|
|
 |
|
|
|
David McIntyre/Black Star for TIME
|
|
The Artist Has Landed!
Mando-pop diva A-Mei touches down at Hong Kong's Kai Tak
By GEOFF BURPEE
September 13, 1999
Web posted at 6:30 p.m. Hong Kong time, 6:30 a.m. EDT
Hong Kong's defunct Kai Tak airport was the site of one more historic arrival
over the weekend as fans here welcomed Taiwan singer A-Mei to the top of the
Chinese pop pantheon.
Hitting the stage Sunday night in a sequined mini skirt and 15-cm silver
heels, A-Mei worked the capacity crowd of 25,000 without a break for more than
2-1/2 hours, delivering a sensational, tirelessly dance-packed show in high
humidity and 30 degree heat.
| |
ASIA BUZZ
|
Asia Buzz: Cable News
If this is a ripoff, how come I can't spend my money?
- Monday, Sept. 13, 1999
Asia Buzz: Culture on Demand
Tired of the same old restaurtants? Go "nousian"
- Saturday, Sept. 11, 1999
Asia Buzz: What, Me Worry?
Another 'scary' deadline passes. Is Y2K a hoax?
- Saturday, Sept. 10, 1999
Asia Buzz: It Still Isn't Very There Here
Tuck in your shirt, chew with your mouth closed, make a billion dollars
- Thursday, Sept. 9, 1999
Asia Buzz: A 'Matt Drudge' You Can Respect
We won't tell you who 'Joyo' is, but he's someone you should know
- Tuesday, Sept. 7, 1999
|
|
|
ALSO IN TIME
|
Market Q&A
Each business evening with analysts around the region
|
|
ASIAWEEK
| |
|
Throughout, the pixieish singer and her band drew enthusiastic applause and glow-
stick waving, from front row VIPs on back to those with their butts on the
disused runway tarmac.
A native of Taiwan who sings both in Mandarin and her own indigenous dialect, A-
Mei's reception here was exceptional: the last time industry pundits recall a
Hong Kong audience turning out in such numbers on a single night for a Chinese
singer would arguably have been a 1994 show by local Cantopop star Alan Tam.
Sunday night's show was the third and only marginally the best-attended of three
consecutive nights. The Hong Kong dates follow her six-date August tour through
mainland China, with similarly large outdoor shows in Beijing, Shanghai,
Kunming, Guangzhou and Shenzhen. She is set to perform in Singapore Sept. 25 and
then to Kuala Lumpur three days later.
All the attendant fripperies of the Chinese pop extravaganza were in evidence,
from pyrotechnics and confetti-cannons to a phalanx of 10-m-tall inflatable
vermilion balloon shafts. But the trimmings did little to obscure the artistry
of a solid, infectious singer who, prior to achieving success as a recording
artist with her breakthrough in 1996, honed her craft in smoky Taipei rock pubs.
At times, the crowd broke into Mandarin-language singalongs and even (during an
encore medley that included a rock-solid drum solo by A-Mei herself) a standing
ovation. Other highlights included a little interaction with her audience as A-
Mei selected a local man from the crowd, bound his arms with a microphone cord,
sat him in a chair at stage center and performed a slinky burlesque.
A-Mei was joined periodically by her sister, Saya, and cousin, Raya (fellow
Forward Music label mates who record as a duet, A My-My) for a handful of songs.
At one point, the trio was flanked on the stage's video wall by a prerecorded
performance featuring A-Mei and Saya's mother, who sang her own composition
wearing the traditional tribal dress of the family's Beinan tribe, with her
niece and daughters providing live accompaniment.
The trio then rocked the crowd with a rousing number reminiscent of '80s pop
confection the Go-Gos, with Raya fretting the three-chord rock song on a royal
blue Stratocaster.
True to local form, however, the crowd took particular pleasure in the artist's
several ballad hits, joining in to sing choruses--in surprisingly flawless
Mandarin--dating back to pan-China radio favorites such as "I Can't Cry" (from
her 1996 sophomore album "Bad Boy") and her current "Three Days Three Nights".
TIME Asia home
| |
LATEST HEADLINES:
|
Click Here for the latest regional analysis from TIME Asia
|
|
|
