Ken Hirai! Ken Hirai! Ken Hirai!
So one of my favorite Jpop artists ever is Ken Hirai, O He of the Amazing Voice. So imagine my excitement when Japan Probe posted an interview with him found on YouTube!
And I was left only SLIGHTLY disappointed (the English-language voice over dude? SO stiff). But they keep talking about him as an R&B singer, when really he’s about as much an R&B singer as, say, Justin Timberlake– he’s pop, but there’s a lot of R&B and soul influence. The poor guy had to tell the interviewer this TWICE. -_- And then they still keep calling him a “Japanese R&B star.”
But there’s some really interesting info– like, Hirai doesn’t read or write musical notation; he writes his music via (for example) huming. Hope for the rest of us, perhaps? Also: Ken and Stevie Wonder, plus those notoriously “un-Japanese” facial features.
Anyway, good stuff. I love that man. Check out the interview after the jump. For fun, I’ve also included his most recent(?) PV, “Bye My Melody.” And now I’ve added two of his other big singles, “Pop Star” and “Aika (Elegy)” (a fave of mine), because I’m trying to spread the Ken love. ♥