With a bit of work you can do this one phonetically.

Chris, I'm guessing that they didn't think this out very well. Assuming that they hired you the first time for the type of songs you normally perform, I would think that if you came up with a dozen Japanese songs at most, you would be just fine. Same holds true for any other ethnic type of gig, Saint Patrick's Day, Columbus Day, etc... We all get these kind of jobs, but I can truthfully say I have never been approached to do a Japanese theme in all the years I've been on stage. Once in a while I get requests for some Greek songs, which I, obviously, sing in English. I also sing several songs in Spanish (spanglish) and Italian. While I'm no longer fluent in Spanish, I can still manage to sing those old songs phonetically. Same goes for Italian (Don't speak the language), but I do about a dozen Italian songs, sung phonetically in Italian. I used to do Sukiyaki many years ago, but there no longer seems to be a demand for it, so it went by the wayside, at least for me.



Good luck,

Gary