Japanese songs thousands of miles from her homeland. Emine Sarý, a Hatay-born singer who left her native country to follow her passion for singing, competed in the finals in a Japanese song contest to select the Best Singer of 2008.
Having bested her rivals in the first and second rounds of the competition, which resembles "American Idol," Sarý was the only foreigner who performed in the finals in the Japanese city of Osaka. She sang in the traditional Japanese enka style.
Enka is a type of Japanese ballad sung in a traditional and melodramatic style, often by women in kimono, Sarý explains. "Enka-style songs are full of emotions and the way you sing them enables you to convey your sincerity.
Impressed with the melody of classical Japanese music, Sarý was interested in singing enka-style songs and decided to go to Japan. "I was working on enka songs I found on the Internet, and Japan became the country of my dreams. I tried hard to find a way to go to Japan and found myself here after some time," Sarý explains in an email interview with Today's Zaman.
"Enka songs are also very hard to sing since there are difficult transitions. It requires a long time and discipline to learn how to sing," Sarý explains, adding that she worked on singing in this style for six years.
Now, she practices 10 hours every day, and is back in Japan to start a new project, along with Matsumoto Band.
As expected, she is willing to take some risks and is ready to perform new songs in Japanese, Turkish and English, and along Matsumoto Band, in 2009, Sari is ready to hit the road in a new concert tour in Japan.
Good luck to our anizeen friend Sari!
Check her websites:
http://www.eminesari.net/
http://www.eminejapan.webs.com/
HATAY - Japonya'da düzenlenen 'Best of Singer 2008' yarýþmasýnda en iyi 10 sanatçýdan biri seçilen Hataylý Emine Sarý, Türkiye ile Japonya arasýnda kültür elçiliði yapmak istediðini söyledi. Japonya'daki yarýþmada elde ettiði baþarýdan sonra yarýþmada ilk 10'a giren sanatçýlarla birlikte turneye çýktýklarýný ve bir çok yerde konserler verdiðini söyleyen Sarý, "Japon halký beni merhum Barýþ Manço'ya benzettiler ve bana 2. Barýþ Manço dediler. Bu þekilde anýlmak beni de mutlu etti. Barýþ Manço'dan sonra Japonya'da bir Türk sanatçý olarak tanýnmak çok güzel" dedi. Yarýþmada ödül olarak bir müzik þirketinden albüm kazandýðýný belirten Emine Sarý, "Japonya'ya döndüðümde Japonca ve Ýngilizce dillerinde Türk enstrümanlarýný bir araya getirerek farklý bir tarzda müzik yapmak istiyorum ve bu þarkýlarý kendi ülkemde Türkçe olarak seslendirmek istiyorum. Japonya'da albümüm yayýnlanacak fakat ayný albümün Türkiye'de yayýmlanabilmesi için bir sponsora ihtiyacým var. Bu konuda arayýþlarým ve görüþmelerim devam ediyor" dedi. 
