Jero- umiyuki (first single)

240px-Jero_Umiyu

JERO (ジェロ) is an American born enka singer, and the first black enka singer. Jero is 1/4 Japanese through his grandmother. He first came to Japan through a exchange to a university in Kansai. Interestingly, despite singing enka music he still has the outward appearance of being a hip-hop artist. Before being scouted, he sung in many competetions and won alot of awards. After being scouted he trained for two years before eventually debuting in 2008 with the single umiyuki, released on 2008.02.20.

Though I do not listen to enka usually, Jero really interested me. The fact  he is american, and he presents himself as a more RnB artist in his promotional shoots and videos also shows he's trying to add his own flavour to traditional Japanese music. I must say, I admire him for this.

Furthermore, by looking at him you'd think he has a totally different voice than he actually has. Jero has a really deep, beautfiul beautiful voice. It's the reason I'm obsessing over Umiyuki right now, his voice blows be away every time. It's deep, smooth and the tone is very rich- just beautiful. Also, his Japanese is perfect even the tone and accent: you'd never guess he was American (though I suppose he has been living in Japan for 5 years or there about)

1: Umiyuki (ocean snow, what a beautiful name) opens with a flute, then the guitar and other instruments quickly come in. It immeditatly catches your attention, and then Jero comes in with his rich, expressive voice and you're just "floored" (as I heard one blogger describe another single).  The guitar is very prominent in this song, meaning it sounds quite modern. However, the traditional instruments keep the Enka flavour. Ive not listened to much Enka, so I can't really compare. However, Jero's voice is stunning: deep, rich and smooth and I can tell he is  very professional. He is very expressive with his pronunciation (pronunciation is important in classical singing) and he sings the fast part really well, there are alot of dynamics and his voice is very powerful. Not to mention, he never gasps for breath  (professional singers take their breath silently, something I struggle with greatly) and the phrases are very legato (smooth). Everything oozes proffesionalism, his two years training paid off! What irks me about  Umiyuki is that is finishes quite abruptly, and doesn't even flow into the next song.  Otherwise, this song is outstanding.

The Pv for umiyuki s crazy, but interesting, as he's singing Enka whilst the video shows a typical american MV with a Rnb/Hip-hop flavour. The Pv has nothing to do with the song, but it's nice being able to see him sing and stuff.  Also, the dance he made for Umiyuki is really cool!!

2: Hitoritabi is equally beautiful. It opens with a quick flute, and the guitar is also prominent here. Jero's voice, once again, simply blows me away. The wy he sings "eien" or whatever it is gorgeous. Hirotabi is just as beauitful as Umiyuki, another outstanding track.

Lastly, both the instrumentals to Umiyuki and Hitoritabi are included on the single, and they in themselves are great to listen to. I really like the mix of modern instruments and traditional.

overall: 6/5 (I will forever love it)

This is a fantastic single from a obviously talented new enka singer. Umiyuki is gorgeous, even if it ends abruptly and though Hitoritabi is short it too is a really great listen. As I said, I love the mixture of modern and traditional instruments and I think Jero's voice is really strong (and just plain gorgeous). He himself is not bad looking either, if not my taste. I think he should get rid of the moustache :P  I do love the cover for Umiyuki though , it's really gentle. : ) Even if you don't listen to Enka you have to try this single- it's awesome!!!  Well done to Jero, and I do wish him luck as the first black Enka singer.