I’ve just published a list of 100 songs in Chinese (mostly Mandarin, but also Cantonese… and maybe Hokkien… can’t be sure of that) that’s a great cheat sheet for anyone wanting to show off their knowledge of the scene. There’s definitely a wide variety of artists, so you’re sure to find something you enjoy.
Visit YAM Magazine for the list with a link included to the YouTube playlist.
This year’s season of The Voice of China is a bit on the meh side compared to last year’s. Some good talents, but not as awing as some of last year’s. This battle for Wang Feng’s team, though, from Simon Chung (鐘偉強) of Hong Kong singing it out with Beijing-based Bi Xia (毕夏) with the classic Hey Jude was pretty emotional.
The whole father/daughter interaction going on, because Simon took the time to guide Bi Xia through the song and Bi Xia’s knowing what he’d done for her makes the whole elimination process all the more painful.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xzTgyORzEAA
Other battle highlights~
From Na Ying’s team:
Yi Guang Nian (毅光年) Vs. Sheng Yin Yue Tuan (声音乐团) – I Surrender (没离开过)
From Amei’s team:
Zhang Xin (张新) Vs. Liu Zi Chen (刘籽辰) – What’s the Trouble in your Mind (你在煩惱什麼) + We Are Young
Oh, man~ Liu Huan is gone from The Voice of China, and I thought he was the one elevating the show to a more professional level. Have no idea why he’s not there, but I hope he’s back later on.
And my prediction of Wang Feng being on the show [1] kinda became a reality, except not replacing who I thought he should be replacing. LOL
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LE3Tkvg2-8A
Happy to see A-Mei, though I would prefer her releasing new music instead.
I have nothing to say about Harlem Yu xD We are just not compatible. LOL
I gotta admit that with Wang Feng being Na Ying’s coach, I thought I was going to get blown away by everyone’s performances, but seems like expectations were too high. Plus, YouTube cockblocking my watching.
Since Wang Feng was there to coach too, all of the arrangments had a lot (or, at least, a little) to do with some aspect of rock — be it rock & roll or plain rock (except for Zhang Yu Xia’s battle) — so, in the end, there was a lot of A-Mei being played and there was some extra Wang Feng going on too.
Anyway, there were only a couple of standout performances, and considering my favorites on Na Ying’s team from the beginning were Zhang Wei (张玮) [1] and Zhang Yu Xia (張玉霞) [1], I am rather ecstatic and sad. Super elated for the fact that Zhang Wei has a very good chance of being the Top4 (and may very well be the winner), and sad because Zhang Yu Xia — despite her flawless The Legend (传奇) performance in a battle vs. Li Min (李敏) — couldn’t advance any further. T_T
But, DUDE! The Zhang Wei and Ge Yu Sen (歌浴森) battle doing A-Mei’s Three Days and Three Nights (三天三 夜) was great~ Like, couldn’t pick between the two, and I was almost siding with Ge Yu Sen, but would have been perfectly content if either of those two won.
Dudes, so they finally released a finished version of the music video [1] xD which has atrocious rainbow-colored English lyrics xD But you can check some funny remarks and a quickie English translations from Beijing Cream.
You can also check a slightly better quality version of the video on YinYueTai — but still not crisp enough to be able to read the tiny English caption xD
I’m rather surprised I only know a little over +30 names xD and a little more of the faces, including a brief apperance by Ajia [1] and Li Yu Gang (李玉刚) whom… you know, you can’t totally tell from just the audio. I’m also rather SHOCKED that I didn’t get Song Zuying from early on the song but her later bit xD
Judging from the song alone (okay, and a bit of the video), Sa Dingding did great. This was her Beijing Welcomes You [MV] 5-sec Bibi moment for me. xD The song is no Beijing Welcomes You, though. And I love some of Chang Shilei’s stuff. His 2008 Niu China album was my favorite that year, and he does produce some great songs like I Would Say to Them (对他说我愿意) [1] or HIGH歌 — OMG, are you watching The Voice of China [clip] [1]? xD
Also, the video is pretty cheap. Walking down a shelves of book of… what I supposed is the Beijing library or something. xD And also the people that weren’t in Beijing and obviously couldn’t be flown to shoot for the video because of budget. I’m looking at you guys, Eason and Aaron~~~ and Kelly Chen xD
Liu Huan, Na Ying, Harlem Yu, and Yang Kun. I mean, dude- Liu Huan alone would trump Christina Aguilera. LOL And I have a soft spot for Christina Aguilera [1], but imagine participating and singing in front of Liu Huan, and having HIM picking YOU to be on HIS team.
His pitch-perfect and perfect-toned-singing-Mandarin.
I would maybe… MAYBE… change Harlem Yu over someone like Wang Feng. But that’s just me. These are all seasoned singers and vocalists (I can’t label Liu Huan as just a singer, sorry).
So the Chinese version of The Voice, aptly titled The Voice of China (中国好声音, Zhong Guo Hao Sheng Yin), has made its debut about two weeks ago. I’ve only seen the first episode, but I already like the judges selection better because you’re being judged by people already in their 40s or 50s who have been working in the industry for years — not a bunch of people in their 30s who have been barely working for 10 years.
And Liu Huan has been working as a music teacher for the past 10 years, besides still being a music icon, so he’s perfect. Plus, I’ve already taken a strong dislike to Adam Levine, whom I used to find so attractive. LOL I can’t stand him EVER again. xD How people change.
My dad is going to be crazy about this one.
Another four years, another Olympic ceremony [1].
After the Mandarin-class-favorite song of Beijing Welcomes You [1], Jackie Chan — ever the eager kid in class — has managed to gather even more artists willing to lend their voices than for the Beijing Welcomes You song, which boasted an impressive number of music stars.
No music video of Beijing Blesses You (北京祝福你) has been released… yet. But there are clips of the making of the MV [1] doing their rounds on YouTube and Sina Video, so we’re all up and guessing who’s singing which line in the massive 8min. song. It wasn’t enough for Jackie to get more names than the Olympic committee… no, he needed a song that’s even a bit longer.
I think it’s pretty fact that Han Hong is at 1.11. The rest are up for grabs from the likes of Leehom, Chris Lee, Sa Dingding, and BiBi~ going through the voices of Li Bingbing and Fan Bingbing. So there you go. xD
Video is here, if you’re interested. xD
I put together my lists of Top15 Movies, Bottom15 Movies, as well as my Top15 Albums from 2011.
I’m a dork, you can’t deny it.
I’m a dork, and I’m proud of my -mostly- tidied up iTunes library.
As with my CDs, and my DVDs… a little bit of books, and mostly with computer files, I like to know where my things are. Of course, iTunes makes it way easy to keep things organized with their “copy to folder” and “keep things organized” options, but then we’ve got album covers, song names, artists names… and music can get a little messy.
LOL it reached over 70 comments in just a few hours. It was crazy coming back home and seeing my inbox filled with LiveJournal replies. And here it is, the old article on YAM008 “Where is the CPop Scene Going?”
Check out the LJ discussion here.
