Japan has always been the hub of many Filipino entertainers, renowned for their unrivaled talent and skill.
But to Florjazmin “Jazmin” Nishioka, the land of the rising sun may soon see the rise of her professional singing career, after this jazz-singer released her debut album this year.
Jazmin’s self-titled album filled the shelves of many Japanese record stores featuring both English and Japanese songs. She describes her music as a mix of jazz and “enka,” a type of Japanese melodramatic singing.
Though Jazmin is admittedly still an “unknown” singer among the pop-music loving Japanese audience, this variety-singer is not bothered at all. In fact, she finds joy in touching other people’s lives through her music whenever she performs onstage.
“One thing that makes me so happy is when some of my audience would share their tears while I sing,” Jazmin said, “They would also grab my hand for a handshake and ask for an autograph.”
For now, this thirty-something singer is taking her career slowly but surely undeterred by the already crowded music scene in Japan.
“I’ve heard that there are some interested buyers in spite of the fact that they haven’t heard me sing live yet,” Jazmin said about her album.
Rising star
Jazmin was born in Manila but spent most of her years in Pangasinan. During her teens, she moved to Bayanluma in Imus, Cavite.
Early on, her mother saw Jazmin’s potential. She recalls being egged by her mother to sing in local town shows and radio programs with her siblings.
“My mother is very fond of taking me and my sisters to the ‘limelight’ and she would always ask us to sing and dance,” Jazmin said.
“I remember us being a guest of a noontime slot hosted by Ms. Sylvia la Tore when I was 6,” she reminisced.
Jazmin also claimed that at that time, she was the youngest singing personality of Rosales town, in Pangasinan.
“I suppose these experiences made me believe that I can please people through singing,” she confesses.
Jazmin said that she got discovered by accident.
“My friend played the songs that I dubbed for him during a meeting with his Boss ( The owner of Music Gate Records and Tsutaya Tamano). It so happened that his Boss has been trying to discover ‘talents,’” she said, “My style got his interest. “
Jazmin was then invited to do an audition but did not take it too seriously, saying that she was “too old for the opportunity”
“But after the third call.. I grabbed the chance and I am very glad I did,” she confessed.
Life in Japan
Jazmin first went abroad to work in the late 80s as the vocalist of a 10-member band and did regular gigs at the Riviera Hotel in the United Arab Emirates.
Several years later, she returned to the Philippines to sing at the wedding of a friend who will be getting married to Japanese. This was where Jazmin found her true love.
“I was invited to sing during the reception of a friend who was married to a Japanese. That’s where I met my [future] husband, Junji Nishioka,” she recalled.
Jazmin’s voice seemed to have captured the heart of Junjie so much that in January 1993 they were married in the Philippines followed by a second ceremony in Japan. But marriage did not hinder Jazmin in pursuing her singing career; in fact it was her husband who insisted that she start a career there.
Now that Jazmin has two sons—Kento Bryan and Ryuto Joshua—she always takes time to consult first with her family regarding her career moves.
“I always make it a point that my kids and husband participate in every decision that I have to make regarding my career,” Jazmin reveals,”And good or bad, I always Thank God for its outcome.”
For the meantime, Jazmin is busy with her radio and TV tours as well as performing live in concerts to promote her single “All the way.”
Asked when she would come back to the Philippines and perhaps start a singing career as well, Jazmin replied that the charm of cherry blossom country still latches on to her.
However, aside from eating unripe mangoes and watching movies of “Ms. Maricel Soriano and Ms. Sharon Cuneta in a theater at ShoeMart,” she admits to miss a lot about the Filipino family values in the Philippines.
“The way they [Japanese] value family and friends is not as much as how we do [it],” she said.
“Japanese people are described as TSUMETAI- meaning cold-hearted, not because they are bad people or anything, it is just that they value their jobs prior to [other] things,” she explained.
“Which makes me feel a little empty at times and makes me miss [the Philippines] more,” she added.
