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"I'm Big in Japan!": American Celebs Who Are Inexplicably Popular in Foreign Countries

[post redacted because independent.co.uk thinks that links to their ridiculous rag are a bad thing. Somebody might want to tell them how the internet works. Or not. We don't really care. They do suck though. Our advice is that you should not click on the link and whatever you do, don't read their truly terrible articles.]

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by Anonymousreply 55August 19, 2018 9:43 PM

Like, we're huge in Europe right now. I mean, we've got records . . . uh, a big record just broke in Belgium.

by Anonymousreply 1August 5, 2018 4:30 PM

I'll save you the clicks. Lionel Ritchie is big in the Middle East.

by Anonymousreply 2August 5, 2018 4:42 PM

r2, my name is Lionel RICHIE

by Anonymousreply 3August 5, 2018 4:43 PM

LOL

by Anonymousreply 4August 5, 2018 6:38 PM

Swing Out Sister is a terrific band who had a hit with Breakout in the '80s but their subsequent material never took off. But they are popular in Japan and have released Japan-only albums.

by Anonymousreply 5August 5, 2018 6:41 PM

oops, they are not American.

by Anonymousreply 6August 5, 2018 6:44 PM

My dick is big in Japan.

by Anonymousreply 7August 5, 2018 9:20 PM

ewtwe

by Anonymousreply 8August 6, 2018 2:59 AM

The late Deborah Raffin, was known in the US primarily for her numerous tv movie-of-the-weeks and mini-series, but she was never a big star. However, over in mainland China, she was the biggest western movie star, after her "Nightmare in Badham County" (1976) became such a surprise theatrical hit over there. Thereafter, whenever big US stars were interviewed by the Chinese press, they would be asked if they had ever starred with Deborah Raffin or planned on doing so, and the stars were like, "Um... sure... why not?"

by Anonymousreply 9August 6, 2018 3:47 AM

Kevin Spacey is big in China!

by Anonymousreply 10August 6, 2018 3:52 AM

Kelly Rutherford - huge in Turkey!!

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by Anonymousreply 11August 6, 2018 4:12 AM

That's interesting!!!

by Anonymousreply 12August 6, 2018 3:12 PM

The Carpenters are super big in Japan.

by Anonymousreply 13August 6, 2018 3:18 PM

R5, I really enjoy Swing Out Sister too! I have almost everything they've ever done--although I didn't care for "Filth and Dreams."

by Anonymousreply 14August 6, 2018 3:20 PM

Ruby Was Big in UK

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by Anonymousreply 15August 6, 2018 3:21 PM

Okay, she's Canadian, but Avril Lavigne is HUGE in Japan

by Anonymousreply 16August 6, 2018 3:23 PM

All the models who can't make it in the US market go to Japan and make it there, they go to china too.

by Anonymousreply 17August 6, 2018 3:25 PM

I can't remember but there was a TV series that was huge in China but only did OK in USA.

by Anonymousreply 18August 6, 2018 3:26 PM

I think that was Prison Break, r18

by Anonymousreply 19August 6, 2018 3:46 PM

Cock Robin, a pop band from the 1980s and early 1990s, had a few hits in France. I lived there twice in the 1980s and early 1990s, and they had some hits on the pop radio stations and saw them perform on some of the French tv shows. I was never sure why their songs, which were decent pop songs, never charted well in the US or UK.

Here's my favorite song by them, Worlds Apart from 1990.

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by Anonymousreply 20August 6, 2018 5:01 PM

This is a great story:

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by Anonymousreply 21August 6, 2018 5:07 PM

Pia Zadora has several hit pop/dance records in Europe in the 80s even though her records in the US (with exception of her ‘Pia and Phil’ American songbook album) barely went noticed here.

by Anonymousreply 22August 6, 2018 5:09 PM

Donald Trump - huge in Russia!

by Anonymousreply 23August 6, 2018 5:42 PM

I'm big EVERYWHERE!

by Anonymousreply 24August 6, 2018 5:52 PM

Mr. Big only scored one hit in the US, but are huge in Japan.

Snow also has a Japanese following.

by Anonymousreply 25August 6, 2018 7:17 PM

The short-lived 1990s series Profit was apparently a hit in France.

by Anonymousreply 26August 6, 2018 7:19 PM

Audrey Landers was the Stevie Nicks of West Germany in the 80's.

by Anonymousreply 27August 6, 2018 7:51 PM

Alyssa Milano had a bit of success as a singer in Japan.

by Anonymousreply 28August 6, 2018 7:59 PM

The Bold and the Beautiful and its actors used to be very big in Europe (Italy, The Netherlands and so on).

by Anonymousreply 29August 6, 2018 8:00 PM

R29 The Bold and the Beautiful I heard that it's also big in South Africa.

by Anonymousreply 30August 6, 2018 8:47 PM

Yes, that's true r29 and r30. They are treated like royalty overseas but can live (relatively) anonymously in the States.

However, I have heard that, despite the massive success overseas, it has no bearing on ratings States-side.

by Anonymousreply 31August 6, 2018 8:55 PM

Kenny G is big in China

[quote] For years the tune, in all its seductive woodwind glory, has been a staple of Chinese society. Every day, “Going Home” is piped into shopping malls, schools, train stations and fitness centers as a signal to the public that it is time, indeed, to go home.

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by Anonymousreply 32August 6, 2018 8:58 PM

Jennifer Love Hewitt had a singing career in Japan

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by Anonymousreply 33August 6, 2018 9:39 PM

Yes 31, I heard the same. It was especially huge in the 90's over here. They would invite the stars to TV shows in the Netherlands and Italy and they would be treated like you say, royalty.

I sometimes wonder why American audiences didn't warm to it, why it didn't have likewise popularity in the States? I know it's not being shown around prime time (like it has in Europe) and that matters, but still, it's a huge difference...

by Anonymousreply 34August 6, 2018 10:02 PM

Naomi Campbell had a single in Japan.

by Anonymousreply 35August 6, 2018 10:13 PM

The TV show I was talking about is HUNTER which starred Fred Dryer as Sgt. Rick Hunter, big in China

by Anonymousreply 36August 6, 2018 10:42 PM

R5 and R14, you may already know this but Swing Out Sister have a new album entitled "Almost Persuaded." I am digging it.

by Anonymousreply 37August 6, 2018 10:49 PM

Thank you, R37! A quick google search says it reached #7 on the US Jazz Albums chart. Good for them!

Is the style the same thing they've done for the last decade or so--loungy jazzy a la Bacharach--or did they do what I still hope for: a return to the sound of Get In Touch with Yourself?

by Anonymousreply 38August 6, 2018 10:54 PM

American celebrities aren't as big in Japan as is said in the American media. That said, the one that always made me laugh was the extreme affection for Kiefer Sutherland as Jack Bauer.

by Anonymousreply 39August 6, 2018 10:56 PM

R38, I'd say it's more jazzy… I'd compare it to their "Somewhere Deep in the Night" album.

by Anonymousreply 40August 6, 2018 11:00 PM

r23 wins!

by Anonymousreply 41August 7, 2018 3:33 AM

In the 70' during the tennis boom blonde female tennis players - whether they were any good or not - got lucrative endorsement deals in Japan. One player, Rayni Fox, never ever reached a tournament final and she was huge in Japan. She was cute and had that great name, but not a star stateside. Carling Bassett later parlayed huge deals in Japan and she was good - for a while.

by Anonymousreply 42August 7, 2018 8:36 PM

Billy Herrington - the King of gachimuchi owns this thread.

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by Anonymousreply 43August 7, 2018 9:45 PM

A lot of the big country stars of the 1980s like Kenny Rogers are big in certain parts of Africa.

Dennis Rodman is popular in North Korea. So are a lot of the 1990s basketball superstars.

The show Tropical Heat aka. Sweating Bullets, and it's lead actor, Rob Stewart are huge in Siberia. Stewart found out on Facebook.

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by Anonymousreply 44August 8, 2018 1:59 AM

Jerry Lewis had that France thing going for him

by Anonymousreply 45August 8, 2018 2:05 AM

David Hasselhoff in Germany

by Anonymousreply 46August 8, 2018 3:19 AM

The Runaways were bigger in Japan than they were in the US.

by Anonymousreply 47August 8, 2018 3:52 AM

Mentioned this the last time we had one of these threads, but when I went to Ialy in 2001 I found out that Bryan Adams was all over the radio there, singing in Italian.

Also Victoria Silvestredt (sp?) had apparently washed up there. I watched her on their Sabado Gigante type Saturday night variety show. Her Italian was pretty good.

by Anonymousreply 48August 8, 2018 4:00 AM

uoyuouo

by Anonymousreply 49August 8, 2018 3:21 PM

I know that he's not American but Tom Hiddleston is big in Korea.

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by Anonymousreply 50August 19, 2018 8:27 PM

Jerry Lewis is big in France

by Anonymousreply 51August 19, 2018 8:34 PM

Al Corley (first Steven on Dynasty) was a recording star in Europe in the 1980s — he even recorded a love ballad with Shirley Bassey.

This was his big worldwide hit, which barely charted in the U.S.

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by Anonymousreply 52August 19, 2018 8:40 PM

ITS sounds like the Japanese really love crap.

by Anonymousreply 53August 19, 2018 8:47 PM

Taylor Swift is big in Japan.

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by Anonymousreply 54August 19, 2018 9:31 PM

Debbie Gibson and especially Tiffany were very popular in Japan as well.

by Anonymousreply 55August 19, 2018 9:43 PM
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