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| Album: Dark Skies Singer: Ah Du [Du Cheng Yi] Record Label: Ocean Butterflies Productions Number of Tracks: 10 Released: April 2002 [Taiwan], May 2002 [Singapore] |
| Ah Du is a 28-year-old newcomer who entered the entertainment scene after being discovered in a singing contest held in 1999. One may be surprised while looking through his profile: His previous occupation before joining the music scene was a construction worker. Yes, you've read it correctly -- A construction worker. True that 28 years of age is a relatively late age to enter the ever-changing Mandarin music scene, but Ah Du has performed very well for a newcomer in terms of both album sales and chart results, even better than some other counterparts of a younger age. Though the debut albums of Ocean Butterflies upstarts Be_I and SukiMina flopped when they were released in Taiwan late last year, Ah Du's performance can make one take notice of him, and he is not a songwriter, unlike Be_I and SukiMina! In the Singaporean music scene which the females rule [Read: Kit Chan, Mavis Hee, Fann Wong, Stefanie Sun, Stella Ng, Tanya Chua...], Ah Du makes a refreshing change, performed even better than Shaun Yee, whose debut album performed very well in Taiwan as well. Looks like the males are finally getting recognition! Seriously speaking, Ah Du's looks are normal, not as handsome as many young aspiring singers in the scene today. However, he has rather husky and deep vocals which sound like Jacky Cheung and surprisingly, fellow Singaporean Shaun Yee as well, which suits singing love ballads to a T. This is another significant example of a singer having the voice [and the soppy love ballads as well] and STILL being able to do well in the music scene despite not having the looks, following Jacky Cheung. Ah Du's album packaging goes back to the basics -- just the CD casing, the lyrics booklet sleeves and the CD itself, no less! Even though some may feel that such a packaging technique is not worth their money, his album is still selling like hotcakes both in Taiwan and Singapore [He has hit past the 20 000 mark!] To think that this budding singer's chance of entering the music scene was almost ruined by the judges of the singing contest he participated in, who apparently had to give plenty of thought due to his age! However, mentor Xu Huanliang stepped in. This album follows the conventional method for an album to gain immense success in Taiwan -- soppy love ballads. Expect ALL 10 tracks in this album to be slow tracks, which I presume is a marketing strategy by Ocean Butterflies, his record company. "He Definitely Loves You", the first single, is about a person who unwittingly comes across his girlfriend with another man. "Dark Skies", the title track, is about the separation of two lovers. However, do not expect the song to be on a happier note like Fish Leung's "Happy Separation". "See You Everyday" is another love ballad, followed by "Living Alone" and so on. Sad to say, the other slow songs (which are not ballads) sound indifferentiable from the love ballads. For example, "Andy" [Track 5] is outstanding, but... (PS: Is this song written especially for Ah Du? According to The New Paper, his English moniker is Andy as well!) "Tear Off Night" [Track 6] is yet another outstanding track, but still sounds alike with other songs in the album. Thus, the tracks may come across as indifferentiable for many, especially since the songs may sound alike upon the first few listens, and perhaps will continue to sound alike unless one puts in the effort to differentiate the songs. However, there are several NICE songs which can touch one's heart and grab one's attention. First single "He Definitely Loves You" is a very good example. The last track should sound especially familiar to all, as it is a cover of an English song originally sung by Richard Marx "Right Here Waiting", and his cover version isn't that bad either. Ah Du manages to inject his own feelings into the song despite it being a cover. Comparisons are inevitable, but I feel that its one of the best tracks in the album. Not many big names make up this album, with the more renowned ones in the Chinese pop scene being Ah Du's mentor Xu Huanliang, who composed "See You Everyday" and Li Feihui, who composed "Cannot Resist It". One common name you will see in the credits of the album is Li Qiuli, who wrote the lyrics for 4 songs! Favourite tracks (In order of preference): 01 He Definitely Loves You "Ta Yi Ding Hen Ai Ni" 10 Right Here Waiting 06 Tear Off Night "Si Ye" 04 Living Alone "Yi Ge Ren Zhu" 05 Andy Rating: B- |