Shurikid wrote:


This is all pretty much true, as well. Hikki, in the end, wasn't motivated to dominate the American music industry: she essentially stated that herself. But I do think, and I accept this as my own totally personal interpolation, that part of that was that she was not comfortable with IDJ from a certain point onwards. I think everyone wrote off IDJ's failure with "Exodus" (which Hikki seemed just as adamant about as any of her Japanese work) as a very terrible, upsetting, circumstantial fluke- but a fluke nonetheless. With TITO, they seemed to tackle initial campaigning at full force: Hikki was doing the kind of promotion necessary for an up and coming artist and she seemed genuinely interested in where this development might take her. IDJ (and possibly even more so her father) was getting her into radio stations, onto Ryan Seacrest, finding her slots on whatever shows she could make. She did the Sephora gigs which were HUGELY successful; beyond anyone's expectations, I think. "Come Back to Me" was charting and people were starting to hear about her. And then it all just stopped. And when Hikki came back from being sick, it was like IDJ just didn't care. I truly do believe they gave up on her before she gave up on them- but I don't think it took her long to give up on them, either, and when business gets bad like that it's pretty hard to get anything done. Frankly, I think that with the willpower and the material, Hikki and EMI could launch a very successful campaign for her in the States, but that's a different story for a future prospective.