This entry on January 22, 2008 shows Jero-san in the recording studio (likely with a producer beside him).  I was surprised to see Jero-san with a bald head.  I wonder if this is an older photo or if he has been bald but his hat  covered it up in the other pictures.  Anyway for those who do not know, Jero-san is from Pittsburgh so he is frequently photographed wearing either  Pittsburgh Pirates (baseball) or Pittsburg Steelers (American football) items.  Jero-san in this picture is wearing a Steelers uniform with number 86 on it and the number is currently worn by Hines Ward.  Ward is half Korean and half African-American so it is likely that Jero-san looks up to him as a role model (as Jero-san is 1/4 Japanese and 3/4 African-American).  For people who want to learn more about the Steelers, please check out http://www.steelers.com/

In this blog I am looking at the January 20, 2008 (01/20/08) entry.  Here we see that Jero-san is colour co-ordinated in this picture.  His red hat goes nicely with his black jacket, silver necklace, and black Hilfiger tee shirt.  In this blog entry, Jero-san is stating that he and Yahoo! Japan Music have teamed up.  If you follow this link (http://streaming.yahoo.co.jp/p/t/00091/v03520/) you will find sample tracks of Jero-san’s music on the website.  I highly encourage everyone to check it out as it gives a great overview of  his music. 

The picture from this blog entry was likely taken from the site of “Umiyuki” music video.  For people that have not seen the music video, the scene starts in this urban area with a very colourful mural in the background.  Jero-san (wearing a bright orange hoodie, white top and white cap) and two backup dancers start performing Hip Hop inspired moves.  I remember the first time I watched this video that I thought there had been a mistake made by the person who posted the clip as the label stated it was an Enka video (I expected him to be wandering around a beach or some other natural setting).  What I found out as the video progressed was that Jero-san would stop the dancing shortly and start singing.  The all black stage and background on the video was a smart move as people are not distracted by the background (which would have been the case if they had filmed him singing in front of the mural) so we pay all of our attention to Jero-san’s singing.  I will end the description of the video here so that people will go see the video for themselves and because I cannot do Jero-san’s talent justice due to my limited understanding of Enka.  In short I expect that this entry was posted to show people where they were filming and what they can look forward to when they tune into the video.  The video would likely have started airing in Japan around this time to encourage people to buy the single.   Stay tuned for my next entry on Jero-san’s blog!

This blog entry is for January 18, 2008 (01/18/08).  It features a professional photo of Jero-san in a orange polo shirt and a red/black baseball cap.  I don’t know if it is his official symbol necklace, but Jero-san is frequently photographed wearing a silver key on a large chain.  There does not appear to be much text under the photo (the next entry is much longer) so I assume this was just an entry to show another photo of Jero-san as his first single “Umiyuki” (about the the loneliness of the Sea of Japan in the winter) was released on February 20, 2008 (02/20/08).  Therefore promoting a new single (especially with a new singer) is important.  I hope to have more to say about the next blog entry.

Hi everyone.  I thought that it would be interesting for people to see a breakdown of Jero-san’s blog.  From the English description of “Jero? Who?” this is the first entry of Jero-san’s blog.  It would likely be used as a promotion  by his producers/agents to start spreading the word about Jero-san.  This blog entry is for January 17, 2008 (01/17/08) which would be fitting since Jero-san’s first single “Umiyuki” (about the the loneliness of the Sea of Japan in the winter) was released on February 20, 2008 (02/20/08).  Jero-san blends Hip Hop and Enka (music that was very popular during the ’40s and ’50s which the subject matter usually had something to do about Japan) which is unique in the Japanese market.  As the blog is short, I assume that it woud provide a brief background of how Jero-san came from Pittsburg to Japan to create new interest in this genre.  Jero-san has a very unique following as the older people enjoy hearing the classic Enka songs and the younger people are drawn to the clothing and Hip Hop influence.  I assume that the picture was taken at some point in the recording studio which helps to cement into the public’s mind that the single would be coming very soon.