YumCha!
»
Professional Reviews - Music
Browse
- ycec Editor's Picks By Category
- esid Editor's Picks - By Editor
- yca Feature Articles
- ycpc Professional Reviews
- Awards & Festivals
- ppid Music Pop Chart
- yceb Entertainment News
- About YumCha!
-
Stray Sheep (Normal Edition) (Japan Version)
Yonezu Kenshi
2018 was a banner year for singer-songwriter Yonezu Kenshi. On the heels of award-winning album Bootleg and his hit collaboration single Uchiage Hanabi (with fellow Vocaloid artist Daoko), his March 2018 single Lemon broke YouTube records as the most-viewed Japanese music video ever with 608 million views and counting – a rare feat for a solo artist in an industry dominated by pop groups. Instead of rushing to release an album to cash in on his newfound global popularity, Yonezu spent nearly three years to put together Stray Sheep, his fifth solo album. If Bootleg tracked Yonezu’s ascendance to pop chart royalty, Stray Sheep is a test of his staying power. Stray Sheep features a total of 15... [read more]
-
-
News (Japan Version)
Tokyo Incidents (Tokyo Jihen)
Tokyo Incidents may have officially disbanded in 2012, but it feels like they've never really gone away. Ringleader Sheena Ringo is prolific as ever in her solo career with guitarist Ukigumo in her backing band. The band even reunited for "EGO-ism" and "JIYU-dom" on her latest solo album, Sandokushi. Fortunately for fans, goodbyes in the music world are often not truly goodbyes. Eight years after their supposed swan song, Color Bars, Tokyo Jihen has reunited with their comeback EP, News. Tokyo Incidents started out as an exercise that could've just been renamed "Sheena Ringo and Her Backing Band," but the band eventually became a true team effort as Sheena relegated composition duties to... [read more]
-
-
dahlia II (SACD)
Hins Cheung (Singer)
Hins Cheung recently held the Hinsideout concert series at the Hong Kong Coliseum with the gimmick of "dropping two octaves." He also released the HiFi album Dahlia II, which can be considered an extension of 2013's Pink Dahlia. Continuing with the concept of singing female artists' songs, he covers ten Wyman Wong-penned Cantonese classics. Looking at Hins's releases under EEG in recent years and his interviews, I feel that he has matured considerably. Besides his original artsy aura, he has gained a mature sophistication with age, and he has refined his pesonal taste, which is especially commendable in these trend-driven times. This kind of sophistication and discernment must come from... [read more]
-
-
I Have Myself
Janice Yan (Singer)
It has been a long time since a C-pop newcomer stirred eager anticipation in both the Cantopop and Mandopop scenes, but Janice Yan is an exception. Born to a musical family, the singer received attention on One Million Star seven years ago. Many fans had been waiting for her album and official debut for years. After releasing various movie and drama-related singles and starring in a large-scale musical, Janice finally launches her first album I Have Myself with the support of her record label HIM International Music. The album features ten songs in total: nine Mandarin songs and one Cantonese song. The main tracks "One in a Million" and "Grim Reaper" share the same melody and are plugged in... [read more]
-
-
C'mon in (Hong Kong Version)
Eason Chan (Singer)
Eason Chan is one of the few popular Hong Kong singers who has been consistently active for nearly 20 years. While many other superstars have gone on rest mode or switched focus to acting due to the downturn in the music market, Eason still continues to develop his singing career. Though he has slowed down the album releases in comparison to his younger days, he regularly holds concerts, serves as a mentor on a Chinese singing program, and, most importantly, still produces new albums of newly written and composed songs. To promote C'mon in, he even filmed a five-episode music special series and held an album release showcase, showing his interest and passion for music from the bottom of his... [read more]
-
-
Waiting (EP)
William Chan (Singer)
The entertainment industry is still a place where dreams are made after all. A few days difference can make you see someone in completely new light. Such is the case of William Chan who had worked for many years without a breakthrough in Hong Kong. Who would have thought that within a few years in Mainland China, he would acquire immense popularity and transform into one of China's top young actors. EEG just released William's new EP Waiting which set off a buying frenzy in Hong Kong and China. On YesAsia.com, the album was not only selling out during preorder, as reported by the media, but also rivaling the yesteryear sales of A-list Hong Kong and Taiwan superstars. One cannot... [read more]
-
-
AMIT2
A-Mei Chang (Singer)
Last year, Taiwan diva A-mei Chang suddenly joined Universal Music Group's EMI Records (actually A-mei was once under the old EMI before it was sold to UMG), and released the long-awaited new album Faces Of Paranoia - Only The Paranoid Survive. Nearly a year later, A-mei has also brought her alter ego Amit (or is it her original self?) to EMI and released Amit2, her second album under the name Amit. Produced by Amit and Adia, the album contains ten new songs including the plugs "Sleepless," "Rite of War" and "Freak Show." Amit's previous self-titled album made a huge splash, successfully opening a new musical arena for A-mei Chang besides that of "A-mei." Many of the songs overturned the... [read more]
-
-
COME ON enjoy the best (4CD)
Andy Hui (Singer)
After changing labels from East Asia Music to Sun Entertainment last year, Andy Hui recently held his Come On 2015 concert series at the Hong Kong Coliseum. To align with concert promotion, he also released an album of new and greatest hits, Come On, Enjoy The Best. Andy's second release under Sun Entertainment, the album contains 65 tracks, including the brand new song "Your Show." Having debuted for nearly three decades, Andy has worked with many record companies over the years, and experienced many ups and downs. Signing with Capital Artists after participating in the New Talent Singing Awards, he started out slowly, but managed to gradually make a name for himself with "Writhe" and... [read more]
-
-
me, re-do (EP)
Joey Yung (Singer)
Having taken a break from writing music reviews, I was greeted with quite a few physical album releases by divas upon my return, including Joey Yung's me, re-do. Momentarily unable to remember if Joey Yung had released an album recently, I researched online, and it turns out that, excluding concert albums and compilations, it really has been a long time since she last released a Cantonese or Mandarin album. For an A-list singer, this is a rare situation. As for the newly released me, re-do, it's also not a full album but just an EP with the three new songs "Naturally Blank," "Optimistic" and "Rosy," plus the remake "This Close, That Far." We'll have to wait longer yet to hear a new... [read more]
-
-
Alan Tam In Slovakia (CD + DVD)
Alan Tam (Singer)
Recently, besides "God of Songs" Jacky Cheung releasing the 30th anniversary album Wake Up Dreaming, another Hong Kong music legend, "Principal" Alan Tam, has released his 40th anniversary album Alan Tam In Slovakia. The album includes 11 newly recorded songs, 11 live recording video clips, four music videos and the album's making of. Among the tracks is Principal Tam's 40th anniversary theme song "Galaxy Years." The album is produced by Tam and Johnny Yim, and all the album's tracks were newly recorded last year. The songs cover both new and old. Besides the 40th anniversary theme "Galaxy Years," Tam also remade classics like "Proud," "One Song, One Story," "Who Judges Right and Wrong in... [read more]
-
-
Wake Up Dreaming (Hong Kong Version)
Jacky Cheung (Singer)
These days there may not even be ten songs per year that stay in people's minds, which is why fans especially anticipate new releases from top singers as a chance to add some new tracks to their music players instead of always replaying the same old songs. However, with the dip in the Hong Kong and Taiwan music markets in recent years, new original songs rarely make it big. People might not even have the chance to come into contact with new songs because of the increasingly conservative direction taken by record companies. Even big name singers are often relegated to remaking their own or other artists' old songs, packaged as audiophile releases. Music fans' expectations for good new... [read more]
-
-
Once Said (EP)
Shiga Lin (Singer)
Warner Music, which recently acquired Gold Typhoon, has been taking the route of cultivating new-generation singers in recent years. In contrast to the superstar lineup of their early years, their main artists now are younger singers like Pakho Chau, Shiga Lin and Ella Koon. And, indeed, Warner's promoted newcomers have produced results – Pakho Chau and Shiga Lin are popular with the young crowd – an especially rare achievement in the shrinking market and shrinking talent pool of the Hong Kong music industry. This goes to show that the Hong Kong music scene isn't yet hopeless, and it's possible to stay in business with careful management. Speaking of Shiga Lin, after mostly focusing on... [read more]
-
-
Kings Cross
Christopher Wong (Singer)
In the eyes of Hong Kong record companies, audiophile albums are a "market lifesaver," so it's no wonder that audiophile albums have turned into a mainstream entity in the music market in recent years. From SACD to K2, 24K, Gold Discs and so on, every year hundreds of different types of audiophile albums are released, and the releases are especially plentiful in August around the time of the Hong Kong High-End Audio Visual Show. In such an atmosphere, many veteran singers who are still passionate about music and want to continue singing have halted plans for new original albums and changed course towards cover albums to meet market demand. Just in August, Christopher Wong, George Lam, Linda... [read more]
-
-
Eric Kwok Best Selections
Kwok Wai Leung
| Hong Kong Various Artists
Renowned Hong Kong music producer Eric Kwok has seen a surge in popularity in recent months thanks to his "Iron Man" character in a restaurant commercial. He even won Best Actor at the Most Popular TV Commercial Awards, unexpectedly lifting his entertainment career to a new high. It just goes to show that the Hong Kong entertainment circle is still a place that can create miracles. To complement his concert at the Hong Kong Coliseum and feed the Iron Man trend, Universal Music also produced an all-new Eric Kwok compilation album. The compilation album comes with four CDs, the first three of which contain 47 selected songs that Eric Kwok composed, produced or sang over different periods of... [read more]
-
-
Back to Priscilla - 30th Anniversary Collections (3CD + DVD)
Priscilla Chan (Singer)
This year isn't Priscilla Chan's first time making a comeback to Hong Kong music, but in comparison to her previous two times with Universal Music (Chan Siu Bo era) and IEC, this time's return to UMG/PolyGram has finally elicited a great response. With both good sales and reviews for her concert and album By Heart, Priscilla has reclaimed her top diva status of yesteryear and made many former fans fall in love with her music all over again. Soon after the release of the cover album By Heart, her record company launched the all new greatest hits compilation Back to Priscilla - 30th Anniversary Collections, obviously to align with her concert. The entire album contains 51 songs from her years... [read more]
-
-
Hacken Lee 82 Hits Collection - The Very Best of 1986-2014 (4CD + DVD)
Hacken Lee (Singer)
Hacken Lee has been very active in the music industry in the past two years. Following the release of music products like Remakes by Hacken, House of Cards, Alan & Hacken 10th Anniversary, Polygram Forever Live and Alan & Hacken Live 2013, he recently released the hefty new-plus-best-of compilation 82 Hits Collection - The Very Best of 1986-2014. The 4CD+DVD release contains the three new songs "No Friends," "Home" and "Beijing, North Point" as well as 66 classic songs and many live clips from different concerts, satisfying fan wishes for new songs, old hits and live performances in one go. Hacken Lee's old songs have always had a market as many are Cantonese household classics, like... [read more]
-
-
rice & shine (2CD)
Eason Chan (Singer)
Eason Chan is one of the few Hong Kong singers whose new song recordings and album releases are still anticipated by people. Even though his album sales have been affected by the shrinking market and not every album can compare to those of previous years, his new songs always spark attention, and he is one of Hong Kong's very few singers who still merits the title of superstar. Following last year's The Key and the controversial Eason's Life concert album, Eason, who has become the boss of his own record company, recently released the new Mandarin album rice & shine. The album contains ten new songs including the first plug "High Light High Life." Eason's albums of recent years frequently... [read more]
-
-
to Love (Normal Edition)(Japan Version)
Nishino Kana
By the time her debut album was released in June of 2009, teen singer Nishino Kana had already established a place in the J-pop scene with six singles released before the actual album itself. Therefore, it was no surprise that Love one. sold well as fans enjoyed her fast-paced pop hits. A year later, the talented singer and lyricist is back with her follow-up album, to Love. While her first album was respectable, Nishino stepped up her game with to Love, and gave her fans an album they expected, and much more. While her first album was a straightforward pop album with a sprinkling of R&B, to Love is a showcase of the variety of music genres that the young songstress can sound equally well... [read more]
-
-
Just the two of us... until we meet again live
at17 (Singer)
When Anthony Wong signed at17 to his People Mountain People Sea label in 2002, the duo was just beginning to gain momentum in the local Hong Kong music scene. Fast forward to 2010 and at17 is one of the most recognizable and respected groups in Canto-pop. The singing/songwriting twosome has found success while staying true to their independent roots and avoiding the commercial traps of the industry. They produce some of the most refreshing music today so it was quite sad to hear they would be taking a break until 2012. But before they went their separate ways, Eman Lam and Ellen Joyce Loo gave their fans one last concert. There was plenty to like about the concert since they had a good mix... [read more]
-
-
Justin Lo 2010 New Album (CD+DVD)
Justin Lo (Singer)
Before making headlines for getting into street fights with his best friend and raising the public's curiosity with what’s really underneath his ever-present assortment of headwear, Justin Lo made a name for himself as a singer. A pretty damn good one I might add. The former Yahoo! web designer-turned-popstar has been making female fans swoon with his brand of catchy, karaoke-friendly love songs since 2005. In his fifth studio album, Lo looks to continue to do the same. There is little surprise to why the first singles from the album, Infinitely Big (Track 2) and Love Addiction (Track 3), have been blowing up the charts. These two well-constructed love songs are made for karaoke rooms with... [read more]
-
Bookmark & Share