Asian News 12/14

S. Korean Singer Busted

South Korean singer Kye Eun-sook is the latest celebrity to get busted for possession of drugs in Japan.

The 46-year-old, a respected singer of "enka" (Japanese ballads), was arrested on November 27 at her home in Tokyo on suspicion of possessing 0.6 grams of amphetamines for her own use.

Police also seized a glass pipe and are now investigating where the drugs came from. According to media reports, authorities received a tip about the drugs and went directly to Kye’s home, which they then searched.

Kye was born in Seoul and made her Japan debut in 1985. Starting in 1988 she appeared on public broadcaster NHK’s prestigious year-end song contest eight years in a row and won the coveted Japan Record Award in 1990. Kye is at least the third high-profile singer to be arrested for amphetamine possession this fall.

 

Edgier NHK Contestants Announced

Speaking of NHK’s year-end song contest, Kohaku Utagassen (Red & White Song Battle), this year’s participants were announced December 4 at the broadcaster’s main studio in Tokyo.

There were a number of surprises, which wasn’t really surprising as the program’s ratings have been slipping steadily for the past decade or so. However, it’s still one of the most-watched shows of the year.

Traditionally, mainstream artists who sold lots of records during the year and behaved (no sex or money scandals) are invited to appear, but this year there were a lot of ringers in the mix, presumably to give the contest an extra measure of "topicality."

Two of the singers who will fight for the female Red Team are, in fact, men, at least technically. Ataru Nakamura is a transsexual who is considered a woman in show business.

However, her family register, a document used for all identity purposes in Japan, still lists Nakamura as a male. Transsexuals and transvestites comprise a sub-culture in Japanese show business, but NHK has never invited one who has openly changed his or her sex before.

The network said it is not trying to "make any kind of statement," but the fact that Nakamura is not a household name makes it sort of a statement. In addition, a comedian known as Gori will sing for the Red Team as his alter ego, a girl named Gorie-chan.

In addition, half a dozen or so veteran acts who haven’t appeared on the show for many years have been invited, presumably to attract older viewers who may have switched it off in recent years.

 

Hound Dog Management Madness

Kohei Otomo, the lead singer for the veteran rock band Hound Dog, was in court December 5 giving testimony in a complicated legal battle with his former management.

Two years ago, when the group was celebrating its 25th year in show business, Mother Enterprise accused Otomo of brokering deals and "going solo" behind their back.

Otomo said he had been unhappy with the company’s unambitious business approach and was simply looking out for his own interests.

Hound Dog, a traditional rock ‘n’ roll band whose members favor slicked-back hairstyles and leather gear, was extremely popular through the end of the 1980s but saw their fortunes dip in the ‘90s.

Otomo set up his own talent company, Iehok, in 2005, but he claims its purpose was to keep Hound Dog alive, not destroy it.

That June, the group released an album that Mother Enterprise announced would be its last, and that Hound Dog would officially break up after a Budokan show in July.

Otomo said that he later persuaded three other band members to join him at Iehok and continue on with the group.

Almost immediately after, Otomo and Mother started filing lawsuits against each other.

In Japan, management and talent agencies hold a lot of power over artists’ careers.

If talent quits his or her agency without that agency’s permission, the agency will effectively blackball the artist through its media connections.

 

Kravitz Rings ‘Death Note’

One of Lenny Kravitz’s new songs will provide the theme for the upcoming blockbuster Japanese movie "L Change the World," the third installment in the highly lucrative "Death Note" franchise, an adaptation of an equally popular comic series.

The two earlier films have grossed more than $74 million in Japan and were a hit throughout Asia as well.

The song is "I’ll Be Waiting," which is from Kravitz’s new album It Is Time for a Love Revolution, which goes on sale in Japan January 30.

"L Change the World" opens in Japanese theatres February 9.

 

Yeosu To Host International Expo 2012

The South Korean city of Yeosu was selected to host the International Expo 2012 on November 27, beating out Morocco and Poland for the honor.

The International Exhibitions Bureau chose Yeosu over Tangier and Wroclaw in a vote at Paris’ Palais de Congres that had officials from the latter two cities cyring foul.