In my review of this album, I will only be focusing on these three newcomers because they stir my greatest interest as they are not only Singaporeans, they are also attempting to make some breakthrough in the industry I am most concerned with on this blog - music and entertainment.
I did a research on the Internet and found that the three of them have some sort of an artiste profile on Sifon Music website so I decided to put the profiles here as well. Let's take a look at their backgrounds before we hear how they sound like on the album.
姓 名 ：黄 业 翔 ，Alfred
生 日 ：4 月 2 日
星 座 ：白 羊 座
血 型 ： O 型
身 高 ：177 cm
体 重 ： 68 kg
兴 趣 ： 歌 唱 ，跳 舞 ，打 球 ，健 身
语 言 ： 英 语 ， 华 语
个 人 荣 誉 ：
2001－2004 曾夺下多项青少年国际公开赛拉丁舞冠军
2005 新 秀 卡 拉 OK 歌 唱 大 赛 冠 军
2005 第 七 届 木 船 民 谣 歌 厅 歌 唱 大 赛 亚 军
2005 新 传 媒 Superband 亚 军
2008 全 国 超 级 K 歌 大 赛 冠 军
2008 云 顶 Be A Star歌唱大赛季军，最佳舞台魅力奖
2008 第四届香港亚太区，新马印泰汶中港澳大决赛季军
2009 十方唱将国际流行音乐大赛冠军
最佳人气奖
喜 欢 的 颜 色 ： 白 ， 红
最 喜 欢 的 食 物 ： 妈 妈 煮 的 食 物
最 喜 欢 的 水 果 ： 苹 果
最 喜 欢 的 歌 手 ： Rain
欣 赏 的 艺 人 ： 李 连 杰
最 喜 欢 的 动 物 ：狗 ， 龙 猫
最 喜 欢 的 电 影 ： 好 电 影 就 喜 欢
最 想 表 演 的 地 方 ： 北 京 鸟 巢
My comments: This guy likes to exercise, which is a good thing, since he seems to be portrayed as a dancer for most of his music and entertainment gigs and exposures. He has consistently done well in various competitions since 2001 until 2009, snagging either the champion, 1st runner up or 2nd runner up positions. This is a major plus to his future exploits as he seems constantly in practice and in form for singing and dancing. There is ambition in him as well because he actually wanted to perform at the Beijing "Bird Nest" Stadium. Accordingly to what I know of that place, only the best and most influential will get invited to perform at that venue.
What 黄业翔 sang on the album - Song Number 1: 《这一切都会过去》
How I felt after listening to the song:
It uses a range of themes very similar to those from the Chinese Rock and Roll 中国摇滚, which speaks of love and separation, growth and maturity, transcendence of time and even contains a satirical jab at the income inequality of the modern society. The chorus of the song repeats itself with its title 这一切都会过去 as if to try and quantify that nothing is permanent in the midst of all these temporal ideas of love and wealth. 黄业翔 is able to deliver this song with confidence in the KTV music video, with his slick dance moves and a small group of backup dancers.
I really think this song is meant for the listeners in mainland China because it does not seem to sit well with Singaporeans who are more influenced by Taiwanese mandarin pop music. There is a certain level of maturity in the song, which may be harder to grasp for the younger listeners if they do not understand the meaning behind the lyrics. Initially, I thought 黄业翔 is not exactly the best choice for such a song but on hindsight, I believe the album producer picked him for his ability to deliver the song in a rock and roll format which should have certain resonance in mainland China. This will be a very interesting attempt for a Singaporean to deliver 中国风 and it remains to be seen until the album is released in China itself. I wouldn't be surprised to see this song grow in popularity in those pubs and cafes with rock bands.
姓名：叶慧馨
国籍：新加坡
生日：9月23日
星座：天秤座
血型：AB型
身高：161cm
体重：44Kg
兴趣：演戏、唱歌、跳舞、平面设计、摄影、绘画、到世界各地旅游
专长：演戏、唱歌、舞蹈
语言：英语、华语
表演经验：
1997-2001 模特儿走秀及担任杂志模特儿
2001 儿童电视剧 《IQ档案》
2002-2004 儿童资讯节目 《IN 一代》
2002 电视连续剧《小孩不笨》
2002电视 广告 肯德基家乡鸡
2004 儿童电视剧 《爸爸向前冲》
2004 电视剧 《我爱我家真情实录 之 不带伞的男人》
2004 电视连续剧 《甜蜜风暴》（月亮的秘密）
2004 电视广告 家具站
1996-2009 ：
多次代表文工团登台作个人演唱
多次代表学校舞蹈、歌唱演出
校内个人及团体歌舞、戏剧表演
参与多项慈善演出，为慈光常年活动主持及表演
个人荣誉：
1996-2009：校内、外个人歌唱及舞蹈比赛荣获冠、亚、季军极优异奖多次
2006 选美比赛 Universal Royalty Pageant 总冠军
其他资料：
喜欢的颜色：浅绿、浅蓝、粉红
最喜欢的食物：寿司、海鲜、巧克力
最喜欢的水果：苹果、番茄
最喜欢的歌手：Kelly Clarkson、萧亚轩、소녀시대、Super Junior
欣赏的艺人：尹恩惠
最喜欢的动物：小狗、小猫
最喜欢的电影：A Walk To Remember、Lord of the Rings
My comments: This girl definitely has that star appeal appearance - bright-eyed, good complexion and a good smile to boot. If the profile is accurate as it says, she is one talented girl who can act, sing, dance, design, flim and draw. From what I could recollect, only a very small handful of artistes come close to such an impressive repertoire of skills. Her music and entertainment career started at 1996 and she seems to participating in modeling, acting, advertisements, beauty pageants, singing and dancing competitions. Her interests seem to be those of a neighborly girl-next-door but her vast experience speaks otherwise. I believe she is another interesting new artiste to watch out for in the coming years.What 叶慧馨 sang on the album - Song Number 4: 《将你的心装上翅膀》
How I felt after listening to the song:
I tried searching for the title of the song on the Google Search Engine and I realized the title of this song is a very popular phrase on the mainland Chinese websites. Needless to say, this is another song deliberated for the audience of mainland China. The song, however, sounded more light-hearted as it sings of freedom and of being oneself, which more or less speak for the song title. There are plenty of references to nature - blue skies, white clouds, green forests, which is easily recognized as common motifs used for simple country-styled songs. It provides a good contrast to the earlier songs which sounded heavier and it's a refreshing break from most of the love ballads that are floating on the market right now.
叶慧馨 seems the ideal choice for this song because of her girl-next-door look and although the music video looked a little bit awkward at certain shots due to the overly-lush background greener against a smaller-framed singer, its simplicity was a clever stroke when laid alongside with this song.
Initially, I thought the song was suitable for only country music lovers but I thought the song can go far enough to reach be a nice complement for products and services based on natural themes and even be a song attached to those idol dramas because of its light tunes and catchy phrases. Also, I can imagine quite a number of female singers in the market who can sing this song too since it's technically not that difficult so it remains a question on whether this female newcomer can stamp her own unique style to make the song truly hers to own.
姓名：黄秀莹
国籍：新加坡
生日：12月17日
星座：射手座
血型：B+ 型
身高：167cm
兴趣：唱歌，跳舞，逛街，听音乐
专长：唱歌，主持
语言：英语，华文，广东
表演经验：
• 2004-2007 校内表演，主持和各场比赛参与
• 2008 Teenage Icon 歌唱比赛参与
个人荣誉：
• 2004-2007 校内，个人歌唱比赛， 亚
学校代表，团体歌唱比赛， 亚
其他资料：
喜欢的颜色：粉红，黑，白
最喜欢的食物：炒年糕，拉面，鸡饭
最喜欢的水果：西瓜，哈密瓜
最喜欢的歌手：张栋樑，林忆莲，Ayumi Hamasaki
欣赏的艺人：蔡依林，张惠妹
最喜欢的动物：猪，狗
最喜欢的电影：空恋，The Pursuit Of Happiness，Transformers
My comments: This girl seems to have least experience amongst the three newcomers with interests comparable to most girls and having her first foray into music and entertainment from 2004 with her most prominent competition participation in Teenage Icon 2008. The picture profile looks a little mundane and I really thought there is still room for improvement on how she could have been photographed. The content profile also does not give that much details as I would like to know more about other things like either her aspirations or her special talents in any area.
What 黄秀莹 sang in the album - Song Number 2: 《爱你上了瘾》
How I felt after listening to the song:
This is a soft rock song which played emphasized on the singer's ability to reach the high notes in a good projection of her voice. There is quite a few references to liquor as if the song is trying to say that falling in love is as good as being addicted to liquor. I think this song is meant for a market of adult listeners and I can imagine this song to be played at many KTV lounges either as a live band song or as the background song for such places or even as an advertisement jingle for liquor beverages because of the sleazy tune behind the song, coupled by the suggestive lyrics.
黄秀莹 has a very suitable voice for such genres of songs because I thought she could really dip into the emotions behind those themes with her singing and I cannot think of how the other two young newcomers can manage such a song with an equally convincing performance on the music video.
The song has a tinge of Moulin Rouge in it, and yet carefully balances the sense of sensuality without tipping over. It takes a while to get used to such songs but just like the previous two songs, it can grow on you if you allow your mind to be opened up on difference genres of singing the same themed songs on social happiness, freedom and nature and love and intoxication.
Overview of these three songs:
As the album is marketed as a compilation, with majority of the songs being oldies or written in ways that are not easily understood by generations born after 1980s, there is a slight danger that these three songs may ended up being drowned out by those more contemporary pop songs heavily marketed by the larger music companies. Personally, I thought these songs are pretty suitable for each of these young singers and depending on the efforts of their music production companies, they still stand a chance in getting the word out that they are the new kids on the block.
For these three songs in total, I would rate a 6.5 out of 10. They did not really strike resoundingly on originality or creativity in song composition or lyrics usage but they are durable on my ears, which means I won't get sick of listening to them as quickly as some of the other heavily-commercialized songs on the market.
End of review. ^__^
My comments: This girl seems to have least experience amongst the three newcomers with interests comparable to most girls and having her first foray into music and entertainment from 2004 with her most prominent competition participation in Teenage Icon 2008. The picture profile looks a little mundane and I really thought there is still room for improvement on how she could have been photographed. The content profile also does not give that much details as I would like to know more about other things like either her aspirations or her special talents in any area.
What 黄秀莹 sang in the album - Song Number 2: 《爱你上了瘾》
How I felt after listening to the song:
This is a soft rock song which played emphasized on the singer's ability to reach the high notes in a good projection of her voice. There is quite a few references to liquor as if the song is trying to say that falling in love is as good as being addicted to liquor. I think this song is meant for a market of adult listeners and I can imagine this song to be played at many KTV lounges either as a live band song or as the background song for such places or even as an advertisement jingle for liquor beverages because of the sleazy tune behind the song, coupled by the suggestive lyrics.
黄秀莹 has a very suitable voice for such genres of songs because I thought she could really dip into the emotions behind those themes with her singing and I cannot think of how the other two young newcomers can manage such a song with an equally convincing performance on the music video.
The song has a tinge of Moulin Rouge in it, and yet carefully balances the sense of sensuality without tipping over. It takes a while to get used to such songs but just like the previous two songs, it can grow on you if you allow your mind to be opened up on difference genres of singing the same themed songs on social happiness, freedom and nature and love and intoxication.
Overview of these three songs:
As the album is marketed as a compilation, with majority of the songs being oldies or written in ways that are not easily understood by generations born after 1980s, there is a slight danger that these three songs may ended up being drowned out by those more contemporary pop songs heavily marketed by the larger music companies. Personally, I thought these songs are pretty suitable for each of these young singers and depending on the efforts of their music production companies, they still stand a chance in getting the word out that they are the new kids on the block.
For these three songs in total, I would rate a 6.5 out of 10. They did not really strike resoundingly on originality or creativity in song composition or lyrics usage but they are durable on my ears, which means I won't get sick of listening to them as quickly as some of the other heavily-commercialized songs on the market.
End of review. ^__^
