CherriiPOP Playlist for 28th October 2011

Good luck for exams everyone! I hope you all enjoyed tonight’s show =) Remember you can still send in your song requests and dedications.

Also, the CherriiPOP facebook page is trying to reach 100 Likes by the end of the year. Help us reach it =)

Here is the playlist:
They are coming – Wheesung
Love is move – Secret
Still – Flower
Airbag – Tablo
Vitamin – SNSD
Love song – Rain
Run for you – Kat-tun
Journey – Tackey & Tsubasa

JPOP Ayumi Hamasaki's Official Facebook Page

The queen of Jpop Ayumi Hamasaki is now on Facebook! She launched it recently to coincide with her latest mini-album 'FIVE'.

On the album cover, Ayumi is sporting spunky short hair. Check out her fb page.

I can't wait to here her new music!!

Scandalous news - 1 of the singers in the jpop group AKB48 was faking it

Listen to our interesting discussion about manufactured pop. What are your thoughts?

Manufactured pop 110624 by CherriiPOPShow

Fan Message for Utada Hikaru - We Miss U

Utada is currently on a break from the music industry. We don't know how long her break will be. I wanted to send her a fan message telling her how much she is missed and I hope she returns soon to produce more music. She has stopped tweeting for over a month, fans are missing her even more!

Our Japanese tutor Ben has helped me translate my message to Japanese. He did a great job translating (I did put him on the spot).

Listen to the message to Utada
Fan Message for Utada Hikaru - WE MISS U (110624) by CherriiPOPShow


Please help me tweet this message to Utada. I hope she will listen to it.

http://twitter.com/#!/utadahikaru

CherriiPOP Playlist for 27th May 2011

Thank you for tuning in! Wow, what a jammed pack show we had tonight. I hope you guys enjoyed the music and the stories. Here is the playlist


Kikkake wa You - Yuu Kikkawa

Kakko warui i love you – French kiss

Lonely – 2NE1

My home – Kanjani8

Because tears are overflowing – Jessica (SNSD)

I did it for love – BOA

Tonight – Big Bang

Arashi no megami – Utada Hikaru

CherriiPOP Playlist for 20th May 2011

I hope you guys enjoyed tonight’s show! I had a lot of fun in studio. Here is the playlist.


Shampoo – After school

Golden Lady – Lim Jeong Hee

Your Luv - MBLAQ

Enlightenment – Andy Lau

Tunnel – Freya Lim

Haruka - Scandal

Ma boy - Sistar

Wo she pu she an ching te cou khai – Aaron Kwok

Down with love – Jerry Yan

CherriiPOP show Friday 13th May 2011

Special guests Anh Chau and Ben Morgan joined me in studio this week. We all had a blast on the show talking about music, Hello Kitty. Ben taught us some Japanese phrases, you can listen to the podcast here.

Have a listen to my guests talk about their fave music and TV shows
Talking music & TV with guests Ben & Anh May 13, 2011 by CherriiPOP

We learnt a new word on this week's show 'Triskaidekaphobia', it means the fear of the number 13. In some countries, people avoid naming a building level '13' by calling it level 12A instead. Many people are cautious of the number 13.

I hope you guys enjoyed the show this week! Thank you to my guests Ben Morgan & Anh Chau dropping by. Here is the show's playlist.

SKE48 – Banzai Venus
Big Bang – Tonight
Piko – Sakurane
Girl Next Door – Silent Scream
SNSD – Mr Taxi
Happiness – Friends
Jang Geun Suk – Let me cry
Stefanie Sun – Wo Bu Ai

CherriiPOP Playlist for 6th May 2011

We’re glad to be back from the Easter break! Hope you guys enjoyed tonight’s show. Here is the playlist. Remember to send in song requests for next week’s show.



Rainbow – To Me

F(x) – Pinnochio

Orange caramel – Bangkok city

The boss – Love Power

Girl Next Door – Silent Scream

Nana Mizuki – Scarlet Knight

Jay Park – Abandoned

Bom – Don’t cry

Freya Lim – Don’t tell me

Virtual Jpop Singer gets her own Radio Show

Hatsune Miku a manufactured Jpop sensation is getting her own radio show! She is completely manufactured, fake - she doesn’t exist. Hatsune is a blue haired 2D character whose voice is generated by voice synthesizers.

Her radio show is broadcasted Saturday nights at 10:15pm on NHK Radio 1 service. Two main features on the show include song requests, and music from the blue haired star.

Hatsune is an ageless 16 year old that has experienced huge success in the Japan music industry. She has a record contract, toured the country and now has her own radio show. I wonder if she will release a movie next like Justin Bieber, documenting her life. Wouldn’t that be interesting?

On our YouTube Channel I have uploaded a Hatsune Miku Track called Po Pi Po. If you haven’t heard her music yet, you should check it out. It’s really poppy and catchy!!! After listening to it, you can’t get it out of your head.

Congrats to Hatsune on her new radio show. She has worked very hard for it LOL.

I introduced Hatsune on the show last year, to read more about her - check out our archive.

Utada's final interview before her break from the entertainment industry

In Utada's final TV interview before her hiatus, she opens up to Chris Peppler and talked candidly about her experiences and future plans. Utada is quite a twitterbug, it seems that she will stay connected with her fans during her hiatus. You can follower her here: www.twitter.com/utadahikaru



Chris [C]: “When did you start thinking about being an artist?”

Utada [U]: “I’ve always loved music, but I didn’t want to be an artist because both of my parents are artists, and they put so much passion into it, like selling a car to pay for the studio fee. They didn’t hesitate to spend money on music, even when they didn’t have an income. They could not rent a house because their income was unstable.

Witnessing those things as a child, I wanted a job with more stable income; I didn’t want to have an unstable life, in which you go up and down with your emotions, passions, and overall living. Therefore, I believed that I would provably go to school and get a job.

However, when I was around 12 or 13 years old, my parents suggested that I create my own song. Since I always loved to sing and I loved music, I started composing songs, playing my piano, and writing lyrics. Thanks to my parents, composing songs led to releasing CDs. When I think about my childhood, I used to hold the ‘Hikaru Show’ at home, sending invitations to my parents, and it was always my parents, me, and music together. So I think I was in the flow (to be an artist).”

[C]: “Let’s talk about your declaration for ‘human activity‘.”

[U]: “I believe that everyone only knows how you live your life, and you can only imagine how others live theirs. These past 2 years, I started noticing that I’ve been protected, and that I lived in such a small society. Although I’ve learned a lot, had many experiences, and gained some confidence as a professional artist over these 12 years, other things – such as living ability, being considerate of others’ feelings, knowing about people who are in different environment – those kind of things are what people experience naturally. But I was in an environment in which I did not have to experience things like that; it was like ‘ growing in a hothouse’.

I noticed that I might be an adult who would not be able to live without the agency or the manager.”

[C]: “What was the trigger to make you think this way?”

[U]: “I started visiting the countryside recently and felt the greatness of nature, how refreshing and important it is to go outside. I’ve developed an inclination to go outside more; I noticed that there was a potential for a new experience whenever I went outside, and that nothing would happen if I stayed inside of my house. So I tried to go outside at least once a day for something that wasn’t work-related, such as going for a short walk with my own legs.”

[C]: “Why did you choose live concerts as your last activity before you went on hiatus?”

[U]: “I held a tour in North America and in London during January and February of 2010. A tour at small live houses was something I’ve always wanted to do ever since I debuted.

Compared to other singers, I have less experience with live concerts. I feel that an artist should hold live concerts at smaller venues first, and then go on to bigger places; but in my case, it was the other way around. It was my first overseas tour, so a lot of people came over to my concerts, and I felt such a strong passion and love from them. It also made me feel that having live concerts are great, and that I want to sing more lives in Japan. I was the artist who spent more time at home on making music and singing at the studio, than holding live concerts. However, this feeling of wanting to sing in front of fans started growing on me. That’s how I decided to hold the live concerts.”

[C]: “How did you feel when you left the microphone on the stage, and walked the runway?”

[U]: “It felt refreshing at the live, and I was told by many people that the concert was filled with a mysterious and warm love. I was happy to hear that, because that feeling was in my heart. I was happy my heart was able to reach out to the audience through my songs and through my body.

These past 2 years, I’ve started thinking about ‘love’ for the first time. I never considered seriously what it meant to cherish or love something before, or maybe I just tried not to think about it on purpose because it’s scary. But this time, I was finally able to face it. I think before, I couldn’t afford to ‘tuck up’ others with my love, but at the concert, my fans were able to feel my love and how much I wanted to cherish them. I was also able to receive love in return from the audience. It was a very warm time, and the concert became very precious to me.”

[C]: ”How was to produce your own PV?” (talking about the PV for “Goodbye Happiness”)

[U]: “At first, I was going to have someone else do it, like I usually did, but there were some things I felt like ‘That’s not the same as my feeling now’, and it didn’t work out well even though I tried to explain it. Then I noticed that I’m the only person who could understand my current feelings, and that I won’t be able to make any music videos for a while [because of my hiatus]. Therefore, I decided to do everything I wanted to do. I also wanted to make myself do things which other directors wouldn’t ask me to do.

People tend to think that celebrities do or possess special things, but that’s not true. I wanted to show people that I’m just a regular woman, and I thought it would be meaningless if I make a video with myself merely acting the role of ‘Utada Hikaru’.”

[C]: “You are about to stop your activities as an artist for a while. What are you planning to do?”

[U]: “I think it does not matter what I will do, it’s more important on how I do things. The thing I want to do the most is to study with other people, and I want to volunteer overseas if I get the chance. I’m currently searching for that chance. I hope there would be something I could do, at a place where I can meet people in different environments, like in a nursing institution.

I will probably be making music and singing freely at home, because music is not all about business to me. But I will focus on the point of being a ‘Utada Hikaru’ who can take care of herself, and now have people there to support me. I think, in order for me to do so, I will finally understand how much people have done for me, and I also want to cherish time, myself, and the people around me.”

[C]: “Independence?”

[U]: “Yes, that’s it.”

(Transcript from Tokyo Hive)

CherriiPOP Song of the Week - Hatsune Miku 'Po Pi Po'

Here is a cute song by artist Hatsune Miku. Interesting fact! She's 100% manufactured. Watch clip to find out more

2010 Music Wrap up – Solo Endeavours, Comebacks and Good-byes

So much has happened in this year in the Music industry! Everything moves at a very fast pace in Asia. We saw a lot of group members go out and do there solo projects, many artists making their comeback after a few years absence and I mentioned earlier in the show many huge names are bidding permanent and temporary farewells to the business like Bao Han, Utada and Rain.

This year we saw huge Kpop artists return after a few years trying to break in to the American music scene. Yep! Boa and Se7en! Boa was absent for 5 years (I can’t believe it was that long) and she definitely made a spectacular comeback to KPOP releasing her new album ‘Hurricane Venus’. With her epic comeback she had a whole blonde look and a new sound. Se7en made a huge comeback as well, displaying a more mature look and showing up some new tattoos. Both of them didn’t quite get the response they were hoping for in America, but they are incredibly talented so I hope they can crack the market in the near future.

We saw a lot of popular band members go out and release their own solo singles like Taeyang from Big Bang, Ga In from Brown Eye Girls and heaps more. No, they didn’t leave the group! They have received a lot of success for their solo projects, with singles topping the charts. Taeyang’s MV for ‘I’ll be there’ was incredible; it has a bit of Michael Jackson’s ‘Thriller’ feel with slick dancing and zombies.

SMAP the ultimate boy band are still dominating the Oricon charts after nearly 2 decades in the business! Their single ‘This is love’ debut at number one and it goes to show they guys still got it!

AND temporary Farewells to Jpop and Kpop’s Greatest: Utada Hikaru and Rain.

2010 will also bid farewells to other HUGE Pop artists, Utada Hikaru and Rain! I know, all my favourite artists are leaving me! Utada and Rain are not retiring but they are bidding temporary farewells to their fans.



Utada announced on her website that she will be taking a break from the music industry for an indefinite period of time. She has grown up in the industry and she has felt that it is time to explore a different side of life. Before the end of the year, she is releasing new compilation albums (1 in Japanese and 1 in English). New songs will be included on her Japanese compilation album and this week she released the PV to her newly released single ‘Goodbye Happiness’. I love the Music clip to this song, it’s very kawaii (cute) and it will surely put a smile on your face. It’s a simple clip, the whole MV takes place in a typical Japanese bedroom and she is singing at the desk with cute puppets popping in to frame. I love her Music clips, it’s creative and unlike American artist MV’s it’s not sexual. Utada never wears sexy clothes and dances with topless male dancers, she said it’s not her style. I admire that she stayed true to herself and didn’t succumb to pressures to be sexy to sell records.




Rain!!! Will also be taking a break from the music industry to serve his compulsory military duty. Rain has been delaying his enlistment for a long time now due to work and study commitments. It has been announced that he will enlist the start of 2011. This year has been a big year for Rain, he made his comeback on the small screen, starring in the popular TV drama ‘Fugitive: Plan B’, released a new single, there are plans that he will star in one more movie and also he is studying a masters degree. In addition, on December 31 this year he will be holding 2 special concerts in Seoul! It’s been a jammed packed year for Rain.

It hasn’t been an easy year for Rain, he has been caught up in a lot of bad media coverage over J Tune’s embezzlement drama, gambling debts. The next few years won’t get easier while he serves in the military.

I look forward to Utada and Rain’s comeback in the future. I think after their break they will be back with so much creative energy and producing remarkable music.

Utada Hikaru’s Talented Music Family!!

Utada Hikaru will also be leaving the music business at the end of the year. Unlike Bao Han, Utada isn’t retiring but taking a break. She’s a newbie to twitter, she only joined about 2 weeks ago and she has become quite a regular tweeter.

She tweets to her fans a lot. One fan asked what she likes to sing at karaoke and she said Disney songs and some of her own songs! Imagine going to karaoke with Utada! I’ll be too intimidated to sing in front of her! Because I’m so bad haha…

She also said sang some of her mum’s songs at karaoke. She said her mum was a famous enka singer.

Utada tweeted:
Enka has a very particular style of singing, lyrics are often very sad, and my mother didn't want it to influence my singing, or my life..’

Utada told all her followers to google her mum. Of course I did and her mum Utada Junko is very beautiful and she was very famous and successful Enka artist. Junko’s debut album ‘Woman in Shinjuku/'Star of Enka' All of Keiko Fuji’ topped the Oricon charts for an impressive 20 consecutive weeks.

I also found out that Utada’s father Teruzane Utada is also in the music industry, he is a record producer and manager. When he married Junko he managed her career. Utada Hikaru is the only child and of course Teruzane oversaw his daughters career as well.

The Utada’s have been a huge part of Jpop making Jpop history. They are one talented family!

JPOP Princess Utada Hikaru Joins Twitter

This year is a huge year for Utada Hikaru, she announced that at the end of the year she will be taking a break from the entertainment business. She said she doesn’t know how long she’ll be gone for but she said it’s time that she go explore other things. Before the end of the year she’ll be releasing a new compilation CD that will include some new songs. She’ll be doing some special tours in Japan! And exciting news, she has gotten the twitter bug and officially joined.

Now you can follow her tweets everyday. She tweets in Japanese and English. She tweets a lot with her fans. If you want to tell her how much you love her music do so now before she goes on hiatus.

In one tweet she describes her breakfast which sounded so tasty. She had a traditional Japanese breakfast. I had a traditional Japanese breakfast in Japan! It was so delicious and incredibly filling. The size of the meal was fit for lunch or dinner. There was rice, soup, miso soup, salmon, seaweed… yumm… Follow Utada on twitter!

CherriiPOP Music show 10/9/10 playlist

Thanks for listening to our show this week! Here are the awesome tracks we played

Sistar – Shady Girl
Kanjani8 – Osaka rainya blues
Supercell – Utakata Hanabi
Son Dambi – Bad boy
Wheesung – I thought to Marry
Boa – I did it for love
Mika Nakashima – Hitoiro
Jerry Yan – Freedom
Rain – W Song

Cool CherriiPOP Video =D Tune in Fridays for our Awesome Show

Hope you guys enjoyed the video I made =D I had a lot of fun doing it - T

Utada Hikaru taking a break in the Music biz

Utada Hikaru has announced on her website that she will be taking a break from the entertainment business at the end of the year.

Listen to the podcast:
JPOP Princess Utada Hikaru announces break from music 2010 by CherriiPOP

She explained her decision on her website, stating:

"There are some parts inside me that have stopped growing since I began my artist-centered life at age 15, I'm thinking of focusing on 'human activities' by putting my 'flashy' artist activities on hold for a while. I don't know if it will take two years or five years".

She has been touring in the US for the last couple of years trying to crack the US market, like so many successful Asian popstars. She has performed on Ryan Seacrest's radio show. I'm sure her fans will be sad to hear this news and hope that she will return to the music industry in the near future. It was because of Utada's music that I became such a huge fans of her and became exposed to JPOP. She released her debut album 'First Love' at the young age of 15. The title song from that album 'First Love' is the first jpop song I heard and I can sing the song off by heart, even though I don't know Japanese. It's also one of my favourite karaoke songs. Before she takes a break from the industry, her compilation album 'Utada Hikaru Singles Collection Vol 2' will be released. I wish her all the best and I hope she will be back with more awesome music soon.

SMAP!!!! The ultimate Boy Band

SMAP is THE ultimate Jpop boy band; they have been around nearly 2 decades. They made their debut in 1991 and since then have released over 40 singles and 20 albums. What incredible achievements! For staying together for a long time and producing hit after hit. For those of you who don't know, SMAP stands for Sports Music Assemble People. I'm not quite sure why Sport is in there, it is a bit odd.

My fave member is Takuya Kimura, I became a huge fan of his after watching him in romantic drama 'Beautiful Life'. It's a moving love story between a young man and a woman in a wheelchair. Check out Beautiful Life! They started out with 6 members, but now they have 5. They are huge in Japan! Each member have branched outside the music industry and gone in to acting. They have faced tough times in their career with decline in popularity and sales. Their agent decided that they should host a variety show so the fans can get to know the members better and build a stronger bond with them. This worked and their popularity was back on track. They've survived scandals. When Takuya got married in 2001, rumours of the group splitting up was swirling around.

In July this year, SMAP toured nationally and next month, September they will do their first overseas concert in China. I was surprised to hear that this was their first overseas concert, considering they have been together for 19 years. I am certain that the Shanghai concerts will be a HUGE hit! It's awesome to see that they are still going strong and still topping the charts! Their latest album 'We are SMAP' was released this year, Check it out and be SMAPified!!!!

Sneak Peak at Tomorrow's CherriiPOP Show

I'm so excited about tomorrow's show! We've got hot new tracks from BoA, Se7en, Chae Yeon and music from Vanness Wu, Sammi Cheng, Ayumi and so much more! Tune in 7pm tomorrow for our live streaming! Here is a sneak peak of tomorrow's show =)