Anyway, have you heard of the 63-year-old Japanese female singer, Saori Yuki ? She has recently become very popular in some Western countries. Although she is well known as a good singer in Japan, especially among older generations, her songs hadn't been popular for many years until her collaboration album "1969" with Pink Martini started enjoying good sales. Until her songs regained the popularity outside Japan, she mainly sang children songs with her sister. Familiar songs sung with their beautiful voice made people feel easy and comforted.
In that album, she sings in Japanese. Despite that, her songs have been attracting Westerners. Since it is the first time for Japanese songs to become very popular outside Japan since SUKIYAKI sung by Kyu Sakamoto in 1962, her remarkable accomplishment has been widely reported. According to the news, many Westerners who can't understand Japanese but like her Japanese songs say that her songs make them feel comforted. When she sang the song "Puff, the magic dragon" in Japaneses at a concert in New York (maybe), some audience asked by a reporter after the concert said that they preferred the Japanese version despite them being unable to understand Japanese, because they felt more relaxed and comforted. Some experts say that because of Japanese language features, there are less words in Japanese songs than in English ones, which is likely to help people feel relaxed and comforted. I've found it interesting. Needless to say, her excellent singing technique enables that.
It's been said in Japan that we sometimes put lower value on things that we should put much value on. We don't realize it until they are appreciated outside Japan.
"Puff, the magic dragon"sung by Saori Yuki in Japanese
The following song was very popular in Japan, and it has recently regained the popularity.
