In the middle of her recent Japan tour, pop superstar Kylie Minogue surprised her fans by announcing a new song on YouTube. The song, written by Japanese rapper and producer Verbal, is called "We Are One" and is the pair's effort to try to raise donations for Unicef following the March 11 earthquake and tsunami.
Verbal opened for Minogue during the Tokyo leg of her tour and the Australian singer found time to squeeze in promotion for their collaboration backstage. Minogue went ahead with her shows despite numerous warnings from overseas record-label executives about radiation, so she made sure her contribution to Verbal's disaster-awareness efforts was emblematic to her visit. It's not too surprising, though, since Verbal has a knack for connecting with overseas celebrities.
For his debut solo album, "Visionair," m-flo member Verbal has tapped the talents of artists from both sides of the Pacific. Contributions from U.S. hip-hoppers Lil' Wayne, Nicki Minaj and Jermaine Dupri feature alongside those from Japanese star Namie Amuro, Cream's Minami and DJ Shinichi Osawa. The result is a collection of songs that would be just as likely to pop up in a Dexpistols DJ set in Tokyo as they would sandwiched between Far East Movement and Ke$ha tracks spun at a Las Vegas nightclub.