Mr. and Ms. Vocalist

Mr. Big lead singer Eric Martin and former teen superstar Debbie Gibson were in Japan recently to plug new albums for Sony Music Entertainment.

Both records contain cover versions of famous Japanese songs. For Martin, it is the third such “Mr. Vocalist” album he’s released in Japan. It consists entirely of ballads originally performed by female singers.

Gibson’s CD is the first “Ms. Vocalist” offering, a collection of Top 40 J-pop tunes from the past three decades associated with male singers and groups.

On Nov. 4, the two Americans were joined by enka star Fuyumi Sakamoto. On stage Sakamoto and Martin did a duet in English and Japanese of Sakamoto’s 2009 hit “Mata Kimi ni Koishiteru” (I Love You Again).