J!-ENT
Asian Entertainment News and Pop Culture

Japantoday.com reported, “The first album of American enka singer Jero, 26, was on Monday ranked 5th on Oricon’s music chart. The album “Covers” sold 42,000 copies in the first week after its release.”

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In an Associated Press article, “Enka, a quintessentially Japanese genre of music, has a new king.”

“And he comes from Pittsburgh.”

“In a world where performers normally don kimonos or tuxedos and listeners tend to be post-retirement age, 26-year-old Jerome Charles White, Jr. — known as “Jero” to his legions of fans — has taken Japan by storm with a mix of decidedly American hip-hop moves and a pitch-perfect version of this nation’s equivalent of country and western.”

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JapanToday’s Chris Betros recently interviewed the enka singer who has captivated Japan with his songs and also has become the first Black man in Japan to do so.

In an excerpt from Betros interview:

There are some days that Jero could definitely use a few clones. Ever since the enka singer made his debut in February, his life has been a daily whirlwind of promotional appearances, media interviews, radio and TV events. “Actually, I’m having fun and starting to get used to it, but I hardly have any time to myself to chill out,” he says, sitting back in the office of his management agency, Victor Entertainment. Of course, the fact that Jero, 26, is the first African-American enka singer in Japanese music history and that he blends hip hop with enka has a lot to do with his skyrocketing fame since he released his debut single “Umiyuki” on Feb 20.

Not too long ago, Jero was just Jerome White, an English teacher in Wakayama. His road to enka began a long time ago when his Japanese grandmother married a U.S. navy man in Yokosuka. They went back to Pittsburgh and raised a family. Jero eventually came along in 1981, and credits his grandmother for the beginnings of his love of enka. In fact, throughout the interview, he refers to his grandmother many times, dedicating his career to her.

His grandmother would sing to him the songs of such great enka artists as the legendary Hibari Misora and Sayuri Ishikawa. “I was singing enka in Japanese to my grandmother before I was 10, even though I didn’t speak any Japanese and didn’t know the meaning of the lyrics. She was so pleased,” he recalls. “My friends didn’t have a Japanese grandmother like I did. I took great pride in that and it made me want to learn more about her country and culture. Of course, growing up in Pittsburgh, I also listened to a lot of R&B and hip hop. Yet, in the back of my mind, I thought if there was ever a chance, I would love to become an enka singer. I knew that would be a long shot living in the States, so I kept it on the backburner.”

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Japantoday.com reported, “Kirin Beverage Corp has signed up African-American enka singer Jero, 26, to appear in TV ads for its canned coffee “Fire Cafffee Zero.” The ads will be aired from May 21.”

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JapanToday.com reported, “Nippon Broadcasting System on Sunday said that American singer Jero, 26, will be a disk jockey for its three-hour special radio program on April 21.”

“Jero will choose traditional Japanese ballad music (enka) and comment on each song. He said, “I’m very happy to have a program full of my favorite Japanese ballad music. I hope listeners will appreciate how great enka is.”

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Mainichi Daily News reported, “Black enka singer Jero put on a pre-game show for the Basketball Japan League’s Rising Fukuoka before it played its final home court match against the Ryukyu Golden Kings here over the weekend.”

“The 26-year-old American singer with a Japanese mother sparked up the crowd with something of a mismatch, singing traditional Japanese songs before a bj league game, where the atmosphere is known for its trendy, razzmatazz feel.”

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American enka singer Jero tore up the charts with his debut and was recently featured on CNN.

Click here

The following Variety Show Pick of the Day goes to Nippon HERO who are surprised a) an African American is there to sing an enka song b) that he speaks fluent Japanese. Jero has been profiled on many articles in the past two weeks because he of his enka singing and we at J!-ENT are proud he accomplished his first goal to be an enka singer in Japan but we hope Jero makes it into NHK’s Kouhaku Utagassen in the end of the year.

DISCLAIMER: youtube.com videos are courtesy of youtube and are not on J!-ENT servers

B-boy Jero becomes the first American to break into the Japanese charts with an enka song “Umiyuki” which was #4 on the Oricon Weekly Charts.

DISCLAIMER: youtube.com videos are courtesy of youtube and are not on J!-ENT servers

Mainichi Daily News reported, “American “enka” singer Jero set records on Oricon’s weekly music charts, coming in fourth with his runaway hit debut single “Umiyuki,” according to results released on Tuesday.”"The 26-year-old Jero, born in Pittsburgh in the United States, grew up listening to enka (traditional Japanese ballads) as a child, inspired by his Japanese grandmother. After graduating from the University of Pittsburgh in 2003, he moved to Japan to become an enka singer. He was scouted by a record label after doing well at several amateur singing contests, and made a sensational debut with the single “Umiyuki,” created by charismatic songwriter Yasushi Akimoto and famous musician Ryudo Uzaki.”

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