In Coachella debut, Japanese stars try anew to conquer U.S.

some people just don't know when to pack it in....

after hastily learning some English

Not even infants can do that. He was set up for failure.

Please. Never, ever use the words “heavy metal” and “XJapan” in the same sentence.

Wearing leather and sunglasses while posing is not even close.

Of the plethora of things no one has ever heard of described as “big in Japan” - these wusses top the list.

Whether one likes Yoshiki or not is ones own personal decision - but there's no decrying his musical talents and accomplishments across music genres from rock to jazz to classical. I'm not sure but I think he is the only person to have headlined a rock concert (with X japan) at Carnegie Hall and also a classical concert with Tokyo Philharmonic at Carnegie.

The breadth and depth of his work is nothing short of amazing. Few people command the respect he does in the wider music world, that's for sure.

But for me, if I was at Coachella, the Japanese atrists I'd like to see are Otoboke Beaver.

Thrashingly Cool - the antithesis of "Cool Japan inc"

Why oh why are some acts so desperate to break into the US market? If you can't do it in 20 odd years, then that's got to be telling you something. From people like Matsuda to Utada, they've tried, failed, and packed their bags.

browny1 - with enough money and enough of your homegrown Japanese fans to fill enough seats, you too, can play at Carnegie Hall.

And I keep hearing what great musician he is. Why is it the average music fan can't hum a few bars of his hits? Can name a song? Can even identify him in a photo??

He's a never-been. Just another poseur wearing sunglasses who was "Big in Japan"

Fan base in Japan- Large, Fan base in U.S.- a cult following.

Fan base in Japan- Large, Fan base in U.S.- a cult following.

“Cult following “ is codespeak meaning “unknown outside of a handful of Japanophiles”

Clamenza - thanks for your observations.

I'm not sure what hummability of......, has to do with rating musical talent, but oh well.

I'm not a particular fan of Yoshiki at all - not really my thing - but I will give due where due is due.

As a first step to seeing his achievements over a long stretch a quick Wiki will fill in some gaps.

Yoshiki looks a bit like the well-heeled housewives I used to see walking their toy poodles in the Ebisu area.

American audiences won't accept movies or music that aren't in English. Sorry, Yoshiki. The exceptions are very rare and kind of random. Foreign-language musicians that have found success have done so on the strength of one, single catchy song (or maaaaabye two), but have not enjoyed long-term success with subsequent singles or albums.

Japanese people frequently enjoy foreign-language music whose lyrics they can't understand - hence the continued efforts of Japanese musicians to crack the mainstream American market. But that's simply a point where the two cultures are different.

Loudness did make some impact during the 80s. The arty 'death' metal band Boris has made some impact in America, and their lyrical and titular content are too strange and stream-of-conscience to matter anyway. They are cool. The all-lady punk band Shonen Knife packs the house. They're a fun band, drawing in the anime and cosplay crowd, they got the cutsy-wutsyness about them but they are serious PUNK ROCKERS. And now Babymetal is featured on the Rock On the Range festival this year. There's also the Asian Kung-Fu Generation. I know there are some good Japanese rockers out there so let's see them!

There have been only two Asian singers who became mainstream stars in the US.

PSY

What they have in common is that 1. They dance amazing. and 2. They(At least some members) can speak fluent English and make jokes on US late night talk shows.

So unless Yoshiki can speak fluent English, forget it. If the US citizen Utada Hikaru couldn't do it, what chances does Yoshiki have? Or Perfume?

It is not possible to gain fame and success in the US without speaking English like a native.

It is not possible to gain fame and success in the US without speaking English like a native.

There was a Japanese singer who sang a movie theme in his native Japanese and it hit  #1 in the USA sometime in the 1950s or even the early 1960s. I read about him - he passed away a few years ago.

In 1984 the West German band Nena hit #2 in the USA with 99 Luftballons which was sung in German. There was a badly translated English version and an even worse translation mixed German and English version released as well. The Romanian artist Enigma had a hit with Sadeness in 1990-1991 which had few lyrics that were not in English. The French all-woman band Plastiscenes had an indy/alternative hit in America with Loser, sung in French. And the Latino American rockers Los Lobos hit #1 with the Spanish language 'La Bamba'. There are more examples and this is just a few of them.

deadbeatlesApr. 13 10:39 pm JST'Fame' in Amerika, has nothing to do with talent.

You're right. 'Chart success' means nothing in the USA, you're here today and gone tomorrow. In America 'talent' doesn't matter to the public but the first 2 letters of that word certainly does if the star is female - and that's a shame. Sad but true. Shania Twain put out a huge album in 1998 and she sure looks sexy on the back cover art - but the 16 songs on the disc are all so HORRIBLE. It's an absolute hunk of junk yet it made Diamond status - selling over 10 million copies. Go figure.

Yoshiki just keeps pushing himself into the japanese media 'spotlite' at every opportunity. But he and his music are a bore.