Global Grooves
Member and pop sensation Crystal Kay reflects on her journey and the road ahead as she celebrates 25 years in the music business.
Crystal Kay was just 13 when her debut single “Eternal Memories” was released in 1999. It has turned out to be a lucky number.
Thirteen albums later, the Yokohama native has sold millions of records and reached No 1 on Japan’s Oricon rankings with her seventh album, “All Yours” (2007). But she still has plenty she wants to achieve, and there may be no better time for the Club Member to ride the rhythm of her tricultural heritage to the top of the US Billboard charts.
What are some of your recent career highlights?
CK: Last year, I sang both the Japanese and US national anthems at the [Los Angeles] Dodgers and Angels game. That was cool because I don’t think anybody has done both.
While in LA, I got a call from Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, Janet Jackson’s producers. They used to be in The Time with Prince, and they produced a few of my tracks, years ago. “We’re headlining the Pittsburgh International Jazz Festival,” they said. “Can you perform Janet’s songs with us?” OK!
We were using tracks, so I was basically singing Janet’s songs with Janet’s vocals as my background. That was kind of surreal. And singing with Lionel Richie, that was a highlight, too. He’s a living legend.
How have you evolved as an artist over these 25 years?
CK: When I first started, I was just singing whatever I wanted, whatever was hot on the US charts. I wanted to sound like the top 40. I thought music was global. I remember when I [made my debut], I was looking for my name on the Billboard charts. So naïve!
Whenever I am making music, I always have the world in mind. I want anyone in the world to groove to it. But in the beginning, I was more focused on the beat or whatever was cool. Maybe “shallow” is kind of a negative way to say it, but as I got older, I saw the responsibility that I have as an artist privileged enough to be the soundtrack to people’s lives. I am able to send out a message through my music. Wow! That is a pretty big responsibility, but also such a blessing.
Have there been disagreements about your musical direction?
CK: There was a lot of that in the beginning, especially after the [2005] single “Koi ni Ochitara,” which was my biggest hit. That’s when the sound changed. It was the theme for a TV drama series. That song is what got me attention. But soundwise, I didn’t like it. It wasn’t me.
Up until then, I was pretty much pop and R&B, but that song was very kira-kira [sparkly] J-pop. I had a hard time coming to terms with it. But because of the success, of course the label wanted me to go in that direction. As I got older, and the music industry did too, there was no formula.
Nobody knows what’s going to hit. With streaming, TikTok and social media, what the labels have been doing is not really working. That is also an advantage for us because we have more freedom. Because of streaming, the Internet and YouTube, the reach we have now as artists is tremendous. The access people have is a great change.
Do you now see your American, Korean and Japanese heritage as an advantage?
CK: When I [made my debut], because there was no one else like me, it was pretty difficult. Today, because of globalization and different influences, such as K-pop, social media and a lot of mixed-race kids growing up in Japan, people are changing and becoming more open-minded. I think it is easier for me—or people like me—to be prouder and embrace our uniqueness. But back then, not so much. I think I had a hard time just because I was the only one doing it. I had a complex about being of mixed race. It was a struggle. But, if the music is good, people can’t deny it.
Is breaking into the US market still important for you?
CK: If it happens, it happens. I would love to. I have always had that dream in the back of my head because little Crystal was like, “Where’s my name on the Billboard charts?” That dream of bridging Japan and the world is still there. Winning a Grammy is every artist’s dream.
I do think it is a really great time to be tricultural, especially with my Korean heritage. Everyone is so accepting of Korea right now. The whole world is on the Korea train. By just being active and continuing my musical journey, I think something will happen.
Words: Stefan Nilsson
Images: (top) Crystal Kay at the Billboard Classics x Snoopy “Magical Christmas Night” at the Hyogo Performing Arts Center on December 3, 2023; (bottom) Kay with Jimmy Jam (left) and Terry Lewis
