well of course it's that combination that's giving him recognition. But if he wasn't black there would be no selling point, and he'd probably be like any other enka singer. But really, he's not as talented as a lot of you people make him out to be... it's the fact that he's black that's making him popular, and being decent in singing is like an added extra.
The other thing is making him dress like that. He's a walking stereotype wearing that shit. To me, he really is just a joke. They make him dance some crappy hip-hop dance when he can't dance very well. I can't take him seriously. And I don't believe that the younger crowd would actually really buy into all this.
About wheter or not his image is fake; is he acting or pretending to be polite, or is that the way he really is?. I doubt it's either acting, pretending, or how he really is. I think his image is out of respect of understanding the difference between Japanese culture, customs, etc. So he probably does behave differently when he's with his family and friends in Pittsburgh then he would in Japan. But he's not acting, he's respecting the difference in culture and customs. For example: There is nothing wrong with being self-confident. But in Japan your self confidence could come off as being arrogant. So modesty is usually the best policy. As far as talent goes, Jero could be black, white, green, yellow, if he couldn't sing, he wouldn't sell. Point blank. The Japanese aren't saying, "He's sings decent, but he's black so i'll buy his CD." The talent has to be there. But it's not just his skin color and singing. There are multitude of things that are contributing to Jero's success. For example: in essence, Enka usually appeals to an older crowd. Enka's traditional themes are not appreciated as much among younger Japanese generations who are more interested in Pop, Rock, R&B, Hip-Hop, etc. In an interview while promoting his debut single, Jero said "People who listen to enka are you know a little bit older but you know i'm trying to get enka more into mainstream, get more young people to listen to enka too." And whether or not his wardrobe is part of how he really dresses, or not, i'm glad it was chosen. Jero's style is an urban cool version of Enka that appeals not only to the more common older Enka fans but also the younger fans who many admit did not even listen to Enka before Jero came along. So in a way he has broadened the Enka fanbase. So the notion that the younger crowd wouldn't buy into Jero turns out to be wrong because the new younger fans are most likely the ones that are seperating Jero's sales from other common Enka singers. So show some love man, don't be hater.
Topic: [2008.02.20] "Umiyuki" JERO debut enka single (Read 9171 times)