Otaku Idol 2010

Hello everyone, my name is Allan. I was in Otaku Idol last year and I was eliminated in the first round. Since I’ve been given a second chance this year, I’m going to go all out and put on a show you will never forget.

When I’m not singing, I work in a hospital laboratory as a Clinical Laboratory Scientist in the fields of chemistry, hematology, immunohematology, and microbiology. Someday, however, I’d like to be known as a singer and composer.

My favorite J-pop artists are Reni Mimura, Morning Musume, and Haruko Momoi, but the artists who got me into J-pop originally were Eriko Imai and Lucifer. I&rsqou;m mainly into female J-pop artists and I like to listen to cute anime themes, but every now and then when I’m in the lab, I like to throw on some Dir En Grey or something heavier. I’m also into Thai pop bands like Silly Fools, Bodyslam, and Clash. Someday I’d like to learn how to sing in Thai in addition to Japanese.

My main inspiration for singing is cute girls. I want my soul and do-wop vocals to make every girl’s heart melt. That isn’t going to happen this year, however because I’m not going to sing any ballads. I&rsqou;m going to rip through the Baltimore Convention with my own vicious brand of punk and metal vocals. It’s going to be a fun contest this year. I can’t wait to entertain you all!

A 23-year-old New Jersey native, Ayanni is happy to attend her 1^st Otakon since 2007 and compete in the Otaku Idol 2010 competition. Her 1^st Otakon was way back in 2002, and her attendance record has been “touch-and-go” since then. Nonetheless, she always has loads of fun whenever she visits Baltimore — what with all the fun people to see, food to eat, and swag to buy.

If Ayanni were to rewrite the song “My Favorite Things,” she’d include clouds, earrings, apple juice, bookstores, and Calvin Klein “X” models. She kinda has a thing for giant robots… and suits of armor that walk, talk, and love their big brothers. Apparently, Ayanni also likes writing in third-person. (Just humor her…)

As far as music goes, Ayanni loves J-pop/Rock/Urban, listing M-Flo, School Food Punishment, and old school Ayumi Hamasaki as some of her favorites. She’s quick to note, however, that her ultimate favorite is the one and only Hikaru Utada! Ayanni has been a gigantic Utada fan since the 6^th grade, and was lucky enough to see her NYC concert last February. (Yes, it was awesome and everything she dreamed.) When she wants to hear something in her native tongue, she listens to a little bit of everything, from Lupe Fiasco and The Kooks to Jill Scott and Santana.

If Ayanni could make her wildest dreams come true, she’d be a popular manga-ka that moonlights as a Cardcaptor-ing J-Urban idol who also happens to have a steamy and loving romance with a highly attractive soccer playing chef. Her more realistic goals include starting a web comic, going to graduate school, taking a trip to the Caribbean, getting a job as a sexy librarian, and having a family sometime in the far-flung future.

Random Fact! Ayanni finds sleeping on her back strange and feels disoriented waking up looking at the ceiling. If you see Ayanni around the con — on Saturday she’ll be the black chick dressed like FMA: Brotherhood’s Winry — don’t be afraid to say “HI!” She sincerely hopes you enjoy this year’s Karaoke Contest!!

Sharon is a 23 year old otaku from Brookeville, Maryland. Sharon was raised in a very musical environment (her dad has a band called Clam Chowder. Seriously.) as well as a very geeky family (They love the SCA and her parents are old school Trekkies). Sharon is a recent graduate from the University of Hawaii at Manoa with a self-created major called Japanese Media. She spent a semester in Kyushu, Japan, where she was part of Asia Pacific University’s Musy Tone Club, the toughest singing training she’s ever had. In Hawaii, she was a high official in the Anime Manga Society and volunteered for Hawaii’s local convention, Kawaiikon. She was also rejected from Kawaiikon’s Karaoke Contest 4 years in a row during the preliminaries. Well suck it now, Kawaiikon. Sharon loves making movies and AMVs (go see the Otakon AMV contest!) and has loved anime since she was 11. She loves lots of anime titles, but some of her top favorites are Yugioh, Trigun, Yu Yu Hakusho, Princess Tutu, Baccano, and Full Metal Alchemist Brotherhood. Let&rsqou;s see, what else… Seriously, 500 words for the Otaku Idol bio? Who reads these?

• Name: Jun Yu
• Age (if you must know…): 24.5
• Hometown: Queens, New York
• Current occupation: 3^rd year veterinary student at Purdue University School of Veterinary Medicine
• Favorite J-pop artists: Mika Nakashima, Angela Aki, RYTHEM, HamaAyu, Utada Hikaru
• Favorite J-rock artists: Gackt, L’Arc-en-Ciel, Asian Kung-Fu Generation
• Favorite Games: Okami, Guitar Hero, Rock Band, Puzzle Quest, Pokémon, Gallop Racer, Legend of Mana
• Favorite Characters: Himura Kenshin (Rurouni Kenshin), Vash the Stampede (Trigun), Cho Hakkai (Saiyuki)
• Thing to do before getting too old: Gallop across plains of Mongolia on horseback; Ride a racehorse; Hang-gliding; Raise an awesome Doberman pinscher dog; Travel parts of the world
• Hobbies (in addition to anime & singing): Chinese Kung-fu/wushu, drawing, flute, sewing, horse-back riding
• Pets: Gogo the fluffy collie mutt, Ruby the Indiana hamster

• Reasons for singing:
  I had long been a closet singer who eagerly waited for chances to be alone at home to sing safely. But despite being shy, I ultimately could not resist the magic of sharing my songs with others. Since a few years ago I have been karaoke-ing with friends worry-free and even singing in front of my parents! Anime music really inspired me to come out to share my love for singing with everyone.
• Life’s plan:
  To become the best person I can possibly be is my motto. I’ll change the world a bit, pass down some genes, and be an awesome mom. I will be the cool old lady with a head of white hair dyed dark red with purple stripes. I will retire to a cozy place where I can finally be a full time artist.

My name is Lizzy Denning. I like long walks on the beach, quiet evenings at home and occasionally pretending I’m clever and/or witty. Rim shot.
I’m a 19-year-old musical theater major at NYU — Tisch/CAP21 (the same studio as Lady Gaga, Matthew Morrison and many others). As a small child growing up in Baltimore, I had a dream to become the world’s greatest paleontologist before I turned eighteen. Needless to say, that didn’t exactly work out. Nowadays I spend my time hanging out with friends, being a huge dork, wearing garishly bright colors and watching old Disney movies. My favorite show of all time is easily Avatar: The Last Airbender. Uncle Iroh is my source for life wisdom. RuPaul’s Drag Race is, however, another top favorite.

I have a huge KPop addiction, with 2NE1 leading the pack. Girls, if you’re looking for a fifth member, I’m always around. Big Bang, SNSD, After School, and Super Junior are also big favorites: I’m just a sucker for a good boy band or girl group. I also tend to like other international groups like Röyksopp, Robyn, and Fever Ray. If it’s not kooky electronica, it’s unapologetic bubblegum pop: ’N Sync and Britney Spears. I really do like every kind of music from John Cage to Peaches, Mindless Self Indulgence to MIKA, Howard Shore to Ke$ha.

My number one idol, musically and artistically, is the mama monster: Lady Gaga. Her work with fashion, music, performance art and every other art form defines this moment in culture. She is an inspiration to everyone, everywhere, that we too can be fabulous. We too can be sublimely bizarre and walk in absurd heels and wear sequins to the grocery store if we feel like it. She is a prophetess of pop culture. She is the reason I do crazy things like enter this contest. In other news, you can see me about Otakon this year cosplaying and wreaking havoc. Huge shout out to all my friends at NYU and Baltimore! And you reading this: yes, I am talking to you. Come see Otaku Idol. I can personally guarantee you it will be rockin’. Peace out girl scout.

My name is James Nguyen and I’m 22 years old. I’m very nice, ultra funny and extremely outgoing. I’m just an incredibly amazing guy to be around! I’m the life of the party! Music/singing is my #1 passion! For as long as I can remember, I have always loved music and singing along to songs. I was fortunate enough to be drawn to the first golden era of timeless and wonderful music: the oldies of the 60s and 70s. And now I’m even more fortunate to be around for the next golden era (in my honest opinion and pretty much everybody else’s): the amazing music of Japan (one of the many wonderful pleasures this country has given to the world!)

Of all my wildest dreams, my main one is to someday become a famous and talented singer over in Japan! (I know it’s probably impossible and ridiculously far-fetched but a guy can dream right?) But becoming a famous and talented singer in general would have satisfied my dreams. I’m slowly making it come true by experimenting with song writing and taking original songs and coming up with my very own lyrics to them. It warms my heart to share my meaningful lyrics with the world and be complimented for it! As for my main goal: just live and appreciate life to the fullest and enjoy anything and everything along the way. Some of my favorite artist(s) just from the top of my head would have to be SMAP, Mika Nakashima, Chemistry, Monkey Majik, Home Made Kazoku (very excited to be seeing them soon at Otakon!), L’Arc~en~ciel (sucks that I missed out on them at Otakon) and of course anything oldie and Motown!

A reoccurring dream I always have is having one day left to live but it’s fulfilled by watching all my favorite artists perform just for me! Some of my hobbies include competitive gaming (Xbox 360 gamer tag: SabakuNoSasori), daily movie watching, and entertaining on Youtube (I don’t have much on it yet but I’m sure I will soon enough! My account is: xJameyBoix) So please accept me into your hearts and look out for me soon because I will make it! And I won’t stop until I’m living out my wildest dreams!

Name: Aimee Gaines, but she also answers to Kari, chuui, and “hey, you!”
Age: Old enough. Oh, fine, she’ll be 29 the week after the con. Don’t tell anyone.

A wild Kari appears! Aimee, usually known as Kari when she’s not at work, has been singing pretty much since she figured out she had a voice.ÊFrom dorky pageants in elementary school to choir classes in junior high to full-on musicals and State Honors Choir in high school, singing has been a part of her life for… well, probably longer than a lot of the people attending this con have been alive. After graduating high school, Aimee didn’t really have a place to sing anymore, so she took to pursuing karaoke, but as we all know most karaoke bars in the US don’t really cut it unless you’ve so much to drink you really have no business getting up on stage anyway. Needless to say, open mic is one of Aimee’s favorite parts of attending cons because everyone just looks at you funny when you try and sing in Japanese at Karaoke Night at Applebee’s.

When she discovered the Japanese passion for karaoke at the tender age of thirteen or so, Aimee began collecting CD singles and karaoke tracks for every song she could get her hands on, and now has over 4GB of karaoke tracks on her computer. Having visited Japan numerous times, she can say without a doubt that there’s really nothing quite like hitting the karaoke parlor at 10pm for nomihodai and staying there until they close at 5am (though she can’t recommend trying to ride your bike back to the hotel after that; don’t drink and bike, kids). Artists who particularly inspire her include Do As Infinity, Sakamoto Maaya, Abe Mao, Kuraki Mai, and YUI, and she likes to think that these artists have helped shape her individual singing style. She also enjoys cranking up Bump of Chicken, Fiction Junction, L’arc en Ciel, and Kitade Nana while driving in the car and flailing in time, especially at stoplights.

When she’s not singing, Aimee can usually be found writing, sketching, or replaying her favorite video games for the 823785823th time. She’s a fan of Fullmetal Alchemist, Bleach, Kingdom Hearts, the Final Fantasy franchise, the Legend of Zelda, and Digimon, as well as the X-Files and Castle. If she could meet one person before she died, she would want to meet Arakawa Hiromu to thank her for writing the most amazing manga ever, because without Fullmetal Alchemist, she might never have met some of her dearest friends, and would have missed out on a lot of good times.

Mostly content to just look like a dork while doing karaoke in the car, Aimee doesn’t have any particular direction she’s looking to take her music, but she has no plans to stop singing. Whether it’s while she’s getting funny looks driving down the highway, or hamming it up in front of a whole convention, so long as there’s music, it’s probably a safe bet Aimee’s singing along. “They always say sing like nobody’s listening… but where’s the fun in that? I say sing like EVERYONE’S listening. Because if a song is sung and no one’s around to hear it, then what’s the point?”

Dean M. Bloomingdale, from Philadelphia, PA, is 16 years old. Otakon 2010 is his first convention and he is very excited to be performing. Born into a very musical family, Dean has been singing for his entire life. He is an established member of the Keystone State Boychoir, with whom he has gone on tour to locations such as Australia, France, Bulgaria, Monaco, Austria, and Germany. In his hometown, Dean is also the lead singer, keyboardist, and rhythm guitarist in his band, Eclipsed, an original band which performs locally around Philadelphia. Also involved in drama, Dean has recently performed in high school productions of Sweeney Todd, Crazy For You, and Les Miserables, in which he played the part of Enjolras. Dean loves anime and has been an otaku since his childhood, starting with Dragonball Z, his first, and still his favorite anime. While his biggest musical inspirations are Billy Joel and the Beatles, DeanÕs favorite Japanese artists include Home Made Kazoku, Flow, nobodyknows+, Ore Ska Band, Nightmare, and Aya Hirano. Dean hopes to grow up to be a songwriter / composer and wishes to keep singing for as long as he is able. Thanks once again to the entire committee of Otaku Idol for giving me the chance to perform in this contest. Have a great Otakon 2010, everybody!

I feel like an old man on a mountain, except instead of being old (debatable), I’m 26, and instead of living on a mountain, I (currently) live in Maryland. I’m not very wise either, but I do wonder about a lot.

Where did the red sneaker on the highway come from? There might be a mother who scolded her daughter for dangling her feet out of the window. An old woman borne from a nursery rhyme might have had her home picked up by a tornado. A kickball player may have belted one into orbit, but forgot to tie his shoe.

More than shoes, I wonder about singing, and why it’s so fun. I’ve learned a lot about singing since I started five years ago, and have changed a lot in that time. The one thing that hasn’t changed is my desire to sing, which seems to have become inseparable from me. I would give an arm and a leg (think Edward Elric) to start a band that makes music that astounds and impresses me. I would have to figure out what sort of music that is first! I’m a fan of Iceman, Luna Sea, The Cat Empire, Camino, Duel Jewel, underground hip hop, Fairy Fore, and many others.

Artist, avid video game player, and singer-in-hiding, I have come to perform for the people who take up a good portion of my time: the “otaku.”
I currently am in school pursuing foreign languages. These include Japanese, German, Arabic and Farsi with a concentration in German studies.
When I graduate, I would like to take a bite out of crime — literally if I must. At the moment I am working as a lab technician.

Japanese Artists who influence me include Masaharu Fukuyama, Mr. Children, and Hamasaki Ayumi.

In the future I plan to move to a farm in Ireland with Ayaka Komatsu and have 26 kids and live off the land. It’s the simple things in life. That is all.