Anna Writes: YouTubers Then and Now

Here's a new post by popular guest blogger Anna! It is about a song that hit Number ONE on the US pop charts back in 1963 - SukiYaki. The song was originally sung by Kyu Sakamoto and you can see him sing it, here.

Anna's YouTube channel is Annaconda1984.

Visit her channel and watch some of the 300+ videos she has uploaded. Anna has over 20 Thousand Subscribers and about 1,824,728 Total Video Views!

My favorites include Anna's singing duet with KrisShred and her compilation with 18 YouTubers reciting The Raven by Poe.


Now, here is Anna's article!


YouTubers then and now...

One of the first music videos on YouTube that I recall because it moved me was the dulcet performance of "The Sukiyaki Song" by the talented Iowan born Japan expat Ningyoko.

In the song, a man is whistling while looking up so, that his tears won't fall to the ground; the verses describing his recollections and emotions. See yourself how the now 25 year old manages to transport those feelings with her euphonious voice!



Ningyoko comes from Ningyo which can either mean doll or mermaid depending on how you emphasize the word ending. "My husband Ryan and I where playing around with words and since I was a kid, I always wanted to be a mermaid, hence my username", she recalls. The title Sukiyaki, was picked to grab attention because it is typically japanese and short. It is a hot pot dish and has nothing to with the song lyrics of Hachidai Nakamukas piece. The song has been covered multiple times and translated into many languages, selling over 13 million times and making the top 100 of the US billboard charts in 1963.

Although all of the songs she performs in videos are played on the guitar, her first instrument is the violin she explains in one of her first vlogs.



The girl with the 18 dimples, was born and raised in the United States but decided to move to Japan in 2004 and has been teaching english there. "I think it kind of brings a sparkle to my eyes when I smile," she says smiling, "cause I have such a crooked and dimply smile. Once I counted 18 dimples in my face" (she starts counting them) "I think I lost a lot of (them) cause I lost a lot of babyfat," she concludes.

According to her channel description she is currently working on an album, which could be one of the reasons why she has not uploaded a video for the past 6 months. Whatever she is up to these days, her videos are greatly missed.


Here's an acoustic version of the song by MrShazzar.



James, an 18 year old from the UK joined youtube less than two months ago and has already posted 14 videos which have been well received by his listeners. We hope he continues playing for us and posting it with such enthusiasm.