Pimp Post: Chinese Music, Part 1

(LOL my friend sent me that picture of JJ Lin a while ago and I had to use it somewhere. I know it’s not super flattering, but whatever, I adore him and he gets his own tag haha ♥. Oh and because I can, I’m going to make a really biased plug for him XDD. If you download nothing else, please at least try him out~!)

Collab post I wrote up with pinkandsparkly! (You can view her post HERE.) We both wrote books on each of the songs, so there will be a part 2 (with more artists like Leehom and F.I.R), so stay tuned ^^. Anyway, Chinese music! I have a lot of friends who are into Korean and Japanese music, but refuse, for whatever reason, to listen to Chinese music. And I know soompi is a kpop site, but … there’s an unnerving amount of Chinese music hate there, lol. So we wrote this post trying to convince you that there is really terrific Chinese music out there, if you know where to look. Six artists here: Anson Hu, JJ Lin, Jay Chou, Khalil Fong, Mayday, and Nicholas Teo. We hope you find something you like!

Download all the songs in a ZIP. I’m sorry that it’s so huge for only 14 songs, but lots of good music here so I would recommend downloading it!

1. JJ LIN
♥ Cao Cao [preview] [download]
spazzes: JJ LIN IS MY #1 ARTIST OF ALL TIME ♥! If you’ve never heard his music, you really are missing out! His voice is freaking AMAZING. He doesn’t really sing with a vibrato, but his voice is so clear and so BEAUTIFUL djfklsjdklf. He writes all of his own songs (and plays the piano very well) and has composed many terrific songs for other artists. Very, very talented guy. He’s got a really cute personality too ^^. Cao Cao is my favorite song from him (although I love most, if not all of his songs). And I love how dynamic it is (rock edge for the win) ♥. Gosh. I command you to download this XDD. One of my favorite songs ever, from any artist.
pinkandsparkly: I LOVE JJ LIN TOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!! He is probably my favourite solo artist IN THE WHOLE WORLD *—————–* The first song I heard by him, was no.89757, I remember thinking that the robot looked really different to him XDD I LOVE this guy’s voice, it’s magnetic, it really is *——-* Cao Cao is one of my favourite JJ songs, I just loooooove the rock edge to this song, it’s so catchy, and just….FANTASTIC :DDDDDDD

♥ Mermaid [preview] [download]
spazzes: I LOVE LOVE LOVE this song. I don’t know anyone who doesn’t like this song … even some of my friends who are anti-Asian-music love this song, so…. XD. I own his live CDs and his live rendition of this song is freaking amazing *____*! It’s a difficult song to sing live, imo, especially with all those high notes, but this boy rarely misses a note. A very, very consistent performer; he never lets me down ♥. (He’s really great at working the crowd too, lol. He’s always waving at the audience.) A must download; this is a song that really shows off his beautiful voice.
pinkandsparkly: FAVOURITE JJ LIN SONG EVERRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR. I love the use of traditional instruments in this song, it fits the song so well. And I adore the doubling of his voice in some bits, the only thing better than JJ Lin singing, is 2 JJ Lins singing XDDDD This song is very catchy, one of the only songs that I could remember, after only hearing it once. After I heard it for the first time, I had it on repeat for a week XDDD THAT’S HOW GOOD THIS SONG IS, GO DOWNLOAD NOW.

♥ Killer [preview] [download]
spazzes: RECOMMENDED LIKE WHOA. From his most recent album (released June 2007), West Side. The MV for this song was pretty controversial (the extended version has scenes of JJ cutting a girl’s heart out, ick) … I think it was even banned in a few countries. I know some people who didn’t like this new, dark image (and I’ll admit I was a bit traumatized at psychotic!JJ Lin at first 8D), but honestly, this is a REALLY fantastic song. The piano melody that repeats throughout the song is so addictive. And his voice is jdkslfjkdlsjfd LOVELY AS EVER. His entire West Side album was one of my favorites all last year, actually. I’m not the only one who thought it was fantastic; this album has sold almost 2 million copies to date. Another thing I really like about this guy? Despite selling a crapload of albums, he hasn’t let his success go to his head ♥. He’s still so modest and down-to-earth and omg sjdkfljds I WILL SEE HIM PERFORM LIVE ONE DAY.
pinkandsparkly: Ooo, Spazzes, TAKE ME WITH YOU WHEN YOU GO TO HIS CONCERT!!!!! *prepares doggy cage* XDDD No, I will see him perform live one day. He’s one of the few artists who manages to sound brilliant live as well as in recordings *————* I was one of those people who was a bit “er…..” when I heard about the “Killer” MV, I mean, come on, it’s JJ Lin! He’s so smiley! and squishy! XD I didn’t like this song at first, but now I LOVE IT. The beat is INCREDIBLY catchy, like WOAH :DDDDDDD Some people think that it’s a bit repetitive, but I LIKE the repetitive-ness of the song, I think it’s nice, and I’m quite glad that he decided to try something new, new=good :DDDD I don’t think we’ve mentioned this in any of the other JJ Lin comments above, but did you know that this guy’s English is AWESOME? As in, NO ACCENT WHATSOEVER. *—————* THAT IS SO ATTRACTIVE.

2. Jay Chou
♥ Lovely Woman [preview] [download]
spazzes: Here’s another very talented guy … he also writes all of his own songs (in addition to songs for other artists), plays the piano insanely well, directs and acts in movies (I liked ‘Secret’ a lot and I just pretend that ‘Initial D’ never happened rofl), and is just awesome in general. And he can sing. I know he gets a lot of flack for being not-so-good in live performances, but there IS something really sexy and addicting about his voice. His compositions are ace. Lovely Woman is the first track of his debut album and probably my favorite song by him ♥.
pinkandsparkly: OMG, JAY CHOU. He write some of the best songs. We had such a hard time choosing which songs of his to include in this post (actually, we had that problem with all the artists, that’s why there’ll be a part 2!) He gets criticised quite a bit for his singing, he seems to mumble his words, but his voice, without a doubt, is quite attractive. I see the “mumbling” as his “signature”, it helps me to spot his songs, lol XDD This song has a really nice laid-back feel to it, and the melody is extremely catchy. And yes, he directs most of his own MVs and has also directed 2 movies, and, like Spazzes, I also like to pretend that “Initial D” was just one of my psychotic hallucinations XDDD “Secret” is a great movie though, the piano battle in it is legendary *———-*

♥ Love Before The Century [preview] [download]
spazzes: From his second album, Fantasy, probably my favorite album as a whole from him. And this is my favorite song off that album. I’ve read translations for this song and it’s sooooooo romantic sjkdfljds ♥. This was the first song I ever heard from this guy and it got me hooked 8D. I don’t understand Chinese, so it doesn’t bother me, but apparently he mumbles a lot in this song…? XDD. I think his voice is sexy, though. Oh I remember watching the music video for this and reading that he also writes and directs all his MVs ^^.
pinkandsparkly: First Jay Chou song I ever heard too (cos someone gave me his Fantasy CD, and this is the first track on it XD). Like Spazzes, his Fantasy album is probably my favourite Jay Chou album as a whole (his 4th album comes a very close second) and this song is probably one of my favourites from that album, so yes, DO TRY IT :DDD.

3. NICHOLAS TEO
♥ Tears From Polaris [preview] [download]
pinkandsparkly: This song is LOOOOOOOOVE <333333 SOOO GOOOOOOOOOOOOD. It’s pretty much a tub of strawberries dunked in chocolate, coated with caramel, topped with whipped cream, and then drizzled with hot fudge. That’s how good it is :P It’s a nice slow ballad, and imo, it suits his voice perfectly <3 This song was used as the ending song, in the TW drama “Smiling Pasta”. Oo, and I love the use of string instruments in this song, very nice :DDD.
spazzes: This guy has been recommended to me loads of time in the past, but I never bothered checking out his music until pinkandsparkly sent me some mp3s. And then it was instant love, lol. He’s got a really lovely voice and this is indeed a beautiful ballad. Do check this out; I’m sure you will want to try out more of his music after you hear this, rofl. I know I did!

♥ Prince [preview] [download]
pinkandsparkly: Title track of his latest album (”Prince”). Some of his fans have commented on how his latest album is very un-Nicholas; he normally sings “karaoke-ish” ballads, but in this song, he tried rap for the first time! Personally, I really like this song, and I’m glad he decided to try something new :DD
spazzes: Awesome song *____*. I haven’t heard enough from this artist to really know what his musical style is, but I do like this song a lot and I hope he continues in this direction. I love that ballad posted above, but … it’s always awesome when artists try something new. And there’s something very appealing about his voice in this song ♥.

4. ANSON HU
♥ Waiting For You [preview] [download]
pinkandsparkly: I had no idea who he was until Nanshi introduced me to his music. If you’ve watched the episode of “Happy Dictionary” with Hangeng, you might be able to recall that there was another guy on the show, someone with an INCREDIBLE voice. Anson writes all his own material, and has a GREAT voice. His songs have the “traditional Chinese” feel that’s similar to some of Jay Chou and Leehom’s stuff. His voice is very manly, and not nasally at all :DDD There’s some Engrish in this song though, see if you can spot it :P (if you can hear “Cinderella“, then I’ll give you a medal)
spazzes: I also had no idea who this guy was until pinkandsparkly brought him up, lol. I’m such a Chinese music noob, I admit XDD. But anyway, this is a very pretty ballad and he’s got a wonderfully deep and emotive voice. I also just watched the music video and even though Anson is not it, it’s really sad and worth a watch. And hello, you can’t go wrong with Mike He 8D.

5. KHALIL FONG;
♥ Goodbye Melody Rose [download]
spazzes: Khalil Fong! He’s a R&B/soul singer and songwriter from Hong Kong who debuted in 2005. I’ll be honest and say that the current HK music industry is sketchy (too many artists with pretty faces and not-so-pretty voices), but this guy is really good. He sings in Mandarin mostly. He’s got an amazing and soulful voice; his music, admittedly, is not for everyone, but those who love soul will really love this guy. He’s very talented. Try him out! Goodbye Melody Rose is one of my favorite songs from him.
pinkandsparkly: I had no idea who he was until Spazzes sent me some of his songs, lol XD I expected his voice to be really smooth (and maybe a little nasally) when Spazzes told me that he sings R&B (I’m not sure why I thought that, lol), but it’s NOT, yes, it’s smooth, and nice *—*, but it’s not the over-bearing smooth that you find with some other R&B artists. This song has a nice laid-back feel, you’d really like it if you’re into R&B. I’m glad Spazzes introduced me to him :DDDD

♥ Southern Sound [preview] [download]
spazzes: Gorgeous song, with beautiful uses of piano and traditional instruments in the background. The use of traditional instruments in his music in general is one thing I really like about this guy. THAT AND HE WRITES ALL HIS OWN MUSIC AND ALL HIS OWN LYRICS. That really is for the win.
pinkandsparkly: BEAUTIFUL piano music in the background, I really want to hunt down the score XDD I absolutely adore people who compose their own songs, it really is FTW. It’s quite common with western bands, but not-so-common with asian artists :(, so when you find someone who writes their own music, and has a nice voice, it really give you a great reason to SPAZZ about said artist XDDD

6. MAYDAY
♥ Perfume [preview] [download]
spazzes: Mayday is one of the biggest rock bands in Taiwan and one of my favorite groups of all time. I LOVE THEM SJKFLJDKLFS. Don’t expect any guitar smashing or any of that from them, though; they project a very squeaky clean image and their songs are about stuff like innocence, loneliness, determination. The band writes all their music themselves. And the lead singer, Ashin, writes almost all of the lyrics; I’ve read translations of their lyrics and their songs are always so poetic ^___^. Perfume was my favorite song off their 6th studio album; freaking fantastic song.
pinkandsparkly: If you’re into Chinese music, then you MUST have heard of Mayday, they’re way too popular for you to not have heard of them :P Something that many people don’t know about me, is that I really like rock music (I die for boys who play their own instruments *———*) And the good thing about Mayday’s songs, is that, while they’re a rock band, their lyrics are actually quite…intelligent, unlike many other rock bands, who just sing about “getting smashed” =.=;;;. Ashin is a great writer, he’s written lyrics for Leehom, and @#$%#$^! they’re fantastic *———-*

♥ Peter and Mary [preview] [download]
spazzes: This was the song that made them famous. It’s sung in Hokkien and it’s such a gorgeous song, my gosh. From their debut album, which has to be one of the best debut albums ever, in any language. Also! Mayday is one of those groups that are really, really good in live performances. I’ve listened to their live CDs and I actually prefer some of their live songs to the studio-recorded ones and that’s rare for me. Try them out!
pinkandsparkly: Lol, I remember when this song was played on every single TW variety show XD I think I’ve heard this played on tv. at least 23 times. I had never owned the mp3 until Spazzes sent it to me, though. Idk, I used to be reluctant to listen to their stuff, cos they sing lots of their songs in Hokkien, which I can’t understand (this was before my Korean boyband obsession ok XD) But I’m so glad I have the mp3 of this now, like Spazzes said, it’s a very beautiful song, and I really really really like the guitar solo in it *————-*

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If you read through all of that, you’re amazing :). Hope you find something you like!  I look forward to reading some feedback~!