Originally published on metropolis.co.jp on February 2011
Photo by Gabe De Liso
The scene at Xex nightclub in Nihombashi was raucous when Claudia Vazquez took the stage in mid-December with a trio of backup dancers, then proceeded to belt out numbers from the film Burlesque. “That was real fun,” recalls the singer, who splits her time between Hawaii and Tokyo. “We’re going to be there again in March.”
Vazquez’ road to success started in her hometown of San Antonio, Texas, where her family, originally from Mexico, threw lively house parties. “My father was a professional singer. Every weekend, he would sing to us and encourage me to perform.” She finally took her own turn in the spotlight when her father joined the military and the family was transferred to Hawaii. “I got discovered when I was 15 after entering a competition to find the stars of tomorrow,” she says. “I didn’t win, but there was a Swedish producer named Henry Bergstrom, who had worked with groups such as Ace of Base, and he put me in a Hawaiian pop group called Sunland.”
The hits started racking up, and before long, Sunland had released albums in both Hawaii and Japan. “I got signed to JVC in 1998 and have been coming to Japan ever since, doing radio, TV, MTV, interviews and performances on summer tours,” she says.
Over the course of five albums, Vazquez’ style has subtly shifted. “I am very much a pop singer at heart, but at the moment, I am into dance and house music because there are so many clubs and events in Japan. I love the whole culture of the nightclubs and underground, and [the] freeness of that kind of music. Japanese audiences are always great. They really appreciate good music, as long as they can see that you really enjoy performing for them, and I like to sing hard.”
Although her music has kept her busy for the past decade, Vazquez has a foot in Hollywood, appearing in two Garry Marshall films—The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement, alongside Anne Hathaway and Julie Andrews, and Raising Helen, with Kate Hudson. “I was performing at a hotel in Hawaii and Garry Marshall was there. He asked me if I could act and asked me to contact him when I went to LA. So next time I was there, I did a test screening and got the job,” Vazquez says, adding that her mother is her biggest fan. “She walks around with my albums in her purse and pictures of me in her bag to show people.”
When she’s not working, Vazquez heads to the gym, hangs out at cafes or, when she is in Tokyo, goes shopping in Shibuya and Harajuku. “I love the girls’ fashion style here. They are so super cute.” She also enjoys teaching youngsters about the pleasure of music. “Children get so much joy from learning songs and performing… it always makes me smile because I remember that’s how I used to feel when my dad would teach me songs.”
Chris Betros is the editor of Japan Today (www.japantoday.com).
