Jane Zhang - Reform

And this is Jane Zhang! Wow, I wasn't expecting her new album so fast and I had a real nice surprise especially that Jane is one of my faves of all time!

She welcomes us with a beautiful and strong song 我的模樣. Rockish feeling, something that's never happened on her albums before. Maybe that's the whole change she suggested in the title? The second track 追愛 keeps the rocking but in a little different style. 出境入境 can be described as.. "totally relaxing". Such a pretty song! And a ballad is a must but I've always liked Jane's ballads. 錯就錯 is no different I like it but it somehow touched me. It's very beautiful. 為愛瘋狂 is a simple pop song just the way Jane'd do it. But there goes an upbeat song 大膽 - very catchy! The next one 愛就愛 is a ballad but not a classical one. I guess they call it R'n'B ballad but in fact they have nothing to do with R'n'B. But if you wanted a classical ballad with piano in the back and all the stuff here you have 有時候. 上一章 is pretty hard to describe. Not a ballad, not an upbeat song but something between. And finally titular 改變 which is really pretty piece. U just gotta hear it youself!

It's very recommendable to buy it. The release date is June 1 but that's the Chinese version. The Taiwanese one will be a little later. I have no idea what's the difference between those two versions except for the price. But I'd recommend to wait a while. Knowing Jane's company they'll release second Taiwanese version with DVD and all the cool stuff inside. So I'm going to wait for the second one since I didn't do it with the last album and I regretted it afterwards.

Artist: Jane Zhang 張靚穎
Album: Reform 改变
Year: 2011
Language: Mandarin
Genre: pop
01. 我的模樣
02. 追愛
03. 出境入境
04. 錯就錯
05. 為愛瘋狂
06. 大膽
07. 愛就愛
08. 有時候
09. 上一章
10. 改變

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Yoga Lin - Perfect Life

And that's what we've all been waiting for (I hope ;p). Yoga Lin's new album. I had a big shock when I saw the tracklist - so big! But it turned out kinda different, I'm gonna talk about it later.

It's a really long tracklist so I'm just gonna mention my 3 favorite tracks - 自然醒, 紀念品 and 不換 which I really recommend. And of course the fabulous Fly My Way but it was known a long time ago. You can type it in YouTube and check it out, I've uploaded the last two.
About the second part - well I thought it's gonna be studio version of any of these, but it turned out to be Senses Around Live Tour. So just lives.
But just to note one thing: if you liked Yoga's last album you definitely will find yourself liking this one.
About the cover: OMGD, he looks like Edison Chen there ;D So at first I was like 'what? Edison's new album? No, wait, it says Yoga... wtf? I'm confused' XD

Artist: Yoga Lin 林宥嘉
Album: Perfect Life 美妙生活
Year: 2011
Language: Mandarin/English
Genre: pop/rock
CD1
01.美妙生活
02.自然醒
03.想自由
04.我總是一個人在練習一個人
05.紀念品
06.不換
07.擁有
08.早開的晚霞
09.想念
10.晚安
11.Fly My Way
CD2 - LIVE
01.Song 2
02.Ain't No Sunshine
03.突然想起你
04.春光乍泄
05.作伴
06.飄
07.Carnival
08.我只在乎你
09.老實情歌
10.Everyday
11.The Hindu Times
12.羅密歐與朱麗葉
13.First Of The Gang To Die
14.雨和眼淚
15.Darling
16.How Deep Is Your Love
17.眼色
CD1 only

CD1 + CD2

^credit: uwants^

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PopHolic - Debut Album

PopHolic is a new boyband from Taiwan. That's all I've found about them.
Funny thing, they're called PopHolic but their music isn't something you'd expect from a boyband. I mean that's not a normal "pop" like, say, TopCombine does. It's more of pop-rock. You can actually hear guitars here. And that's a big plus. And they're so cute!
I've tried to make a review but then I realized all the songs are pretty much the same. I mean, not that it's a bad thing. Some of them are more punkish, some are slower but they have one thing in common: sooo sweet! That's what I think about this entire album :D It's this kind of pop-rock for teenagers but I think you'll like it no matter how old you are. It's the kind of music that makes the world colorful and happy.
My feeling are very positive about this position and the whole band ;)

Artist: PopHolic 流行駭客
Album: 同名專輯
Year: 2011
Language: Mandarin
Genre: pop, rock
01.揀愛
02.戀愛感冒
03.No Money But Happy
04.的機會
05.Let's Go
06.我學會
07.Summer Party
08.HyperSelf
09.Say Hi！
10.無畏

^credit: maypaycmusic ^

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Vanness Wu - V

I know this is japanese but Vanness isn't someone you can just pass by. So this'll be the second post with his japanese music. He obviously neglects the chinese market! But I'm happy someone's finally uploaded it (what took them so long O.o) and we can enjoy it. His last album was great let's see how about this one.

The album starts with nice and upbeat Break Out! which is perfect for an opening. Mission keeps the dance tune. Why starts in English and then Japanese comes. This song is... very Japanese, lol. But that's a compliment and the song is very pretty. Ending is very nice. If you haven't heard his single No More Tears yet you can hear it here. I like the song very much so I'm happy it's on this album. Soldier was a single too (and was horribly hard to find!). It's completely different than any other song on the album. It's spported by fast guitars. Same goes to Better (that it was on a single). It's a beautiful ballad sung entirely in English. The next track is actually a remix of Shine On. Sometimes it happens that a remix is better than the original song but in this case I prefer the original. And that's mostly coz the remix here's lost the strings in the background that ver a very important addiction. Well, they made a dance version, that's all. But it repeats itself almost all the time the same rhythm. Unfortunatelly, we're heading to the end and the last song is Love Will Come which took my breath away. Coz I wasn't expecting it. I think you can label it as a electro-rock track. Amazing. I think it's whole in English but I'm not sure since there are parts where it's hard to vary words. It stays on replay in my player.

Artist: Vanness Wu 吴建豪
Album: V
Year: 2011
Language: Japanese
Genre: pop/dance
01. Break Out!
02. Mission
03. Why
04. No More Tears
05. Soldier
06. Better
07. Shine On (Plasmo` Electric Mix)
08. Love Will Come

^credit: uwants^

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A-Mei Chang - R U Watching?

I'm afraid it's too much to ask for another album as good as Amit but let's hope this one will be good too. Even though the times of the Amit style are gone.
Unfortunately for some people the album starts with a ballad titled 都什麼時候了. What I like about it is her jazzy singing. It's really unique. 一個人對話 is much better in my opinion. RnB ballad I guess you can call it like that. 還有眼淚就好 is completely not my cup of tea. Just a ballad, nothing special. 他們 is another slower song, another one that I don't find that good. Just not original I suppose. With 我最親愛的 I start to wonder "when the hell all the ballads will end?" and you can assume I don't like it but the answer comes with the next track 你在看我嗎 that ends the ballad part. This time it's completely different with a great (and this time original!) background music. But weird on the other hand. With the second part of the album you can finally start to dance. 潛規則 is an upbeat track kinda RnB but not exactly. 來鬧的 is a good track and I say it with all confidence. Some guitars in the back and really good chorus! Definitely my favorite. Actually this song is the reason I decided to write this review till the end coz after the first half I wanted to stop and erase everything I'd wrote and just give up on this album full of ballads I don't like. But I did a quick listening of all the tracks and decided to write about this one. I think it deserves it. Upbeat 渴了is good too. And for the end - High咖. Ending better than the beginning...
All in all I'm disappointed. This surely isn't the next Amit but it's not even half that good. But I guess it's just me, a person who can't stand ballads, but if you like them - give it a try.

Artist: A-Mei Chang 張惠妹
Album: R U Watching? 你在看我嗎
Year: 2011
Language: Mandarin
Genre: pop/ballad
01. 都什麼時候了
02. 一個人對話
03. 還有眼淚就好
04. 他們
05. 我最親愛的
06. 你在看我嗎
07. 潛規則
08. 來鬧的
09. 渴了
10. High咖

^credit: maypaycmusic^

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Shawn Yue - Not a Star N.A.S

Frankly, I had no idea Shawn can sing. For me he was just an actor. An awesome looking actor to be precise. When I saw this album I was like "OMGD! Shawn!" and I had to check it out. Especially that it's title kinda makes me laugh xD
The album starts with good rocking. And I mean rocking, not some silly pop-rockish sounds. He really rocks it! An absolute awesomeness. This is when I knew it's gonna be good. But with the second track it changes to some upbeat, dance song. Not that it bothers me, no way since it's a great and entertaining song. Dance continues with 喂！喂 ! So far so good. On the other hand 其實我們很熟 is an acoustic ballad which completely took my heart which happens really rare. And another ballad 默背妳的心碎, this time more classical, you know, with piano and all that stuff. Can be, it's kinda pretty to tell the truth. 男人愛麻煩 is a duet with, here a surprise since it's not a girl, with Hanjin! The song is a pretty acoustic ballad. To keep you awake Shawn gives us a dance track with some rapping. I dunno why it reminds me of Stanley Huang... But it's a very interesting track that Stanley Huang' would like also I guess ;D 你說我太帥 is, I guess, my second fave here. Hard to describe. It's a very happy rock song that makes me think of summertime and, you know, lots of fun. Fantastic song. 有骨氣 is much slower, but not boring. The kind of "ballad" I like. Cuz it's not really a ballad but anyway it's a pretty one. And for the end a remix of second song.
So, all in all, it's a very good album and I enjoyed it a lot!

Artist: Shawn Yue 余文樂
Album: Not a Star N.A.S 不是明星N.A.S
Year: 2011
Language: Mandarin
Genre: pop/rock/dance/ballad
01. 不是明星
02. 給我一杯
03. 喂！喂！
04. 其實我們很熟
05. 默背妳的心碎
06. 男人愛麻煩 (陳奐仁合唱)
07. 快瘋了
08. 你說我太帥
09. 有骨氣
10. 給我一杯 (NIGO® REMIX)

^credit: uwants^

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SIGMA - SIGMA

If you wonder what makes SIGMA different from other chinese boybands and you can't find the answer then you're probably right. Coz there's nothing - they're even under the same company as Fahrenheit. Or maybe there's one thing - if some of you know Judy Chou, then you can be happy hearing that he's one of the three members. And if you're thinking that they're little kpopish then you're right again. They worked with some Koreans on this album as I've heard. But anyway they're just another boyband yet it doesn't mean you can let them go just like that. You won't regret. Why would you? And as for me - I liked it. And 我這邊 is my fave.

Artist: SIGMA
Album: SIGMA同名專輯
Year: 2010
Language: Mandarin
Genre: pop/dance

01.SIGMA Hot
02.我得了一種不跳舞就會死的病
03.後男友
04.淚奔
05.世界這麼亂
06.至少我有熱血到
07.讓我一次愛個夠
08.心裡的 OS
09.我這邊
10.就像妳是我

^credit: maypay^

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Anthony Neely - Lesson One

This lovely Taiwanese - American guy is killing me softly with his songs. Why? One simple reason - his album is perfect. Wonderful songs both in English and Mandarin. From beautiful ballads to pop rock songs that can melt your heart. Highly recommendable.
Btw this photo session for the album is amazing - he looks so much better than he realy does lol XD

Artist: Anthony Neely 倪安東
Album: Lesson One 第一課
Year: 2010
Language: Mandarin/English
Genre: pop/rock/ballad
01. 第一課 Lesson One
02. Sorry That I Loved You
03. 末日快樂 Happy Armageddon
04. 散場的擁抱 The Last Embrace
05. 不耐煩 Fed Up
06. 幸福事小 The Little Things
07. 纏鬥 Brawl
08. 惡夢 Nightmares
09. 紳士 The Gentleman
10. 藏起來 Hide Away
11. The Blower's Daughter

^credit: lalulalu^

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JJ Lin - She Says

Here it is! Our beloved JJ's highly anticipated album. Actually these songs aren't new (most of them), however he sings them for the first time. Before he had written them for other artists (females) and then he recorded them himself - maybe you can treat it as HIS own point of view at these songs.
Which is your personal fave? Mine is 只對你有感覺 (originally performed by Fahrenheit & Hebe).
This December is killin' me - so many wonderful releases (including the ones from Japan & Korea) - and I really wanna buy them all ^ ^

Artist: JJ Lin 林俊傑
Album: She Says 她說
Year: 2010
Language: Mandarin
Genre: pop/ballad

01 她說 She Says
02 愛笑的眼睛 Smiling Eyes [Vivian Hsu]
03 只對你有感覺 Feel For You [Fahrenheit & Hebe]
04 當你 Whenever [Cyndi Wang]
05 一眼萬年 Forever [S.H.E]
06 保護色 Protective Colors (Featuring 張韶涵) [Angela Chang]
07 握不住的他 The Taste of Love [Xiao Xiao]
08 心牆 Wall [Clarie Kuo]
09 我很想愛他 Loving Her [Twins]
10 一生的愛 Eternal Love [Li Bing Bing]
11 記得 Remember [A-Mei]
12 完美新世界 Perfect World
13 I AM
14 真材實料的我

^credit: maypaycmusic^

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G.E.M Tang - My Secret

The album is up. And YesAsia is fricking me out, coz they've sent me an email with a change of shipping's date twice already. First it was supposed to be on 30th of October and today I received another mail saying that the date has changed to 12th of November.
I really like to listen to an album when I get my own copy. It's such a bigger joy, but the thought of waiting another 3 weeks to get my copy makes me wanna listen to it now.
That's the reason why I won't write a review. But you can be sure that the whole album will be a great success and hit, so don't hesitate to listen (AND BUY! - especially the special limited version - it's soo cool!).

--
Edit: After all I decided to give it a listen. One Button is something new in GEM's style. But it's a great song. The next track is Good To Be Bad, the first single. I love this song so much. Get Over You is the second single. A beautiful ballad. GEM likes to mix styles, experiment with new things, likes to surprise us. Like with the next song 美好的舊時光. I dunno how to describe it. Very nice and pleasurable song, something like a faster ballad. You can describe 寂寞星球的小玫瑰 somehow similar. I was afraid The Voice Within will turn out to be Christina Aguilera's cover, but fortunately it's not (not that I have anything against CA, I do adore her, but sometimes you just shouldn't cover such artists - a fail is granted). Very pretty song, I like it. But along with 我的秘密 I start to worry. Why so many slower songs, where's the upbeat? Apart from that 我的秘密 has a beautiful melody and chorus. There're some guitars in the back and a piano. 末日 is a ballad this time. Pay attention to the background music. Wonderful! But I really want the usual GEM! The faster GEM. Twinkle II - an English/Mandarin song. "Twinkle, twinkle, little star" - remember that? It's like her version. I absolutely love it. Kay, my dream came true. Say it Loud is faster, finally. Not dance, but pop. Great chorus.
Summarizing - it's a very good album. Well, it's not a new thing - everything that GEM's doing is fantastic. But I must say one thing - too many slow songs. Even though I love every single one of them, there should be more songs like One Button or Good To Be Bad. But at least GEM's isn't monothematic. I'm glad.

Artist: G.E.M Tang
Album: My Secret
Year: 2010
Language: Cantonese/ Mandarin
Genre: dance/pop/ballad

01. One Button
02. Good to be Bad
03. Get Over You
04. 美好的舊時光
05. 寂寞星球的小玫瑰
06. The Voice Within
07. 我的秘密
08. 末日
09. Twinkle II
10. Say it Loud

^credit: c-k-jpopmusic^

Edit2: A little encourage for you to actually buy the album. I got my copy today and it was huge! You can actually see the whole thing on GEM's youtube channel.
There's also some weird but really cool thing called webcam-v. Meaning you can make your own Video to The Voice Within. You just have to get a kind of key or marker - you can get it along with the original copy or simply print it out on her web page. It's really cool. I've spent 2 hours playing with it ;D Right, you need a webcam, of course. You can see a demo on her web page or yt channel as well.
About the limited edition - there's only 8000 of those, so hurry up to get yours! It's big so make sure you've got a place for it (coz I don't - my whole shelf is filled up with some crazy limited editions of various shapes ;D).
And maybe this will encourage you even more - there's also an option with a poster and also - you can get it on YesAsia 12% off.
Support GEM, she's really worked hard ;)

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M.I.C - Rock Star EP

Somehow, I managed to find it! I can't find how to buy it online, though...

CHECK IT OUT! M.I.C is imo the best boyband in China. No doubt about it.

Artist: MIC男团
Album: Rock Star EP
Year: 2010
Language: Mandarin
Genre: dance/r&b/pop

01.Rock Star
02.要命的烦恼
03.漫游记
04. 这次，真的是你不对
05.第几幕的爱
06.要命的烦恼（特别版/Special version）


^credit: maypay^

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Fahrenheit - Super HOT

Quickly: this is it. Fahrenheit continues their style from previous album. Little dance, little ballads, little pop/rock, little pop and... even elements of folk.

I LOVE THE ALBUM. Period.
Way too hot ;D

Artist: Fahrenheit 飛輪海
Album: Super HOT 太熱
Year: 2010
Language: Mandarin
Genre: dance/ballad/pop
01.太热
02.Sexy Girl
03.心疼你的心疼
04.继续爱
05.很安静
06.守护星
07.活得更像我
08.误会
09.泰山程式
10.新生

^credit: maypay^

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Nicky Lee - Hao Jiu

Have you ever had this thing that you adore one's voice but his songs aren't really good? So you just have to stick to those few good songs he has. But you dream that one day will come that you will listen to the whole album and say "that's it. I love it". That's my thing with Nicky. I love Nicky's voice, it's so uniqe. And I love his bio (Korean born, raised in US, now living in China - that's just too perfect!). His previous albums had few good songs. The rest was really boring. But then... 好玖, his new album came. I fell in love. I can't stop listening.
Thank you, Nicky.

Album starts with an awesome cover of Right Here Waiting. I couldn't stop myself from thinking that it's even better from Bryan Adam's version. Then next is 不愛了, which is a beautiful ballad. Just beautiful. 夏天 has a little faster pace and even some guitar. Wonderful. Probably you won't be surprised if I say that 最後的那一天 and 稱謂 are amazing too. And then comes No More Cryin' which can really surprise you. My favorite track here. Hard to say something about this song. It's just too perfect to say I guess. It ain't a ballad, yet it has some balladish feeling. 不一樣 is love. 他不夠愛妳 is the most wonderful way of saying "sorry". Who wouldn't forgive you after that, Nicky? And for the end - my song. Making Love Out of Nothing At All is a song used in Monga movie. I fell in love with this song when I first heard it. It's just... I dunno. So much better than the original. Nicky's voice makes it this way. Also, people were saying they don't like the second part of the song, cuz it spoils the whole feeling. I disagree. The second part, when guitars come is my favorite. Ridiculously amazing.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

Artist: Nicky Lee 李玖哲
Album: Hao Jiu 好玖
Year: 2010
Language: Mandarin
Genre: ballad/pop
1. Right Here Waiting
2. 不愛了 (緯來戲劇『意外的人生』片頭曲 / 東森戲劇『松藥局的兒子們』片頭曲)
3. 夏天
4. 最後的那一天 (八大戲劇『殘酷的愛』片頭曲)
5. 稱謂
6. No More Cryin'
7. 不一樣
8. 他不夠愛妳
9. Making Love Out Of Nothing At All (電影『艋舺』蚊子與小凝初吻定情曲)

^credit: lalulalu^

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Kangta - First Digital Single

I always knew that Kangta has some hidden love for China (including Taiwan). Since he's done SCANDAL with Vanness I hoped he will return to do music here. And he did! With his first mandarin digital single (or rather EP).

Truth, it has many ballads, but what to expect from Kangta? I mean, he's Korean, he's releasing in Chinese. It's only natural there will be ballads. Besides he loves ballads. But I really like his voice (I really like HIM :D) so I had no problem with that at all. I'm glad he decided to do something in Mandarin at last.

Many Times and 不习惯 are both slow ballads. It changes with 我们的彩虹 when something little faster comes. And 爱，频率 is a total surprise. Kangta in... dance. The kind of dance you get in some clubs, something more technoish. And I happen to hate techno and love this song. Try to figure out my weirdness ;D And for goodbye - 记得 with hope for more.

Uh, my tracklist was screwed up again. The original tracklist is in different order.

Artist: Kangta 安七炫
Album: First Digital Single 静享七乐
Year: 2010
Language: Mandarin
Genre: ballad/pop
01. 爱，频率
02. 记得
03. 我们的彩虹
04. 不习惯
05. Many Times

^credit: maypay^

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Elva Hsiao - Miss Elva

YAY TO THE NEW ELVA'S ALBUM!! Can't say how happy I am everytime when my favorite cpop artists release new albums. Elva's one of them. I couldn't believe that she recorded new album so fast, I mean, her latest album wasn't released so long ago... Or was it?

And coz Elva's one of my faves, I'm gonna give y'all link to the album first and my review will be a little later.

And yes, her shoes are awful >.<

Artist: Elva Hsiao 蕭亞軒
Album: Miss Elva 蕭灑小姐
Year: 2010
Language: Mandarin
Genre: pop/dance/ballad

01.蕭灑小姐
02.狂想曲
03.錯的人
04.讓愛飛起來
05.雙面女神
06.大說謊家
07.夢境一
08.玩笑
09.抱緊你
10.瘦瘦瘦瘦(夢境二)
11.完整我

^credit: uwants^

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Jolin Tsai - Myself

I missed her. Her good times actually coz her last album wasn't that good. I missed Agent J times. And when they said that on her new album there will be lots of upbeat songs I was so happy. Let's see if there's something that Jolin still haven't given us yet.
First she gives us a strong dance songs. Very upbeat, something new. Listening to 美人計 gets Benassi Bros' Satisfaction on my mind. The rhythm is completely different but the guy saying something about satisfaction just affects like that :D There're lots of interludes but they're very short and you don't even realize when they're playing and the next song is already on~ Oh and about an album full of faster songs - they didn't lie! I counted like.. 2 ballads? Isn't it strange? But that made me really like this album. Especially the slower songs. It looks like a long tracklist but I didn't even realize when it had finished already. So too short I guess ;P

Artist: Jolin Tsai 蔡依林
Album: Myself
Year: 2010
Language: Mandarin
Genre: pop/ballad
01.美人計
02.Missed Call (Interlude)
03.玩愛之徒
04.Secret Talk (Interlude)
05.派大星
06.Let's Start The Dance (Interlude)
07.黑發尤物
08.無言以對
09.L'amour Est Parti (Interlude)
10.小傷口
11.娘子漢
12.七上八下
13.解散愛
14.I Love You Too (Interlude)
15.即時生效

^credit: uwants^

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