I told you BiBi was going to be my first post of 2011! xD
It’s common knowledge I don’t buy singles… or usually “best of” compilations — unless it’s an artist with too many albums that I don’t want to “catch up” on with.
Julz also knows I don’t do mini-albums.
But I do own all of BiBi’s albums ;P I have named myself her biggest fan living the farthest away. LOL Unless BiBi has a fan living in the Patagonia, I’m taking the title, thankyouverymuch.
Bibi’s latest albums are far from perfect. Really respect that she’s trying to expand her style, her vocal range, as well as her image. Though it sometimes feels like her label doesn’t know what to do with her, like they need to change her style (from Time to i.fish.light.mirror) to sell well in Taiwan and Hong Kong – where she probably did sell well after the change.
I sat today listening to her first album (not counting her EP), Who Touched My Violin String?, and it was really quite good. Very strong, except for maybe two skippable songs.
Her second effort, her double album NOW and WOW — UMPH! They’re a killer combo. After over two years of listening and discovering Chinese pop music artists, I have learned to appreciate NOW a lot more. But WOW blew me away right away for its hard to figure out sound.
In NOW, she is a lot more traditional sounding… a few “Chinese” or I guess zhongguo feng songs, nice ballads with tight vocals, great production values, and lyrics. In WOW, she does the opposite. She’s R&B without sounding R&B, she’s a bit Rock without being Rock, she’s Pop without being truly Pop — she’s got funk, soul… her lyrics are whack, and she sounds like no one else.
If Leehom coined Chinked-out style, BiBi was able to pull it off in WOW.
I really believe those two albums have been the highlight of her career, and hope that her new contract with Gold Typhoon lets her — as an artist — experiment with those styles more.
Hopefully, I will be able to get the pinyin for Bibi’s songs. In the meantime, you can check the one that’s already done for the WOW album. If you’re lucky, I will learn Chinese hahaha… tough luck!
