Jero performs in Kobe.

Jero performs new single 'Tsumeato' before crowd of 4,500 in Kobe

Friday 21st August, 03:05 AM JST

KOBE —

Enka singer Jero, 27, performed his new single “Tsumeato” this week in front of 4,500 people who gathered to watch him at the Plenty Mall in Kobe City. The CD single went on sale on Wednesday for 1,200 yen.

Jero said the new song, about forbidden love, is the most enka-like of his songs to date. He went on to say: “My upcoming concerts will be a bit different from traditional enka performances though. I think people of all ages will be able to enjoy them.”

Jero’s first national tour begins on Sunday at the Tako Community Plaza Hall in Chiba, and he will play at the Nakano Sun Plaza in Tokyo on Aug 26 and 27. The full list of dates and venues can be found at his blog (in Japanese) at http://blog.goo.ne.jp/jeroenka/e/1ae47ee7935a2726800c70b010aa0179

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Latest 15 of 28 Total Comments Show All

stirfry at 12:34 PM JST - 21st August

12 bucks for one song ? please, child, its not like you're Led Zep or anything
TokyoGas at 12:49 PM JST - 21st August

The lad always wears a doo-rag and a baseball cap. He should wear different outfits, but I bet that his talent agency dresses him.
biglittleman at 12:58 PM JST - 21st August

Tokyochris,

You must be proud because you now understand what we are talking about! Good job!
im_charming at 02:22 PM JST - 21st August

I got to talk to the guy once when he came to Kansai Gaidai for a taping of some tv show about a year ago. Really cool guy.
LoveUSA at 02:28 PM JST - 21st August

he is one of the best enka singers without a doubt.
tokyochris at 02:54 PM JST - 21st August

You must be proud because you now understand what we are talking about! Good job!

I'm proud that I was right to begin with because my view hasn't changed

Thanks for the congratulations though - it's brightened up my day ;-)
biglittleman at 03:26 PM JST - 21st August

@Tokyochris,

Just because you haven't changed your view point doesn't mean you are right! If you are proud because you don't understand that, then you are very easily satisfied. Must be nice ;)
stirfry at 05:31 PM JST - 21st August

he is one of the best enka singers without a doubt.

he's also one of the ONLY enka singers
tasukidaisuki at 05:34 PM JST - 21st August

12 bucks for one song ? please, child, its not like you're Led Zep or anything

That's the going rate for a Japanese single. You should see how much they charge for "limited edition" copies!
Taka313 at 09:05 PM JST - 21st August

My family really likes Jero and having someone dress in contemporary clothes, vice some of the circa 1970s Liberace-looking stuff (which I love for the unintentional comedy value), our children have been a bit more accepting of enka music.

Playing live to 4500 people has to be a rush. I've done a two gigs in front of a few hundred people and I will never forget those moments as long as I live.

Jero's living the dream. Good for him.

Taka
Sariri at 11:49 PM JST - 21st August

My understanding is that his outfits are absolutely his choice, not the agency's. (He showed up in the same style from high school at the first NHK audition.) He also had a dozens of baseball cap collection to show, when a TV camera visited his room.
Kigatsuyoi at 12:15 AM JST - 22nd August

Good on Jero. I saw him on Nodo Jiman and he actually wasn't that great at the time but still got the "gokaku" chimes as they usually give for foreigners performing on Nodo Jiman just for being able to sing in Japanese. However, since then he has taken voice and singing training classes and is actually really good now. I only wish the mass marketed J-pop singers would do the same thing and actually work on improving. SMAP has been around for decades and they still sound like cr@p.
yomuri at 10:24 AM JST - 22nd August

all this talk about what he wears?

does anyone actually think that 90% of singers here dont have a stylist telling them what to wear?

also, im glad the article refers to him as "Enka singer Jero" and not African American Enka singer Jero" good work
biglittleman at 11:46 AM JST - 22nd August

@yomuri,

It's not a conscious effort by the Japanese media, hell we are still called Gaijin on a large scale. Japan doesn't really use the term African-American that much. For one reason people of African descent aren't considered American in Japanese eyes. It was like a new concept to my Japanese friends when we talked about it. It is like a Filipino or Korean born in Japan and never considered a Japanese citizen. There idea is usually Caucasian only even if their families came to the US a few hundred of years after most slaves had already arrived.
yomuri at 09:15 AM JST - 23rd August

@biglittleman

now i think about it, it was usually the western press that always referred to him as "African American Enka singer Jero".