Jero

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Jero in Pittsburgh 2008

Jero ( jap. ジェロ ; * 4. September 1981 in Pittsburgh , USA as Jerome Charles White, Jr. ) is the first black singers of Enka - Japanese folk music - in Japanese music history.

Life

His enthusiasm for Enka goes back to the influence of his grandmother from Yokohama , Takiko Kondō ( 近藤 多 喜子 ), who met his grandfather, an African American soldier, during the Second World War. They both married, had a daughter, Harumi ( 晴美 ), and moved to Pittsburgh, his grandfather's hometown. His parents divorced in his childhood, and he was raised with a strong sense of Japanese culture. He began singing enka at the age of six, and was particularly influenced by Hibari Misora . However, he first learned Japanese at the Pittsburgh Perry Traditional Academy and later at the Kansai Foreign Language School . He graduated from the University of Pittsburgh with a degree in information science in 2003 and moved to Japan that same year. There he worked as an English teacher in Wakayama and as a computer engineer . He actively tried to become an enka singer, since he promised his grandmother that he would one day perform at Kōhaku Uta Gassen . Therefore, he took part in numerous singing competitions and, after only two months in Japan, appeared on the television program NHK Nodo Jiman , a competition for amateur singers. As a result, he was signed by Victor Entertainment .

His first single Umiyuki ( 海 雪 , dt. "Sea Snow ") was released on February 20, 2008 in Japan. This reached number 4 in the Oricon charts and was the highest entry for an enka single. Shortly thereafter, he received his first advertising contract - a television commercial for Kirin Beers Fire coffee.

In 2008 he was honored as the best young artist at the 50th Japan Record Awards . He was also selected for the annual NHK New Year's spectacle the 59th Kōhaku Uta alleys . However, his grandmother could no longer witness this, as she died in 2005. However, he appeared in her honor with her image on his shirt. Also the following year, at the 60th Kōhaku Uta Gassen , he appeared again.

On March 28, 2009, at the invitation of the Japanese Embassy, ​​he had his first major appearance outside of Japan at the opening ceremony of the National Cherry Blossom Festival in Washington, DC However , he made his first appearance in the USA on August 27, 2008 when he gave a live concert in front of 500 There were fans at his alma mater at the University of Pittsburgh . His first US tour started on March 28, 2010 at the Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco . This was followed by appearances for the 30th anniversary of the Japanese American Cultural and Community Center on March 30, 2010 and a concert at the Aratani / Japan America Theater in Los Angeles on March 31.

His success ensured that he was said to have "revived" the enka. The modern enka originated in the 1950s and had its wedding in the 1960s and 1970s, so that its audience today is mostly senior citizens. In contrast, Afro-American culture has enjoyed a certain popularity among Japanese youth since the early 1990s. Unlike most enka singers, Jero does not wear a kimono because he found it inappropriate, but rather his hip-hop clothing, so that, in combination with his origins, he was able to inspire the younger section of the population for himself. In addition to attracting young people, his admiration for his grandmother, his good Japanese and his well-behaved behavior ensured that the older followers of the enka also buy the records.

Discography

(As of June 29, 2010)

Singles

  • Umiyuki ( 海 雪 ; February 20, 2008; # 4, 59 weeks)
    • Umiyuki Special Edition (December 3, 2008)
  • Eisa ( え い さ ; January 28, 2009; # 5, 18 weeks)
  • Yancha Michi ( や ん ち ゃ 道 ; April 15, 2009; # 39, 5 weeks)
  • Tsumeato ( 爪 跡 ; August 19, 2009; # 35, 13 weeks)
  • Usonaki ( 嘘 泣 き ; June 16, 2010; # 47, 1 week)

Albums

Studio albums:

  • Yakusoku ( 約束 ; February 25, 2009; # 18, 10 weeks)

Mini albums:

  • Covers ( カ バ ー ズ ; 2008; # 5, 30 weeks)
  • Covers 2 ( カ バ ー ズ 2 ; September 23, 2009; # 52, 5 weeks)
  • Covers 3 - Roots of Jero ( カ バ ー ズ ３ ～ Roots of JERO ～ ; June 16, 2010; # 54, 1 week)

Movies

  • Donjū ( 鈍 獣 ) as Akira (2009)
  • Crayon Shin-chan : Otakebe! Kasukabe Yasei Ōkoku (ク レ ヨ ン し ん ち ゃ ん オ タ ケ ベ! カ ス カ ベ 野生 王国 ) as himself (2009)

Awards

  • 50th Japan Record Awards for Best Young Artist
  • 41. Nihon Yūsen Taishō as Best Young Artist
  • 41. Nihon Sakushi Taishō (the Nihon Sakushika Kyōkai / Japanese Lyricists Association )

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Alex Hoban: Turning Japanese: Jero… the hip-hop enka star! In: guardian.co.uk. The Guardian , April 15, 2009, accessed June 27, 2010 .
  2. ↑ a b c 秋 元氏 ＆ 宇 崎 氏 サ ポ ー ト で 米 国人 演 歌 道 （芸 能） . (No longer available online.) In: Sponichi Annex. Sports Nippon Shimbun-sha, Feb. 1, 2008, archived from the original on Dec. 4, 2008 ; accessed on February 1, 2008 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.sponichi.co.jp
  3. ↑ a b c d Gillian Gaynair: Japanese enka star performs at DC festival. (No longer available online.) In: Breitbart. Associated Press , March 28, 2009; archived from the original on June 12, 2011 ; accessed on June 27, 2010 (English). Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.breitbart.com
  4. ↑ a b c d Dmitri Ragano: The Next Page: Our man in Japan - Jero. In: post-gazette.com. Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, February 12, 2009, accessed June 27, 2010 .
  5. ↑ a b c Michael E. Ruane: Festival Feature: A Japanese Idol From Pittsburgh. In: Washington Post . March 28, 2009, accessed June 27, 2010 .
  6. ↑ a b Jero, Enka's First African-American Star. In: Japan Zone. December 2, 2009, accessed June 18, 2010 .
  7. ↑ a b ジ ェ ロ ｜ プ ロ フ ィ ー ル . In: @Victor Entertainment. Victor Entertainment , accessed June 27, 2010 (Japanese).
  8. ↑ a b c d Chris Betros: Mix master: Jero breathes new life into enka. (No longer available online.) In: Japan Today. May 28, 2009, archived from the original on June 5, 2011 ; accessed on June 27, 2010 (English). Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.japantoday.com
  9. ↑ Kyodo News: American 'enka' singer has big debut. In: The Japan Times Online. February 27, 2008, accessed June 27, 2010 .
  10. ↑ a b 第 50 回 日本 レ コ ー ド 大 賞 . (No longer available online.) In: The Japan Record Awards. Japan Composers Association, formerly the original ; Retrieved June 27, 2010 (Japanese).  ( Page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.@1@ 2Template: Dead Link / www.jacompa.or.jp  
  11. ↑ 晴 れ 舞台 . In: Jero's blog. January 1, 2009, Retrieved June 27, 2010 (Japanese).
  12. ↑ ジ ェ ロ さ ん 、 母校 で コ ン サ ー ト 米 国 出身 の 黒 人 演 歌 歌手 . In: 47 News. Retrieved August 28, 2008, June 27, 2010 (Japanese).
  13. ^ Pitt Graduate Becoming Japan's Latest Music Sensation. (No longer available online.) In: ThePittsburghChannel.com. Archived from the original on September 12, 2008 ; accessed on June 27, 2010 (English). Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.thepittsburghchannel.com
  14. ↑ JCCCNC Events, this January - March. (No longer available online.) Japanese Cultural and Community Center of Northern California, archived from the original September 1, 2010 ; accessed on June 27, 2010 (English). Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.jcccnc.org
  15. ^ Press announcement. (PDF) (No longer available online.) Japanese American Cultural and Community Center, Feb. 25, 2010, archived from the original on July 13, 2010 ; accessed on June 27, 2010 (English). Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.jaccc.org
  16. ↑ a b c Chris Yeager: Jero: Japan's First African-American Enka Singer. Japan America Society of Greater Philadelphia, February 7, 2008, accessed June 27, 2010 .
  17. ↑ Jero makes acting debut in upcoming movie 'Donju'. In: Japan Today. January 18, 2009, accessed August 1, 2010 .
  18. ↑ 第 41 回 日本 有線 大 賞  HISTORY  日本 有線 大 賞 . In: 有線 ラ ン キ ン グ . Retrieved June 30, 2010 (Japanese).
  19. ↑ 第 41 回 日本 作詩 大 賞 . 日本 作詩 家 協会 / Japanese Lyricists Association , accessed June 30, 2010 (Japanese).

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Jero
ALTERNATIVE NAMES White, Jerome Charles Jr. (real name); ジ ェ ロ (Japanese)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American enka singer
DATE OF BIRTH 4th September 1981
PLACE OF BIRTH Pittsburgh