Jane is a constant reminder that life isn't fair.
Just Music, Beyond Music
Jane@Music
The biggest surprise is probably the change of Jane’s “signature” sound, which left the usual ethereal beauty and went closer to the human heart. Jane’s music isn’t just what you think…Perhaps, this girl once won you over with the high “dolphin sound/whistle register,” but beginning with this album, you can move the focus away from the whistle register. Free your ears, open your heart, feel and enjoy the joys and imaginations brought by every note – a true expression of feelings enters everysong. Three years, let you see Jane’s change.
Jane@Music album cover
Jane Zhang’s new album, Jane@Music is coming out on the 20th. From the previews I’ve heard, this is definitely her best album so far. If her amazing voice didn’t earn her the right to sing some of the best theme songs in the last couple of years, she would’ve never gone so far with the composers of her last two albums. The previous two albums consisted mostly of boring ballads whose only good feature was Jane’s voice. Jane@Music, on the other hand, features high-qualitied songs and of course, her gorgeous voice. On the other hand, I still think she should come to America.
The songs from her new album has already been revealed at her concerts last December, and their recorded versions will be released two songs per day through Sohu here.
Also being completely biased, Liyin’s music really doesn’t help promte Chinese music at all… SM is their own little circle and doesn’t really collaborate with other artists, which means that no matter how many people like Liyin, it won’t help the growth of the Chinese music industry that much, only SM; and most of SJM/Liyin’s music are covers of songs from Korea/America, which means it’s basically Korean music sang in Chinese. I think for a music industry to really flourish, they need distinct music styles of their own, not just covers.
Reflecting on what yelei said, I do agree that Jane alone is not good enough to start a wave. A good music industry needs a combination of good composers and good singers (and good marketing). I feel like with the Super Girls and Boys, many good singers have already came on to stage. And looking at Jane’s music alone, you can tell that the quality of composing has also been increasing significantly over the years. And of course, there are also people like Chen Chusheng, who both have the singing and composing abilities.
@yelei: “You always see Chinese people listening to Korean music, but it’s so rare for Koreans to listen to music from China.”
That’s why Zhang Li Yin needs more promotion. ;____; Rofl, *biased*
But anyways, I can’t wait for this album to be released. I read something about her doing recording back in November or December and I’m really excited for it. If it’s good enough, I’ll even go shell out some money to buy it… Despite me being unemployed in this economic recession. D:
I really hope she’ll gain more listeners/fans from Taiwan now that she’s gotten a little more recognition from her Leehom collaboration.
it seems to me that Jane’s voice are more exploited when she sang movies sountracks and musicals. I like her when she sings for sountracks, but don’t like her albums, agree with idarklight.
I think Chen Chusheng ‘sing’ song use chinese instrument, is it guqin? and his ‘sing sing’ (stars) song in the competition. I like it though, kinda subtle combination of chinese & western instruments like Cui Jian and other rock singers.
cfensi, I guess you got it right about the huge chinese market, kinda like india bollywood (not everyone’s taste but satisfy the indians), i guess most chinese entertainers focus on its domestic market first.
As someone who never understand the whole korean wave ( which i think it’s just a copy of american music), I want to hear a different kind of music and so far i can find it in china, india and mid.east and still exploring other places.
IMO Jpop&rock, Kpop are easier to be accepted outside their borders because they make western music in their language, they have more fast beat songs unlike chinese singers who love ballads. I don’t really see any J or K characteristics & cultures in their most popular bands and singers. Even the physical look of their singers are becoming western if you know what I mean.
Good songs are important. Jane’s voice is amazing, but her last two albums were so boring. Even this one, which has several good songs, still isn’t good enough for her voice.
As for the boys…
I guess Chen Chusheng, Allen Su and Lu Hu composes much of their own songs, and ZGF just isn’t part of their composing style. Such a pity. Lu Hu composes half of Wei Chen’s songs, too, so there goes Wei Chen’s ZGF. Yu Haoming and Top Combine are affiliated with Korea, so there goes them.
EE Media needs to find composers that write more ZGF songs…
@idarklight: Completely agree! I liked “少年游.” I hadn’t even heard of really cared about Wei Chen until I heard that song, but that attracted me a bit. If there were more ZGF songs in the Supergirl/Superboy albums I think people would like that. Even with a wonderful voice, I think singers need well-composed and interesting songs to sell albums.
@cfensi: I think some Chinese artists also aim for the overseas Chinese listeners. Jay Chou had his first concert in Toronto last year, and he’s also had concerts in Connecticut and California. (Jay was very excited about the whole thing and apparently expressed that through heavily accented English when he realized that he had Caucasian fans there as well as overseas Chinese fans.) LeeHom and Mayday have also held concerts in North America, since lots of Chinese and ABCs live here. They also have the Chinese-speaking populations in Singapore and Malaysia. Of course, they are the exceptions rather than the rule, since they have more of an overseas following than most.
I actually like it better when they don’t all aim for other countries by trying to sing in languages they don’t know. I’d rather learn Chinese myself than have them try to sing in English for me and it go badly for them, and I like the Zhongguo Feng sound. I don’t think it really makes it less marketable. I think it’s part of what keeps me listening and I’m sure I’m not the only Westerner who feels that way, as I’ve shown some others (other white Americans like me, not Chinese) Chinese music, asking what they thought, and they actually preferred the Zhongguo Feng.
you know, I’ve been thinking, Super Girls and Boys needs more “zhong guo feng” songs… Wei Chen, Chris and Zhang Jie are the only ones with any songs that resembles “zhong guo feng.” And Zhong Guo Feng’s generally my favorite type of cpop.
@yelei…part of the reason for that is because the Chinese-speaking region is very large, and can sustain itself.
The pinnacle of Kpop sales in Korea is about 500,000 albums sold. Jay Chou in contrast averages around 3 million albums sold.
So Korea had to work their butt off and targeted just about every Asian country for promotions to get more money (trend started by SM), including learning foreign languages, which is something that Chinese music hasn’t bothered too much with. Chinese people have promoted their music in other places, but never to the extent that Koreans have, because there is no need to spend that kind of hassle when your market is already quite profitable. This is actually not a good thing for Korea considering now that so many of their stars don’t even sing in their native language anymore. It is not healthy for their industry.
Chinese music is also rather distinct with its Zhong Guo Feng and Chinese instrumentals…it’s less marketable to other foreign places, but it is distinctly Chinese and can be appreciated.
So in summary I don’t think you should judge the quality of Chinese by how much other countries listen to it. The reasons for that are many and it really doesn’t have to do with how good the music actually is. Get the chip off your shoulder and appreciate it for what it is rather than the popularity of it amongst people whom Chinese artists don’t even care at targeting their music to.
yelei: You really have to look deeper and see what’s really there beneath the pretty layer of boybands and actresses. There are some really great singers and bands, some indie and others more popular. Not everyone is great, but that’s true in every country’s entertainment industry. Just look at what Disney pumps out in the United States. Your “sensational artist” will depend on your tastes, but you have to dig deeper, or else you’ll be doing what you accuse the Koreans of doing.
i guess i’m setting a high standard for the Chinese industry. I love China and everything, but I guess what I really want is a someone who can grab attentions from other countries. When some people think of Chinese music, most of their reactions would be Jolin Tsai, Jay Chou, Wang Lee Hom, Rainie Yang. I love some of them, but they do not truly represent China. You always see Chinese people listening to Korean music, but it’s so rare for Koreans to listen to music from China.
I wouldn’t mind buying her album; she’s proven to be a great singer, but her previous albums really lacked some quality and spark, like hobielover said, too many plain ballads.
And why does a post about Jane have to involve Bibi and Li Yuchun? Heh they’re not that bad, but I’m not a fan of them. But I don’t not think that they’re undeserving of their popularity though. No one really ‘deserves’ fame, it’s not something you can quantify, but I’d like to see more people supporting Jane, because with her vocals and her looks, she is capable of so much.
yay i wanna buy it, but i hav no money ;(
I agree that Jane has a nice voice after hearing her sing with LeeHom. That duet is probably going to help her a lot, as a lot of the LeeHom fans now want to know who she is, but she does need more interesting songs on her own albums. There have been too many plain ballads, so if this album is a turning point from that, it’s very welcome. I’ll have to check it out. :)
yelei…that’s still not a list of who you actually like. I mean…you’ve got quite some standards there…you don’t want a wave, you want a Tsunami.
Chris isn’t the best singer, but she’s still good. People talk about her like she’s some nutjob picked off the street and given fame.
As a student, she chose to go the unsafe route and become an musician over steady jobs, and applied to Sichuan Convservatory of music. She gave her life to music before any thought of fame. Her popularity does not match her singing ability, but the discrepancy in fame vs skill is not as huge as some other singers who plain do not deserve anything because their abilities are nonexistant.
okay…as much underated Jane is, can we stop bashing Li Yuchun and Bibi here? Bibi is another one of those who have perfect lives and has a good voice. Whether you like her or not, she can sing. There’s no argument about it.
Li Yuchun may not have a “wow” voice like Bibi and Jane, but that doesn’t make her less deserving of attention. She doesn’t sing off key, she has stage power, she’s very professional, she loves music, and she has a great personality. And that’s not counting the fact that she has the largest fanbased charity in China.
And although Jane lacks the hardcore fan groups of Li Yuchun and Bibi, she has a wider audience that admires her.
and yelei, I’m not really sure what you meant by your comment. Because what I get from it is that while Jane’s overrated, Li Yuchun and Bibi are even more overated. So overall, they’re all overrated despite the fact that no one even has heard of them outside of mainland.
And who do you consider a sensational artist?
[b]cfensi[/b] you’re right and when I was posting this comment, I realize I’m pretty negative with my comments here.
Yes I have to agree that Fahrenheit and DBSK are seriously overrated, but I don’t think she falls under the same category as them. Jane has a wonderful voice, but there is something I don’t like about her. Don’t get me wrong, I think she is very talented and deserves way more attention than Li Chun (whatever her name is) and BiBi. I can truly say that my understanding of the Chinese entertainment is pretty vague. I’m pretty aware of what is happening in Taiwan and Korea, but China is just different. China is such a big country and with MANY artists, it’s just difficult. When I flip through the Chinese Mainland entertainment section in the newspaper, I see more actors and actresses rather than singers.
I guess what I’m trying to say is, I still haven’t spot a true sensation singer that can start the Chinese wave. I actually really do want to see it happen though.
I used to like DBSK, but after they are like known by everyone and with their crazy fans, I’m no longer their fan. As for Super Junior, I never supported the whole 13 member deal. Seriously what is up with that? F4? LOL, those good old Meteor Garden days. I admit, I was once obsessed with them.. obsessed with Vic Zhou. Now I look at them, I don’t have much interest in them.
Right now, I think China have too many artists (underrated & overrated). But then I can’t them them since China it is a pretty big country.
Sorry if my comments mislead some of you. I actually really appreciate your updates with the Chinese Entertainment.
overrated compared to who? Fahrenheit? DBSK? Super Junior? F4?
People outside of mainland barely knows who she is, and she has one of the most versatile, gorgeous and stable voices of cpop.
Sure, there are plenty of underrated folk singers with good voices, but few female pop singer in any music industry can pull off perfect lives like her.
Overrated? No way in hell is she even close to getting the right amount of attention she deserves. Not only is she not recognized outside of Mainland China, she’s not even as popular as her Supergirl co-participants Li Yuchun and Zhou Bichang, who are, imo, far less talented than she is.
There’s overrated, and then there’s the terribly underrated, which is her. I really can’t think of others with her skills or versatility combined with stage presence..she’s great at Chinese-styled songs or RnB. Plus she composed a really pretty song that I liked before I knew she composed it.
But yelei…I’m curious…who do you actually like? It’s rather hard to tell from your comments which are largely negative in nature.
I like her songs and all, but honestly I think she is overrated. That’s just my opinion though =x