BIG IN JAPAN
Yuming
 |
Courtesy
of
Toshiba EMI |
In the world of Japanese
music it would be fair to say that the number of female singer/songwriters who have
managed the delicate balance between market success and creative expression without
compromising artistic integrity can be counted on one hand. The very existence of singers
like UA, Chara and even Utada Hikaru is due in large part to the efforts and talents of
Japan' most successful female singer/songwriter, Matsutoya Yuming.
Born Arai Yumin in 1954, Yuming has claimed that, although she began as a folk musician,
her music is that of the middle class - an easily accessible style which she would later
call "New Music." Yuming displayed precocious musical talent from an early age,
making up songs from the few chords she learned in her piano and choral lessons. In what
would inadvertently turn out to be Yuming's debut, she sent one of her songs to Katsumi
Kahashi, formerly with the Spiders. Katsumi recorded "Ai wa Totsuzen," which
became a big hit, propelling Yuming into the limelight at the age of 15. While attending
Tama University of the Arts, Yuming began her songwriting career in earnest. It was her
third album, Cobalt Hour, that finally brought both critical acclaim and market success,
sending her to the top of the charts. Always an industrious and prolific writer, by the
late '70s Yuming was releasing an album at a rate of one or two a year. Her songs were
used in TV commercials (48 thus far) and as TV drama and movie theme songs (21 to date).
Within a few short years Yuming had become the top female musical artist in Japanese pop
history.
Throughout the '80s Yuming's career boomed. Her music was heralded as the sound of the
bubble baby boomers coming of age in a time when Japanese pride was at a postwar high and
yen flowed like Dom Perignon in a Ginza hostess club. It was during this period that
Yuming's legendary energy and drive seemed at their peak. She hosted radio shows,
contributed to an an, non no and seventeen magazines, and released several books. In
between her regular "Surf and Snow" annual concert commitments, she also began
what she perhaps became most famous for - elaborate concerts that were as much spectacle
and fantasy as a showcase for her musical talents.
Enter the '90s. The bubble burst, and while many artists of her generation struggled to
find a voice, Yuming proved resilient. While headlines screamed economic doom, Yuming
began preparations for her grandest, costliest concert ever. "Shangrila" was
touted as a musical adventure and Russian circus rolled into one and despite its JY11,000
price tag, all venues sold out within hours. Her albums, which she has continued to
release at the rate of one a year for a career total of 49, have consistently sold two
million plus for each new release.
Today Yuming is the undisputed queen of the pop charts, and she won't be dethroned anytime
soon. Of the Top 100 albums, Yuming has the most entries (six) of any female
singer/songwriter, the highest overall sales for any female act (12.34 million albums) and
the most entries of any solo artist. While some critics may argue that sales figures
merely highlight well-marketed products, such jaded views, however accurate, ring hollow
in the case of Yuming. Her music is the soul of an entire generation and her success story
is as unique and genuine as Yuming's new music.
Jordanna Potter |
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