Note: This was written a while ago, on 12/23 when it was filmed, but it was actually aired during New Years. I would have posted this earlier, except I really, really wanted to find a HQ video of Wang Yuexin singing Guang. Which I did end up finding, but haven’t finished downloading.

With a dolphin pitch, Wang Yuexin’s “Guang” opened the first annual Newcomer’s Feng Yun Bang (Wind and Cloud Awards). In attendance are all of the new boybands as well as most of the new idol singers. Feng Yun awards have been established since 2001, but this is the first ceremony specifically designed for newcomers, signifying that newcomers to the Chinese music scene are coming in large numbers.

Wang Yuexin singing Guang. I practically made this post just for him, so you’d better watch the vid.

So besides wanting to post on Wang Yuexin, this was a nice chance to introduce some of the newer faces on the Chinese music scene and to tie into my next post. I wanted to find performances, but not only was that nearly impossible to find for all of them, or even some of them, but there was no way I was going to spend hours uploading. So instead I stuck a bunch of MVs in there, mostly of the songs they performed. The performances I saw at Feng Yun were in general, all live, and pretty good.

Best mainland artist – BOBO

This is weird…BoBo is a group, not a single artist. But they deserved something. BOBO released a great first EP and great first album in the year they’ve been out, with their strong voices doing justice to the moving ballads, including Guang Rong which they sang at the end of the Paralympics ceremony. I don’t listen to ballads too much, but I love theirs. More pics because I am biased like that:

BoBo -If (Jia Ru)

Best Taiwan/HK artist – Yoga Lin

As winner of the first ever One Million Star season in Taiwan, he’s definitely got the voice and a quirky sense of humor that adds to his stage presence. If he gains more consistency in his performances, and more of the finely crafted songs from HIM that showed off his wide vocal range, as were in his first album, then he has a great career ahead of him.

Best mainland group – Super Junior M
With a mostly talented group including a few really strong singers, it’s no wonder they are a popular group in China. Now if they could only bring out an album that is not mostly of remakes. You’ve probably all seen their MVs, so I didn’t bother putting up the song they performed, U. I threw an extra picture of them towards the bottom to make up for it though.

Best Hong Kong/Taiwan group – Lollipop
Did they have competition? What groups were also out in Hong Kong and Taiwan recently? Out of all the groups nominated, they are the only ones to have spin-off groups, so that must count for something in their favor. This was the first time I listened to them, and while I don’t know about their voices, their dancing was pretty good and they looked like they were having fun doing it, which I appreciate.

Lollipop棒棒堂 – (MV) 藏經閣

Best all-around artist- Wei Chen

Wei Chen’s voice is like vanilla ice cream – after you’re done, you just want to lick your fingers and eat some more (says our beloved Super Boy judge Yang’er). He lacks stability, but when he performs well, he wows (again, see his Let Dreams Hibernate). As the only one of the newcomers who’s been in a serious movie, and is currently starring in the play Struggle, he probably deserved the overall award. He hasn’t composed anything yet, but he says he will for his next album, and I believe him, as someone who entered the Sichuan Conservatory due to his passion for music. Plus, he plays the hulusi, the prettiest instrument ever. – idarklight (whose love for Wei Chen is like my love for Yuexin)

Best composing artist – Su Xing.

He won second place in Super Boys and no wonder. His voice is wonderful to listen. He composed and wrote lyrics for Autumn and Preface on his first EP as well as three other songs since gaining fame on Superboys, showing his versatility since Autumn was a ballad and Preface largely consisted of rap. When he’s not trying to act cool and mysterious, he can be cute and a lot of fun, especially when he rambles on and on. And so really, he’s just a geeky, talkative, solemn, songwriting hip-hop artist who sings ballads beautifully. Will be one to watch.

苏醒 Su Xing – 还不是因为爱 (Isn’t It Because of Love)

Best stage performer – Kimi Qiao Renliang

Like I said before when I posted on his concert, he’s got a great natural stage presence, but he’s no slouch when it comes to the music part. The boy has pipes, although he needs to learn to control them, which he’s improved a lot on (Otherwise, I don’t really think he could have a solo concert). He also composed ‘Horoscope” on his first EP and at least one other song I knew of with his band Pink7 which got signed together with him to Chengtian Entertainment. Where is that band Kimi?

Qiao Renliang- New Decision

Most eye-catching artist – Zhang Liyin

What exactly is the judging criteria for this? Well, she has managed to be noticed despite little promotion. She has potential, she just needs to channel it somewhere.

Zhang Liyin – I Will

Best crossover artists – Li Xiaolu and Hu Ge

Good actors…good singers too? Maybe. I enjoyed both of their recent releases.

Since I already posted Li Xiaolu’s “Eastern Beauty” before, here’s one of Hu Ge’s MVs. He’s got a funny sense of humor, wearing sunglasses through the entire awards ceremony with a bemused expression and this MV shows that off well. I hope he and Li Xiaolu can do a project together, because they are kind of opposite in nature and it’d be funny seeing them interact.

Most recommended group – Wind and Cloud

Notice how their name is the same as that of the award ceremony. Concidence? Not. Besides this one little smear the rest of the awards seemed fairly reasonable. And, no I am NOT putting up their MV again.

I kid, they’re not that bad. One of them played the piano to accompany Li Xiaolu while she sang, so they’re not all untalented.

Best album – Joanna Wang (Start from Here)

This is ironic: the one who dislikes her own album calling it too pop, too manufactured gets the best album award. Of everyone who won I feel she was the best and brightest. So bright that her award glows by itself. Perhaps if Chen Chusheng had won best composing artist like he should have, he’d possibly be the one with the most potential, but he didn’t so definitely her. Her debut album had three tracks composed by her and she’s only 19. Plus she has that amazing voice that would have put her at the top of the lists even if she didn’t compose. I would have paid good money to know what her thoughts were as she watched these boys prance around and sing their pop songs.

Joanna Wang – Start From Here

Link only because every single one of her Start From Here videos on youtube is embedding disabled. She’s right, her company blows. I don’t know…is this one of the songs she wrote?

Best EP – Li Yifeng (Ferris Wheel)

I don’t get it. He’s cute but for all intents and purposes, a very average singer. It was really cute that he sat with Kimi during the ceremony however. Old loves die hard.

Li Yifeng-Good Night·Ferris wheel

Best song – Wang Yuexin (Guang)

Despite his always joking and sometimes cavalier attitude, there is a focus to him, despite being not yet 20 years of age. What he knows is pretty much self-taught, just through being a Vitas fanboy for all his life. He composed and wrote the lyrics for “I am a Champion”, a song for the Hunan TV program of the same name that ran a week before the Paralympics, to excite people for this oft-neglected part of the Olympics. He also is writing songs for his new album, whenever that gets released.

Since he has no MV for Guang, here’s the song he wrote (Sorry the vid is so out of sync)

So these are the new faces of Chinese pop. In general nice to look at but are they talented too?