Ken Hirai

M

MHtrStevie

後輩

13 Jul 2002

291

3

• 21 Feb 2003

• #1

Greetings!

According to nt2099.com, J-soul singer Hirai Ken has been selected as one of 14 international artists to appear on a new tribute album dedicated to the work of Stevie Wonder. He'll be appearing along with major artists such as Eric Clapton, John Mellencamp and Mary J. Blige. Apparently Hirai will be covering Wonder's "You Are the Sunshine of My Life".

Cool to see another J-Pop star getting some recognition in the U.S. market... hopefully a sign of things to come.

 

Twisted

That man in the corner

15 Mar 2002

1,621

25

• 21 Feb 2003

• #2

He recently did an MTV unplugged session in New York. Would be interesting if that show would get airtime in the U.S.
Apparently all of his songs were rewritten in English for this session.

 

den4

先輩

Twenty-year veteran

15 Nov 2002

1,837

64

• 22 Feb 2003

• #3

curious about that mtv unplugged....has it shown yet...I haven't seen anything....and I thought it was only for mtv Japan they were doing it for... :O

 

Twisted

That man in the corner

15 Mar 2002

1,621

25

• 22 Feb 2003

• #4

I don't know exactly. It's probably going to be shown on MTV Japan, but given that all the songs were done in English and he is to appear on that Stevie Wonder tribute album, Sony obviously has international plans with him.

And why not? Anything related to R&B sells very good in the US. Don't know about the rest of the world though. The European R&B market is not that big.

 

Ancella

後輩

5 Feb 2003

120

0

• 25 Feb 2003

• #5

Hah!!! Really!!!!?????
I just heard about it now. Oh.... Ken
I'm really proud of him

 

Eve

後輩

6 Nov 2003

492

4

• 7 Sep 2004

• #6

I think his singing skills are unique..I think its the blues rhit?

Btw where can i Dl "You Are The Sunshine Of My Life" and "Life is another story"

Discuss about him -.-

He said hes full japanese but he looks mixed :?

 

Dream Time

後輩

20 Jul 2003

1,238

25

• 7 Sep 2004

• #7

no he is pop with R&B and Soul influences
'You are the sunshine of my life' is actually originally by Stevie Wonder

 

Eve

後輩

6 Nov 2003

492

4

• 7 Sep 2004

• #8

oh cool..

yea i know i think he sang that song in stevie wonder's thing when he died. It's so awesome!!

 

-Yu-

先輩

19 Apr 2004

133

2

• 7 Sep 2004

• #9

Indeed, he looks like mixed besides he is very tall for Japanese.
The latest song of his is "Bo ku no to mo da chi" yes? I like it.

 

Dream Time

後輩

20 Jul 2003

1,238

25

• 7 Sep 2004

• #10

Eve said:

oh cool..

yea i know i think he sang that song in stevie wonder's thing when he died. It's so awesome!!

Click to expand...

oh he did? I didn't know that

he sang that song in MTV Unplugged in New York,with a female singer name Nivea

 

Apollo

先輩

28 Mar 2004

1,810

45

• 7 Sep 2004

• #11

Yes, he is good-looking and a good singer...
I think he was born in the United States.
I am not sure about whether he is mixed...he certainly looks like it, but my friend said he wasn't. :?

 

O

okaeri_man

Tadaima!

6 Sep 2003

452

9

• 7 Sep 2004

• #12

i dont know how he can sing that high. when he trys to sing upbeat stuff it sends shivers of confusion down my spine.

 

W

Winter

Gag me with a spoon

19 Nov 2003

962

24

• 8 Sep 2004

• #13

Wait...Stevie Wonder died?

 

Eve

後輩

6 Nov 2003

492

4

• 8 Sep 2004

• #14

I think so -.- do a search for it. yea that song was awesome but I couldn't find it on the net.

 

Apollo

先輩

28 Mar 2004

1,810

45

• 8 Sep 2004

• #15

Winter said:

Wait...Stevie Wonder died?

Click to expand...

NO! Not to my knowledge....He is still alive.

I did a search on Vh1, CNN, MTV, BBC - and could find nothing reporting about his death...Not his fansite either...

 

kirei_na_me

Where I'm Supposed to Be

31 Jan 2003

5,051

166

• 8 Sep 2004

• #16

Stevie Wonder is still alive. Maybe you're thinking about Ray Charles?

 

necrozombie

pLaTfOrM wOoBiE bOoTs

23 Jul 2004

223

8

• 8 Sep 2004

• #17

hrm... *goes to look for picture of him*
..oo... he kinda does look mixed..

 

Dream Time

後輩

20 Jul 2003

1,238

25

• 8 Sep 2004

• #18

*reads the post by Eve again*


no Stevie Wonder is still alive, maybe Eve was thinking about Ray Charles

 

Eve

後輩

6 Nov 2003

492

4

• 8 Sep 2004

• #19

kirei_na_me said:

Stevie Wonder is still alive. Maybe you're thinking about Ray Charles?

Click to expand...

Im not sure but he did do a dedication with some other singers around the world because they praise Stevie Wonder..and He sang "You are the sunshine of my life" which was Stevie Wonder's song

 

W

Winter

Gag me with a spoon

19 Nov 2003

962

24

• 8 Sep 2004

• #20

So....if people dedicate a song to someone, they have to be dead?

Jeez....makes me wonder about myself. My wife has dedicated many a song to me. *pinch*

Nope. I'm alive.

 

Eve

後輩

6 Nov 2003

492

4

• 8 Sep 2004

• #21

lol i guess ur right. But 9 different artists around the world sang in this concert. Thats prolly why I thought stevie wonder died -.-

 

W

Winter

Gag me with a spoon

19 Nov 2003

962

24

• 8 Sep 2004

• #22

I'm sure if it was a concert dedicated to the memory of someone, they'd clearly state it was dedicated to the 'memory'.

Still, yeah, I can see how you had the idea.

 

Eve

後輩

6 Nov 2003

492

4

• 8 Sep 2004

• #23

Yeah, I found this

so yea I couldn't find that two songs I want badly

 

Dream Time

後輩

20 Jul 2003

1,238

25

• 8 Sep 2004

• #24

Eve said:

Yeah, I found this

so yea I couldn't find that two songs I want badly

Click to expand...

ah~
interesting, thanks for providing the info
I am also interested in that album,gonna try getting some mp3s of that

 

-Yu-

先輩

19 Apr 2004

133

2

• 9 Sep 2004

• #25

Okay, now the confusioin about whether he died was solved, let's get back to the topic:Hirai Ken.
I think he is a pure Japanese, who was born in Osaka and got brought up by normal Japanese.
(I don't know if a pure Japanese or a normal Japanese sounds right in this sentence, what I mean is not being mixed)