Looking into recent popular albums and songs in Mandapop, it's not difficult to find that the numbers of new songs out nowadays are getting to be a covered songs, by recent popular artists. Mostly its because they are good? Yes or not they are getting good response from the public.
Hey Westlife basically feed on the covers get them on the charts...... So it doesn't seems a bad thing for artist in Mandapop to do a cover albums? Well, it depends a lot of the artist itself. Not everyone can get escape with it. It used to be a backstab a lot. Cause people loves the original piece of art mostly.
Forget bout the past, whats now? Let me bring you along the covers of 2009. First one, A-Bin's Bad Guy's Lovesongs-Regrets. The title track originally sung by Mavis Hsu Mei Jing, a Singaporean diva back in 90s. In fact the whole album is covers songs from the 90s. Carefully selected by the housewives group of the people, they say, a beautiful female ballads is always better when sing by a tender voice of a guy. I get to know girls like to hear guys sing, and vice versa too. Anyhow, those songs (A-Bin's covered)are songs when I used to listen repeatedly again and again during my schooldays. Faye's Chess(Qi Zi), Yanzi's Dark Sky(Tian Hei Hei), Coco's Hints(An Shi), Sandy's Don't Bother Who Am I(Bu Bi Zai Hu Wo Shi Shui) and etc..... all classic hits and super sing-along elements... How's A-Bin doing it? The plus point is that he is not doing it hard, to sing to his own feelings but instead give the songs a gentle touch and sings with the most simple technique as if you are in the live lounge cafe. The memory of the songs makes you exciting about this album.
Talking about classics, Khalid Fong's Timeless Classic resembles Yanzi's cover album which includes songs that influenced them most from young. English songs and mandarin songs and even cantonese. This is the biggest selling point, Cantonese. Khalid Fong's first cantonese song, Kuang Chao. Gaining favourable critics arcoss Asia, and his jazz, basanova-ish arrangements capture the peoples heart when he redo Faye's Red Bean and "Nothing Gonna Change My Love For You". Choice of songs are briliant too, as couples of songs already got forgotten by the younger generations nowadays. Again you sees the most simple arrangements capture more audience. In the olden days, artist tries too hard to makes it sounds differ. Not everyone another Shirley Kwan or Anthony Wong, famous covers icon.
As releasing a whole new cover album could risky the good name of an artist's talent, so Jolin didn't make one. Accidently the record company makes an EP of her live performances as part of her DVD package, when she covers a couples of famous ballads that she loves to sing in the karaoke. One of my favourite too, A-mei's I Hate I Love You. Its mesmerising everytime I listen. The song is too good for me to notice Jolin's singing. Other also Gigi Leong's Bias, Fish Leong's I Like.... light and good choice to covers too. Commercial value are there, while lesser critisation made. (As its live-ed, we forgive you)....
Earlier of the year, there are a not so popular of Fu Qio Yin's Pink Jukebox. She challenged the super classic from Pan Yue Yin and Chan Shu Hua to Celine Dion and Mariah Carey's signature songs. Proves she can sing but lack of the experiences of life which many songs interpreted like a singing machine. I didn't like it at all, maybe waiting for her to come out a new material album would be more a worth of listen.
As introduced in earlier post, Karen Mok's kind of re-doing the classic is getting rare. She totally futurised the oldies. (See the review yourself then) and adding latest additions would be Jam Hsiao's Love Moment. As a promo for his first concert tour, he did all ten classic hits from our generations and these songs are still popular among karaoke goers and singing competitions contestants. As heard before when he was appearing in the SUPERSTAR Talent Show, his way of covering songs are astonishing.. . let not forget thats how he got famous. So back to the roots, he brings us back to the classic songs we love..... oh also another sets of female classics.
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