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Hi everyone,

The U.S. recording industry is going through changes again, and it's probably
the best time possible for Seiko to do a project here IN HER OWN STYLE. We
need someone with a unique and original voice and style to bust through the
sludge that has built up in the last few years with N'Sync, Backstreet Boys,
Christina Aguilera...all of these flavors of the month have begun to leave a
really bad aftertaste. People want more, people want something different.

The "boy band" trend is dying quickly...Britney Spears was quick to dump the
"teen queen" image this year...and news arrives today that Virgin Records wants
to pay off Mariah Carey and end her contract after one project, the dismally
failed album (and movie) "Glitter." The original contract was for $80 million
so there's no way of knowing what they'd pay her, but it's a safe bet that 
ANY performer looking for the road to success in the U.S.A. right now will not
be following or copying Mariah. When a "diva" falls in the U.S., they fall HARD.

The "trends" are changing so quickly here and the public is so fickle that the
only thing that Seiko should depend on is the best songs she can write (with
the best collaborators), the best musicians, the best producers, and the best
perfomance she can muster. It is a BAD TIME to ask the question "who's hot" 
and then attempt to ride that train. We're at the same kind of crossroads we
faced a decade ago when Nirvana came roaring out of Seattle with "Nevermind,"
changing the music world in the blink of an eye. 

My "early prediction" for any Seiko U.S.A. 2002 project...if there is actually
going to be one and this is just not rumor and speculation...is that she'd
better bring some blood, sweat and tears with her into the studio, or be 
prepared to face her biggest failure in years. I would rather see her do 
another Japanese album with Shinji Harada than a half-hearted U.S. project with
the wrong collaborators. That's right, I'd rather have another 30-minute, $35.
CD of weak material than an embarassing or lackluster U.S.A. disc.

Keeping my fingers crossed,

Mike