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March 24 Chinese Music Part 6: The Mid-90sWhile Cantonese pop was struggling to keep afloat despite growing waves of commercialism, Mandarin pop began to take off. The success of Jacky Cheung's Mandarin album Goodbye Kiss convinced many Hong Kong stars that, by releasing Mandarin language albums, they could open themselves up to a much larger market. They began brushing up on their Mandarin. They were to discover later on, however, that, even if the music and their singing were both first-rate, Taiwanese and, more especially, Mainland Chinese were not sympathetic to poor pronunciation of Mandarin. A second point was in relation to the passing of Teresa Deng (1995). She was such a huge star that this may have actually hindered other Mandarin pop stars from arising. They knew before they even tried that they could not compete with her. When she passed away, though tragic to the Taiwanese, it provided an opportunity for other Taiwan singers to arise. And this they began to do. Another exciting turn was that American Chinese pop stars began to emerge and Asian-based stars began to perform songs in English and break out into the western market.
CoCo Lee
Chinese Name: 李玟
Cantonese Name: Lee Wen
Mandarin Name: Li Wen
(b. 1975 in Hong Kong)
Although CoCo was born in Hong Kong, she grew up in San Francisco from age 10. She, her mom, and two elder sisters were all gifted singers. CoCo's mother, a doctor, expressed her wish that her three daughters pursue practical careers, but CoCo had decided from a young age that she would take on singing professionally.
She began entering local singing competitions and usually won. Lee's friend worked at a restaurant and began playing a tape of Lee's karaoke singing there. Patrons asked to purchase copies of the tape. In 1991, she won the Miss Chinese-America beauty pageant. After CoCo graduated from high school, she took a vacation to Hong Kong and, just for fun, entered the New Talent Singing Contest at which most Hong Kong stars got their early breaks into the industry. She nabbed second place. The next day a local record company asked her to sign a deal.
After releasing a few albums in 1994, she CoCo signed a contract with major label Sony Music Taiwan a year later. She began winning many awards. In 1998, she won MTV Asia's awards for Best Album Di Da Di and Best Music Video. She performed a concert to the second largest audience in Taiwan's history—30,000 people (only Michael Jackson drew a larger crowd).
She released her first U.S. album Just No Other Way in 2000. She sang the English theme song for the hit movie Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon ("A Love Before Time") which she performed live to rave reviews at the 2001 Academy Awards. Her song "Before I Fall In Love" was included in the soundtrack of the movie Runaway Bride.
Despite all her efforts, CoCo has yet to really crack the U.S. market with a big hit single. Her English albums have sold only modestly and radio stations have not given much airplay to her songs. This is most likely due to notorious Western racism that has hitherto allowed only people of European and African descent to become big stars and has ignored Asians.
Listen to CoCo's English song: "Before I Fall in Love"
Listen to CoCo's Chinese song: "Love Is So Real" (爱是那么真)
Alexander Wang
Chinese Name: 王力宏
Mandarin Name: Wang Li Hong
(b. 1976 in Rochester, New York, USA)
Perhaps CoCo Lee's male counterpart would be Alex Wang. Born a year after CoCo, releasing his first album a year after her, and growing up on the east coast as opposed to the west coast of the United States, this singer-songwriter has achieved big success throughout Southeast Asia including non-Chinese-speaking nations. Growing up entirely in the U.S., Wang did not begin learning Chinese until he was 18 but achieved fluency in both speaking and writing.
Wang studied Music and Asian Studies in college. In 1995, he traveled to Taiwan to visit his grandparents and became actively involved in the music business, in all its aspects, from composition to production, music arrangement, lyric writing, and even directing his own music videos. He plays over ten musical instruments including piano, drums, guitar, bass, violin, vibraphone, and the erhu. He continued his studies in the U.S. while working in the music business and released his first album in 1995. But his breakthrough came after his graduation with the release of his fifth album Revolution in 1998. He and it won a host of awards. He was just 22 years old. When Wang released his eighth album, he scaled to the heights of his career. The title-track of the album, The One and Only, became his signature song. It won him 7 different prestigious awards and remained the number one cell phone ringtone download for over a year.
Wang's ninth album Unbelievable sold over 1.3 million copies in Asia. Its song "You're Not Here" was number one on several music charts where it remained for over 10 weeks. At the end of 2004, Wang released his tenth album, Shangri-La, into which he incorporated Chinese tribal sounds from Tibet and Mongolia alongside the hip hop style of the album. His eleventh album, Heroes of Earth, broke a record, selling more than a million copies only ten days after initial release. Embarking on a concert tour, he impressively sold out the 80,000 seat Shanghai Arena. Last year, Wang released the eco-friendly CD, Change Me. He also starred in Ang Lee's big film, "Lust, Caution".
Listen to Alexander Wang's Signature Song, "The One And Only" (唯一)
"Life of the Heart" (心中的日月)
Rene Liu
Chinese Name: 刘若英
Mandarin Name: Liu Ruo Ying
(b. 1970 in Taibei, Taiwan)
After high school graduation in Taibei, Taiwan, Ms. Liu studied classical music at a university in the United States. After her degree, she returned to Taiwan and was recruited by a local record label. She didn't begin singing herself but provided assistance to other singers. In 1995, Rene released her first Chinese album and began acting as well. Her acting career took off much more swiftly than her singing. She was given the lead role in the Chinese movie "Xiao Yu", later winning the Best Actress award at the Asia Pacific Movie Festival in 1995. After starring in a number of movies and TV series, and winning many awards, Liu's massive singing breakthrough finally arrived in 1998, via her fourth album Love You More and More. Its follow-up, Waiting For You, skyrocketed Rene to superstardom, propelled by the single "Hou Lai" or "Afterwards". This song has become one of the biggest Chinese songs in history, an eternal favourite at karaoke venues.
Listen to one of the biggest Chinese songs of all-time, Rene Liu's "Afterwards" (后来)
"Crazy About Love" (为爱痴狂)
Valen Xu
Chinese Name: 许茹芸
Mandarin Name: Xu Ru Yun
(b. 1974 in Taibei, Taiwan)
Valen is a classically trained pianist. She began playing when she was four. Discovered while playing and singing at a restaurant in Taibei, she was offered a record contract before she turned 19. She released her first album in 1994. Though it met with critical acclaim, sales were low. Her second album, Sea of Tears sold six times that number. But it was her third album, Do the Clouds Know? that reached the clouds with 2.2 million copies sold in Taiwan. Though loved from start to finish, it was really the song "One-Role Drama" that became one of the most cherished Mandarin Pop songs in history. Ms. Xu's fourth album didn't even do half as well in Taiwan, but, more significantly, it sold 3 million copies in the rest of Asia, cementing her into the levels of popularity enjoyed but only a few Asian stars, like Faye Wang.
In 1999, Valen Xu performed a duet with none other than Enrique Iglesias, called "You're My No. 1". Considered one of the most accomplished singer / songwriters in Asia, Ms. Xu is known for her wispy, strong, and crystal clear voice. She is also known for the professionalism instilled into her concerts where she gives CD-quality rather than campy performances.
In 1999, Valen traveled to Rwanda, Africa with the World Health Organization to do charity work.
Listen to the incredibly beautiful "One-Role Drama" (独角戏)
"Have Your Paradise" (有你的天堂)
Kelly Chen
Chinese Name: 陈慧琳
Cantonese Name: Chen Wai Lam
Mandarin Name: Chen Hui Lin
(b. 1972 in Hong Kong)
Ms. Chen has lived in many places. She attended primary school in Hong Kong, high school in Japan, and college in New York, when she graduated in graphic design. After returning to Hong Kong, her talent caught the attention of an agent and she was offered a role in the film Whatever Will Be Will Be in 1995. She was also invited as feature singer for the film's soundtrack. Later that year, Kelly released her first album (Cantonese), Dedicated Lover. The following year, she came out with her first Mandarin album, I Don't Think So. Being fluent in Japanese, she also released some Japanese songs. Ms. Chen has also embarked on a number of world tours which included performances in Australia, Canada, Singapore, Mainland China, and the United States.
In more recent years, Kelly's song "Hope" topped the charts on numerous radio stations across China and became one of the most popular ringtone downloads for cell phones. As far as her acting is concerned, she is probably best known for her role of Dr. Lee Sum Yee in the Hong Kong thriller Infernal Affairs. Besides her music and acting, Kelly Chen has done a huge amount of charity work.
Listen to "Hope" (希望)
"Jovial Sweetheart" (快乐情人) TrackbacksThe trackback URL for this entry is: http://peltonator.spaces.live.com/blog/cns!184A2363AD187F54!2849.trak Weblogs that reference this entry
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