Shirihoudai

Story from the Mainichi again on Jero - the newest enka singing sensation in Japan.  He released his single called “Umiyuki” and is getting invited to sing it at different venues around the country.  This latest story is about him singing at a basketball (hmm, racial profiling) game in Japan’s Basketball league.  It normally wouldn’t be newsworthy enough to repeat here but the title just had me do a double-take:

Black enka singer puts on Fukuoka show for bj league

Enka crooner Jero belts out a tune before a bj-League game in Fukuoka over the weekend. (Mainichi)

FUKUOKA — Black enka singer Jero put on a pre-game show for the Basketball Japan League’s Rising Fukuoka before it played its final home court match against the Ryukyu Golden Kings here over the weekend.

The 26-year-old American singer with a Japanese mother sparked up the crowd with something of a mismatch, singing traditional Japanese songs before a bj league game, where the atmosphere is known for its trendy, razzmatazz feel.

Fukuoka fans got behind the popular young singer and would also have been pleased after their team got up to win the game following Jero’s show.

Jero made his singing debut in February this year and has seen his popularity rise steadily since. He arrived at the game on a huge motorbike and belted out “Umiyuki,” his debut single.

How can I join this bj-league? Sounds like fun!