But enough of the boring details of my life.......Let's start a summer international tour, in honor of the international cooperation surrounding the Olympics. In this case, surrounding the Beijing Olympics.
And let's start with Hong Kong!
And Alex Fong ...
No headbanging this time, just some easy listening pop. The singer? Probably unknown outside of Hong Kong, maybe known in Asia, but likely not much beyond that area. Alex Fong, aka Siu Fong, aka "Little Flying Fish". He's a pop singer, a Hong Kong swimming medalist, an actor and pretty darn cute to look at, too!As a singer, he has a nice voice, well suited to easy pop tunes as well as romantic ballads.
Do I need to know Chinese to appreciate him or his voice? Of course not, I'm always listening to more than lyrics. I listen to voice quality, which is good here, delivery and emotional impact, which is GREAT here, musicality, instrumentation and in general, how it's all put together. He is signed by a major label, so as expected, the quality is good, and the band members are first rate professionals, as is the producer.
Even given those advantages, Mr. Fong doesn't just rest on the hard work of others to make him look good. He delivers a quality song with emotional impact--and that is why I'm reviewing him today.
So if you're curious to see how pop is done in China, and done well, take a listen and look at Alex Fong.
His myspace page is
http://www.myspace.com/alexfongls
Cute Pop guys aren't your thing? Well, what about cute Pop girls?
Stephy Tang
Stephy Tang, aka Tang Lai Yun, could easily fit into the cutie-girl JPOP group, except that she is Chinese.
This "model turned singer" is unsigned but has obviously got what it takes to make it big--and I mean successful beyond her obvious visual appeal!
This girl has a lovely voice and better yet, delivers songs with emotion and impact. I like that. It tells me that the singer really feels the music and the intent of the song (and the songwriter.)
It's hard to tell her range (as difficult as it was with Alex Fong), but despite that, it's obvious that she's had some good people helping her refine her voice, her presentation and her delivery--making sure that she doesn't overextend herself AND doing that without deadening the impact of her emotive delivery.
Stephy, unsigned, has just as many MySpace hits as Alex Fong, who is signed, so once again, MySpace proves that it can be a great equalizer.
It's up to viewers (listeners) to decide if they like what the singer has to offer.
In my case, I liked both--very much--in spite of the harsh start to some of the songs.
Check them out for yourself, compare them (minus the language issues) to other singers you like, and see what you think.
Stephy's myspace page is at
http://www.myspace.com/stephytg
And if you like them, let them know!
Never mind if you don't speak Mandarin or Cantonese or English or even Martian, for that matter! Just letting a singer or band know that you like their work is an encouragement that they need.
It's the kind of acknowledgment that we all need, no matter who and no matter what we do. So why not drop a line of encouragement if you like them?
Don't just lurk -- reach out and connect!
Cheers!
CG Anderson
