New Music: Namie Amuro with a little "TLC"

                               

Japanese Queen of Hip-pop, Namie Amuro, 35, has released her second single off of her upcoming album "Feel," as well as a collaboration with R'n'B legends TLC!

The single, "Hands on Me," is an upbeat electro-pop dance track sung entirely in English, which adds to the excitement for international fans. This song is perfect for the summer and has all the potential to be a hit in the club and party scene. Check out the clip below!

T-L-C! Freakin' TLC! I for one love it when my favorite Asian pop stars come together with Western musical heavyweights. It just goes to show that music is definitely one of the few things in the world that can surpass cultural and language barriers and bring people together.

Although the ladies of TLC don't actually sing on the track, it was still a pleasant surprise just to see them in the video. However, Amuro is featured on the remake of the hit single, "Waterfalls," off of TLC's 20th Anniversary album, where she fills in for Left Eye. (Check out below.) Unfortunately the general consensuses is that the remake was horrid and Namie butchered Left Eye's rap. Being that Amuro is neither a rapper or a native English speaker, I guess next time she should just stick to the rivers and the lakes that she's used too! Singing in another language comes easy with practice. I did it all the time in school choirs growing up. Rapping however, is a whole other beast and can be twice as hard if you're not even a rapper to begin with.

The video, filmed in Los Angles, California, captured the essence of the song by creating a fun party atmosphere. The foam party scene towards the end was awesome! In all, the video had some great shots, high energy, and amazing choreography. I will say this though: is it me or does Namie look a bit out of place in her own video? Her choice of outfit doesn't suit what everyone else is wearing. The dancers and various bystanders are dressed in T-shirts, tanks, shorts, and other laid back attire. Even T-Boz is dressed in just a track suit. There's no denying Namie is sexy in her  yellow halter pants suite with silver heels, but she's over done for the theme of video. She did work it in those heels though!

So far, the album seems to be going in the right direction. Look out for it in stores July 10th!

WATERFALLS feat. NAMIE AMURO

                                   

Music: Sowelu's Sexy Comeback

Japanese Diva Sowelu, 28, makes a sexy comeback with her new mini album entitled "Let Me..."

The new album is said to encumber all the desires of women today: love, lust, fashion, marriage, and a career, which sounds pretty accurate to me!

Judging from the steamy album jackets, fans could tell this was no longer the girl next door Sowelu they all know and love. However, many are embracing the new sexy image as the album is gaining much attention.

Sowelu is H.O.T! She can pore some sugar on me anytime! This new found image is just what the doctor ordered to revamp her career, as she's been in obscurity for quite some time. Personally, I love it when artists break out of their shells and aren't afraid to push the envelope. Besides, she's 28 now. Old enough to be grown & sexy, yet young enough so it's not weird or trashy, unlike a certain American artist (whom shall be remain nameless) that's in their forties, acts like they're twenty-something, and still prances around in mini skirts. Um, yeah. You know who I'm talking about!

The title track "Let Me," demonstrates lust and getting a piece of that good stuff. With it's upbeat electro dance tempo, I definitely see this song being a hit among party-goers. In the video, Sowelu is fierce from head to toe. I especially adore the skintight black lace outfit. Reminds me of a similar piece Keyshia Cole wore in her I Remember video, which I also loved. With such risque attire, I'm sure many found it hard to blink during this video.

The mini album has a male and female version, with each containing a track only available on that version. I'll be picking up both versions, because in the words of Aerosmith, "I don't wanna miss a thing!"

Welcome back Sowelu! :)

Music: Bad Music Video for "Bad Girl" Single

"Disappointed," was what many had to say after watching the music video of top Korean girl group, SNSD's, Bad Girl.

The single is the latest off of the group's first self-title Japanese debut album, which has recently crossed the double platinum mark in sales.

I don't understand why it was necessary to release another single off an album that has already gone platinum twice over. It seemed to be another greedy attempt of SM Entertainment/Avex to make more money without having to create new music. Unfortunately whenever they try to cut corners, it shows, and it showed "BADLY" here.

Let's take a look at this hot mess of a video and zone in on it's weak areas.

Choreography 

This is what bothered me most about this video. In the Korean Pop music industry, having exciting and fun choreography for fans to dance along to is a must. SNSD is more than capable of delivering in the dance department, as the choreo for their mega hit song Gee, is still one of the catchiest dances to date. Here, the dancing is just all over the place! The girl's look extremely awkward and uncomfortable with their arms flapping everywhere and their bodies gyrating and bouncing around like crazy. Nothing about their movements scream sexy or "badass."

Outfits/Styling

Who's ever idea it was to dress the girls in trashy biker outfits needs to be taken outside and slapped around a bit. Played out denim, cut off shorts, leggings, tanks, handkerchiefs,  and combat boots; they look like a hillbilly biker gang! Also, several of the girls are wearing cute bows in their hair, which takes away from the supposed edgy look they were going for. There's so many ways they could have dressed to reflect the "bad girl" image, but instead they wore this disarray of clothing. SNSD is known for their chic and classy styling and being absolutely stunning in their MVs. They could have easily given the girls more "attitude" to their looks while remaining true to the SNSD style. We already know they're capable pulling off a tougher image as we witnessed it in the Run Devil Run video.

Overall Concept

The video's look and concept come off as cheesy. I just couldn't take them seriously here. Can you even imagine these girl's actually riding around on motorcycles? Several of the girls were also smiling and giving cute expressions where instead their faces and body language should have been more fierce. Plus, there had to be a better location for shooting other than an empty parking lot.

The video was just an overall fail that lacked inspiration and that "wow" factor. It was a huge disservice to a really good song. But we all know SNSD will definitely bounce back from this and blow us away the next time.

Music: Jasmine Only You

Japanese R'n'B/soul songstress Jasmine, 22, is back with her latest single, "Only You."

In normal Jasmine fashion, the single is a smooth and passionate slow jam about a person's love giving her strength.

I've been following Jasmine's career since I first heard her debut track, "Sad to Say," back in 2009, while living in Japan. The single was a hit and became certified platinum for full cellphone downloads. However, 3 years later, it still doesn't seem like she's making much of an impact in the Japanese music industry. None of her releases following have managed to reach the top 10 on the Oricon.

There's no denying that Jasmine is talented as she has the ability to sing (and sing well), write, and take part in the production of her music. She's also easy on the eyes, which is a plus in this industry.

Jasmine showed so much promise in the beginning. She was said to be the next Utada Hikaru, which is a huge honor. However, by Utada's third single, she was taking Japan by storm. So why aren't j-music lovers raving about Jasmine yet?

 Here may be some reasons:

A) Music Lacks Variety. I remember playing several of Jasmine's singles for my cousin one day, and she said each song sounded like the one that just went off. Jasmine sings the same way in most of her songs. Add that to the same slow to mid tempos and song construction, and each track definitely will "feel" the same. Just because you are classified as an RnB singer doesn't mean all your music has to be straight up RnB. She needs to dab into some different sounds and play around with her voice a bit. You don't need to belt it out on every track to prove you can sing. The general public is probably starting to think she's incapable of doing anything else besides sappy RnB songs, which is a genre not extremely popular in Japan.

B) Poor Music Video Quality. If there's anyone in need of a music video budget, its definitely her. I've seen more interesting videos shot in front of a green screen. Jasmine's videos usually have a color concept where she's dressed up in some sort of costume. They mostly consist of her standing somewhere, walking somewhere, singing into the camera, and that's about it. Uninspired and uninteresting. Even if you love the song, you'll find it hard to sit through the entire video. You can't blame her completely as most artists don't direct their own videos, but whoever has been directing hers need to be fired.

C) Her Lack of Personality. Though Jasmine dresses up in outlandish outfits, you can't help but notice her blank stare and stiffness. Her expressions are the same regardless of what she's singing about. Just look at the picture above and you can see what I mean. Different outfit but same look. She just needs to loosen up and do something different because it gives the impression she's not completely comfortable on camera. It's your song, your video, OWN IT!

D) Little to No Promotions. Getting your name out there and letting your voice be heard is important in an industry saturated with musicians. I have yet to hear of Jasmine doing anything major in the promotions department. She needs more public appearances, fan meetings, variety shows, and of course performances. This is how artists make their money and increase music sales.

 

As you can see, Jasmine is in desparate need of a new sound, image, and a video budget above $100 if she wants to keep her singing career afloat. I still have faith in her because not everyone hits it out the park from the time they debut. Sometimes it takes a few years. At just 22 years old, there's plenty of time to turn things around.

Maybe it's time for a change in management. She's currently signed Sony Music Japan. Even though they are one of the largest record labels in the world, they're gaining the reputation of sleeping on their artists and not pushing them to reach their full potential.

This song is okay like her previous songs, but I'm still waiting to be blown away.