When will Asian-American music become mainstream? I I

　　Earlier this year, Asia's biggest pop princess, Ame rican Coco Lee was poised to break into the U.S market. The debut of her English language album was heralded as the next step for Asian-Americans to really enter the m ainstream. However, her record met with lukewarm review s and didn't translate into dollars although Tommy Mott ola of Sony Records was backing her effort with a slick marketing campaign. In my opinion, Coco Lee can sing. S he has the pipes and the loods to really make it in thi s difficult industry. However, her album sounded like a ny other cookie cutter R & B diva, something that is ov er-sampled and over-dubbed.

　　Asian pop today is mostly dominated by singers who take Western songs like "Careless Whisper" by Wham, whi ch are translated into native lyrics and sung in a ligh t and non-obtrusive style. If you ask any Asian youth i n America, they can probably spout off their favorite s inger of this style. Ultimately this adoption of Wester n pop serves to bring these songs into the mentality of Asians. The reversal is not happening because a unique Asian pop style has not emerged.

　　In order for Asian-Americans to succeed in mainstre am pop, artists need to come up with a defining genre o f music. Asian-American music sounds like a rip-off of everything else around us, falling in either the hip/ho p or R & B categories. Perhaps it's a lack of interest from the record companies or maybe a combination of bot h? Maybe a solution lies in going back to the roots of our ancestors and inventing a new style? Madonna for ex ample, had huge success with her album "Ray of Light" b ecause of its unique synthesis of techno, ethnic, and c lassical influences.

　　Only when Asian-Americans figure out what it is we want to discuss musically and composed in a unique and original style, will Asian-Americans be able to transce nd the barrier facing us in the world of mainstream pop .