Midori over at Midori’s J-pop Overanalyzations posted a survey asking about people’s musical preferences. I have to admit that the reason I was so excited to do this survey was for the last question… I LOVE MUSICALS!!! <3

Anyway, here are my answers! Enjoy! ^_^

Gender: Female

Approximate age: 21-30

1. What was the first pop song you remember liking?

The first pop song I liked completely of my own choosing (meaning having no influence from my parents, and not from watching Kids Incorporated – thus being current music) was Ace of Base’s “The Sign”. It released in North America in 1994, and I remember when I first heard people talking about the song at recess, I was completely against it. Don’t ask me why, ’cause I have absolutely no idea.

2. What bands/music groups/singers did you grow up listening to?
I grew up listening to a lot of music my parents listened to such as The Beatles, Chicago, Peter Paul and Mary, Bread, The Eagles and The Monkeys. As I started listening to my own things, I picked up the boybands ex. Backstreet Boys (first), NSync (after I accepted the fact that it was okay to like both groups), Mandy Moore, The Moffatts, Britney Spears (her first album only), Spice Girls, Will Smith, Ace of Base (of course) and Hanson (my favourite band of all time)!

3. What bands/music groups/singers were popular when you grew up? (ie. Were on the radio a lot)
Backstreet Boys, NSync, Britney Spears, The Moffatts (I’m from Canada. I don’t know how popular they were in the States, if at all), Blink 182, Hanson (their first album, at least, circa 1997), Sum 41, Spice Girls, etc.

4. When (What year) did you first hear Jpop that you liked? What groups were popular?
Probably around 1997 for Sailor Moon music, but I didn’t look up other Jpop at the time. So I’m not sure who was popular around that time (though that was the year of Morning Musume’s debut). Next up was either BoA or Ayumi Hamasaki (in 1998), and outside of them, I have no idea who was popular in that time.

5. What kind of Jpop/Jrock did you initially like?
Ayumi Hamasaki and BoA of the late 90s. I didn’t get into Hello! Project until 2001.

6. Do you still like said kind of Jmusic?
I haven’t followed Ayu’s career since around the time of “I am…” and “Rainbow” (2002). It seems like H!P consumed me at that point.
i haven’t followed BoA’s career all that closely either for quite some time. The last BoA single I really got into was “Shine We Are” and “The Love Bug” (a collaboration with m-flo) before “Eat You Up” came out… Though, “Eat You Up” doesn’t count as Jpop does it? XD I bought her debut English album at a local HMV. I must say it felt awesome to buy a BoA album from the mall.

7. Do you still listen to the music in your native language (or some other language) as often as Jpop?
I get into moods where I listen to a load of English music. Hanson is always played intermittently during my Jpop kicks. Other English artists I listen to are Mandy Moore, Eva Avila, Lea Salonga (when I get into my musical listening moods), Bury the Bully, Coldplay, Jack Johnson, KT Tunstall, Melissa O’Neil, Michael Tolcher, Mike Doughty, etc.

8. If so, what other kind of music to you enjoy listening to?
I mainly listen to pop and rock. There are the random songs from other genres that I’ll get into, but I don’t listen to other genres regularly.

9. Do you go to concerts/performances of your favorite groups from your country? Do you go to ones for J-pop groups?
I have been to every one of Hanson’s concerts that they’ve held in Toronto. I’ve been to a total of 7 or 8 Hanson concerts (if I’m counting correctly) in the 12 years that I’ve been a fan. Other musical acts I’ve seen live are Coldplay, The Backstreet Boys… Is that all?

I know that No Doubt is going on tour and will be doing their old school music in order to get inspiration for their next album. I would totally go to that concert, except they’re going to be in Toronto when I’m on vacation in Florida. That realization was terribly depressing for me, for I LOVE No Doubt’s “Tragic Kingdom” album.

10. What do you think about the Jpop industry’s future? Do you think that you’ll continue to like it for another 5 years?
I really have no idea what I’ll like in another 5 years. From the acts I listen to now, I would say that I will follow anything that Matsuura Aya, Natsuyaki Miyabi, Takahashi Ai, Niigaki Risa and Angela Aki does in the future. As for new acts, well, we’ll have to see what the future brings, right?

11. What’s your favorite group?
For English music, it’s Hanson. For Japanese, it’s Buono!

12. Is your favorite song/single/album a Jpop one? Is it from your favorite artist?
This is a difficult question. I don’t have an overall favourite album ever. If I had to pick, I’d have to pick 2, one from Hanson (The Walk) and another from Buono! (Café Buono!). I loved all the songs from both albums (with varying degrees for each song, but there wasn’t a song I didn’t enjoy), which is a rarity for me. As for a favourite song, I wouldn’t even know where to begin in choosing one.

13. Do you like pop from outside of Japan, such as Hannah Montana?
I don’t follow much pop from outside of Japan. The pop acts I did follow don’t release much of anything these days. However, I don’t follow Hannah Montana, and The Jonas Brothers DO NOT equal the new Hanson. Are you friggin’ kidding me?! One of them doesn’t even play an instrument when the perform! BUUUUH! … Don’t get me started on that comparison. XD

14. Do you like musicals? If so, what’s your favorite, and one you really want to see? (This one is just to humor Midori)
I LOVE musicals. Lea Salonga is my one of favourite singers ever. If you don’t know who she is, you’ve definitely heard her if you’ve watched the Disney movies “Aladdin” and “Mulan”. She does the singing voices for Jasmine and Mulan. My favourite musical is Miss Saigon (which Lea Salonga had the original starring role in). I also love Les Miserables, Phantom of the Opera (my first favourite musical), Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, The Sound of Music, Avenue Q and We Will Rock You. Thoe are all that I can recall from the top of my head. I’ve seen all of those musicals I listed.

I’d really like to see Miss Saigon again. The version I saw was a travelling show, so I don’t think I got the full effect of it. Also, they lyrics were changed in the show. I don’t know if it’s been changed from the original London Cast recording, but I didn’t like how they cut the finale song.

Also, as I was looking for pics to insert into this post, I stumbled upon this YouTube video of Lea auditioning for Miss Saigon. She was so young! <3