Ami-go and Jaechunsu
Anyone who followed J-pop back in the end of the last millennium must have heard of Ami Suzuki. She was one of Japanese biggest stars in the late 90s. Also the very own rival of Ayumi Hamasaki. They both were continuously being compared and dubbed the heavy contenders for the next 'Queen of J-Pop'. Well, we know Ayumi is the one crowned as Queen. So Ami lost? Not quite. She was booted out of the competition when she was black listed from showbiz for having the audacity to sue her label.
Her label was convicted of tax evasion back in year 2000. Fearing that it will backlash on Ami, her parents decided to file a law suit to terminate her contract in early 2001. The court granted it to her, but the paternalistic Japanese entertainment world were angry and she ended up a persona non grata. Her radio show was canceled, she lost her role in drama, no more commercial nor endorsements, no label wanted to sign her and even her fan club was finally dissolved. Tragic.
Last year, three members of one of my favorite boybands, TVXQ, has also filed a lawsuit against their management company. The situation is different, but I can't help wondering whether Korean showbiz world has the same attitude regarding this with the Japanese. Are the artists also supposed to be good boys and girls and take everything what their label dish out for them? I haven't followed Korean entertainment for very long, but I must surmised that it's not very different. In the past, there have been several artists that have taken legal action against their company in Korea. Even though they're successful in court but their popularity after the clash took a deep dive, some even faded to obscurity.
TVXQ's circumstances are different. They are hugely popular not only nationally, but also internationally. Their breakthrough in Japanese showbiz has cemented their position as Asia's no. 1 boyband. They have broken so many records such as;
- being the first non-Japanese Asians with two number-one singles in Oricon Chart for the last 24 years.
- the first Korean group to attend Kōhaku Uta Gassen
- having the first Korean album in six years to pass the 500,000 mark
- the first Korean group to perform in Tokyo Dome
The lower court ruled in favor to Jaejoong, Yoochun and Junsu which resulting in TVXQ suspended from having activities in Korea and the trio free to pursue their solo career. However, the drama is far from over, because SM Entertainment has decided to bring this case to higher court.
Note. Ugh... I try to make this post article-like, but obviously not very successful in doing so. I just suck at writing. T_T There are some more things I'd like to say, like how I always think that whatever may happen, they will always have Japan to fall back to, but is that really so?? Maybe... because Ami made her comeback (thanks to Max Matsuura!!)
but only after several years had passed. This is 2010, so let's hope that what had happened to Ami will not happen to these boys I love so much. I may or may not edit this post later, but this 4 a.m already and my brain has stop functioning. So I'll cut this here.