Asian American Pop

Asian American Pop

Is the genre of mainstream musicians that are Asian American. While there are few known Asian American pop stars, the numbers are swelling as more Asian Americans enter the music scene.

One of first notable Asian Americans in pop is Yoko Ono. (direct towards her homepage). While she has been branded in the media as the one who “broke up the Beatles,” her art and music career began before she met John Lennon. Her music had a feminist approach that attempted to express itself through her heterosexual relationship with John (in opposition to the then popular means of expressing it through lesbian relationships). Her goal in her art and music was also so overcome the racial barriers she encountered as a Japanese female and as John Lennon’s wife (and to some, the one who “broke up the band”).
Levitz, Tamara. “Yoko Ono and the Unfinished…’John and Yoko’”

Through the years, other Asian American pop groups or musicians have included James Iha (Smashing Pumpkins guitarist/backup vocals & solo recording artist), successful record producer Chad Hugo (Filipino) of the Neptunes, rock band member Mike Shinoda (Japanese and Russian) of Linkin Park, pop and hip-hop group member Nicole Scherzinger (a mix of Filipino, Hawaiian, and Russian) of the Pussycat Dolls, Vanessa Hudgins (a melting pot of Irish, Native American, Filipina, Spanish, and Chinese descent), the Black Eyes Peas, and William Hung.
Miyera Navarro “Missing: Asian American Pop Stars” International herald Tribune. 4 March 2007. http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/03/04/news/singer.php
“Is the US Ready for Asian American Pop Stars?” http://www.goldsea.com/Air/Issues/Pop/pop.html

The Black Eyes Peas include Filipino MC Apl.de.ap (usually referred to as Apl) who has incorporated Tagalog into some of his work, such as the song “Apl” and “Bebot”. According to Rachel Devitt, using Tagalog in mainstream music serves as a political and social commentary on US-Filipino (post)colonial relations and the diasporia now living in the US: “‘The APL Song,’ ‘Bebot,’ and their videos lay claim to the hip hop diaspora, employing its transnational language to interpolate the annals of hegemony with the experiences that have systematically slipped into its cracks. At the same time, the songs and their videos tap into rich Filipino lineages of (post)colonial artistic and cultural resistance. Interweaving history and historiography, swirling story around story, “The APL Song” and “Bebot” draw multiple lexicons together into a performative vernacular that speaks to just what ‘contentless’ mainstream pop music is capable of.”
Rachel Devitt “Lost in Translation: Filipino Diaspora(s), Postcolonial Hip Hop, and the Problems of Keeping It Real for the ‘Contentless’ Black Eyed Peas” Project Muse University of Washington http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/asian_music/v039/39.1devitt.pdf

The other popular Asian American pop icon has been William Hung, a contestant on American Idol who was popularized not for his talent but rather lack thereof and rejection on one of the most popular US television shows. His success has been considered to be racist, condescending, and a manifestation of all negative Asian American stereotypes (David Ng). Although Hung admits he is not popular for the right reasons, “I’m infamous, a joke” (Ng), he did acquire a fan base and produce four records.
http://iipa.chadwyck.com/articles/displayItemPDF.do?format=PAGE&PQID=622276911&journalID=JID00426180&royaltiesid=LOUJID00426180&product=iipa
David Ng “Hung Out to Dry: What We Laugh about when we laugh at American Idol’s most famous reject” The Village Voice; Apr 7-Apr 13, 2004; 49, 14; ProQuest Direct Complete pg. C52