Afterthoughts of Campus Superstars 3 Pre-Concert Performances

Hahahaha..I was so bemused by the commentaries given by the CSS 3 judges on the emcees' performances. I was glad to see the emcees took the comical comments from the equally jovial and spontaneous judges in their stride and generated the humour for a good ending to the Pre-Concert.

To the emcees: Not easy eh? Trying to perform onstage is much harder than it seems. The general rule of thumb to note (beyond the harmonizing misses, offkey singing and messy stagework - hahahaha) is - the more people onstage, the more practice is needed. I am sure if the four of you throw in ten practices, the performance would have been delightful. Jia you! ^_^

Also, I have finally saw the first broadcasted performances of the top 12 Campus Superstars 3 contestants and I will compile a short summation of my afterthoughts about their general singing and performing abilities. The summation won't be accurate because parts of their performances are enhanced by the obviously more experienced CSS 1 and CSS 2 seniors. It was nice to see some of the seniors such as Yuyang, Geraldine, Benjamin making good improvements.

In order of appearance:

1) Mavis - good projection of singing and voice. I expect good things from her but I kept feeling that though your throat projection is full but you don't seem to open your mouth as big to accommodate that projection. I thought your projection can be steadier. Ask your competition music teacher, Peter Laoshi, if you think you noticed it too.

2) Jeremy - very smooth voice which is very different from your coarser appearance. Your singing seems alright but I did notice your falsetto started a bit jarringly. Maybe you are distracted by your singing partner?

3) Benita - your CSS senior was right to point out that you look fierce on the camera. The song you sang did allow for some facial expression and you don't really need to force the notes out. Let the singing flow out melodiously.

4) Jiamin - by far the steadiest performance so I concur with Sugi's comment. good harmonizing and calm composure. However, your special talent performance revealed a certain room for improvement - your note scaling tends to be weaker so you may want to improve on that.

5) Shelly - the major complaint would be your enunication - the "sh" and the "jing" sounds are a little off so it was harder to completely absorb in your performance.

6) Adrian - you look very manly onstage but you don't seem to use your eyes to electrify the stage - a pity. Take care of how you end and collect your notes back because you tend to leave your endnotes hanging more than necessary.

7) Ridhwan - you need to keep up with your efforts to understand what the songs mean because at the end of your singing, I could see you seem lost and just slurred through some of the lyrics. It may be fine during the earlier stages of the competition but you need to advance your knowledge on your songs to convince the listeners.

8) Joselin - very steady and impressive rock and roll performance with Geraldine. Both of you look confident and motivated so the performance was convincing and entertaining. However, the next question will be whether you can recreate yourself to be competent in softer and more controlled singing - for example like Olivia's Little Nonya's theme song?

9) Rachel Lim - let me guess - Benjamin helped you tremendously because you looked worried and sometimes lost onstage. I could see the hesitation when you tried to harmonize with him. Try to be calmer next time onstage.

10) Ai Jia - by far the best stage and presentation skills. You know exactly when to go where and when to pose which speaks volumes of your stage experience. However, it will come a time when judges will start questioning you on whether you can better yourself together with a coherent image of a Campus Superstar.

11) Rachael Chang - you benefitted from Yuyang's lead in the singing performance too because your stage momentum was way slower than his and thankfully he saw that and helped you along. You have a beautiful smile but try not to forget your stagework and take care enunciating the "sh" sound.

12) Jarod - I am most worried for you because although you have an adorable blank stare, a interesting sense of humour, and you seem to project your voice well enough, you lack the depth to maneuver complex songs like 《新不了情》 because if you have claimed you have been singing this song everyday, there was no feel in your rendition. You should seriously consult Peter Laoshi how to properly use your unbroken voice or risk permanent vocal damage like Shawn's.

I know some of my above comments may not sit well with some contestants or their ardent supporters but those were made from my perspective. I am not out to put down anyone of them. Good luck to all the top 12 contestants!

Campus Superstars 3 Round 1 - 代表自己的歌 Song Choices Part 4

CSS 3 contestant, Jarod, has chosen the following song for Round 1 on 12 Jan 2009 Monday.

And I feel like writing most of the analysis in Chinese so for those blog readers whose command of Chinese is weaker, please grab an online blog translator, dictionary or get a friend to help if you are interested in finishing the rest of the blog post. Allow me to indulge in my parallel language on my blog occasionally so that my Chinese will not become rusty.

歌名：I Believe 歌手：范逸臣

这首歌是让范逸臣成功闯入歌坛的歌曲，所以凡是是逸臣的歌迷都会很熟悉此歌的起伏要点。这首歌也同时是《我的野蛮女友》的中文主题曲，所以听者更是广泛。要驾驭此歌就必须注意原唱者是用轻柔的音色来驱动歌中的感动。

“I Believe” 要唱得虔诚，才能带出那份对似有若无的爱情的执著。歌中那想念女友的浪漫画面要想办法用歌声的期待呈现出来。别忘了歌曲中有某些部份还带着稍许的失若无助，这样，歌曲的美感才能幽美并让听众投入。

(1st verse)
I Believe　当我在你家门口　
下雨了　你看了也会难过
I Believe　你不说话的时候　
也是一种　其实你在回应我

(2nd verse)
虽然不曾说　相信你正在懂　
就算牵的不是我的手　我不真的难过

(1st chorus)
不知道在高兴什么　你的笑容　
有时候也宁可当作你在为我加油
不知道在妄想什么　只告诉自己　I Believe
你总会看到我　
在某个时候　想让你陪伴的是我

(3rd verse)
I Believe　没有回应的时候　
只不过　正好你在电话中
I Believe　语音信箱的沉默　
也是一种　其实你在倾听我

(repeated 2nd verse)
虽然不曾说　相信你正在懂　
就算牵的不是我的手　我真的不难过

(2nd chorus)
不知道在高兴什么　你的笑容　
有时候也宁可当作你在为我加油
不知道在妄想什么　只告诉自己　I Believe
你总会看到我　
在一切之后　留在你身边的是我

(bridge)
那延续太久的一时冲动　
在你身后的独角戏　聚光灯没亮过 怀疑　
是自己编造的内容　你从不真的认得我

(final chorus)
不知道在高兴什么　你的笑容　
有时候也宁可当作你在为我加油
不知道在妄想什么　只告诉自己　I Believe
一定会有结果　
在很久以后　留在你身边的是我　

会陪着你的人是我

CSS 3 contestant, Shelly, has chosen the following song for her Round 1 competition on 12 Jan 2009 Monday.

歌名：一个人的精彩 歌手：萧亚轩

要把Elva的精典代表作唱好，要把音色的调色板上放入倔强不屈的格性，加上无怨无悔的自由，才能唱出歌曲的动感和神髓。必经是以舞曲为根基，所以要能唱到听众都跟着摆动，就已经带动了一半的气氛。

我看过蛮多人表演此歌曲，可是要边跳边唱边带动气氛，并不容易。稍微排练不顺畅不熟略，很多歌唱者就上气不接下气，豪迈不起来了。所以若没有足够的练习，就没有这架势，气势来呈现这首歌了。

(1st verse)
那天醒来 忽然想开
不愿再做等待的女孩
拿掉戒指 扎起马尾
开始不再想你姿态

接受无奈承认失败
她才是你的爱
寂寞伴随自由色彩
迎面来

(1st chorus)
头发甩甩大步的走开
不怜悯心底小小悲哀
挥手bye-bye 祝你们愉快
我会 一个人活得精彩

(3rd verse)
也许明天我会选择
自己旅行不轻易恋爱
也许明天我会遇见
比你更适合的男孩

(4th verse)
接受爱情自有安排
谁才是我的爱
找个人活得精彩

(2nd chorus)
头发甩甩大步的走开
不怜悯心底小小悲哀
挥手bye-bye 祝你们愉快
我会 一个人活得精彩

(music interlude)

(3rd chorus)
头发甩甩大步的走开
不怜悯心底小小悲哀
挥手bye-bye 祝你们愉快
我会 一个人活得精彩

(final chorus)
头发甩甩大步的走开
不怜悯心底小小悲哀
挥手bye-bye 祝你们愉快
我会 找个人活得精彩

Campus Superstars 3 Round 1 - 代表自己的歌 Song Choices Part 3

CSS 3 contestant, Jiamin, has chosen the following song for her Round 1 competition on 19 Jan 2009 Monday.

歌名：灰姑娘 歌手：张惠妹

This is a highly popular song in its time and one of the signature ballads of the singer. The female champion of Campus Superstar Season 1 also made her stage debut with a solid rendition of this song so there is probably quite some expectation if this song is fielded again onstage.

The challenges of this song will be for the singer to be able to progress through the various stages of emotions portrayed by the song persona, which are separated by the verses (I put in really simple nouns to sum up each verse's state of feelings). The song carries through smoothly because it is supposed to be something like a fairy-tale so any alteration to the song will sound jarring and out-of-place.

There is also a couple of portions within each chorus which has a very low note transition, which may surprise the unprepared singer. The song has also a few high notes which are to be used as points of highlights but I won't mark these out here (reserve some of the challenges for the contestant to discover for herself).

(I received sms comments from some of my friends asking me why I have provided rather simple analysis of the songs on my blog. My answer was because I wanted to keep things as comprehensible as possible. If I dive into the technicalities too much, the posts will bore the readers to tears. Hahaha.)

(1st verse - shyness)
听见别人提起你的名字
我就会脸红
一张有你合照的照片
看来看去都不厌倦

(2nd verse - remembrance)
坐在寂寞了很久的窗前
不停地想念
从没有对谁的支字片语
可以读了好几百遍

(3rd verse - anticipation)
像童话中的世界
如今出现在真实人生的眼前
再苦闷的时刻也有彩虹
哪怕只是轻靠你的肩

(4th verse - discovery)
像传说中的爱情
如今出现在真实人生的眼前
当你拥抱着我轻轻地对我说
你会爱我到永远

(1st chorus - determination)
我就像cinderella
等到了寻找我的他
爱情的的过程 总会有泪有挣扎
有你的温柔 我就什么都的不怕

我就像cinderella
等到了寻找我的他
等待你是我付出最甜蜜的代价
快乐的cinderella
真爱得到了 回答

(repeated 3rd verse - anticipation)
像童话中的世界
如今出现在真实人生的眼前
再苦闷的时刻也有彩虹
哪怕只是轻靠你的肩

(repeated 4th verse - discovery)
像传说中的爱情
如今出现在真实人生的眼前
当你拥抱着我轻轻地对我说
你会爱我到永远

(2st chorus - determination)
我就像cinderella
等到了寻找我的他
爱情的的过程 总会有泪有挣扎
有你的温柔 我就什么都不怕

我就像cinderella
等到了寻找我的他
等待你是我付出最甜蜜的代价
快乐的cinderella
真爱得到 回答 (end-note management)

(final chorus - realization)
Ah~~~cinderella
等到了寻找我的他
等待你是我付出最甜蜜的代价
快乐的cinderella
真爱得到 回答 (fade)

CSS 3 contestant, Adrian, has chosen the following song 《不完美》 for his Round 1 competition on 12 Jan 2009 Monday. Unfortunately, the information given on his fanblog is also 不完美 (pun jokingly intended) because it did not include the corresponding singer for the song.

According to what I know, there are three versions of the song of the same title sung by three different singers so I will have to wait until a further update before I can do any analysis of Adrian's song.

*Waiting*

歌名：不完美

Campus Superstars 3 Round 1 - 代表自己的歌 Song Choices Part 2 Updated

Updated Portion:

CSS 3 contestant Rachael Chang has chosen the following song for her Round 1.

歌名：勇气 歌手：梁静茹

This is a classic ballad, Fish Leong's style which also happens to be the first major song that made Fish Leong known in the Mandarin contemporary pop music scene. The song's obvious challenges will probably be the stringing of the lyrics right at the start of the verse portion as well as the note stresses at the bridge portion. Another point of note would be the careful light fade off at the 3rd chorus. Otherwise, those familiar with Fish's songs should be able to tackle this song without exceptional difficulty.

On a personal note, when I observed contestants from other singing competitions, the major and recurring complaint from those competition judges were that the contestants sounded too similar to the original singer. I think if one is to make this song uniquely his/hers, one may have to work on portraying the feelings of the song in one's own way rather than Fish's and maybe alter the subtler techniques of handing certain notes. This is because any more obvious amendments on the tune or lyrics of this simple ballad may ruin the innocuous nature of the song.

(stringing of lyrics)
终于作了这个决定 别人怎么说我不理 只要你也一样的肯定
我愿意天涯海角都随你去
我知道一切不容易
我的心一直温习说服自己
最怕你忽然说要放弃

(1st chorus)
爱真的需要勇气
来面对流言蜚语
只要你一个眼神肯定
我的爱就有意义
我们都需要勇气
去相信会在一起
人潮拥挤我能感觉你
放在我手心里 你的真心

(stringing of lyrics)
终于作了这个决定 别人怎么说我不理 只要你也一样的肯定
我愿意天涯海角都随你去
我知道一切不容易
我的心一直温习说服自己
最怕你忽然说要放弃

(2nd chorus)
爱真的需要勇气
来面对流言蜚语
只要你一个眼神肯定
我的爱就有意义
我们都需要勇气
去相信会在一起
人潮拥挤我能感觉你
放在我手心里 你的真心

(bridge)
如果我的坚强任性
(note stresses)
会不小心伤害了你
你能不能温柔提醒
(note stresses)
我虽然心太急
更害怕错过你

(3rd chorus)
爱真的需要勇气
来面对流言蜚语
只要你一个眼神肯定
我的爱就有意义
我们都需要勇气
去相信会在一起
人潮拥挤我能感觉你
放在我手心里 (light fade off) 你的真心

CSS 3 contestant Joselin has decided to change her song choice to the following song instead and thus far still no updates from the rest of the CSS 3 contestants so this post will only have one song analysis.

歌名：那又如何 歌手：林晓培

林晓培, also known as Shino, is one of the few female singers who have deep powerful voices suitable rock and roll. I personally thought this song would fall under the category of soft rock and if a singer has the vocal range of Shino, this should be quite an easy song to nail with the main climax at the chorus so there are very few technicalities to discuss here.

The advantage is that this song is vocally and technically safe - the disadvantage is that this song may be limited to display the range of abilities a singer may potentially have. I suppose if a singer wants to shine in this song, he/she may have to work on polishing the song's less bland edges to make it uniquely his/hers.

(starts easy and light)
我無法呼吸 我忘了自己
像是沒有靈魂的軀體
我開始懷疑 勉強去愛你
終於讓自己墜落谷底

(buildup begins)
出了什麼錯 愛讓人憂愁
誰能回答到底值得不值得
出了什麼錯 愛變得沉默
再多理由說了又能怎麼做

(chorus)
輸的是我那又如何 唱傷心的歌
不怕誰會看出我的脆弱
傷的是我那又如何 痛不必多說
我不想躲 我還有選擇

(repeated verses)
我無法呼吸 我忘了自己
像是沒有靈魂的軀體
我開始懷疑 勉強去愛你
終於讓自己墜落谷底

(buildup begins)
出了什麼錯 愛讓人憂愁
誰能回答到底值得不值得
出了什麼錯 愛變得沉默
再多理由說了又能怎麼做

(2nd chorus)
輸的是我那又如何 唱傷心的歌
不怕誰會看出我的脆弱
傷的是我那又如何 痛不必多說
我不想躲 我還有選擇

(final chorus)
輸的是我那又如何 唱傷心的歌
不怕誰會看出我的脆弱
傷的是我那又如何 痛不必多說
我不想躲 我還有選擇

Campus Superstars 3 Round 1 - 代表自己的歌 Song Choices

I have been browsing through the CSS 3 Top 12 contestants' blogs, fanblogs and found that two of the contestants have already chosen and published their choices for the first round of the competition. According to Mavis' blogsite, the groups and their song choices are as follows:
Group 1 (12 Jan 2009 Mon)

1. Adrain - not known
2. Jarod - not known
3. Rachel Chua - not known
4. Shelly - not known
5. Rachel Lim - not known
6. Joselin - 口是心飞 （张雨生）

Group 2 (19 Jan 2009 Mon)

1. Mavis - 我要快乐 （张惠妹）
2. Jeremy - not known
3. Jiamin - not known
4. Ridhwan - not known
5. Benita - not known
6. Rachael Chang - not known

This means that I would need help from either the contestants themselves, the various fanclubs or their respective supporters to help me fill in the gaps above. Since the theme is about the song which represents the contestants themselves the best, it would have to be a defining song which people can remember them by.

Since Joselin and Mavis had already chosen their songs, I would contribute by showing them and all singing enthusiasts what I personally thought will be the difficult portions within these two songs that one should pay extra attention to. Remember, I would analyze the songs according to the original renditions so if the contestants choose to modify their songs, the analysis will only be only partially useful. The remaining ten CSS 3 contestants, fanclubs and their supporters can also send in their song choices and I will see what I can do to analyze those songs too.

I am trying to stay as neutral as possible so this will not mean that I am siding with Joselin and Mavis - their song choices were up first. All the twelve contestants and any singing enthusiasts are completely free to seek whatever genuine help they need and I will do my best to address their concerns about songs, singing and performances.

歌名：我要快乐？ 歌手：张惠妹

This is not an easy song because it's a mellow song about reflections of love so to sing it realistically, one would have to know what the lyrics mean and what the songwriter is trying to say about the song persona's state of mind, attitude towards love and self and finally the persona's statement about the experience of love. Most beginners for this song may end up wallowing too deep but the song actually has some emotional uplifts so it's not a one-way dead-pan route.

If one listens closely, one of the highlights of the song is the stringing of lyrics which will be a challenge because one would have to sing clearly without missing the lyrics or the beat and then quickly enter another buildup before fading off. Without sufficient practice, most beginners would be out of breath to even catch the second buildup in the chorus.

Also note the tempo for the two verses and three choruses are actually different so one must learn to have some variation to prevent the song from sounding repetitive. Good luck to Mavis in her rendition of this song!

(slow and mellow)
又被爱伤了一遍
无所谓当作成长
刚刚走开的人
烟还点着味道却淡了
(buildup begins)
我并不是天生爱寂寞
却比任何人都多
就算把世界给我
我还是一无所有
(chorus)
我要快乐我要能睡的安稳
(prepare the stringing of the lyrics)
有些人不抱了才温暖
离开了才不恨我早应该割舍
我要快乐哪怕笑的再大声
(buildup begins)
心不是热的全都是假的
只有眼泪是真的 (fades)

(slightly faster and less mellow)
把从前想了一遍
谢谢了伤我的人
想做乐观的人
每种雨声听了都不冷
(buildup begins)
我并不是天生爱寂寞
却比任何人都多
就算把世界给我
我还是一无所有
(chorus)
我要快乐我要能睡的安稳
(prepare for stringing of lyrics)
有些人不抱了才温暖
离开了才不恨我早应该割舍
我要快乐哪怕笑的再大声
(buildup begins)
心不是热的全都是假的
只有眼泪是真的(fades)

(slower chorus)
我要快乐我要能睡的安稳
(prepare for stringing of lyrics) 有些人不抱了才温暖
离开了才不恨我早应该割舍
我要快乐哪怕笑的再大声
(slightly slower buildup begins)
心不是热的全都是假的 我的决定是对的 (fades)

歌名：口是心非 歌手：张雨生

This is an even more difficult song (at least in the original rendition) because there are these strings of images to be painted across by the singer and if one notices carefully, all the lines in the verses were sung in one breath and sometimes one quick breath in between, which means it runs into serious danger of not being able to catch one breath or take care of the lyrics as it should be. The notes in the verses are also very low which makes it difficult for the lyrics to be clearly enunciated.

For those who don't know who this singer was - he was the mentor-cum-songwriter for 张惠妹 before he died from serious injuries after a drunk-driving car accident. The chorus portions are also dense with complex images about the viccisitudes of life and love. The vocal challenge of the chorus portions lie in the note variation which are packed in a way that each lyric word may be of a different note - something like Lee Hom's Kiss Goodbye so the careful management of hitting the notes at the right moment will be critical if one wants to clear this song with listeners familiar with the original song. Good luck to Joselin in her rendition of this song!

口是心非
你深情的承诺都随著西风飘渺远走
痴人梦话
我钟情的倚托就像枯萎凋零的花朵
星火燎原
我热情的眼眸曾点亮最灿烂的天空
晴天霹雳
你绝情的放手在我最需要你的时候

(chorus)
(watch the note variation)
於是爱恨交错人消瘦
怕是怕这些苦没来由
(watch the note variation)
於是悲欢起落人静默
等一等这些伤会自由

(chorus)
(watch the note variation)
於是爱恨交错人消瘦
怕是怕这些苦没来由
(watch the note variation)
於是悲欢起落人静默
等一等这些伤会自由

(change of tempo)
口是心非
你矫情的面容都烙印在心灵的角落
无话可说
我纵情的结果就像残破光秃的山头
浑然天成
我纯情的悸动曾奔放最滚烫的节奏
不可收拾
你滥情的抛空所有晶莹剔透的感受

(chorus)
(watch the note variation)
於是爱恨交错人消瘦
怕是怕这些苦没来由
(watch the note variation)
於是悲欢起落人静默
等一等这些伤会自由

(chorus)
(watch the note variation)
於是爱恨交错人消瘦
怕是怕这些苦没来由
(watch the note variation)
於是悲欢起落人静默
等一等这些伤会自由(fades)

会自由(fades)
会自由(jarring fades)

Photo Extracts from Vivocity and Marina Bay Countdown Parties 2009

First blog post of 2009. Happy New Year 2009 to everyone of you out there!!!

The previous year was quite a bad year of disasters - terrorists attacks, natural calamities, economic mess and casualties of good people. Let's hope this new year will usher in a better year for everyone.

I did not go for the countdown parties yesterday night because I was quite put off by the crowd squeeze of such mega-events so I took some time away instead. Nevetheless, I had managed to extract some of the more interesting and beautiful pictures from two of the largest countdown parties in Singapore to share with my blog readers who may or may not have attended or wanted some sort of photographic souvenirs but could not capture those ideal shots last night.

The following three pictures were contributed by a friendly Facebook user, x[t] who kindly gave permission for me to publish these very valuable closeup shots of MediaCorp celebrities who were onstage during the VivoCity Countdown Party. Once again, thank you to x[t] who probably went there hours ahead to secure such a position for these shots.

For those familiar with Project and Campus Superstars, from the left - Teresa Tseng (CSS 1), Diya Tan (PSS 2), Carrie Yeo (PSS 2), Keely Wee (CSS 2) and Shawn Tok (CSS 2).
For those familiar with MediaCorp acting and hosting celebrities, from the left - Rui En, Felicia Chin, Jeanette Aw, Dasmond Koh, Zhong Qin, Christopher Lee and Dai Tian Yang.
This was probably taken moments before the final countdown begins and we can see the ladies were waiting while Shawn Tok was himself onstage to the puzzled look by Sugi (PSS 1).
The ladies enjoying themselves when the stage fireworks came into play. Teresa, Carrie, Keely and an unknown celebrity having fun celebrating.

The following fireworks photographs were extracted from the official photography competition at the main website of Marina Bay Countdown Party 2009. Kudos to the hardworking photographers who captured such extraordinary shots of the fireworks this year.
An explosion of orange and green fireworks which look like a giant windmill turning on three pillars of red.
Red and purple - royal colours lighting up the beautiful night skyline of Singapore at the Marina Bay area.
Looks like sunflowers in the night skies with fireflies hovering atop of those flowers. The 10,000 bluish spheres were visible on the surface of Singapore river.

That's all for now. Have a great holiday and year ahead! ^__^