If you are interested in Asian Music or just plain curious about it, this blog will introduce you to the more popular and not so popular music artists from Asia. Just browse the site and maybe you’ll find something that will interest you.
Anggun was born in Jakarta, the capital of Indonesia, on 29th April 1974. Her full name is Anggun Cipta Sasmi, in Bali it means “A grace born out of a dream”.
Her father, Darto Singo, was a famous singer and producer in Indonesia and Anggun decided to follow in her father’s footsteps.
At the tender age of 7 years she recorded her first album with children’s song. At 12, after becoming interested in rock music, she recorded her second heavily rock influenced album, “Dunia Aku Punya”, that in the indonesian language mean “World of mine”. This album became very popular and she became a megastar in East Asia.
Following the success of “Dunia Aku Punya”, Anggun returned to the studio to record new albums (“Tua Tua Keladi in 1990, “Anak Putih Abu Abu” in 1991, “Noc Turno” in 1992 e “Anggun C.Sasmi…Lah!” in the 1993).
The young rock diva was also busy outside the studio, performing a number of extensive tours throughout Asia.
It was while on tour in Borneo that Anggun met her future husband Michel Georgea (a young French engineer on one of her tours). Her parents did not approve of her marriage at first, but eventually relented. In the 1994 the young singer then decided to leave Indonesia and try her luck in Europe.
“You wonder what’s next — and you just don’t know.
See more in http://www.anggunworld.com/eng/bio.asp
These are samples for Sarah Geronimo. The first two are in English and the second one is in Tagalog (Filipino). The lyrics are also shown in these links.
Tata Young (born Amita Marie Young, Thai: อมิตา มารี ยัง, December 14, 1980 in Thailand) is a Thai American singer, model and actress. A Thai superstar by the time she was in her teens, she became an international success with the release of her first English-language album I Believe in 2004. She remains one of the most popular performers in Thailand, and is a perennial “favorite” pick by magazines and music-video channels.
Born November 1, 1980, in Pasay City, Marifil Niña Girado, was raised in Quezon City with three other siblings. Growing up, Nina, much like any aspiring singer, admired Mariah Carey, Whitney Houston, Alicia Keys and Gary V., Ella Mae Saison, and Regine Velasquez on the home front.
Nina stands barely over five feet but her vocal prowess can stand up to a tidal wave. As far as she can remember, Nina has always been in the solemn presence of music. Her dad, Filbert, is a member of the Bayanihan Boy’s Choir and her mom, Maria Daulet, plays the piano. She was five, singing in a corner when her dad gave her special notice. Intensive vocal training was the next chapter — belting with her body submerged in a drum of water (hence, the tidal wave) and exercising those vocal chords early in the morning.
Her claim to fame isn’t only her voice but the story behind her discovery. The demo tape she submitted to Warner Music Philippines sampled her rendition of Foolish Heart. It was at that moment when hearing the tape, Warner Music executives immediately realized her potential and signed her without even actually seeing the woman behind the voice. The rest was, as we know it, history.
Arashi (嵐, Storm?) is a five-member Japanese boy band under Johnny & Associates. They made their debut in September 15, 1999 in Honolulu, Hawaii. The group was signed to the Pony Canyon record label from 1999 to 2001 before transitioning to Johnny’s Associates-powered J Storm record label in 2002, producing their future singles and albums. Arashi covers a wide range of music, including R&B, hip hop and various forms of pop music. Aside from being a popular idol group in Japan, the group is widely known across Asia and to J-pop fans all over the world.
Arashi is composed of Satoshi Ohno (大野智, Satoshi Ohno?)Sho Sakurai (櫻井翔, Sho Sakurai?)Masaki Aiba (相葉雅紀, Masaki Aiba?)Kazunari Ninomiya (二宮和也, Kazunari Ninomiya?)Jun Matsumoto (松本潤, Jun Matsumoto?)
SE7EN (세븐) is a popular Korean R&B/Hip-hop singer. His real name is Choi Dong Wook (최동욱) and Seven (Se7en) was born on November 9, 1984. Seven (Se7en) works under YG Family and has produced a total of two Korean albums, “Just Listen” and “Must Listen”. His newest album is due to be released on March 15, 2006. SE7EN has also released a number of Japanese singles, “Hikari”, “Style”, and “Startline/Forever”. His first Japanese album is due to be released on March 8, 2006.
Seven aka Se7en, is a very talented k-pop dancer and singer in Korea. Seven (Se7en) started training under tSeven (Se7en) management agency YG Family at tSeven (Se7en) age of 15. After 4 years of intense training in both singing and dancing, Seven made debut in tSeven (Se7en) local pop music scene in 2003 as tSeven (Se7en) first R&B singer of YG Family led by a former Taiji Boys member Yang Hyun-seok. His first album was called, “Seven vol.1 – Just Listen…”TSeven (Se7en) title song of Seven’s debut album “Please, Come to Me” is an R&B ballad number with upbeat melodies that received great response from pop music lovers. TSeven (Se7en) record company is confident enough to compare nineteen-year-young newcomer Seven to tSeven (Se7en) marvelous talents of UsSeven (Se7en)r and Justin Timberlake! TSeven (Se7en) hot talent made his debut at tSeven (Se7en) CF of jeans with Jang Dong Gun and Lee Dong Wook and due to his fabulous singing & dancing skills as well as his good-looks is highly expected to turn into tSeven (Se7en) next multi R&B singer! WSeven (Se7en)esung, Perry and Lexy also joined tSeven (Se7en) works for this debut masterpiece.
Rivermaya is one of the most influential alternative rock bands in the Philippines. The band has several well-known singles, such as “Ulan,” “214,” “Himala,” “Kisap Mata,” “Hinahanap Hanap Kita”, “Umaaraw, Umuulan”, “Alab Ng Puso”, “You’ll Be Safe Here”, “Balisong”, “Isang Bandila”, “Sumigaw”, “Sugal Ng Kapalaran” and many others. Founded in 1993, the band’s musical direction has evolved through simple rock, hard rock, pop, metal, progressive, etc.
Members:.
Jayson Fernandez – Vocals, Rhythm GuitarsMark Escueta – Drums and Percussions, VocalsMike Elgar – Lead and Rhythm Guitars, VocalsJaps Sergio – Bass Guitars, Vocals.
Former Members:
Rico Blanco – Guitars & Vocals, Kakoi Legaspi – Guitar, Bamboo Mañalac – Lead Vocals, Perfecto De Castro – Lead Guitars & Vocals, Kenneth Ilagan- Lead Guitars, Rome Velayo – Drums
Utada Hikaru (宇多田 ヒカル, Utada Hikaru? born January 19, 1983), also known by her fans as Hikki (ヒッキー, Hikkī?), is a third culture singer-songwriter, arranger and record producer in Japan and the US. She is well-known internationally for her two theme song contributions to Square Enix’s Kingdom Hearts video game series.[1] Her debut album, First Love, is the best-selling album of all time in Japan with over 7.65 million copies sold in Japan alone. With the release of 7 Japanese and English studio albums, 1 compilation album, 25 Japanese and English solo singles, and several VHS/DVD releases, she has sold over 41 million records worldwide (with over 34 million in home nation Japan). Moreover, 3 of her albums are in the Top 10 best-selling album of all time in Japan (#1, #4, #8)[1], making her one of the most indefinitely successful and popular singers in J-pop history. She has won the Nihon Golden Disk “Song of the Year” award for fourteen of her singles since 2000 and has won the Golden Disc “Pop/Rock Album of the Year” award for all four of her Japanese studio albums.[2] In 2003 Utada Hikaru was ranked the #24 Japanese pop artist in its survey of “Top 100 Japanese pop artists” by HMV, [3] #10 in HMV’s “Top 30 Best Japanese Singers of All Time” in 2006.[4] In 2007, her single “Flavor of Life” reached #2 in worldwide digital download single sales with over 7.2 million downloads (the only non-American artist to hold such a distinction), and she totally sold 12 million digital ringtones and songs in that year, making her the first artist ever to have this many digital sales in a year’s time.
Members: Hero JaeJoong, U-know YunHo, Micky YooChun, Xiah JunSu and Max ChangMin
Source: Wikipedia
TVXQ, an acronym for Tong Vfang Xien Qi (東方神起), is a quintet South Korean boy band formed under SM Entertainment, and later debuted under Avex Trax in Japan. TVXQ is one of the most popular boy groups in South Korea. Its five members specialize in the areas of singing, dance, a cappella, acting, and pop with an R&B and hip-hop vibe. Since debut, the group gained a great popularity in South Korea, Japan, China, Taiwan, and other East Asian countries.[1][2]. TVXQ fans use various versions of the group’s name in different countries. In South Korea, the group is known as Dong Bang Shin Gi (동방신기), abbreviated as DBSG or DBSK, while the Japanese equivalent of the group’s name is Tōhōshinki, abbreviated as THSK. TVXQ, the acronym based on the Chinese counterpart of their name Tong Vfang Xien Qi, is the abbreviation officially used on all advertisements and products outside of Japan. Their name roughly translates as “Rising Gods of the East.” (동방의 신이 일어나다.)
Star For A Night hosted by Ms. Regine Velasquez was arguably the singing contest that catapulted Sarah to stardom. On March 1, 2003, at age fourteen Sarah emerged as the grand prize winner of the said singing competition with her rendition of the song “To Love
You More.” She won P 1 million and a managerial contract at Viva Artist Agency. The prize money was spent on tuition fees and the operation of her eldest sister.
After this turning point what followed are albums, concerts, her own soap opera, a mainstay at ASAP (a Sunday variety show), supporting roles in movies, endorsements, and legions of fans. She became a popstar, a teen princess, a role model.
