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3月12日 Introduction to Chinese Pop MusicChinese Pop Music is a force to be reckoned with. There are hundreds of artists and a myriad songs. The music industry is huge this side of the Pacific. I'll be introducing some of the big-name singers, as much info about them doesn't exist in English. First, I'd like to examine some differences between the pop music scene in the east and west.
Most Chinese artists are individuals; there are less groups than in the west. Most Chinese artists do not write their own music. Usually, a composer writes a song, a lyricist writes the lyrics, an arranger arranges the music, a singer sings it, and a producer produces it. The reason for this in my opinion is that the western ear responds more to good music than to good singing; whereas, the Chinese ear is more attracted to a good vocalist. Since few good singers are also good composers, most Chinese singers have their music written by others.
Having said that, there is sexism. A double-standard is employed when it comes to the singing ability of male and female pop stars. Arguably, the Chinese people are much more critical of the singing ability of female singers than of the men. The two most popular male pop stars today have demonstrated that they cannot sing very well but are nevertheless accepted. If, on the other hand, a female singer cannot sing well, she invites much criticism. Most female singers are expected to be able to dance as well. But the Chinese don't seem to expect this of male singers.
In the Chinese world, many singers are also actors and corporate sponsors. The reason for this is simple: in order to make money. Because most CDs that are sold in China are pirated and most songs are downloaded off various unregulated Chinese websites, pop stars cannot make much money off their music. They use their position as a singer to gain an audience. Once they have a strong fan base, they are asked to star in movies to gain more fans and by which they can make more money. Finally they are approached by large companies that ask them to sponsor them in advertising, by which they earn, by far, the most money. This is especially true of Hong Kong pop stars who sing mostly in Cantonese, a minority language in the Chinese world and whose CDs are up for grabs by only some eight million people in Hong Kong and as mostly pirated copies in the Guangdong Province of Mainland China.
There is less variety of genres in Chinese pop music. Most of the music is in the style of mainstream pop. Other genres like hard rock, electronic rock, and dance music are rare. Recently, due to its popularity in the United States, so-called R&B has become popular in Chinese music as well as rap, a.k.a. hip hop.
Most Chinese music is sung in Mandarin or Cantonese. Songs in other Chinese dialects are rare. Hong Kongers usually release albums, alternating between Cantonese and Mandarin. Taiwanese, Mainland Chinese, and Singaporean artists sing almost exclusively in Mandarin. In some rare instances, Mainland Chinese learn Cantonese and sing in that dialect in addition to Mandarin. Most Chinese pop stars have English names.
Most of the biggest Chinese pop stars are from either Hong Kong or Taiwan. Mainland China and small places like Singapore are not well equipped to produce music. The topnotch recording studios, studio musicians, composers, and producers reside in Taiwan and Hong Kong. Usually a singer from other places will move to one of these two locales to launch their careers. A couple of examples are Faye Wang who moved from Beijing to Hong Kong and Stefanie Sun who moved from Singapore to Taiwan.
Chinese singers from countries with significant Chinese populations have also sprung up. Malaysia is a prime example. Because the music industry in western countries like the U.S., U.K., and Canada is a blacks-and-whites-only club, Chinese singers cannot obtain a following by singing in their native English and are forced to sing in Chinese for the people of China. Some of them whose spoken Chinese is poor have had to take Chinese lessons.
In terms of the music industry, East Asian nations have come together like a family of cousins. A Japanese composer may write a song sung by a Japanese pop star. The Chinese love the song, so a lyricist writes Chinese lyrics to the music, which is sent to a Chinese singer, and a Chinese version of the song comes out. Not before long, a Vietnamese version of the song appears. And so it goes.
Interestingly, what makes a song a "hit" in the Chinese world is not just a matter of radio airplay or record sales. A third very important factor is how often a song is requested in karaoke venues. Karaoke is the biggest form of entertainment in China. And huge karaoke venues which make five-star hotels pale in comparison, keep statistics on which songs are called-up from the machines in karaoke rooms.
I've found that one great conversation ice-breaker when meeting especially younger (20-40 year old) Chinese people is to ask them who their favourite Chinese singer is. It shows them that you have an interest in modern Chinese culture. They will also want to know who your favourite Chinese singer is, so be prepared to answer. (Carolyn likes Faye Wang and Rene Liu; I like Gigi Leung and Stefanie Sun.)
There are so many Chinese pop stars, I'm not even going to attempt to list them all, just some of the very biggest. Stay "tuned".
Check out the following link:
It's from the Chinese Music Forum Blog and includes English translations and pinyin romanization of many Chinese songs. 引用通告此日志的引用通告 URL 是： http://peltonator.spaces.live.com/blog/cns!184A2363AD187F54!2799.trak 引用此项的网络日志
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