Oh thanx :D It`s not that much fantasy name..

Didn`t they say that that`s why she doesn`t chart well? :/

Well if promotion was the problem then it could always be easily fixed.

That English album wasn't an American release, it was just another Japanese release with the concept of it being "Worldwide premiere" or something

Lack of being Japanese... thats it.

Her albums seem to chart just fine. She's had the past two No. 1's.

Actually only her most recent album, ALL YOURS, hit the #1 spot. And you said it right, her albums chart well, but the sales are mediocre at best. I mean, ALL YOURS got to the top spot with 50k+ sales. :/

orly?? The CD was all in English, and I thought it was her trying to make it there =\ :o