May Playlist

This month I have been on a very Girly streak. I've been wearing a Lot of Pink, Putting bows in my hair, Watching back-to-back Episodes of "America's Next Top Model", and Listening to a Lot of female music artists. So for this month's playlist post, I thought I would stick with my girly ways and share with you some of my girly music.

1. 融化了(Melted) - Popu Lady 

 

Popu Lady is a Taiwanese girl group that is still relatively new to the scene. They first debuted in December, 2012 and currently have two albums. I really enjoy this group for their overabundance of girlishness and cuteness. Whenever I am need of a quick mood lifter, I find myself listening to their music and soon I'm smiling and dancing around. This song is from their most recent album, Little Future .

2. 我的歌聲裡 (You Exist In My Song) - 曲婉婷 (Wanting)

 

Wanting is a Chinese music artist who began her music career in Canada after earning a degree in international business. She has a great combination of both English and Chinese songs that she writes herself. Wanting currently has two albums. This song is from her first album, Everything In The World. Actually, this was one of the first songs I discovered that when I first began exploring Mando-pop music and I've been listening to it ever since.

3. Me & U - 阿福 (A-Fu)

 

A-Fu is one of my favorite female Taiwanese singers. She has some of the happiest, upbeat music. A-Fu began her fame on YouTube and released her debut album in 2011. She has released two more  albums since then. I find this song sweet and makes me think about my husband :). This song is on her latest album, Sky Island .

4. 愛是什麼 (What Is Love) - 梁文音 (Rachel Liang)

 

Rachel Liang is another One of my favorites. Since her Career Started off in 2008, Rachel Liang has released Two albums and ACTED in Several Television Shows. Contagious Find her cheerfulness and I am very Attracted to her music Because of it. Her music is very Genuine and sweet which I Also Find myself relating to. This song is from her latest album, Yellow Jacket . 

5.  黃色夾克 (Yellow Jacket) - 梁文音 (Rachel Liang)

 

Here is another Rachel Liang song from her latest album. This song is so much fun and I admit to sometimes putting it on repeat and singing along while I shower.  

6. Tippy Toes - Peggy Hsu

 

Peggy Hsu has been around in the music industry since 2001, but I have only just heard about her when her newest album, La Valse, was released on May 6 this year. When I heard this song on the radio, I immediately loved it and had to know who sang it. This might just be one of the sweetest songs I have ever heard and brings the image of a little girl twirling around to mind. The entire album is beautiful and I highly recommend you checking it out.

So there you have it for this month's playlist in all it's girlish glory. Enjoy!

April Playlist

I have been planning on blogging about some different music that I have been listening to each month.  Sadly, this is only my second music post and I am already behind.  I do plan on being better about it in the future though.  This past month has been pretty busy for me, doing all kinds of different things, and my musical taste has been pretty spread out to accompany my activities and mood.

1.  上愛唱的歌 (The Love Song) - 陶喆 (David Tao)

 

I love David Tao. I shared some about him in my February Playlist post.  This song is actually 
in Taiwanese, not in Mandarin.  This song was released on his latest album, Hello Goodbye. 
I find this song very soothing and like to listen to it while I'm winding down for the evening.

2.  Ukulele - 周杰倫 Jay Chou

 

Jay Chou is a very famous Chinese singer and actor.  He has released multiple albums and has starred in both movies and television series in China and Taiwan.  Even if you aren't familiar with Chinese celebrities, you might recognize Jay Chou from the Green Hornet movie that was released back in 2011.  This song comes from his latest album, Opus 12, which was released in 2013. I like this song because it is fun to listen to and the lyrics are actually really sweet too.  You can find the English translation of the lyrics here.  

3. 好不好 (Be With Me) - 蔡旻佑 (Evan Yo)

 

 I really like this song a lot.  It is from the soundtrack of the Taiwanese television show Fabulous Boys.  The show is really good too.  I had read manga that the story is based off of, watched the Korean version (You're Beautiful), and then was very excited to find out that Taiwan finally aired their version in 2013.  Maybe I like this song so much because I like the story, but even without the show, I think its great. You can find the English translation of the lyrics here.

4. 誰知道 (Who Knows) - 蔡旻佑 (Evan Yo)

 

 Here is another Evan Yo song.  This song comes from his latest album, Super Yo, that was released in October 2012.  Evan Yo is an award winning Taiwanese Mandopop singer-songwriter and an incredible violinist.   Since really starting his career with Sony Music Taiwan in 2006, he has released four albums, contributed to two television show soundtracks, and has acted in two television shows.  I think what I really like is the jazz influence that is in this song.  

5.  Better Me - 薛凱琪Fiona Sit 

 

I absolutely love this song.  I think it is beautiful and the words are really encouraging and inspiring and came from a dark and painful place in her life.  Fiona Sit is a Chinese Cantopop (Cantanese) singer and Hong Kong actress, though as seen here, she also does sing some songs in Mandarin.  Since starting her career she has starred in multiple television show and movies and has released thirteen albums.  This song comes from her latest album, Felicious, released in 2013.  You can find the English translation of the lyrics here.

These are just a few of the songs that I enjoy listening to.  Stay tuned each month as I add more music. Enjoy! :)

Musical Taste

In a previous post I stated that I like to listen to Taiwanese music because it helps me with learning Chinese, so I have been planning to share some of the songs that I am listening to each month.  I like all kinds of musical genres and listening to Taiwanese music stations come with a plethora of music variation.  Not all are new releases, but each of the songs I am sharing with you today are songs that I listen to over and over again. Now, without further a due, here are my current top 5 songs.

1. Kimberley 陳芳語: 世界毀滅 Acoustic Version (World Destruction)

Kimberley Chen is one of the first Mandopop singers that I began to listen to.  She is a Taiwanese singer that grew up in Melbourne, Australia.  Kimberley's first album came out back in 2012 right around the same time that I began listening to Mandopop music.  Her first big hit song was 愛你 (Ai Ni) which is another great song that I invite you to go check out.  This song, 世界毀滅 (World Destruction) is the acoustic version of one Kimberley's songs from her new (and second album Kimbonomics).  I think that her music is great and I enjoy listening to both her original songs and their acoustic versions (which she posts on her YouTube channel).

2.  方大同 Khalil Fong: 麥恩莉 (My Only Girl)

Khalil Fong is one of my favorite Mandopop artists and I like to listen to all of his music.  He is Hong Kong singer, though interestingly he hasn't written any songs in Cantonese and has grown extremely popular in Taiwan.  The reason for this probably being that he is American born (Hawaii), brought up in China and Cantonese is his fourth language.  Regardless of what language he sings in, I love the smooth, rich sound of Khalil Fong's voice and musical style.  This song, 麥恩莉 (My Only Girl) is from his Back to Wonderland album that was released back in 2012.

3. 嚴爵 Yen J: 沒有你的日子的我

Yen J is a Taiwanese jazz-pop singer who has grown in popularity in recent years due to the support and 

testimonials given him from other popular Taiwanese artists.  Yen J's incredible talent got him a signed contract

with a Taiwanese recording company back in 2008 after only three months of trying to break into the music

industry.  I love the jazz influence in his music and it keeps me coming back for more.  This song is from 

Yen J's new album Y4You.

4.  陶喆 & 關詩敏 David Tao Zhe & Sharon Kwan: 好好說再見 (Nice to Say Goodbye)

David Tao is a phenomenal Taiwanese singer-song writer who is known for his beautiful blend of R&B and hard rock.   I really like to listen to David Tao's music.  He has been in the music industry since the 90s and has helped to popularize R&B in the Mandopop industry.  This is one of my favorite songs of his and comes from his most recent album, Hello Goodbye.  I find myself hitting repeat almost every time I listen to it.  I think it is the guitar that really touches me in this song, but the wonderful blend of David Tao and Sharon Kwan's voices certainly help in making this one of my top five favorite songs at the moment.

5.  EXO-M: Peter Pan

EXO is actually a very popular Korean boy group, but like many Korean groups, their album has also been released and they perform their songs in Mandarin as well.  For all the boy group fans, here is a song that I think is fun and strikes my Disney loving chord with the cute Peter Pan and Wendy references.  EXO is probably most known for their song Growl, which I like too, but this one is a little more fun and light hearted.

There you have it, my current top five songs that I am listening to on repeat.  I plan on keeping you up to date with more music that I listen to, so stay tuned for those updates on more artists.  Enjoy!