Foreign Student Pop Singer who Loves MISORA Hibari

KYO-I

KYO-I, 24, came from Qing Dao in Shangdong province in China, and attends a university in Japan. She majors in Theater at Meiji University. On one hand, Kyo is a regular college student, going out to Shibuya to shop with her friends while studying. But on the other hand, she has produced a debut CD as a pop singer after being in Japan just 3~4 years.

It all started when she applied for an audition on a whim after she started attending college. Although she failed, a music producer came to her and asked, “Your voice is impressive. Do you want to try out with us?” Kyo says, “I have always loved to sing since I was a little. But I never expected that I would debut as a singer in Japan. I am truly lucky to have met some great people.

Listening to what her uncle, who comes to Japan often on business, used to tell her, her dream of coming to Japan was paramount. Kyo decided to go to Japan to study. She recalls, “At that point, I just had an idea that studying Japanese would be useful for trade business with China. That was all I thought of.” Kyo then set foot in Japan in April 2002.

She studied Japanese very hard after she arrived in Japan, and thanks to her ability, her Japanese improved in no time. She passed the 1st grade of the Japanese Language Proficiency Test. Whenever she does not understand something, or gets into trouble, she simply asks. She says, “When I ask Japanese people about something, they return more than double the information I need. I got to know so many things that I did not know before.”

Kyo looks as though she is still a little girl with a smile always on her face. But she seems to have an inner fortitude. Being away from her parents, she is putting herself in a position where everything is new to her. “I find it easy to adjust myself to different situations, but I feel that Japan fits me. Japanese people are kinder than I expected.” Now that it has been 5 years since she came to Japan, Kyo is the MC (Master of Ceremonies) on her own live stage using her fluent Japanese.

Kyo loves enka, which is traditional Japanese ballads, although she sings pop music. Laughing, she says, “MISORA Hibari is the best!” Falling in love with Japan, she is also learning traditional Japanese dance. Kyo is not yet a master of dance, but she is good enough to teach dance to school children in Tokyo. She says, “I just like to keep trying without fear.”

Kyo will present live stage performances in both Japan and China to commemorate the launch of her soon-to-be-released second CD. Her day of going home with honor is near. Kyo’s college peers and professors are also supporting her. Kyo says, “I am so thankful to all those people who support me.”

Kyoi’s blog
blog.oricon.co.jp/kyoi

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