Junko: News

Junko has started a new blog about being the antithesis of the Tiger Mom -- Panda Mom! Please check out http://pandamomconfessions.com/ and become a subscriber!

Get your own copy of Junko's latest CD, "I Got It!" via CD Baby for a physical CD:

http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/junko
Or download from iTunes:

http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/i-got-it!/id444504253
We promise you'll love it!

Wow, it's been a long time since our last entry! Junko has been busy at work on her newest CD, "I Got It!" and it is almost ready. Street date: June 5, 2011! Check back again soon for sneak peeks at the work-in-progress and how you can order your very own copy. Be sure and sign up for her email list so you can be the first to notified when the CD drops!

This just in -- Junko and her band will be performing at Saddleback Church's Blocktober special event for Children's Ministries! More details coming soon, but if you are looking for a Halloween-alternative event on October 31, stop by Saddleback for some rockin' fun. Check out http://saddleback.com/lakeforest/children/specialevents/blocktober/!

Check out Junko's first of four interviews for the month of July on www.focusonthefamily.com/weekend if you missed it on the radio!

Catch Junko's interview with Focus on the Family's Weekend Magazine program during the entire month of July! One of Junko's songs will be featured every weekend, and you will hear her interview with Dawn. Get to know Junko even better by listening in on this program which is also available online to listen anytime! Check out http://listen.family.org/weekend for more information and to find a radio station near you.

Junko had a successful time touring Japan in April while cherry blossoms were in full bloom. Besides doing 5 performances and one worship workshop, she was able to spend time with her entire family and meet up with old friends and relatives.

Junko now has her very own 30-minute weekly radio show on Saddleback's Purpose Driven Radio Connection! Launched on April 3, 2010, she can be heard anywhere in the world with access to the internet on Saturdays at 8:30am (California Time). Click on this link:

http://saddleback.com/pdrc/index.html
and you'll see a tab for "Junko's Big & Small Radio Show" on the right. Please note that currently it is streaming ONLY, not on demand, which means that you can only listen during the broadcasting times. Sometime in the near future, we will make the shows available on CD's to download or purchase so you can hear her shows whenever you like. Stay tuned!

Check out the new Radio page for more information on each show.

Many of you have been asking for it: Sheet music. Now, with a little help from Junko's friend and keyboardist extraordinaire Bobby Cruz, we are able to offer you a selection of sheet music and lead sheets of some of your favorite Junko songs. Please check out the "Store" page and download the .pdf files after you pay online through PayPal's secure site using your credit card. More titles are being added regularly, so check the site often to see if your favorite song is available for download.

You may not know that Junko was a featured vocalist for a popular TV program in Japan on NHK channel during the 80's. Unbeknownst to her, she actually had fans who video taped her performances on their television and recently uploaded them on YouTube, much to Junko's (and her parents') delight as she hadn't even seen many of her own performances. Here's one of the newly found videos of her performances. The rest are easily found on YouTube if you do a search on "Kenny & Junko." We hope you will get a kick out of watching Junko's performance from over 20 years ago (but please, don't laugh)!

Looking for a radio program that is fun for kids and parents alike?  Then tune in to Junko's Big & Small Radio Show, launching on Saturday, 10/10 at 10am on Saddleback's new online streaming radio station Purpose Driven Radio Connection!  Junko hosts a panel of kids to talk about everything from their favorite color to how Jesus can help them achieve their goals for the school year.  They also discuss Scripture verses and lead into songs. 

So tune in each Saturday at 10am for Junko's Big & Small Radio Show!

www.purposedrivenradioconnection.com

Junko will be interviewed by the folks at Focus on the Family on their Weekend Magazine program! She will be heading out to Colorado Springs in late-July with the family to sing for the staff and be interviewed for a 45-minute radio show. In addition, she will be interviewed by the Adventures in Odyssey staff for their podcast. Stay tuned for broadcast dates and information on listening online!

Junko will be a featured soloist at Saddleback church during Mother's Day weekend at all 6 services in the main worship center at the Lake Forest campus. She will be singing her original tune, "Christ Dwells in Your Heart," with the exceptional band and vocalists backing her. If you are nearby, please attend one of the 6 services!

Says Junko, "I am honored to sing one of my original tunes, 'Christ Dwells in Your Heart,' for Mother's Day weekend. I wrote this song when I was 9 months pregnant with Joshua, thinking about how life will change -- drastically, but for the better -- once the baby came. I'm sort of embarrassed to tell you this, but as I wrote the last verse about the child one day leaving the house, I started weeping. I mean, really bawling! Over my own songwriting! Mind you, the child hadn't even been born yet, and I was already weeping about my child going off to college. That's what hormones will do to you when you're totally pregnant, but I'm always amazed at all the tears I see in moms' eyes whenever I sing this song."

The service times are 4:30PM and 6:30PM on Saturday and 9AM, 11:15AM, 4:30PM, and 6:30PM on Sunday. Junko will be singing way at the top of the service -- within the first 10 minutes -- so be sure and allow plenty of time to get there. I will be at the main worship center at the Lake Forest campus. For more information, please check out www.saddlebackfamily.com.

If you are not anywhere near Saddleback but still would like to catch Junko live via the internet, please go to http://www.saddleback.com/blogs/internetcampus/index.html at the service times mentioned above and watch it live. In a few days, the services will be archived and you can also watch it then.

Happy Mother's Day!

Here is a long-lost interview Junko had with Los Angeles Times a few years ago: http://articles.latimes.com/2000/oct/07/local/me-33001
"I forgot about this interview until I came across it on the 'net. I loved that they kept my quote at the end, that God is my agent!"

Junko's on facebook! Come be her fan at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Junko-Cheng/49479117251?ref=share if you are a facebook user!

She's finally done it: Junko is now a Mac Girl! For her combined birthday/Christmas gift, she received from Santa the 13" Apple Macbook that she has been wanting for a while now, with a little help from -- and thanks -- to her friend Marty who was able to get her an employee discount. The real reason why she wanted it is for the wonderful music arrangement software Garage Band. With the purchase of a couple of cables, she hooked up her Korg keyboard which she already had at home and her Shure SM58 microphone, and voila--she now has a home studio! She is already working on a new song using many of the sounds that are included in the software, which makes arranging really easy (do we sound like an commercial?). In fact, some of the sounds were actually created by her friend and producer John who was hired by Apple to create many of the sounds you hear not only in Garage Band but also in their video-editing softrware iMovie.

It certainly is good to have friends in high places! Hey, if you have any Garage Band tips for Junko, please send them our way--thanks!

We want to wish all of you another blessed start of a new year. Thank you for your support of Junko's ministry over the years, and we hope you'll continue to support and pray for Junko and her family. We believe that 2009 will be the best ever!

Steve Taylor, a friend of Junko's and the very talented producer of Junko's Big & Small DVD, was recently a contestant on Wheel of Fortune. His show was taped in early October to be televised on December 24, 2008 on ABC. Rumor has it he won big, so be sure and tune into ABC on Christmas Eve for a very Merry Wheel of Fortune!

His Kids Radio, an internet kid-friendly radio network (www.hiskidsradio.com) is adding two of Junko's newest songs to their regular rotation: "Special Forces Kids" and "Delight Yourself in the Lord"! Get online and request her songs to show them your support of Junko's Music.

Behind the Voice Agency, the concert booking arm of the premier Nashville artist management company, Michael Smith and Associates, has agreed to begin booking concerts for Junko, effective immediately. Michael Smith and Associates have been in the Contemporary Christian Music industry for over 30 years and manages artists such as the band Salvador, comedian Brad Stein, and kid/family entertainers Go Fish. Behind the Voice Agency is also the booking agent for Go Fish and a handful of other artists and speakers. Obviously, Junko is thrilled to be on their roster! "I hope that this will be a step towards expanding my exposure to the rest of the country, thus enabling me to minister to more kids and family and also to get more children sponsored through World Vision." For more information on Behind the Voice Agency, please check out www.behindthevoice.com. If you would like to book a concert with Junko from now on, please email Jan Smith at jan@behindthevoice.com or give her a call at (615) 599-9809 x1.

Junko has been chosen to be the featured artist for the month of September by Worship Leader magazine's website for worship leaders, SongDiscovery Community (http://www.songdiscovery.com/community). It's free to join the site which is a "MySpace for worship leaders" so feel free to wonder over to the site!

Junko's newest CD is now available for downloads at Apple iTunes at this link:

http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewAlbum?id=287333739&s=143441
Check it out!

Junko's former pastor, Rev. Dr. Mark D. Roberts, has posted a review of Junko's latest CD, "Special Forces Kids," on his blog. Mark says stuff like, "if you’re a parent looking for great Christian music for your children, you can’t do better than Junko’s recordings. And if you work with kids in church, you’ll find her CDs to be a rich resource. Junko’s target audience is children from 2-12, but her songs are loved by older kids and kids-at-heart as well."

Check out http://markdroberts.com/?p=547 to read his glowing (and completely unbiased) review!