favourite Chinese musician

[wix]

Who is your favourite Chinese musician? Chinese includes anyone from China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, etc. or someone who sings in a Chinese language. Musician includes singer, band, instrumentalist, etc.

Wu Bai & China Blue is my favourite. Wu Bai's career has extended over more than a decade. His repertoire extends from traditional Taiwanese folk songs to hard rock. He sings in Mandarin and Taiwanese, although I prefer his Taiwanese songs as Taiwanese is a naturally musical language. As well as having recorded many albums and being an acclaimed live performer he has composed scores for several movies. Anybody who likes good rock music will appreciate Wu Bai regardless of whether they can understand Chinese.

Zhang Zhenyue (aka A-yue) is a male Taiwanese rock star and protege of Wu Bai. If you're a fan of Wu Bai and looking for something new then give his music a try.

Yang Naiwen (aka Faith Yang) is another favourite of mine. Her music is a bit more adventurous and alternative than most female Mando-pop stars. She is Taiwanese although she lived in Australia for ten years and is a graduate of Sydney University.

I also appreciate Karen Mok (aka Mo Wenwei) although maybe that has something to do with a little bit more than her music

[Tsunku]

My recent favorite has been Xu Wei.

He's got a really mellow soothing sound and his voice tends to come across as kind of pensive. Musically, he does some interesting stuff, and I find him a refreshing break from typical Chinese pop type stuff.

There's another band I'm digging right now too that's made up of a bunch of college students, but I can't remember the name right now. My boyfriend is a huge fan of Beyond, an older group that doesn't exist anymore because the lead singer fell off of a stage some years ago in Japan and died. They have some really nice guitar solos but I don't really care for the sound as a whole.

[confucius]

I am one of her biggest fans and am the only foreigner ever to sing duets of two of her songs in Chinese with her on stage. We were introduced at a private party in Hong Kong in 1994 and were supposed to meet again the following autumn but unfortunately this legendary superstar passed away the next spring in Chiang Mai, Thailand.

To this day I still sing a large repertoire of Deng Lijun's songs at karaoke parties and impromptu concerts in the Chinese countryside. Deng Lijun has a distinctive sweet voice that one never tires of listening to over and over again. You can hear her songs around the world wherever Chinese people are found, usually as background music in Chinese restaurants.

[PollyWaffle]

i really like a guy called xue cun. i don't really like his mandapop stuff but love the rocky & kinda folky songs like dongbei ren.

does anyone know of other chinese musicians who sound similar?

polly

[roddy]

I like Xue Cun's stuff too. I think he's often assumed to be a bit of a one-hit wonder because of Dongbeiren, but his other stuff is very different. There's a new album coming out soon, if it's not already out, called (I think) chouqiu (丑球)

[Guest jinshan]

I'm surprised nobody's mentioned Wang Fei yet - she's fantastic (and very cute too ), although having seen some live VCDs of hers, I'd hazard that she's better in the studio than in concert.

The new album by Sun Yanzi (aka Stefanie Sun) isn't bad either, although a bit mix&match genre-wise.

Jinshan

[Guest spekkie_big]

I don't quite like Chinese music, but if I'd have to pick I'd Heibao.

I must admit the last time I spent considerable time in China was in 1994, so I'm kinda stuck in that era....

[Guest xiaoni]

I am stuck the same way in the same era. I like Heibao. And that's about the only rock band I liked.

[Guest peach_blossom]

Jacky Zhang Xue You, Jay Zhou Jie Lun, F4 [ Vanness Wu Jien Hao, Ken Zhu Xiao Tian on particular] Twins and Wang Fei... Oo... and Suan Nan

The best though is obviously God of Singers Jacky Zhang/Cheung!!!!!!

Mmm... yummy

[Guest ckeone]

Jay Zhou and David Tao~

Faye Wong hasn't any good song recently, it's a bit off now~

[TSkillet]

I'm going to nominate Tanya Chua (I always forget her Chinese name - these damn Singaporian names are going to be the death of me) from Singapore. She actually writes her own music, plays the guitar and sings both in English and Chinese. She's quite popular in Taiwan, less well known anywhere else.

Candy Lo and Anthony Wong from Hong Kong make quality alternative Canto-pop.

And then for Chinese hip-hop, LMF (LazyMuthaFucka) is a really great collective.

[channamasala]

what, no F-4 fans? Oh, whyever not?

(I AM joking, I DO wish they'd disappear into the void).

[Guest Anonymous]

Zhou Jielun all the way :-) Also this group called Tension (Tianxuan) who are pretty good as well.

[Guest Todd]

I had heard some good things about Wang Fei (Faye Wong), but when I recently had a chance to listen to her music on DVD, I was disappointed. Some jazz sounds in the background seemed promising, but in the end the music was just standard pop (albeit quite mellow), and her wimpy singing style (or "dreamy" would be more generous) just sounded the same on every song. Maybe if I could understand more of the lyrics then I would like her songs more.

[geek_frappa]

Sammi Cheng Sau-Man!!!! ^_^ Funny, beautiful, talented, and very brave and did i mention she was funny?. My favorite Chinese singer, actress, and super movie star.

Google Search:

http://www.google.com/search?hl=zh-TW&ie=Big5&q=sammi+cheng&btnG=Google+%B7j%B4M&lr=

Timway Search:

http://srch.timway.com/cgi/tsrch.cgi?keyword=sammi+cheng&cva=hk

[chengdude]

Faye Wong, without a doubt. Her albums when she was with Cinepoly are much better than when she was lured away by PolyGram; every one since (5 releases, I think) has been disappointing for various reasons...although each one does have a standout cut or two that adds to her legacy. Faye is one of the few Chinese singers I've heard who can really sing, using her voice as a true instrument, not just a vehicle. It's heresy to say this, but I think her album of Teresa Teng (Deng Lijun) cover songs were better than the originals. Her Cinepoly years were also marked by stellar production and top-flight songwriters/arrangers.

Karen Mok? Sorry, can she even hold a note? I've seen/heard some absoulutely dreadful live tunes by her and was not impressed. She is a much, much better actress. Has she had her teeth fixed yet; they were absolutely awful in Wong Kar Wai's FALLEN ANGELS? The same for Anita Mui...much better actress than singer, although she's quite popular.

I like Wu Bai too, but he as well has a certain flatness to his singing that grates on me after a few songs...can't fault his commitment and his stylistic experimentation, though.

Yang Nai Wen is awesome...her albums ONE and SILENCE are absolutely tremendous, although her last one made an unfortunate u-turn towards utter conventionalism.

Xin Xiao Qi (Winnie Hsin) is another singer with a real voice -really quite beautiful- although she frequently wastes it on mind-numbing, sugar-sweet songs that all sound the same. Her early stuff is much better than recent releases.

I remember asking this on the ThornTree many, many years ago, but what is it about the syrupy-sweet, forlorn, shoe-gazing, mopey, wistful pop songs that permeate the industry...is it cultural, is it what sells so let's duplicate it ad nauseum...something else? Hey, we've got the plague of Britney et al, so no judgement is being passed, just asking.

[smithsgj]

I think it's cultural.

The West has its cheesy music too, and it has Britney. But many years ago there was Donny, then there were the Bat City rollers, etc etc. All rubbish (in my opinion), but at least of different shades and styles.

In Taipei grandmas dance in parks to the same cheese as the high school girls play on their discmans. To my ear, the mainstream Taiwan musical style hasn't changed in all the 12 years I've been coming to Taiwan.

This is a culture where originality, drive and initiative are not encouraged, remember. Many of those ( though of course not all) who do the really interesting stuff have some other cultural allegiance -- think Yang Nai-wen, many years in Australia; A-mei, Dianli Huoche from minority groups.

Either there are few musicians prepared to experiment; or, more likely, the industry knows that the public are too set in their ways to try something new.

[bokane]

Faye Wong and Karen Mok - the only two female singers I've heard whose work is consistently good (albeit sometimes cheesy) no matter what genre it is. Actually, they're the only two who have routinely done any songs in anything other than the "pop crap" genre. That being said, I kind of like some of the pop crap.

I like "Shi'er Zhong Yanse" (12 Colours) by Chen Lin. I will be very happy if I never hear "Ai Le Jiu Ai Le" by her ever, ever again. Ever.

I like some of Cai Yilin's stuff - or rather, hate it in a very curious fashion. I especially like/hate her "Aishang Le Yitiao Jie" ("[i've] Fallen in Love with a Street"). Her music is the kind of stuff I can just picture Chinese drag queens lip-synching to, a la drag-queen Madonna fans back home.

As for male singers - most of them are too androgynous and wussy for my tastes, but I'm a big fan of Cui Jian (especially his song "Hongqixia de Dan" ("Eggs Under the Red Flag")) and Xu Wei, who get mentioned on here above, I think.

[Tsunku]

Yay, another Xu Wei fan! I mentioned him before, he's my favorite. He's much more rock than most Chinese male singers, and in general his songs stay away from the 80s cheese for the most part (although he does have his moments).

The other band I mentioned before (but couldn't remember the name) is called Shui Mu Nian Hua. I really really enjoy their overall sound, although they have their misses along with their hits. They do a lot of layering with their songs, singing in rounds and such, and I find them a little more complex than most.

Those two are my mainstays when it comes to Chinese music. I don't care for Chinese female vocalists that much for some reason.

[Guest shy_guest]

Not a musician but a group - I love the Afanti Band. Chinese Muslim flamenco - that's exotic