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| How I discovered Mika Nakashima | ||||
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| Cute MIKA NAKASHIMA Singing in Yes My Joy Concert | ||||
| Any normal person would not be prowling through non-English stations like Channel 73 on Friday nights, during which Japan�s Nippon Television Network (NHK?) was televised, watching the latest videos by Japan�s roster of famous and emerging artists. But in November 2001, that�s just what I happened to do. The date can be traced back to a Friday night during that period. The time was almost 8:30. The television set was tuned to Ch. 73 in the Bronx here in New York. I was just watching Nippon�s news program, minding my own business, and then just after I saw it listed as #7 on the Japanese singles chart, the music video for Stars came on. Curious, I turned up the volume. The title flashed across the screen when a flower opened, and then I heard and saw the artist (misidentified as �Nakajima Miki�) standing amidst a huge lotus in a darkened studio. During the 4:02 video clip (the original version of Stars lasts 6:05), I stared in amazement at the way the then 18-year-old Japanese debutante faced the sky in a gorgeous red dress and the way she sang the song. The song itself is an easy listening power ballad sung in English and Japanese drawing on classic and contemporary jazz arrangements. Crushed by the melody and the voice, before the video was halfway through I broke down severely. I felt so moved when the video ended (a lotus covered her right eye) that I had to take her name down on paper. I didn�t stop crying even when I went to bed at around 11:00. But this isn�t the first time I cried so hard on account of a song. I also cried bitterly the minute I listened to Celine Dion and Andrea Bocelli�s The Prayer, from Quest for Camelot, and when I heard Coco Lee�s A Love Before Time, from Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (this song was sung in English for the 73rd Academy Awards ceremony in 2001). Anyway, Stars was one of the first Japanese songs that left this mark of emotion on me. I never forgot the song or the woman ever since. In March 2002, I entered the (misspelled) name of �Nakajima Miki� into AudioGalaxy�s search engine, and sure enough that one song appeared along with �Tears� (a song I then never heard of until I discovered that she had released an album, True, in August 2002). After downloading the song, I listened to it again, and the storm of emotion suddenly came crashing in on me again. Later in 2002 I tried to find her on KaZaA, and I saw that her name was spelled differently (Mika Nakajima). Eager to find her on HMV Japan, I went there and entered the word �Mika� in the search box. Then and there, I saw the same girl who had sung the one song that urged me to watch for her first album. She appeared on the Japanese TV show Private Detective Hama Mike as well as a TV drama in the year before True came out. I ultimately bought True on YesAsia, and subsequently bought her other albums thereafter. Well, that�s that. I hope you�ll enjoy your stay here. This is a fan appreciation site, but if you have suggestions, comments, contributions, etc. don't be afraid to drop me a note. Biography Reviews of Mika's Albums Back to Home Pictures courtesy of Lisa (NANA-NANA.net) and Utena (Kumo no Ito) |
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