TOKYO —

American enka singer Jero, 27, on Wednesday released a new album, “15 gems,” as part of a tribute to composer Tadashi Yoshida who passed away in 1998 at the age of 77. Enka singer Yoko Nagayama, 40, and 13 other singers contribute to the album with Jero.

Jero, who sings a version of Yoshida’s popular song “Let’s meet in Yurakucho,” said, “It was difficult because its key is very low. But I think I could make it more attractive than the original one although I was very nervous. It’s a famous song that I used to listen when I was a kid.”

12 Comments

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  rjd_jr at 07:55 AM JST - 2nd October

  Great for Jero-san. He is charismatic and talented, great for him.

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  thepro at 09:20 AM JST - 2nd October

  Does his contract with his agency require him to mention when he was a kid, or his grandmother, in every interview?

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  soldave at 10:26 AM JST - 2nd October

  thepro - probably not, but if it keeps selling him CDs in Japan then he'll keep on milking it. Fair play to him too; take advantage of it while it lasts.

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  JavaChip at 10:36 AM JST - 2nd October

  So, let me get this straight: Jero comes up with an album as a tribute to a guy he never even met because the guy died when Jero was just a kid and not even in Japan, and then he does a cover on one of the composer's songs and claims it's better than the original. And the other enka singers, who actually worked with the composer, are "featuring" on Jero's album...

  Or maybe JT got it wrong again and it's not really Jero's album, but a compilation featuring 15 different artists, except the gaijin community is only familiar with the youngest gem.

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  soldave at 04:14 PM JST - 2nd October

  I did wonder about his comment about making a better song than the original. Can't see that going down too well over here.

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  akaguma at 07:10 PM JST - 2nd October

  he even dresses like a try-hard

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  chibaman at 07:13 PM JST - 2nd October

  Hey Jero's still around! Good for him. But how hard is it to put your cap on properly? What a clutz.

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  plasticmonkey at 10:50 PM JST - 2nd October

  Good that someone's finally stood up to the stuffy enka crowd and did something original like not being Japanese, or wearing hip-hop clothing.

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  noirgaijin at 07:58 AM JST - 3rd October

  I think it’s quite refreshing to have a younger take on an old genre. Enka needed a little resuscitation, as evident to its popularity decline as the bubble burst on the Japanese economy which in turn caused a decline in the karaoke industry. As for someone’s comment about Jero not being in Japan or not ever meeting this enka icon, who cares! There are thousands of Elvis impersonator all over the glob making a killing (or in most cases making a fool of themselves) on his legacy. You go Jero, wish I would have thought of it first. I also think this is a clear case of JT misquoting Jero on the “my version is better than the original.” The guy has too much class to make a silly comment like that and of course there is no protest in the media to remove him from the airwaves.

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  TokyoGas at 02:41 PM JST - 4th October

  Why-o-why does the brother always wear baseball cap and a doo-rag...

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  TheguyNextdoor at 01:53 PM JST - 6th October

  He used to see it on tv when he was a kid living with his grandmother, but it looks better on him then the orginal ICE CUBE and TUPAC.

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  POTUS at 10:07 PM JST - 7th October

  Me thinks he wears a cap all the time to compensate for the sparse foilage upstairs.

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