Avril Lavigne has gone where Gwen Stefani has gone before… Japan. Well, their version of Japan at least. Gwen received serious flak for her portrayal of Japanese street fashion by incorporating the Harajuku Girls (Maya Chino, Jennifer Kita, Rino Nakasone-Razalan, and Mayuko Kitayama) into her performances and music videos. Guess Avril missed the memo…
Many people are slamming this video as “racist.” I really don’t believe that was ever her intention. I just think she chose a specific cultural style she enjoys and made the poor decision of turning it into music. Heck, Sony Music (a Japanese company) helped put this catastrophe together. Sadly, the “Hello Kitty” lyrics were a hot mess and the imagery used were stereotypical and bland. Avril danced around with four identical expressionless Asian women in the background while the pop singer checks out a candy store and sushi restaurant. Ehhh, pretty sure Japan has more to offer than that…
Here’s a sampling of the lyrics that must have been written during an intense sugar high:
Come Come
Kitty Kitty
You’re so silly silly
Don’t go Kitty Kitty
Play with me
ka ka ka kawaii
Hello Kitty, Hello Kitty
Hello Kitty, you’re so pretty
Hello Kitty, Hello Kitty
Hello Kitty, you’re so silly
Minna saiko, arigato, ka ka ka kawaii
Mina saiko, arigato, ka ka ka kawaii
ka ka ka kawaii
Avril Lavigne has had a string of decent songs lately, “Let Me Go” and “Here’s to Never Growing Up” have been enjoyable. It seems she tried to recapture the youthful fun of 2007’s “Girlfriend” but failed miserably.
Maybe a ban on artists trying to portray other cultures should be put into place… remember how many people were upset about Katy Perry dressing as a Geisha while belting out “Unconditionally” at the 2013 American Music Awards? I really do believe Katy, Avril, and Gwen are true fans of all things Japanese and weren’t trying to boil an entire culture down to just a few stereotypical elements. Sadly, their artistic visions have upset quite a few people. Hopefully they all learned from their musical missteps…
