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Hi Shopgirl and all,

Yes, being a Seiko fan isn't about "1-2-3" or "A-B-C." You can't slap a label
on her, you can't put her into one category, and you have to take the rules
that apply to the majority of one-dimensional performers and throw them out
the window.

Some performers get "too old" because they give up and lose sight of why they
wanted to perform in the first place. You can be 30 years old and be "too old."
You can be 60 years old and still vital if you allow the fire inside to burn.
It is a choice, one that everyone makes (not just singers and musicians). You
live life with enthusiasm until the day you die, or you choose a point in life
where you lay down in the middle of the road and give up. You face the 
challenges with strength, humor and integrity, or you hide under a tree. It's 
all one big choice that we all get to make. 

I think it's a safe bet that Seiko will not quietly slip into middle age and
obscurity. I think she's going to make some kind of noise as long as she's
alive. There's a lesson to be learned from that, I think.

Success is a mixture of talent and pure, unadulterated advertising and hype.
It all comes down to percentages. For someone like Seiko you might say that her
success is the result of 95 percent talent and 5 percent hype. For a typical
"Flavor Of The Month" performer on Hey! Hey! Hey! who has one or two hits and
vanishes, it might be 5 percent talent and 95 percent hype. The moral of the 
story is that a performer who sells a LOT of CDs is not necessarily talented
or built to survive a long, multi-decade career. Similarly, a performer who
does not sell "triple platinum" is not reflecting a lack of talent, and they
may be around for a LONG, LONG TIME and make a LOT of CDs. Like Seiko.

>but I want to believe that there is a time for everything, and dreamers who do not 
>just dream will get there eventually. OR that perhaps there is no "there" but all the rewards
>are the little "magics" and "highs" we get every now and then as we go along.

There is definitely a time for everything: "It will shine when it shines." 
There can definitely be a "there" but you get "there" when you get "there" or
you don't, and the quest for "there" should never get in the way of "the 
little magics and highs as we go along." Also, I think you'll find that if you
trust what you have inside of you, all of your instincts and what you have in
your heart, and surrender to those "magics" and "highs," you may see that
"there" takes on a diminishing importance, and that the "there" you envisioned
at the start of the road may end up being a very different (and much more
fulfilling) "there" when you actually get "there."

Because if you stick to a rigid blueprint of what "there" is, you can easily
miss something bigger, better, and more beautiful that you encounter along
the way. Never underestimate the depth that might exist in one of the 
seemingly minor "magics" or "highs." It might actually be "there" in disguise,
standing right in the middle of your path to see if you are able to 
recognize it. Some people will walk right around it and say "excuse me, you
are in the way and I must get THERE"...:-)

Surrendering to your own instincts is the toughest thing any of us will ever
do, and many of us will not. But it is the one, single quality that makes a
Seiko. Not singing talent, not dancing ability, not a pretty face. Simply the
ability to trust yourself, take the gifts you were given, and do the most
you can with them in the very, very short time you're on this planet. And 
you're right, dreaming is NOT enough. You couple dreaming with action. John 
Lennon had that song "Watching The Wheels" in which he commented on others'
observations of him...how he looked like he was "dreaming his life away,"
but in reality, he was doing what he wanted to do and taking the actions that
he wanted to take. That's the third leg of the chair: 1). Dream 2). Take
Action 3). Starting TODAY, dismiss others' opinions of "who" you are and "what"
you are, because if their approval is important to you, you will be a dreamer
who never takes action. Seiko may be momentarily hurt by the stuff that's been
in the tabloids, but it never stopped her from doing what SHE wanted to do.

There are a few rules of thumb: 1). If it is meant to happen, it will happen.
2). If it is not meant to happen, it will not. 3). Sometimes you think it is
not meant to happen, so you don't let it happen, then you realize that it just
wasn't the right time. 4). Sometimes it's not meant to happen, but you WANT IT
anyway, so you MAKE it happen, the you realize why the things that are not
meant to happen don't, and shouldn't.
 
>
>But on the other hand, I want to see a BIG BANG, and because I am a Seiko fan, if it didn't happen, 
>I see it as a big shame ....

Yes, of course, because when I watch something like "Forever Live" and I see
Seiko perform "Can't Say Goodbye" and she is pacing the stage back and forth
like a jungle cat about to take down its dinner in the wild, and she is 
staring down the camera and letting go with THE VOICE, I think "Why can't
more people feel what I'm feeling right now? Am I the only person who is
experiencing this?" Then I see a "lesser talent" going through the motions,
and because they were the recipient of the "95 percent hype, 5 percent talent"
formula, I see an audience in a state of rapture, screaming and yelling and
dancing...the same audience that will forget the performer as soon as their
"15 minutes of fame" are over. If you don't believe me, ask yourself "What is
Takeshi Sorimachi doing right now?" or "What percentage of the JPOP world does
TK control right now, and how many of his acts are in the Top 10?" A lot of
things have changed since "Sweet 19 Blues"...

Then I remind myself that Seiko fans are "Forever" (by the way,
make a visit to "Seiko Matsuda Forever: The Remix" and "Seiko Matsuda Forever:
Phase III" part of your daily "magics" and "highs," EVERY day)....:-)

It'll shine when it shines, Shopgirl. Keep smiling, dancing and dreaming.

Best regards,

Mike