English lyrics in Asian language songs

There is one thing that irritates me about most of the Asian music scene, and that’s the almost consistent use of random English lyrics in what are (supposed to be) Asian language songs, whether Chinese, Japanese, Korea or something else. It appears to me that almost every song coming out of Asia has an English element to it, and I wonder why. The only current artist I can think of that I can think of that almost exclusively sings in his native languages is Taiwan singer/songwriter Jay Chou (周杰倫) [Wikipedia]. I’m sure there are more, so please share them in the comments.

I don’t want to come across as a language snob, but there are several reasons why overuse of English in Asian songs is a problem for me:

1. It shows a lack of pride in the artist’ own language(s) – Is it THAT hard to write a complete song in another language, without use of a single English word? If it’s not hard, then prove it! Show us how beautiful your language can sound for an entire song, or better yet, entire album.
2. Many of the artists using English in songs, lack fundamental English skills – If an artist doesn’t have the skill/confidence to hold a basic conversation in English, I don’t think they should use it in their songs. I understand that for the most part, it’s probably the record labels commanding them, but I think the labels too should take note of this issue.
3. Usually the accent and often the grammar are pretty poor – If you are intent on producing songs with English lyrics, please ask a native speaker to check the lyrics, and then be there as you record so they can correct your pronunciation. I’m a huge fan of Asian music, and try to introduce more native English speakers to it, and honestly, it’s embarrassing that most of the songs have some terrible phraseology.
4. Using random English words doesn’t make you sound better educated or more sophisticated – If you were born/raised/educated in the west and your spoken English is clear and fluent (watch my interview with David Tao (陶喆) as an example), then fine, but please don’t fake it – you’re not fooling anyone.

Those are the main points, and I probably could throw in a few more, but the bottom line for Asian artists is, be true to yourself and be proud of where you come from!