MISIA

Sunday February 12, 3:21 p.m.

The passing of Whitney Houston is still sending shockwaves all over the planet. The Grammys tonight will definitely take on a whole new dimension....probably won't be a dry eye in the house. Throughout the various media broadcasts over the past several hours, one repeated sentence has been how she had influenced so many singers of the current generation. I think that can also be the case in Japan.

Japanese R&B has been a mainstay here for well over a decade or so, and one of the best interpreters of this most American musical genre has been a petite singer from Fukuoka who goes by the name of MISIA. Like Houston, she had a background in gospel and then went into R & B. She debuted in 1998 and her heyday was in the early 2000s. Although she isn't as high-profile as she used to be, any song she releases will guarantee attention.

This song is one of her very best and is somewhat reminiscent of a Whitney Houston ballad. It's called "Hatenaku tsuzuku Story"..."The Never-Ending Story"...not to be mistaken for the 80s Limahl song.