我的 星光

a Life, Curious music exclusive:
For those in love with Mandarin Music...

I've come to be hooked onto 超级星光大道 - Taiwan's answer to American Idol - and hosted by the super-competent Mathilda Tao (陶晶莹 - or affectionately known as 陶子姐 in the industry). The contestant's love for music is inspiring, and the performances that they deliver are really worth-watching.


So here's my tribute to the greatness of a successful music competition which celebrates the greatness of Mandarin Music...
~

[ 我的 星光 ]
Chapter 1: Yoga 林宥嘉
I don't know how on earth did I get to know about him, since I didn't catch 星光 until the third (and current) season (fyi, he's the champion of season 1). But all I know is that I saw a video of him on YouTube and was immediately taken in by his voice and talent.

This is a video of him performing 陶子姐's song - 那些日子. The judges (and obviously the host herself) was surprised that he chose to sing this, as it was a difficult song choice with a 6/8 time signature. To make things worse, this song was written by 袁惟仁, one of the panel's judges! However, he lived up to expectations and delivered a highly-graded performance:



And this is the original 陶晶莹's video of 那些日子. It's old but still, sweet and nice =)



Next up is undeniably one the best 'live' recording of one the best Mandarin ballad in history. 林宥嘉 was brave enough to pick this song that was originally sung by a blind guy (蕭煌奇). It's called 你是我的眼.

His heartfelt performance earned him the highest score of 星光 at that time: a full-mark of 25/25.



And this is the original song - 蕭煌奇's 你是我的眼. It really is a classic. And considering that he's really blind, read the lyrics and you'll feel how touching the song is:


如果我能看得见
就能轻易的分辨白天黑夜
就能准确的在人群中牵住你的手

如果我能看得见
就能驾车带你到处遨游
就能惊喜的从背后给你一个拥抱

如果我能看得见
生命也许完全不同
可能我想要的我喜欢的我爱的都不一样

眼前的黑不是黑 你说的白是什么白
人们说的天空蓝
是我记忆中那团白云背后的蓝天

我望向你的脸 却只能看见一片虚无
是不是上帝在我眼前遮住了帘
忘了掀开

你是我的眼 带我领略四季的变换
你是我的眼 带我穿越拥挤的人潮
你是我的眼 带我阅读浩瀚的书海
因为你是我的眼
让我看见这世界就在我眼前

And yup, this fantastic talent has released his much-awaited and critically-acclaimed first album: 神秘嘉宾.

I have yet to buy the album, though. I'm waiting patiently for a limited-edition or something like that. But if it doesn't come out by the time my next pay comes (which is on the 10th), I don't care, I'm going to buy the current edition.
~

[ 我的 星光 ]
Chapter 2: 你们是我的星光

I didn't really pay attention to 星光二班, nor the winner. But there are two songs that caught my attention.

The first is the collaboration song: 你们是我的星光. Season 1, the males dominated. But in season 2, although it was a male champion, there were only two guys among a bevy of ladies:



And then there's this very nice performance by the very sweet 林宜融 which is called 同手同脚 (温岚's song).


~

[ 我的 星光 ]
Chapter 3: 星光三班了！

While Singapore's 绝对Superstar fizzled and died after a mere second season, 超级星光大道 is still drawing strong viewerships in Taiwan. It's ace production values and the host's professionalism were recently recognised: 陶晶莹 was awarded the prestigious 金钟奖 for Best Variety Host. No denying, this show is good.

And guess what?? There are actually TWO Singaporeans who made it into the Top10 and one of them is still in the competition as we speak!
黄靖伦 is still competing (and is immensely popular because of his awkwardness and unique voice) while Sugie 潘嗣敬 is known as 美猴王 because he likes to dance about on stage like a monkey. If you find him familiar - you're right - he's Sugianto from 绝对Superstar, where he was very short-lived.

This is a video to demonstrate why our very own 黄靖伦 is still in the competition. He did an informal duet of 爱如潮水 with 张信哲, whom his voice has been compared with.



Besides getting all excited about a Singaporean potentially winning the competition, there is this young lady in the Top5 who's also a force to be reckoned with. She is 徐佳莹 (aka 创作才女) and her song 身骑白马 is her own composition!


~

So there you go. Hope you enjoyed those pieces of music-to-the-ears.

I used to hate people who dismiss Mandarin Music as "conventional".. or "always the same".. or worse: "boring".. becaused I used to be one of them. I used to swear by Perfect10, 987FM and only listen to Y.E.S.933FM only when my father tunes in in the car.

But through friends' influence and probably a mature in musical tastes, I've come to embrace Mandarin Music not only because it represents part of my culture, but also because I like everything to do with music, basically =x
~

Whoa I can't believe I spent half my off-day on this post, but I'm proud of it =)

Today's Battalion off for SAF DAY, and I took the chance to recuperate and catch up on some rest after a hectic weekend. This weekend is going to be worse.. a lot worse.. so I better enjoy my time here.

Take care, peeps!