SURREAL
No, I'm not referring to my favorite Ayu song, but rather Avril Lavigne's bizarro appearance on SMAPXSMAP today. Unfortunately, clips aren't available on Youtube yet (wtf?), but the torrent's up at jpopsuki and boy is it memorable. J-boyband relics SMAP duet with Avril on her bubblegum anthem "Girlfriend" ... and seem way more into it than she does! Seeing the alleged heartthrobs belt out lyrics like "I could be your girlfriend" and "hell yeah I'm the motherfucking princess" -- without apparent irony -- may just be the gayest thing I've seen on Japanese TV (and that includes Maeken and Yakkun!) Throw in the cheesy visuals straight out of a low-rent karaoke bar and you've got a camp classic for the ages. I was actually hoping she'd sing the chorus in Japanese, as she does in this album cut, but perhaps I expect too much. Hey hey, you you!!