[News] Utada Hikaru named the most influencial artist of the decade by Japan Times

[andre2907]

Really, I don't get why everyone is so touchy feely about Koda Kumi. You guys seem much more biased than whoever wrote the article. Let's think for a minute: what made Koda Kumi go from an unknown Avex artist to one of the biggest artists in Japan? Was it her talent? No, she has a very good voice and that was probably the reason she was signed but it didn't help her at all. Was her dancing skills? No, it wasn't either. Her songwriting ability? Nope.

The ero-kakoii style? Yes. The humongous promotional campaign for her BEST ~First Things~? Yes. The "controversial" album cover? Yes. Her "controversial" statements? Yes (let me remind you she was the highest-rated performance in Kouhaku 2006 after saying her outfit was so tight she couldn't even wear underwear undernath it). Her 12 week releases? Yes.

So the person who wrote the article is completely right in saying what made her tremendously popular was PROMOTION, not actual talent (and yes, she is a very good vocalist and has a nice voice but this was meaningless until Avex started pushing her hardcore based on her risky image).

Originally Posted by SunshineSlayer

Exactly. I agree with the assessment that Utada is ONE OF the most influential artists, but it is completely obvious that this writer has serious biases. I also can't really take it seriously when he elevates such a little known band like MONGOL800 so much - as if they were actually on the same level as the other people in the article.

They ARE on much higher level than plenty of other huge artists. In Jpop world, it's VITAL to have a huge agency backing you up and promotion is everything. The fact they sold 2 million copies of one of their albums without no promotion, being an indie band, put them on a much higher level than Arashi, for example, who are absolutely huge but doesn't bring nothing new to the scene and who are from Johnny's, an agency that have the entire Japanese entertainment industry in their hands.

Originally Posted by Andrenekoi

the article make it sounds like Ayu is some pretty one hit wonder...

Really? "(...)evidenced not just by Amuro's enduring popularity but by the royalty status of Ayumi Hamasaki". I don't think so.

Originally Posted by emiko

^maybe musically...but as far as stuff that average people care about...like fashion and trends...no, I dont think so.

Are you seriously? Yes, I think the average person care about the fact Ayu made attaching fake tail to your jeans extremely popular in 2001. But the fact EXILE, Thelma Aoyama, AI, Mai Kuraki, MISIA and other 384778473 extremely popular artists are part of a trend that was kick started by Utada is completely insignificant. Yes, she didn't create R&B but we can't ignore the fact NO ONE in the Japanese music scene had that style before her (and Mariah Carey popularity in Japan showed there was appetite for this type of music but no local artist dared to try it anyway until Hikaru).

Originally Posted by SunshineSlayer

Possibly true. But the difference is, we are not journalists.

Thing is, I don't think the author is biased. I think we're seeing a bias because we're biased (lol, confusing) but there isn't much in the article at all. I'm not even an Utada Hikaru fan but everything he says in the article is very true. And I don't get why so many people think Ayu is "tied" with Utada Hikaru. I don't think so AT ALL. Yes, Ayu had a huge impact when it came to fashion back in 2000/2001/2002. But can someone pinpoint, in Japanese fashion today (2009), something that was directly influenced by Ayu? Not really (OK, MAYBE the nails. But that's pretty much it). Besides, Utada Hikaru sales are extremely consistent, she still has huge hits, she has ALWAYS outsold Ayu (even when Ayu was at her peak) and she has much more credibility with the Japanese public. And btw I prefer Ayu over Hikki so I don't think I'm biased at all.

Originally Posted by Crystal_Ageha

1. Did Hikaru work her way up from the bottom, or even just get a lucky break as a nobody like Ayu did? No, not at all. Even if she was talentless and hardly anybody liked her, she still would have made it into the business, because her parents are a huge part of the music industry. So she's not influential in working to make your dreams come true, or to not give up and good things will come, or whatever.

OK, your entire post was a little "WTF" but this one in particular seemed a little odd. I think you need to look "influential" up in the dictionary because it does not mean what you think it means.

Originally Posted by keikeiaznqueen

but to say she changed the landscape of the Jpop industry is really overstating her influence because there are many many other influential people in the last decade who changed the industry and helped morph it into the way it is today. (For example, individuals like Tetsuya Komoro paved the shape of the stage in the 21st century. After all, the last decade of the 20th century was pretty much his. I would even argue that Ayu has had a huge musical influence because, who could deny Ayu's ties with the popularity of eurobeat in Japan in the beginning of the 21st century

But that's the thing, the article is about being the most influential artist of the DECADE, not from ALL-TIME. You mention Tetsuya Komuro for example. And, if it was an article about the most influential artist from the 90s, the position would undoubtedly go to TK.