First Mandarin Album (Taiwan Version)

Ivana signed with Universal Music and released four albums with the label, winning the love of fans with her angelic voice. She recently won the Gold Singer-Songwriter Award at a major Hong Kong award ceremony, a clear indication of her achievements. After fulfilling her contract with Universal, Ivana joined East Asia Music and released her first Mandarin album in late 2007, officially stepping into the untested waters of the Taiwan music market and opening a new page in her music career. The Taiwan version comes with 13 songs, while the Hong Kong version comes with 14.

Ivana's First Mandarin Album is produced by Taiwan producer Lin Wei Che and features works from not only Ivana, but also Qing Feng of Taiwanese band Sodagreen. The album contains both new songs and Mandarin covers of Cantonese songs, which is the typical strategy for Hong Kong singers releasing Mandarin albums in Taiwan. The goal is to cater to two markets by attracting Taiwanese fans with proven hits and increasing the interest and familiarity value for Hong Kong people. In contrast to rumored boyfriend Hins Cheung who has stopped composing and concentrated on singing in recent years, Ivana continues to multi-task as a singer-songwriter. The two main selling points of First Mandarin Album are still her compositions and her "angel-kissed" vocals.

The quality of Ivana's new album is ideal. With the help of Lin Wei Che, Ivana's Mandarin songs give off both the fresh feeling of folk rock and the sentiments of the young city woman, revealing refined airs without affectations. Many of the album's songs have smooth, exquisite melodies and the lyrics are meaningful without being commercial. As for Ivana who is performing completely in Mandarin for the first time, her singing continues to delight, equally likable in Mandarin as she is in Cantonese. With her unique style and elegant voice, all it will take is good promotion to win over Taiwan music fans.

A Mandarin cover of Miriam Yeung's "He is Here", "Love and Kiwi" greatly surpasses the original. Be it in lyrics or arrangement, the song has a strong feeling of fantasy and romance, and the comparison between "love" and "kiwi" is interesting, stimulating the sense of taste through sound. Ivana's singing is also clearer and more graceful than Miriam's, making the song a very pleasant surprise. Excelling in both melody and lyrics, "How Could I Be Lonely" has a lively style that brings up thoughts of green grass and blue skies. The spirited attitude conveyed in the song's lyrics is very uplifting, and the singer's performance is cute.

Touching and expressive, "You Are the One I Love the Most" goes straight to the heart and the performance is spot on. Overall, the song has high replay value, definitely suitable for Hong Kong tastes. "It's Love" is a song that's full of love, and the lines "What is love?/Because love has such a complicated reason/So I must love you" captures the heart of its message. Complemented with all the other elements, this song is very impressive, deserving of repeated listens. "Self-entertainment" is the Mandarin version of "Poetic Love", with lyrics that match the quality of the original. "Winter Dream" and "Past the Ferris Wheel" are also worth a listen.

by Stephen Lee

(Translation: Sanwei)