Tuesday, September 29, 2009
NHK's Nodo Jiman
Nodo Jiman, or I'm Proud of My Voice, is a television program that has been airing in Japan for around 50 years. It is a karaoke competition that takes place in a different prefecture each month. I found out about it from one of the wonderful ladies working in city hall. She heard me karaoke during the samurai after party for the Takeda Shingen Festival and told me that I should enter. So I did.
The process is really simple. You just have to send in a postcard with some personal information and the name of a song. Then, the Nodo Jiman people pick 200 contestants from all the postcards received. The only requirement is that you are a resident of the prefecture they are auditioning in. It was very difficult for me to pick a song, but Tsunoda-san, the one who recommended that I try out, really wanted to hear me sing Utada Hikaru's First Love. It was because she heard me sing that song that she said I should enter, so I did end up choosing that song. It shouldn't be such a difficult decision, but the song is in Japanese and even though the show is a karaoke type competition, there is no screen to read off the words. You have to have the song memorized. Not a easy feat.
Eventually I got a postcard back from NHK saying I made the 200 person cut! I am contestant number 65. What this means is that I've earned an audition spot, not necessarily a spot on the show. This weekend I, along with 199 others, will audition by singing 60 secs. of my chosen song for the judges and they will choose 20 to appear on TV. I have been practicing almost everyday for the last few weeks. So much so that I'm almost sick of karaoke at the moment. But, I've improved a lot and have the song (mostly) memorized. I'm still a bit worried about singing in front of a crowd....
Anyway the audition is this weekend and if I make it, the taping for the show is the following day. Wish me luck! I'll update next week.
The process is really simple. You just have to send in a postcard with some personal information and the name of a song. Then, the Nodo Jiman people pick 200 contestants from all the postcards received. The only requirement is that you are a resident of the prefecture they are auditioning in. It was very difficult for me to pick a song, but Tsunoda-san, the one who recommended that I try out, really wanted to hear me sing Utada Hikaru's First Love. It was because she heard me sing that song that she said I should enter, so I did end up choosing that song. It shouldn't be such a difficult decision, but the song is in Japanese and even though the show is a karaoke type competition, there is no screen to read off the words. You have to have the song memorized. Not a easy feat.
Eventually I got a postcard back from NHK saying I made the 200 person cut! I am contestant number 65. What this means is that I've earned an audition spot, not necessarily a spot on the show. This weekend I, along with 199 others, will audition by singing 60 secs. of my chosen song for the judges and they will choose 20 to appear on TV. I have been practicing almost everyday for the last few weeks. So much so that I'm almost sick of karaoke at the moment. But, I've improved a lot and have the song (mostly) memorized. I'm still a bit worried about singing in front of a crowd....
Anyway the audition is this weekend and if I make it, the taping for the show is the following day. Wish me luck! I'll update next week.
