This post has been overdue for slightly more than 6 months. #tardyblogger
Back then, my friends and I decided to give 2014's Formula 1 a go as it happened that Mayday (a Taiwanese rock band) performed at Padang Stage. After I booked the tickets for the three of us, I had to go to Singpost at ION Orchard to collect the passes. A few numbers to wait until my number was called and...here there are.
On the race day, we went to Gate 3. There are a lot of gates where you can enter the racing area but since one of my friends is experienced in watching F1, we decided to let her lead us. Gate 3 can be reached from City Hall MRT Station.
If you are lost inside the racing area, there are a lot of signs to guide you.
If you are wondering whether you can watch F1 race from the walkabout area, well, this is the most you can see. And considering F1 cars' speed, you can probably only catch a glimpse of them passing by. The sound is real loud and makes the atmosphere so happening though.
There is no race on Friday night, only practice. So we went further to the Padang stage to check out where to go when it's near the timing for Mayday to perform. The performance for Friday race day starts around 10 plus right after the final practice session ends.
There are a lot of activities that you can check out around the stage while waiting for the performance. Will list them down in my next post. =)
Of course the introduction would not be completed without introducing the group. And Taiwan has a lot of amazing group/band. Although I only like..two of them. Hey, quality over quantity okay! =P
So here comes the group....*JUMP*
1. Mayday (五月天/ Wǔyuètiān)
Mayday is a Taiwanese rock band and yes, if you have visited Taiwan before, I bet you have seen their faces somewhere along the billboard (Note: HTC's advert). If not, I suppose you should at least recognize the lead singer, Ashin, as he's..so handsome? ^^ *fangirl mode ON"
Heard their concert ticket in Taiwan is pretty hard to get and one ticket can sells around 5000 - 6000 NTD. But they do have those free concerts too now and then. Although you have to queue (or camp?) for a long time to get a spot for those free concerts. My teacher is one of their hardcore fans and she said the reason the band is so popular is because their songs are mostly encouraging. Especially when listened during those bad days. Make you want to sing OAOA (yes, the title of one of the songs is called OAOA). =P
Other than those uplifting songs, they also sing quite a few of anthem song. Those songs that make you feel so awesome especially when you are singing the song together with fellow fans, while waving your hands. If you like this kind of song, you can start practicing this song, Noah's Ark (儺亞方船/ Nuò yǎ fāngzhōu).
2. S.H.E.
S.H.E. is a Taiwanese girl group whose members are Selina Jen, Hebe Tian and Ella Chen. The group has recorded 12 albums and they have also acted in a lot of drama series. Each of them has their own solo songs too. Recently, S.H.E. has just concluded their concert, 2gether 4ever. I did not manage to get ticket in Taipei, but thanks God, managed to get ticket to watch the concert in Singapore. Woot!
This song is my absolute favourite from their latest album, Flowers Have Blossomed Again (花又開好了/ Huā yòu kāi hǎole). For your info, Ashin from Mayday is the one who composed the lyric for this song. ^^
Each member of the group has their own solo career. And I like Hebe the most. Simply because she's pretty and her song is amazing. My friend can't stop singing one of her songs, 寂寞寂寞就好 (Jìmò jìmò jiù hǎo).
So sorry for not introducing more than two groups, but the thing is, I really only like these two groups from many music group/ band existing in Taiwan. XD
I suppose the songs from the above two groups will be enough to occupy you for a few days. Hehehe.
Helllooooo, so after my last post, are you already an expert in KTV room? At least, you can sing some of the guys' songs right? Hehehe. I admit I'm better at singing guys' song compared to ladies' song. I guess my voice range is somewhat..low? Oh well.
But I do sing a few of songs which are originally sang by ladies singer too. So let's start introducing them.
1. Rainie Yang (楊丞琳/ Yáng Chénglín)
I really admire Rainie Yang simply because she becomes prettier day by day *swoon*. Hehe. OK, before I sound very pervert, I admire her acting skill too. Although I really fail at singing her songs. She acts in a lot of Taiwanese drama like Why Why Love, Devil Beside You, Hi My Sweetheart (must watch!) and Drunken to Love You. All her dramas have quite good rating I think. As she is also a singer, of course, she sang some of dramas' OST. She has just recently released a new album and I like the song called "Hurried Life"(匆忙人生/ Cōngmáng rénshēng). Kinda like what I'm experiencing right now.
I am not really a fan of Jolin Tsai but there's no way I'm gonna missing her name here cause I must admit, her career is great and her English is good. She even held her concert in London. O_o! If you like those upbeat dancing songs, then I suppose you may like her songs. One of her song "The Great Artist" made her nominated for Best Asian Act in the 2012 MTV Europe Music Awards. She was the first and only Taiwan artist nominated for the award.
3. Lara Liang (梁心頤/ liángxīnyí)
If you ask me who has the most beautiful voice, I can only say up 'til now, I am still captivated by Lara Liang's voice. Ever since her duet with Jay Chou on Coral Sea (珊瑚海/ Shānhú hǎi). This song has been a KTV favorite for ages. Although whoever sing Lara's part may have a sore throat afterward due to its high pitch. LOL.
She was used to be in a group called 南拳媽媽 (Nán quán māmā) before having a solo debut. She's a mixed between Russian and Taiwanese and yes, she looks very beautiful.
This is one of her solo songs, I post this one because I have a crush on the guy in the MV (修杰楷/ Xiūjiékǎi). Hihihi.
I guess if you cannot sing their songs, you can just admire their beauty while your friends busy catching breath to sing the songs properly. =P
The fun thing about studying a new language is you will have the chance of meeting different kind of classmates from different nationalities. And often, I've received a question both from the teacher and the fellow classmates on which local singer are you listening to? Or is there any Mandarin songs that you can introduce to me?
To be honest, I used to be such a noob on this topic but thanks to my friends and a few karaoke session, I suppose my knowledge has improved. LOL. So without further ado, let's start introducing the guys:
1. Jay Chou (周杰倫/ Zhōujiélún)
Jay Chou is the first Taiwanese singer that I heard of. I guess you may have seen him before from the blockbuster movie the Green Hornet. He's an all-rounder juggling singing, acting, song-writing, directing and managing his businesses such as restaurants and music agency. Awesome, huh? Since he's the first singer that I've heard of. My inspiration to learn Mandarin came from mostly his songs although I must admit his songs may not be the best to learn Mandarin from as his pronunciation is not really clear sometimes.
These are a few of his songs that I love. The first MV is called Silence (安静/ Ānjìng) while the second one is called Fragrance of Rice (稻香/ dào xiāng). Both songs are my favorite in the karaoke session although I admit I sing the first better than the latter. =P
2. Wang Lee Hom (王力宏/ Wánglìhóng)
After listening to Jay Chou's songs, obviously I started doing some research on other Taiwanese singer and my eyes are caught by the handsome Wang Lee Hom. My teacher said he's too good to really exist. But he does exist and super handsome. Other than singing, he acts in movies too. Lately he's busy shooting a movie together with Zhang Ziyi. Ah too bad, I hope he will release a new album soon. Meanwhile, I guess I will search for his movie in the internet since I think the cinema is no longer showing it now. =P
I love his song called A Simple Song (一首簡單的歌 / Yì shòu jiàn dàn de gē). Such a simple and soothing song. =)
3. Yen-J (嚴爵/ Yán jué)
The third singer that I am introducing to you is my personal favorite. Teehee. I started listening to his songs ever since I heard that closing song for Taiwanese drama called Drunken to Love You (醉後決定愛上你/ Zuì hòu juédìng ài shàng nǐ) starring Rainie Yang and Joseph Chang. The drama is fun to watch but the ending song is really captivating both my ears and my heart I guess. Goodness, I'm sounded super cheesy here. Pardon me. =P
You can hear the ending song called Good Things (好的事情/ Hǎo de shìqíng) below.
Don't you think he's super shuai (re: handsome)? Hehehe. Okay, I better stop fan-girling now.
Since this post is already very long, I'll continue with the part II (the ladies) and part III (the group) later on. Okay? Happy listening! =)
