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CELEBRITY SPOTLIGHT #15

RAINIE YANG 楊丞琳

Born: June 4th, 1984

Taiwanese singer, Golden Bell Awards actress and talk show host.

Former member of Taiwanese girl group 4 in Love which disbanded in 2002

Favourite dramas: Devil Beside You, Legend of Speed, Love You

Top songs: 曖昧，理想情人，只想愛你，雨愛，折疊式愛情，匿名的好友，我們都傻，缺氧，冷戰，帶我走，在你懷裡的徵笑，任意門，仰望，不見

Okay, I’ll be honestly blunt. I’ve had my ups and downs with Rainie. I use to love her back in the days through dramas such as Legend of Speed, Devil Beside You and Why Why Love. To me, I see her more as an actress than a singer, cause most of the music I like from her are from OSTs. 

But then, she picked up a few “okay-ish” and “dodgey” dramas (well to me they were) which weren’t to my liking and I kinda got slightly irritated by that. The massive tick off was when she acted in Hi My Sweetheart. I really didn’t like her character, or the drama that much, but the whole world was insanely in love with it, so I was here, by myself, annoyed and wondered what the big deal was. This was also the time when I got annoyed at her off screen as well (but I’ll just keep that to myself). So that was my down period for liking Rainie, I was rather annoyed actually. 

But as drama goes, it has it’s up and downs. And her character in Love You made me like her again as an actress and her appearance on variety shows made me like her a lot off screen again. And her music, more so that one song (我們都傻), made me respect her more as a singer. 

CELEBRITY SPOTLIGHT #14

MAGIC POWER 魔幻力量

Taiwanese alternative rock band 

Vocalist 嘎嘎 (潘俊佳) Born 25 December, 1984

Vocalist 廷廷 (蕭秉治) Born 9 February, 1987

Leader & Bass Guitarist 凱開 (賴世凱) Born 4 September, 1983

Guitarist 雷堡 (李柏誼) Born 3 March, 1985

Drummer 阿翔 (黃柏翔) Born 26 February, 1981

DJ 鼓鼓 (呂思緯) Born 28 April, 1984

The group debuted at the end of 2009 with their self titled album Magic Power, and recently released their second with B’in Music

Top songs: 不按牌理出牌，放了自己，讓我罩著你，我是誰 我是誰 我是誰，黑白切，

I knew about this group when I first heard their song 我是誰 我是誰 我是誰 in the drama P.S. Man, and I liked their style of music but didn’t pay much attention to them. This year, they once again had a few songs in another drama (Love You) and I decided to check out their music and loved them.

Seeing them off screen was a huge plus! These boys are really cute and natural on screen. Seeing some YouTube videos of them and seeing them on BFB made me know about each member a little more. But in the end, it’s their music that’s most important, and I love how they can perform other people’s songs so perfectly! I love how 嘎嘎’s deep voice and 廷廷’s higher voice combines and makes their music so much more original! 

CELEBRITY SPOTLIGHT #13

KENJI WU 吳克羣

Born: October 18, 1979

Taiwanese Mandopop singer-songwriter and actor

He made his debut in 2000 with his sophomore album Tomorrow, Alone. Despite the involvement of top producers, the album was not too successful. Instead he received opportunities to act in idol dramas such as Peach Girl and Moonlight Forest.

However, with an intense passion for music, Kenji made a comeback to the music industry in November 2004 with a self-titled album, released by Seed Music

Top 10 songs: 吳克群，我能給的，破心臟，沒關係，住在心裡面，為你寫詩，牽牽牽手，大舌頭，男傭，殘廢

Kenji is one very very talented man. And I really love his music, but I didn’t know about him until last year when he released 愛我。恨我. I don’t know where I’ve been for the last 10 years when he was there making music, but I’m glad I found out about him. They say better late then never :)

After knowing about him and his music, I respect the changes he did to give his music a different feel and concept. But unfortunately, the media is always cruel and gave him a lot of bad rumours about his changes, but I believe in him, cause in the end, it was his talents that made me like him 

CELEBRITY SPOTLIGHT #12

VANNESS WU 吳建豪

Born: August 7, 1978

Taiwanese American actor, singer, director, producer based in Asia

Former F4 (JVKV) member whom was made famous by Taiwanese drama Meteor Garden

Favourite movie: Star Runner

Favourite drama: Autumn’s Concerto

Top songs: 媽媽，我的王國，Never Let You Go，誰讓你流淚，我討厭我自己，有你在，AIYA，說愛就愛，Knockin，命定，Is This All (feat Ryan Tedder)

Favourite duets: Scandal with Kangta，127 Days with Kangta

To be honest, I was never a fan of Vanness from the start. I did know of him from F4, but Vic and Jerry did steal the spotlight from him back then. It was not until he released V.DUBB that I paid attention to him, and recognise his ability to sing. 

But I loved him so much more after watching Autumn’s Concerto, cause he proved that he is a great singer and actor. I’m glad he was able to prove to be an all-rounder. He is an amazing artist and a great role model, as he persisted with his dream to become a star, and came to Taiwan alone with not much money

CELEBRITY SPOTLIGHT #11

AFU TENG 鄧福如 (阿福)

Born: June 20, 1987

Was discovered on the internet for covering various english and chinese songs, and rose to popularity with her beautiful soothing voice

She released her first debut album “Afu” on May 27th 2011 with Forward Music 

Top songs: 聲聲慢，未填詞，如果有如果，星空戀曲，起飛，一點點喜歡

I knew about Afu and her covers before her debut, and to be honest, I wasn’t really a massive fan of her back then. I wasn’t that keen with her english covers, but I did like the cover she did for Jay Chou’s 青花瓷 although it did lack a bit of “sadness”

Well I gave her a try again after her solo album and I really like it. It’s so much better to have her own album and have songs that perfectly suit her voice and personality. Her voice is really warm and soothing, so I am now pretty obsessed with her music. Please give her a try, her music is really really nice :)

CELEBRITY SPOTLIGHT #10

GEM (GLORIA) TANG 鄧紫棋

Born: 16 August, 1991

Singer-songwriter from Hong Kong

Known by her stage name G.E.M, which stands for “Get Everybody Moving”

Nicknamed “Girl with the Giant Lungs” (巨肺少女) because of her B♭3-E6 vocal range

Top 5 Canto Songs: Where Did U Go, 睡公主, Good To Be Bad, Get Over You, All About U

Top 10 Mando Songs: The Voice Within, 寂寞星球的玫瑰, 末日, 寫不完的溫柔, A.I.N.Y. (愛你), 回憶的沙漏, 我不懂愛, 我的秘密, 塞納河, 我不懂愛   

Well as most of you already know, I’m not a fan of most female artists. But I am a huge fan of GEM. Her voice is amazing. To think that she debuted when she was 16. You can actually hear her passion in her music. Her voice is so strong, so deep. This is the first female singer, I can actually say I love. I struggled to pick 15 out of her 28 songs. 

This is another one of the many singers I must see perform live at least once in my life. I really hope you continue to create such amazing music, cause you are my first loved female artist <3

CELEBRITY SPOTLIGHT #9

WILBER PAN 潘瑋柏

Born: August 6, 1980 

American-born Taiwanese Mandopop singer, rapper and actor

Started his career as a host of Channel V programmes thanks to Andy Ge

Wilber started his acting career in Taiwanese drama Spicy Teacher (麻辣鮮師) in 2000-2001. In 2008 he starred alongside Rainie Yang in Miss No Good and as a guest star Pandamen directed by Jay Chou, as well as Endless Love (愛∞無限) with Sandrine Pinna in 2010.

Top 5 Ballads: 路太灣，左右，無重力，寂屋出租，跟我走吧 

Top Songs: 完美故事，說你愛我，雙人舞，限量發行，Baby Bye，誰是MVP，全面通緝，觸動，U U U，愛上未來的你，反轉地球，著迷，無所不在，壁虎漫步

Top Duets: 不得不愛 with 弦子，Tell Me with 許慧欣，我想更懂你 with 蘇芮

I feel as though this man is so so sooo underrated. When they think of singers, he is never mentioned, when they think dance-singers, Show always comes to mind. But this man here, is another very talented dance-singer. He’s ballads are so sweet and close to heart. He’s fast, upbeat songs are so damn catchy. People need to give this guy a try, I promise you’ll fall in love with him.

I struggled so much choosing Top Songs, cause I love so many of his songs. I really hope to see you perform live. So please come to Melbourne!! You really deserve more recognition, but I’m glad you got the opportunity to perform at the Golden Melody Awards, no matter what all the haters said, I am proud of you :)

CELEBRITY SPOTLIGHT #8

MAYDAY 五月天

Taiwanese alternative rock band 

Ashin 阿信 (Vocalist) Born 6 December, 1975

Monster 怪獸 (Leader, Guitarist) Born 28 November, 1976   

Stone 石頭 (Guitarist) Born 11 December, 1976  

Masa 瑪莎 (Bass Guitarist) Born 25 April, 1977

Guan You 冠佑 (Drummer) Born 28 July, 1973

This group was formed in 1995 while they were studying in high school. They continued to perform during university at pubs and eateries before their debut. 

Ashin and Monster was from the same year in high school, and Stone and Masa was in the year below them. They all met in the guitar society, and was later joined by Guan You on debut.  

Top 5 Rock Ballads: 突然好想你，你不是真正的快樂，我心中尚未崩壞的地方，溫柔，天使

Top 5 Rock Songs: 離開地球表面，戀愛ING，能不能不要說，春天的呐喊，終結孤單

Top 5 Taiwanese Songs: 雨眠，叫我第一名，憨人，出頭天，志明與春嬌

I was so lucky to have seen this group live. The energy they put forth when performing is breath taking. My only regret was not getting better seats. I haven’t been a fan of Mayday for long. I only decided to listen to their music after knowing they came to have a concert in Melbourne, but so glad they came back the year after that. I have no regrets going to their concert or loving them and their music.

I love the chemistry between this group. They’ve known each other for so long, so the interaction between them is so real. They can joke around, knowing that no one will take anything seriously. They can argue about anything from music to what to eat. This group is one of the best groups out there. They aren’t a boy band, cause they are a band that’s full of talent and passion. They are also the best comfort music when you’re in a bad mood :)

CELEBRITY SPOTLIGHT #7

SIGMA

Three-member Taiwanese boyband

Judy Chou (周定緯): Born August 8, 1987

Jett Li (李杰宇): Born February 10, 1989

Tommy Lin (林維哲): Born March 17, 1984

Their group name is based on the mathematical symbol Σ, meaning ‘the sum of’, thus symbolising their unity, and that when talents combine, they produce the best music/entertainment etc.

This group was formed in 2010 and released their album, also named SIGMA December 2010. The members consists of One Million Star Season One’s Judy Chou, One Million Star Season Five’s Jett Li and University Dance graduate Tommy Lin.

Top 6 songs: 世界這麼亂，後男友，心裡的OS，就像妳是我，我這邊，淚奔

To be honest, I got surprised by this group. I thought they were another one of those boybands created to try and compete with the Korean market, especially when they significantly mentioned sending the trio to South Korea for dance training, but they actually have talent. Jett has an amazing voice, Tommy is an awesome dancer, and Judy is a perfect all rounder and leader. Love their music and wish their second album will come soon. I actually think they can successfully become the boy version of S.H.E. 

CELEBRITY SPOTLIGHT #6

Nicky Lee 李哲玖 (小胖子)

Born: November 26, 1980

Korean-American singer and composer based in Taiwan

Is part of Taiwanese hip hop group MACHI lead by Jeff Huang, which has another 9 members such as Jae Chong, Stanley Huang, Andrew Chou, etc

Recently formed a new group called AZIATIX with Flowsik and Eddie Shin to target the US music market, and releasing their single ‘Go’

Released five albums, and won the Best Male Singer award at Taiwan’s Golden Melody Awards in 2007

Top songs: 夏天，最後的那一天，想太多，我會好好過，不只是場夢，做你的天，別說，圍牆，快點來愛我，失物招領，Making Love Out Of Nothing At All，No More Cryin’，稱謂

Top duets: 記得愛 with 阿沁，你好嗎 with 周筆暢，預感 with 李冰冰

Nicky has one of the most amazing voices I’ve ever heard. It’s so unique and beautiful, so I fall in love with basically every song he sings. It’s so surprising to see a Korean man who was raised in America sing so fluently in chinese. He’s has been through a few rough patches; getting rejected in Korea then trying to get accepted in Taiwan and hoping a company will let him release an album. Thankfully Jeff 大哥 was there by his side, although forcing him to lose weight was also a hard part, he stood by his love for music and finally can share his talent to all.

This silly boy had to learn chinese from scratch and mistook his name as 李玖哲, when his actual name was meant to be 李哲玖. He now can read, write, and speak chinese so perfectly, although he still has his cute accent. He is so adorable when he goes on variety shows cause he has the 傻乎乎 feel, but once I saw him as AZIATIX, that feeling disappears cause he becomes so cool and 帥氣.