J-Pop Write-Up

In an earlier post, I discussed the characteristics of Ayumi Hamasaki’s voice that established her as one of the greatest J-Pop singers of all time. Today, I’d like to look at things from a different lens, and discuss how and why her voice has become so iconic.

In this interview with CNN’s Talk Asia, Ayu-chan describes her relationship with her own employees and collaborators, and her relationship with broader culture in Asia. Her answers reveal a lot about her the society that supports her success. She takes her work really seriously. I think, now that she’s in her 30’s, she understands in a much deeper way how her success means the success of everyone who works for her, promotes her, the venues she books, the subsidiary companies that handle her merchandising, as well as the artists with whom she collaborates. Seems like a lot of pressure, doesn’t it?

This type of big business (the tie-ins, the commercials, the OPs, all of it) is a branch of marketing called branding. As members of the developed world, we can’t help but experience branding. Branding informs our understanding of everyday events: what can we expect from Whole Foods that we can’t get from Walmart? What can Walmart give us that the Mom & Pop place can’t? Brand names don’t magically appear out of nowhere. Brands are calculated, strategized, researched, proposed… They’re ubiquitous. They aren’t going away any time soon. And, it’s all a conspiracy.

‘Nuff said.

Well, what if we looked at Ayumi Hamasaki as a brand? Certainly, Hamasaki’s image comes into the picture. She seems confident, hard-working, diligent. She’s characteristic of what Carolyn Steven’s describes (in one of my favorite quotes of all time) as a “cyborg female warrior,” an empowered woman of the 21st century, synthetically enhanced by the artificial elements of our culture. Image-wise, this description rings true for Ayumi Hamasaki, who has taken some flak for using too much photoshopping on her album covers¹. I don’t particularly mind that, since a girl’s gotta compete, but, what if we looked at Ayumi’s voice in a similar way as her image.

As any fan of Ayu-chan will know, that girl has been remixed more times that any of us can count. She’s been sped up, slowed down, clipped, snipped, tuned-up and down, and so forth, since her debut. In this respect, doesn’t her voice then match her synthetically perfected look? Why doesn’t she get beef for the fakeness of her voice too?

Perhaps the truth behind her good looks (she’s still got ’em) and the truth behind her voice (always persuasive and virtuosic) contains enough appeal to override this image. Something about Ayumi makes us suspend our disbelief, and want to support her. As opposed to the technological relish of acts like Perfume and Capsule, Ayumi Hamasaki definitely reps the old-school idol tradition.  There’s a certain force to her voice that creates an interesting and appealing juxtaposition with her look: neo-cutesy turned tsundere. This struck balance between artifice and authenticity improves Ayu-chan’s appeal to a broad audience with her portrayed as a true suteki na joshi, a modern Japanese wonder woman.

I can’t say I mind her virtual packaging. I think it has helped her to stay fresh throughout the years, and the recent revival of techno-pop in America doesn’t hurt. Ayu-chan ensures her success by lending her voice to Western artists, potentially lucrative associations with Western artists. The artists she collaborates with presumably seek a symbiotic relationship with Hamasaki by capturing greater attention in Japan and forming connections with the formidable Avex Group. Certainly, this critical relationship should be explored further by people such as you and I.

What I want to know is, where can I buy Ayumi’s voice??? By buying her products, I can support her brand. but what if I want to create remixes like the ones I hear in the Ayu-mi-X mixes. I could create a new viral sensation that would make Ayumi super popular!! Or, I could create something that made fun of her, or otherwise attempted to dethrone her. Are her voice image and brand so prized by Avex that they are unwilling to release it? What do they have to lose by releasing those vocal tracks? Or, am I simply (miss)understood?? Perhaps I’m a creepy crazy pervert who just wants to see girls on Nico Nico dance to my music! Perhaps I’m an aspiring DJ, seeking to catch a smack of the fame that seems to waft near Hamasaki.  Whatever the truth may be, isn’t it about time that we get to do what we want with Ayumi’s voice?

As Ayumi’s voice brand continues to evolve with the society that supports her, we can see how much Ayumi’s portrayal in that clip is about the people behind her. It’s unsettlingly easy to forget about the forces that shape Ayumi’s brand. It’s pretty safe to assume that these influential figures have a large say in how our ideals are presented to us. Our acceptance and appreciation for these ideals constitutes our say in the trends that shape major label artists’ success. In this little way, we can take control of our own music and culture. Brand portrayals are subject to the whims of popular consciousness just like anything else.

What do you think? Can you think of other ways that a voice can become a brand? Or other artist who exhibit these qualities? I want to hear your opinion!