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arishaSo you may recall how, about a month ago, I said I was going to post a great big list of videos that I've found on YouTube where international artists cover Michael Jackson songs. This entry is taking me forever because I keep finding more!! So I've decided to post it in parts, with apologies to those of you who are uninterested and thus will simply have to scroll. x)
I was going to write an introduction to this ~series~ but my brain isn't working right now so hopefully it's pretty self-explanatory. "Tributes" isn't quite the word I want - this is more a collection of covers, dance performances, even just mentions of MJ by singers and dancers from other countries. I just find it really interesting how impossibly famous MJ was and continues to be, and what a huge influence he had on the evolution of pop music. That plus my enjoyment of listening to music from around the world means that I find these sorts of clips ridiculously fascinating!
Please let me know if you find any mistakes or broken links, or if you have anything you think I should add. :) Enjoy~!
International Michael Jackson Tributes: Japan
AFRA featuring AI
AFRA beatboxes and AI sings! (Together, they fight crime?)
"Beat It"
TV performance - October?, 2009
I actually find this cover oddly appealing, lol. It can be found on AFRA's album Heat Beat, which was released October 28, 2009.
Asako Toki
A pop and jazz singer and composer.
"Human Nature"
cover (audio only) - September 23, 2009
A very nice jazz cover that can be found on the album I Want You Back - Dedicate to the King of Pop.
BoA
A singer and amazing dancer who has released albums in Japan and the U.S. as well as her home country of South Korea. (And when I do my South Korea entry, I'll have more BoA clips to share!) If you've never heard any of her music before, why not start with the three songs that share their titles with MJ songs: "Rock With You," "Earthsong," and "Scream." (That last one is from her English language album, with which I am obsessed!) Maybe I'm looking too hard for it, but I can see a lot of MJ influence in BoA's performances - see also: "Eien," "Bad Drive," "Girl in the Mirror" and "Spark."
"Billie Jean"
concert performance (fancam audio only) - Xmas Live 2009 - December 5, 2009
BoA singing "Billie Jean," omg my life is complete! <3 We may never get a full official video of this amazing thing, but if you don't mind short clips, we do have news footage - see this video, starting at 0:25. <3 <3 <3
"Sweet Impact"
music video - April 25, 2007
BoA's twenty-second Japanese single is not my favourite of her songs, but I definitely freaked out when I saw the music video, because it is pretty undeniably inspired by Moonwalker - this becomes rather more obvious starting around 1:18. xD It's no "Smooth Criminal," but I still love that it exists.
COLDFEET
I don't know much about this group, although they seem to be a duo who are mostly about covers and remixes. On November 4, 2009 they released an album called MJ the Tour, from which come the following covers.
"Beat It"
cover (audio only)
I'm not convinced this song was ever intended to be turned into jazz. But okay!
"Billie Jean"
cover (album trailer)
The above is just a short preview; there's also a fancam recording of their December 31, 2009 performance. Also on their album is the "Billie Jean (Tuka Remix)."
"Shake Your Body (Down to the Ground)"
club performance (fancam)
The above is their December 26, 2009 performance. There's also a fancam video from December 30, 2009, where, starting at 1:45 and again at 2:30 they have a go at the dance to this song, it's kind of cute I guess?
"Thriller"
cover (audio only)
I've also found two fancam recordings of COLDFEET performing this song: one from September 21, 2009, and one from September 26, 2009.
Finger 5
This J-pop group, made up of four brothers and their sister, was active throughout the seventies. You may recall that I've talked previously about them and their song "Koi no Dial 6700," and was quite dismayed when I learned I wasn't the first to refer to them as "the Japanese Jackson 5." xD
"Ben"
cover (audio only) - August 25, 1973
As well as singing original songs, Finger 5 recorded Japanese-language covers of current American songs. The translations seem to be pretty faithful.
"I'll Be There"
cover (audio only) - August 25, 1973
The actual title of this cover is "Ai wa Doko e." Both this and "Ben" were included on Finger 5's first album, Kojin Jugyou.
Folder
Folder was a pop known for their Eurobeat-style music. The group began with five girls and two boys. The name of the group changed to Folder 5 when the boys left.
"I Want You Back"
music video - August 25, 1999
Linked above is the Japanese-language version of their cover, which was was the A-side to Folder's second single. That single also included an English-language version and two versions of "ABC."
GOKU featuring Ellie
I have no idea who either of these people are. But on December 2, 2009, a techno-y cover album called Beat It - We <3 MJ was released, and their two songs are the only ones from this album that I've been able to find:
"Beat It"
cover (audio only)
"Rock With You"
cover (audio only)
Mai Kuraki
A poppish R&B singer who's often been compared to Hikaru Utada. I love her songs "Tsumetai Umi" and "Simply Wonderful," and lately I've had "Puzzle" on repeat.
"I'll Be There"
concert performance - Giza Studio R&B Party at the "Hills Pan Koujou" - December 15, 2001
Mai covered this song again at a fan club event in 2007. YouTube also has an audio only version that sounds like it must be off a CD, but I don't know which one.
"I Just Can't Stop Loving You"
concert performance - 2003
A very nice cover. I believe the other singer is a member of Experience (a.k.a. Mai's back-up band), who, with Mai, released this song as a single on October 21, 2003 and followed up with an entire album of Michael Jackson covers on December 17, 2003. Sadly, this is the only one I have to share with you right now.
Morning Musume
The flagship group of Hello! Project, Morning Musume is a girl group with a constantly changing line-up, and my favourite J-pop group ever. Allow me to recommend their awesomesauce song "Resonant Blue."
Mari impersonates Michael Jackson
TV clip - 2001? 2002?
This is such a short clip that if it involved any group other than my beloved Morning Musume, I admit I probably wouldn't link to it. xD This is eight seconds of member Mari Yaguchi doing a pretty weak moonwalk, lol. I think she knows it's pretty weak, she even asks the hosts to blur out her face!
"Thriller" (from 2:39 to 3:03)
TV performance - Halloween 2002?
In this spooky special performance, Morning Musume goes from their own most famous song, "Love Machine," right into the "Thriller" dance.
SMAP
A Johnny's boy band that's been around since 1988! One of my friends was once obsessed with their song "Sekai ni Hitotsu Dake no Hana" (if you accuse me of linking to that particular version just because there are Morning Musume members hanging out in the background, you might be right), but I prefer their side projects: one of them co-hosts the ridiculous talk show Utaban, and one of them created what is pretty much my most favourite thing ever, "Shingo Mama no Oha Rock"!
SMAP meets Michael Jackson (English subtitles): Part 1, Part 2, Part 3
TV episode - SMAPxSMAP - 2009 rebroadcast of the 2006 episode
It doesn't quite fit the theme of this entry, lol, but of course I have to link to it! This is a 2009 rebroadcast of the slightly awkward 2006 surprise meeting. My favourite moments are in Part 3, when the members of SMAP are talking about it afterwards, and it's so obvious how in awe of him they are. It's also cute when they're trying to act like they're his bodyguards. xD
Japan has an annual New Year's Eve concert broadcast called Kouhaku Uta Gassen, and on the Kouhaku of December 31, 2009, SMAP performed a medley of Michael Jackson songs. I would link you to it but I haven't even seen it yet - it keeps getting pulled off of YouTube. :/
Yuu Yamada
A model, actress and singer. I don't know much about her, but I do like her song "Real You."
"Never Can Say Goodbye"
TV performance - September 12, 2003
The title that appears at the beginning of this clip indicates that Yuu is covering the Communards' cover of the Jackson 5 song. I don't care, it was a lucky find and I'm linking to it anyways! Interestingly enough, elsewhere I've seen this song referred to by a Japanese title: "Sayonara wa Iwanai de," or "Don't Say Goodbye."
Miscellaneous!
DISCYU - "2Bad"
club performance (fancam) - August 29, 2007
This is the Japanese Michael Jackson tribute group DISCYU performing some of the coolest choreography ever! Seriously, I love "2Bad," and so I love these guys for including it in their set. xD
Michael Jackson in Idol Tenshi Youkoso Youko
anime - Idol Tenshi Youkoso Youko - 1990
Bad era MJ makes an appearance in these three clips from the twenty-eighth episode of this anime. He is very obviously not voiced by himself, lol.
Ayumi Hamasaki in S Cawaii: cover, page one, page two
magazine - S Cawaii - February, 2010
Queen of J-pop Ayumi Hamasaki wore an MJ pin for this magazine photoshoot.
Erina Mano blogs about This Is It
blog post - February 22, 2010
Hello! Project soloist Erina Mano blogs about watching This Is It for the nth time during her break from work. I am an H!P fangirl, is why I am linking to this. xD
Gackt guesses Michael Jackson in a silhouette game
TV appearance - Hey! Hey! Hey! Music Champ
This clip isn't actually all that interesting (although it takes place in Universal Studios Japan!), I just felt this entry wouldn't be complete without Gackt. xD
Up next: South Korea, probably!
I was going to write an introduction to this ~series~ but my brain isn't working right now so hopefully it's pretty self-explanatory. "Tributes" isn't quite the word I want - this is more a collection of covers, dance performances, even just mentions of MJ by singers and dancers from other countries. I just find it really interesting how impossibly famous MJ was and continues to be, and what a huge influence he had on the evolution of pop music. That plus my enjoyment of listening to music from around the world means that I find these sorts of clips ridiculously fascinating!
Please let me know if you find any mistakes or broken links, or if you have anything you think I should add. :) Enjoy~!
International Michael Jackson Tributes: Japan
AFRA featuring AI
AFRA beatboxes and AI sings! (Together, they fight crime?)
"Beat It"
TV performance - October?, 2009
I actually find this cover oddly appealing, lol. It can be found on AFRA's album Heat Beat, which was released October 28, 2009.
Asako Toki
A pop and jazz singer and composer.
"Human Nature"
cover (audio only) - September 23, 2009
A very nice jazz cover that can be found on the album I Want You Back - Dedicate to the King of Pop.
BoA
A singer and amazing dancer who has released albums in Japan and the U.S. as well as her home country of South Korea. (And when I do my South Korea entry, I'll have more BoA clips to share!) If you've never heard any of her music before, why not start with the three songs that share their titles with MJ songs: "Rock With You," "Earthsong," and "Scream." (That last one is from her English language album, with which I am obsessed!) Maybe I'm looking too hard for it, but I can see a lot of MJ influence in BoA's performances - see also: "Eien," "Bad Drive," "Girl in the Mirror" and "Spark."
"Billie Jean"
concert performance (fancam audio only) - Xmas Live 2009 - December 5, 2009
BoA singing "Billie Jean," omg my life is complete! <3 We may never get a full official video of this amazing thing, but if you don't mind short clips, we do have news footage - see this video, starting at 0:25. <3 <3 <3
"Sweet Impact"
music video - April 25, 2007
BoA's twenty-second Japanese single is not my favourite of her songs, but I definitely freaked out when I saw the music video, because it is pretty undeniably inspired by Moonwalker - this becomes rather more obvious starting around 1:18. xD It's no "Smooth Criminal," but I still love that it exists.
COLDFEET
I don't know much about this group, although they seem to be a duo who are mostly about covers and remixes. On November 4, 2009 they released an album called MJ the Tour, from which come the following covers.
"Beat It"
cover (audio only)
I'm not convinced this song was ever intended to be turned into jazz. But okay!
"Billie Jean"
cover (album trailer)
The above is just a short preview; there's also a fancam recording of their December 31, 2009 performance. Also on their album is the "Billie Jean (Tuka Remix)."
"Shake Your Body (Down to the Ground)"
club performance (fancam)
The above is their December 26, 2009 performance. There's also a fancam video from December 30, 2009, where, starting at 1:45 and again at 2:30 they have a go at the dance to this song, it's kind of cute I guess?
"Thriller"
cover (audio only)
I've also found two fancam recordings of COLDFEET performing this song: one from September 21, 2009, and one from September 26, 2009.
Finger 5
This J-pop group, made up of four brothers and their sister, was active throughout the seventies. You may recall that I've talked previously about them and their song "Koi no Dial 6700," and was quite dismayed when I learned I wasn't the first to refer to them as "the Japanese Jackson 5." xD
"Ben"
cover (audio only) - August 25, 1973
As well as singing original songs, Finger 5 recorded Japanese-language covers of current American songs. The translations seem to be pretty faithful.
"I'll Be There"
cover (audio only) - August 25, 1973
The actual title of this cover is "Ai wa Doko e." Both this and "Ben" were included on Finger 5's first album, Kojin Jugyou.
Folder
Folder was a pop known for their Eurobeat-style music. The group began with five girls and two boys. The name of the group changed to Folder 5 when the boys left.
"I Want You Back"
music video - August 25, 1999
Linked above is the Japanese-language version of their cover, which was was the A-side to Folder's second single. That single also included an English-language version and two versions of "ABC."
GOKU featuring Ellie
I have no idea who either of these people are. But on December 2, 2009, a techno-y cover album called Beat It - We <3 MJ was released, and their two songs are the only ones from this album that I've been able to find:
"Beat It"
cover (audio only)
"Rock With You"
cover (audio only)
Mai Kuraki
A poppish R&B singer who's often been compared to Hikaru Utada. I love her songs "Tsumetai Umi" and "Simply Wonderful," and lately I've had "Puzzle" on repeat.
"I'll Be There"
concert performance - Giza Studio R&B Party at the "Hills Pan Koujou" - December 15, 2001
Mai covered this song again at a fan club event in 2007. YouTube also has an audio only version that sounds like it must be off a CD, but I don't know which one.
"I Just Can't Stop Loving You"
concert performance - 2003
A very nice cover. I believe the other singer is a member of Experience (a.k.a. Mai's back-up band), who, with Mai, released this song as a single on October 21, 2003 and followed up with an entire album of Michael Jackson covers on December 17, 2003. Sadly, this is the only one I have to share with you right now.
Morning Musume
The flagship group of Hello! Project, Morning Musume is a girl group with a constantly changing line-up, and my favourite J-pop group ever. Allow me to recommend their awesomesauce song "Resonant Blue."
Mari impersonates Michael Jackson
TV clip - 2001? 2002?
This is such a short clip that if it involved any group other than my beloved Morning Musume, I admit I probably wouldn't link to it. xD This is eight seconds of member Mari Yaguchi doing a pretty weak moonwalk, lol. I think she knows it's pretty weak, she even asks the hosts to blur out her face!
"Thriller" (from 2:39 to 3:03)
TV performance - Halloween 2002?
In this spooky special performance, Morning Musume goes from their own most famous song, "Love Machine," right into the "Thriller" dance.
SMAP
A Johnny's boy band that's been around since 1988! One of my friends was once obsessed with their song "Sekai ni Hitotsu Dake no Hana" (if you accuse me of linking to that particular version just because there are Morning Musume members hanging out in the background, you might be right), but I prefer their side projects: one of them co-hosts the ridiculous talk show Utaban, and one of them created what is pretty much my most favourite thing ever, "Shingo Mama no Oha Rock"!
SMAP meets Michael Jackson (English subtitles): Part 1, Part 2, Part 3
TV episode - SMAPxSMAP - 2009 rebroadcast of the 2006 episode
It doesn't quite fit the theme of this entry, lol, but of course I have to link to it! This is a 2009 rebroadcast of the slightly awkward 2006 surprise meeting. My favourite moments are in Part 3, when the members of SMAP are talking about it afterwards, and it's so obvious how in awe of him they are. It's also cute when they're trying to act like they're his bodyguards. xD
Japan has an annual New Year's Eve concert broadcast called Kouhaku Uta Gassen, and on the Kouhaku of December 31, 2009, SMAP performed a medley of Michael Jackson songs. I would link you to it but I haven't even seen it yet - it keeps getting pulled off of YouTube. :/
Yuu Yamada
A model, actress and singer. I don't know much about her, but I do like her song "Real You."
"Never Can Say Goodbye"
TV performance - September 12, 2003
The title that appears at the beginning of this clip indicates that Yuu is covering the Communards' cover of the Jackson 5 song. I don't care, it was a lucky find and I'm linking to it anyways! Interestingly enough, elsewhere I've seen this song referred to by a Japanese title: "Sayonara wa Iwanai de," or "Don't Say Goodbye."
Miscellaneous!
DISCYU - "2Bad"
club performance (fancam) - August 29, 2007
This is the Japanese Michael Jackson tribute group DISCYU performing some of the coolest choreography ever! Seriously, I love "2Bad," and so I love these guys for including it in their set. xD
Michael Jackson in Idol Tenshi Youkoso Youko
anime - Idol Tenshi Youkoso Youko - 1990
Bad era MJ makes an appearance in these three clips from the twenty-eighth episode of this anime. He is very obviously not voiced by himself, lol.
Ayumi Hamasaki in S Cawaii: cover, page one, page two
magazine - S Cawaii - February, 2010
Queen of J-pop Ayumi Hamasaki wore an MJ pin for this magazine photoshoot.
Erina Mano blogs about This Is It
blog post - February 22, 2010
Hello! Project soloist Erina Mano blogs about watching This Is It for the nth time during her break from work. I am an H!P fangirl, is why I am linking to this. xD
Gackt guesses Michael Jackson in a silhouette game
TV appearance - Hey! Hey! Hey! Music Champ
This clip isn't actually all that interesting (although it takes place in Universal Studios Japan!), I just felt this entry wouldn't be complete without Gackt. xD
Up next: South Korea, probably!