LANDING

feature
WHINING UP
IN JAPAN
Following Kat DeLuna’s
path to Tokyo
BY TWIKI KLAATU
The summer of 2007 was scorching—but
the heat was mainly coming from the
airwaves as pop music took a turn to the
islands. Reggaeton and dancehall dominated
the genre and the charts, catapulting
Caribbean pop stars such as Rihanna, Sean
Kingston, and Sean Paul into the mainstream. At
the helm of this trend was then-19-year-old Kat
DeLuna, whose infectious dancehall hit “Whine
Up”—which featured Elephant Man—was being
blasted in clubs and on iPods everywhere.
While her catchy name may sound like one
crafted for stage, it has in fact been with her
since birth. “Kat is short for Kathleen,” the
singer explains. “My full name is Kathleen
Emperatriz DeLuna, which means ‘Pure Moon
Empress’ in Spanish.”
Now on the verge of turning 28, the Dominican-American
diva is making a welcome
return following her 2010 album Inside Out with
the new single “Bum Bum,” featuring singersongwriter
Trey Songz.
Part of that return includes a trip to Japan
for her “Asian Beauty” tour. DeLuna has a
love for everything Japanese—the people,
the food, the fashion—and this trip will see her
performing in Osaka, Nagoya, Kyoto, and, of
course, Tokyo, where she’ll appear at ELE Tokyo
in Azabu-Jūban on October 29, the same
night and venue as the Metropolis Halloween
Glitterball.
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