Post by fidella on Nov 25, 2005 17:38:31 GMT 7
Race To The Top
Source: The New Paper, Singapore
credits: isaac_1988 - www.jay-chou.net
Taiwanese singer Jay Chou and Singapore's Stefanie Sun found Mandarin pop fame at the same time and pace. But will one overtake the other? Industry-watchers give CHANG MAY CHOON their views
THEIR careers are practically mirror images.
If Jay Chou is the quintessential golden boy of Mandopop, Stefanie Sun is the genre's golden girl.
Since shooting into the music stratosphere at about the same time in 2000, with their respective solo debuts, they have kept apace on the red carpet to fame and glamour.
Although Jay, 26, hails from Taiwan, and Stefanie, 27, Singapore, both have stirred up a new wave of Chinese pop and R&B that has remained unrivalled today.
From selling millions of copies of CDs, topping music charts, dominating award ceremonies and bagging coveted product endorsements, both have basked in the glory of their musical endeavours.
He is as much a mummy's boy as she is a daddy's girl and, between them, they have hogged enough headlines to fill a thick book.
But now, in the fifth year of their illustrious music careers - a critical time because of the Chinese pop world's supposed five-year shelf life curse - the differences are beginning to show.
Both have been in the news recently, after Stefanie released her latest album, A Perfect Day, last month, followed by Jay's November's Chopin.
While Stefanie has been lauded by critics for experimenting with new musical styles, Jay has drawn flak for hitting a plateau with the same old R&B sound.
However, Jay scores for branching out into acting, winning a Golden Horse trophy to boot for his role in movie Initial D, while Stefanie has yet to prove her talent in other areas.
Stefanie's split from her Singaporean boyfriend last month has also caused her much grief, so much so that she has asked for 'time and space' to sort out her feelings after coming clean to the Taiwanese press.
Meanwhile, Jay continues to charge full steam ahead, playing coy games with the media when it comes to his belle, TV host Patty Hou.
Rumours of a break-up surfaced after Jay's mentor, Jacky Wu, gave a cryptic hint on Monday that a very famous celebrity couple had split up, but that he could not reveal who.
Relationship talk aside, where will Jay and Stefanie go from here?
MUSIC AND BEYOND
Will the two Mandopop miracles be able to stand tall, despite all-round shrinking CD sales due to rampant piracy and Internet downloads?
Initial sales of 150,000 copies in South-east Asia for Stefanie's latest album are considered low, while Jay's sales figures remain to be seen.
Are they still on the right track towards a long-lasting showbiz career, one perhaps best exemplified by Cantopop king Jacky Cheung?
In the end, who will outlast whom?
The five pundits The New Paper spoke to were divided.
Most raised eyebrows over Jay's musical stagnation, but lauded his acting in Initial D.
'Jay should really try something new because he keeps repeating himself over and over again,' said Mr Paul Chan, MediaCorp's channel vice-president (Chinese broadcast).
'But he was very smart to do Initial D. Now he can always turn to acting if his music fails to sell.'
Said You Weekly journalist Tina Tan: 'It's not a good sign for an artiste to be stagnant. Nobody will give him credit if he stops coming up with fresh new ideas.'
All those we spoke to agreed that becoming a well-rounded artiste is the key to survival in the ever-changing pop scene, a reality that even the reluctant ice queen Faye Wong had to accept.
Jay's Best New Performer Golden Horse award has sparked talk of a second film and, given his musical abilities, he could even help produce the entire soundtrack.
Stefanie, though, has a lot of catching up to do in this area.
Talk of her teaming up with her movie idol Stephen Chow for her celluloid debut started more than a year ago, but there has been no action yet.
CAN SHE ACT?
Some quarters think she could become the next Sammi Cheng, lighting up the big screen with her sassy spunk and irrepressible cheer.
But others doubt her acting potential.
You Weekly's Miss Tan said Stefanie lacks Sammi's softness and wouldn't make a good leading lady in a romantic comedy.
'As a singer, Stefanie has a very unique voice. But as an actress? It will be weird if she plays a demure role. She could play a singer like herself, but isn't that too little of a challenge?'
But Stefanie has done well in injecting new sound into her albums, an aspect that Jay has neglected.
The industry watchers agreed that she would always experiment with new musical styles, as she did with world pop tune Green Light, the Indian-influenced Magical and her trance-infused single, A Perfect Day.
But Mr James Kang, marketing director of local music label Play Music, warned that Stefanie's alternative leanings run the risk of alienating her mainstream pop audience.
'It's obvious that Stefanie is starting to do more of what she likes to do and not what appeals to the masses.
'But she cannot ignore the commercial part, or she will suffer the downside of sliding sales figures, which is the best indicator of what people want.'
Veteran singer-turned-vocal trainer Roy Loi also stressed that change is not always good.
'There is a risk involved whether
you seek change or refuse to change,' he reasoned.
'If you change once and succeed, the expectations for your next album will go up.
If you don't deliver, the disappointment will be bigger.'
When it comes to staying power, three of our five pundits picked Jay over Stefanie.
Miss Tan said: 'Jay will remain a singer as long as he gets the glory and recognition, because he cares a lot about winning awards.
'But Stefanie may bow out when she gets to a stage where she decides, 'Enough is enough!' She would leave because she wants to and not because of market forces at play.'
STAYING POWER
Play Music's Mr Kang said that Jay has proven to be an all-round entertainer and tends to be more visible while Stefanie keeps a lower profile.
'Jay is still in a league of his own.
No one comes close to the way he does R&B. Critics and hardcore music fans criticise (him because) his music doesn't change, but the masses are not tired of him yet.'
Mr Loi, however, gave his vote to Stefanie because he believes her sincerity and more relaxed attitude will go a long way.
'She never goes with the flow. Her musical style is unique and her best songs are still her ballads.'
The good news is that even if Jay or Stefanie were to lose favour with fans eventually, pundits said that they have enough experience to go behind the scenes, composing and producing for other singers or discovering and grooming new talent.
Who knows? They might one day be the two golden producers of Mandopop instead.
Source: The New Paper, Singapore
credits: isaac_1988 - www.jay-chou.net
Taiwanese singer Jay Chou and Singapore's Stefanie Sun found Mandarin pop fame at the same time and pace. But will one overtake the other? Industry-watchers give CHANG MAY CHOON their views
THEIR careers are practically mirror images.
If Jay Chou is the quintessential golden boy of Mandopop, Stefanie Sun is the genre's golden girl.
Since shooting into the music stratosphere at about the same time in 2000, with their respective solo debuts, they have kept apace on the red carpet to fame and glamour.
Although Jay, 26, hails from Taiwan, and Stefanie, 27, Singapore, both have stirred up a new wave of Chinese pop and R&B that has remained unrivalled today.
From selling millions of copies of CDs, topping music charts, dominating award ceremonies and bagging coveted product endorsements, both have basked in the glory of their musical endeavours.
He is as much a mummy's boy as she is a daddy's girl and, between them, they have hogged enough headlines to fill a thick book.
But now, in the fifth year of their illustrious music careers - a critical time because of the Chinese pop world's supposed five-year shelf life curse - the differences are beginning to show.
Both have been in the news recently, after Stefanie released her latest album, A Perfect Day, last month, followed by Jay's November's Chopin.
While Stefanie has been lauded by critics for experimenting with new musical styles, Jay has drawn flak for hitting a plateau with the same old R&B sound.
However, Jay scores for branching out into acting, winning a Golden Horse trophy to boot for his role in movie Initial D, while Stefanie has yet to prove her talent in other areas.
Stefanie's split from her Singaporean boyfriend last month has also caused her much grief, so much so that she has asked for 'time and space' to sort out her feelings after coming clean to the Taiwanese press.
Meanwhile, Jay continues to charge full steam ahead, playing coy games with the media when it comes to his belle, TV host Patty Hou.
Rumours of a break-up surfaced after Jay's mentor, Jacky Wu, gave a cryptic hint on Monday that a very famous celebrity couple had split up, but that he could not reveal who.
Relationship talk aside, where will Jay and Stefanie go from here?
MUSIC AND BEYOND
Will the two Mandopop miracles be able to stand tall, despite all-round shrinking CD sales due to rampant piracy and Internet downloads?
Initial sales of 150,000 copies in South-east Asia for Stefanie's latest album are considered low, while Jay's sales figures remain to be seen.
Are they still on the right track towards a long-lasting showbiz career, one perhaps best exemplified by Cantopop king Jacky Cheung?
In the end, who will outlast whom?
The five pundits The New Paper spoke to were divided.
Most raised eyebrows over Jay's musical stagnation, but lauded his acting in Initial D.
'Jay should really try something new because he keeps repeating himself over and over again,' said Mr Paul Chan, MediaCorp's channel vice-president (Chinese broadcast).
'But he was very smart to do Initial D. Now he can always turn to acting if his music fails to sell.'
Said You Weekly journalist Tina Tan: 'It's not a good sign for an artiste to be stagnant. Nobody will give him credit if he stops coming up with fresh new ideas.'
All those we spoke to agreed that becoming a well-rounded artiste is the key to survival in the ever-changing pop scene, a reality that even the reluctant ice queen Faye Wong had to accept.
Jay's Best New Performer Golden Horse award has sparked talk of a second film and, given his musical abilities, he could even help produce the entire soundtrack.
Stefanie, though, has a lot of catching up to do in this area.
Talk of her teaming up with her movie idol Stephen Chow for her celluloid debut started more than a year ago, but there has been no action yet.
CAN SHE ACT?
Some quarters think she could become the next Sammi Cheng, lighting up the big screen with her sassy spunk and irrepressible cheer.
But others doubt her acting potential.
You Weekly's Miss Tan said Stefanie lacks Sammi's softness and wouldn't make a good leading lady in a romantic comedy.
'As a singer, Stefanie has a very unique voice. But as an actress? It will be weird if she plays a demure role. She could play a singer like herself, but isn't that too little of a challenge?'
But Stefanie has done well in injecting new sound into her albums, an aspect that Jay has neglected.
The industry watchers agreed that she would always experiment with new musical styles, as she did with world pop tune Green Light, the Indian-influenced Magical and her trance-infused single, A Perfect Day.
But Mr James Kang, marketing director of local music label Play Music, warned that Stefanie's alternative leanings run the risk of alienating her mainstream pop audience.
'It's obvious that Stefanie is starting to do more of what she likes to do and not what appeals to the masses.
'But she cannot ignore the commercial part, or she will suffer the downside of sliding sales figures, which is the best indicator of what people want.'
Veteran singer-turned-vocal trainer Roy Loi also stressed that change is not always good.
'There is a risk involved whether
you seek change or refuse to change,' he reasoned.
'If you change once and succeed, the expectations for your next album will go up.
If you don't deliver, the disappointment will be bigger.'
When it comes to staying power, three of our five pundits picked Jay over Stefanie.
Miss Tan said: 'Jay will remain a singer as long as he gets the glory and recognition, because he cares a lot about winning awards.
'But Stefanie may bow out when she gets to a stage where she decides, 'Enough is enough!' She would leave because she wants to and not because of market forces at play.'
STAYING POWER
Play Music's Mr Kang said that Jay has proven to be an all-round entertainer and tends to be more visible while Stefanie keeps a lower profile.
'Jay is still in a league of his own.
No one comes close to the way he does R&B. Critics and hardcore music fans criticise (him because) his music doesn't change, but the masses are not tired of him yet.'
Mr Loi, however, gave his vote to Stefanie because he believes her sincerity and more relaxed attitude will go a long way.
'She never goes with the flow. Her musical style is unique and her best songs are still her ballads.'
The good news is that even if Jay or Stefanie were to lose favour with fans eventually, pundits said that they have enough experience to go behind the scenes, composing and producing for other singers or discovering and grooming new talent.
Who knows? They might one day be the two golden producers of Mandopop instead.
