Full Name: Alan Dawazhuoma (Simplifed Chinese - 阿兰·达瓦卓玛)
Stage Name: alan (Traditional Chinese - 阿蘭, Simplified Chinese - 阿兰, Japanese - アラン)
Date of Birth: July 25, 1987
Place of Birth: Kangding (Dardo) of the Garze Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in Sichuan Province,China
Know As: Tibetan/Chinese/Japanese Singer and Erhu Player
Record Label: AVEX
Offical Website
Japanese Blog
Chinese Blog
Wiki on Alan
Asian Wiki on Alan

Her current Japanese Discography:
*note: dates are listed as (yy.mm.dd)

Single(s) - Ashita e no Sanka (明日への讃歌; A Hymn For Tomorrow) (07.11.21), Hitotsu (ひとつ; One) (08.03.05), Natsukashii Mirai ~longing future~ (懐かしい未来; Longing Future) (08.07.02)
Digital Release(s) - Shiawase no Kane (幸せの鐘; Bells of Happiness) (08.05.20)

Her current Chinese Discography:

Album(s) - Sheng Sheng Zui Ru Lan (声声醉如兰; Entranced with the Voice of Alan - cover album) (05.08.15)
Single(s)/EP(s) - Xin Zhan ~RED CLIFF~ (心・战~RED CLIFF~; Heart, War) (08.06.18) 
Digital Release(s) - Ai Jiu Shi Shou (愛就是手; Love Is Our Hands) (08.05.20)

Upcoming Releases:

Single(s) - Sora Uta (空唄; Sky Song) (08.08.13), Kaze no Tegami (風の手紙, Letter of the Wind) (08.09.10), RED CLIFF ~Kokoro Ikusa~ (~心・戦~; ~Heart, War~) (08.10.15) 

*A second Chinese album (featuring her own songs this time) and her first debut Japanese album are in the works. Release date(s) have yet to be annouced for either of these albums but word on the street is they will both have winter release dates. 

Discovering Her Music: I've seen the covers for her single "Hitotsu" pop up around the jpop album/single review blogs that I frequent around late Feburary of this year but honestly I didn't pay attention to her until THIS REVIEW came along. What I love about the Channel-Ai blog is that you can instantly listen to the songs they are reviewing right on the site without having to download or track it down via the interent. Works well for lazy people like me. Anyways, the moment I heard "Ashita e no Sanka" I was instantly drawn to her singing style because it reminded me strongly of certain Chinese singers that I grew up listening to, like Faye Wong and Chau Wakin (Emil Chow). Like I said in my comment on the review, her singing reminds me of "Taiwan/Mainland China pop but with Japanese lyrics" which is more or less what she's going for since she was originally a Tibetan/Chinese singler that got picked up by AVEX TRAX, a major label in Japan.

Ah, AVEX, I admit I have a love-hate relationship with this major label. Yes, they are definitely a force to be reckoned with in the Japanese entertainment industry; it's undeniable especially if you know what they do in terms of marketing. Afterall, they are the label behind artist(s) such as Ayumi Hamasaki, BoA, Koda Kumi, Ai Otsuka, Hitomi Shimatani and so forth. I personally find that if AVEX sees potential in an artist, they will be quite rentless in terms of marketing that artist and if they see revenue potential they'll throw in a dynamic creative team and use thier massive network of connections in the industry to make that artist KNOWN not only in Japan but all across Asian if not internatiinally.

I say all this stuff about AVEX, because the way I see it, this is exactly what they are doing to ALAN. When they initially had ALAN debut in late 2007 in Japan, ALAN did alright but it wasn't overnight success. In fact, when her second single "Hitotsu" came out, that single more or less bombed in terms of sales. I'm not sure about now, but when that second single initially came out, it only sold a little under a thousand copies which was worse compared to the sales for her debut single made. But of course AVEX didn't give up  and lucky for them word about ALAN and her unique singing started to spread on the interent (i.e. message forums, music blogs, YouTube ect.).

Honestly, in the last few months I have seen ALAN's fan base grow exponentially. Granted, AVEX marketing tactics play a role and ALAN being choosen to do the theme song for Red Cliff (a flim directed by John Woo and starring the likes of Tony Leung, Vicki Zhao Wei ect.) titled Xin Zhan ~RED CLIFF~ (心・战~RED CLIFF~; Heart, War) is also a factor. But in my mind, I think that the buzz around her on the interent played a major role in her current popularity. 

And AVEX realizes that ALAN's music is getting known and that she has a growing fan base, so not too long ago they launched a press release that ALAN will be releasing a new single each month from July to November based on the five Japanese Elements. For July she has already released Natsukashii Mirai ~longing future~ (懐かしい未来; Longing Future) which represents the earth element, for August she will be releasing Sora Uta (空唄; Sky Song) which represents the element Sky, and for September she will be releasing Kaze no Tegami (風の手紙, Letter of the Wind) which represents the Air/Wind element. It is yet unknown what she will be releasing for October and November hower her official website does say that the single for October will represent the fire element and the single for November will represent the water element. There has been speculation that the October single will contain the Japanese version of 心・战~RED CLIFF~ as there has been a preview of it floating around the net (so fans know that it has been recorded) and it does make sense since Red Cliff is set to released in October in Japan theaters.  

Furthermore based on recent interviews, she says that it is highly likely that she'll be releasing a debut Japanese album before the year is out. And a second Chinese album is in the works. Possibly a winter 2008-2009 release.  

What I Like About Her: Her singing style in "Ashita e mo Sanka"definitely caught my attention as it reminded me so strongly of some mainland Chinese/Taiwan singers that I've been very fond of while I was growiing up. I like the power in her voice and her genuineness in her performances. The route her music career is taking, isn't something brand new. It has occured to in the past where artists or bands may be having trouble making it big back home but somehow their songs are picked up in other countries and their popularitiy grows overseas, eventually the momentum of their success comes full circle as they begin to grow popular in their own homeland. However, alan's case is slightly different, being picked up by AVEX, she took on the challenge of learning a new language and releasing songs in that language. I admire alan for attempting to learn a new language (it's much harder to learn a new language once you're past the age of 15, but not impossible) and fairing quite well (THIS VIDEO is proof of that). Granted her Japanese is still all over the place and she has a ways to go before she's fluent in the language but she's definitely working hard at learning something completely new along with working her music and promotiional work.

And even though her Hitosu single didn't sell well when it intially came out, I think that was when her popularity grew and people started taking note of her and how her singing was unique in the J-pop industry. Right before " 心・战~RED CLIFF~" the theme for Red Cliff came out, I think that was when things were going full blast for her and her popularity was growing exponentially not only in Japan but in China and possibily all over Asia as well. She's been doing an imense amout of promotional work, not on in Japan but in China as well. Shooting the PV for " 心・战~RED CLIFF~" took 50hrs+ and she wasn't allowed to sleep because of her hair in the PV so her assistants had to hold her head while she tried to rest for a few hours. I think it's insane how many hours she's logging in terms of promoting (interviews, PVs, small meet n' greets, TV music performances ect.) she's doing. So props to her on all her hard work. I definitely respect that kind of work ethic but I hope she does find time to rest and relax, I wouldn't want her to have health problems as a result of all the work she's been doing.  

I also admire her for having been accepted to and had gone to China National Chinese Opera and Dance Drama Company (解放軍芸術学院) and also playing the er-hu since the age of eight. I hope to see her music evolve but keeping her original style at the same time. It'd be nice to see her play the er-hu as well in her future songs or when she gets around to having her first tour.

My Favorite Song(s) from Her: I'm very torn as to which one of her songs I like the most. On one hand "Ashita e mo Sanka" was the first song of hers that I heard from her and more or less got me interested in her. On the other hand, I love how epic "心・战~RED CLIFF~" is and I can't wait for her Japanese version to come out (it'll be her 5th Japanese single and will be out October 15th). But then there's the Chinese version of "Hitosu" which I love and I think "Seed of Green" is one of her best b-sides. I think for now I would have to say that "心・战~RED CLIFF~" is currently my favorite but most likely, that will change in the future.   

She Reminds Me Of (and artists you may want to check out if you like her music): Faye Wong and Chau Wakin

Currently listening to: Jyongri - Love Forever
Currently feeling: sleepy

Full Name: Sara Beth Bareilles
Date of Birth: December 7, 1979
Place of Birth: Eureka, California US
Know As: American Singer-Songwriter/Pianist
Record Label: EPIC records
Offical Website
Sara Bareilles' My Space Page
Wiki on Sara Bareilles

 

Her current Discography:

Albums - Careful Confessions (2004), Little Voice (2007)
Singles - Love Song (2007/2008), Bottle It Up (2008)
EP(s) - Live Sessions EP
Digital Release - The River (Live) (Jan. 2008)

 

Discovering Her Music: I actually just found about Sara Bareilles last Sunday Night. I stubled across THIS AMV on Youtube and next thing I know I was trying to track down the singer behind the song because I automatically feel in love with the lyrics of that song (which is "Gravity"). With the help of google it wasn't long before I found her name and info about her. I was so drawn her to vocal ability and her lyrics that I promotly went to HMV after work the next day to pick up her lastest album "Little Voice" at a reasonable price of $10.50 CDA (tax included). I've been listening to her album ever since.

What I Like About Her: As I mentioned before I was instantally drawn to her lyrics in "Gravity" as well her vocals. Her singing style instantly reminded me of  Sarah McLachlan (one of my favorite Canadian musicians) because of the power and the emotion behind the voice. I particually love the lyrics because it express how I feel at the moment, so I feel I can relate.

Furthermore, I like that she plays the piano and guitar. I've seen a few of her lives via YouTube and she can definitely perform live. It's rare nowadays for artists to have the ability to sing and write songs as well as play an instrument (instruments in her case). I know artists like that do still exist and people could argue that there are plenty out there, but the way I see it, not as much as there use to be.

But the reason why I adore artists that have those abilities behind them is because I feel that it raises their level as an artist, to the point where they're in a different leauge than an artist whom just sings songs given to them by their record company or other songwriters, I no longer just see them as a vocal artist but a true musician whom FULLY expresses their piece to the audience. Artists like her are able to not only verbally express themselves via a more raw and genuine vocal performance (because there is a different emotional attactment to that song since they wrote it themselves) but also by the music they play. Okay, let me put it this way, it's like an artist whom does painting. A painter whom paints and creates their pieces via duplicating a photo or an image in front of them is somewhat like an music artist whom only sings from songs given to them. But then you have the painters (whom I prefer to call an artist) that can paint from imagination or a combination of images they have melded together onto the canvas resulting in a new image. Those kind of artists are like the musicians that sing, write their own songs and play their own songs.

I believe these are the types of artists usually have a longer life span in the music industry and in most cased get less trashed in the tabloids or chased by paparazzis becuase there is a level of respect there and that artist doesn't have to work so hard on selling their "image" to consumers because they're able to sell their "music" to music lovers and gain popularity via word of mouth. But that's just what I think. 

Anyways, I love the soulfullness of her voice and can't wait to her more from her in the future.

My Favorite Song of Hers: I would have to say "Gravity" since it was the first song I heard from her. Plus, I like the composition of the song, the overall feel of the song and the lyrics which I feel I can relate to. Honorable Mentions - "One Sweet Love" "Between The Lines"

She Reminds Me Of (and artists you may want to check out if you like her music): Sarah McLachlan, Chantal Kreviazuk, Vienna Teng, Butterfly Boucher, Feist,  Natalie Imbruglia, Sherly Crow, Angela Aki,

Currently listening to: Sara Bareilles - Gravity
Currently feeling: accomplished

I don't know what it is but every time I come back from Toronto I find it hard to find the energy to blog. I seriously did mean to review some songs from the Macross Frontier OST before I left for vacation but the last few days before I left was just ... ridiculous. I was busy with French class, work, PRing for this daycare (getting word out to try to get "donations" so they could go on this feild trip) and ... packing on the day before I left was a gong show. HA! well it wasn't as much of a gong show as getting to the airport. I should have just taken the Shuttle bus but my friend whom I was going to Toronto with me offered me a ride. I didn't want to turn that down for money reasons. ... I'll say this, she was behind on an last minute appointment she decided to make at the last minute and after a lot of phone calls and running around and dealing with security at the airport we made it to the line up just as the last set of people were boarding the plane. Cutting it close?? Hell yea! Which is something I'm not use to since I usually go to the airport super early (as it I'm ready to board the plane an hour or before the plane takes off.

Oh well, made for fun stories to tell in Toronto and when we got back.

I've been back for over a week now and I miss Toronto loads. I ate at a lot more different places this time but I did go back to a couple of places that I liked the first time I went there. I spent most my time in Bathurst, Spadina and Markham for shopping and food reasons. I did spend more time on the Harbour and beach front than I did last time. I loved walking around aimlessly for hours and if a place was just too far away, I'd jump on the streetcars or the TTC train). I <3 the weekly pass ... saved me so much money. Wish I knew about it earlier though.

I think if I lived in Toronto I'd be even more fit than I am now because I actually wouldn't mind walking everywhere. I think I liked the fact that I was walking to different places, I got to see a lot of new things or parts of Toronto I haven't been to so it made it more motivating to walk that much.

I did end up living at a Hostel for the majority of my time there. I'm GLAD I did my research and chose a good hostel. Yea there were some negatives (one of the roommates was annoying and quite disrespectful ... I don't know if I want to get into that story) like service and whatnot but honestly for the amount I paid compared to what I would have had to pay at a hotel or motel ... it was worth it. Honestly I just wanted a place to crash at night, shower and have place to store my things safely without worrying when I would go out during the day. The hostel was clean (compared to a lot hostels, I hear a lot of other horror stories about other hostels from other people at the hostel I stayed at) and the staff worked hard to make sure it stayed clean. I'd consider going back there if I were to go back to Toronto and need a place to stay for a reasonable price.

The weird thing was that everyone at the hostel thought I was Japanese (minus the staff that knew my full name) XD I don't know why. I didn't interact with a lot of people because I always just wanted to do my own thing the only people I really intereacted with was some of the staff and my roommates. 

I hung out with my friend quite a bit but we did go our seperate ways every now and then when we had our own things to do. I visted the UofT and ... damn I want to go to that school so badly. I probably won't though unless I get my degree and I'll just go for my Masters at UofT if I have the finance to supprt me and the drive to do more schooling. It's not rational to get my undergrad there, at least not now. Even with student loans ... I don't even want to imagine how much in debt I'd be in if I went to school there now. 

Nevertheless, it was fanastic! Everyone there thought I was one of the students so I even managed to sneak into one of the summer classes and listen to a lecture. ... yes I went to a class during my vacation ... I'm a total dork, I'm fully aware of that.

The University campus was definitely one of my favorite places. But the waterfront and my all time favorite Chapters store came close. Hehe I went to the Chapters near the hostel ever chance I go because it was so hot in Toronto and the store has awesome air conditioning so I'd chill there in the mornings.

I saw a Swan in the Lake (along with many ducks and Canadian Geese)!!  I was tempted to go closer to him but I'm glad I didn't because one of my roommates did and she got bitten by him (at a different time because she and I went there on the same day but at different times). My friend, her friend and I went to the lake front on Canada day during the night to see the fireworks. We played with sparklers and fireworks that her friend brought. Good times.  

All this talk makes me miss Toronto even more. I miss the food, I miss walking around, I miss the sights and sounds, oh how I miss the food! I somewhat miss the bubble tea. I only found bubble tea that I like in the Pacific Mall. Spadina had some okay places, but I found most of them to be sub-par.

I'll definitely be going back there again within the year but it's just a matter of when.

It was nice to be away from work. I needed the time off and to get out of the city. Going back to work wasn't as hard as I thought but those intial days back weren't fun. It's like I have symtoms of Toronto withdrawl XD Plus there was that day where everything that could go wrong did go wrong. That was a very bad day ... 

It'd be nice to be on vacation all the time. But that's not going to happen.

Currently listening to: Sara Bareilles - Gravity
Currently watching: Orange Days
Currently feeling: nostalgic

Title: Macross Frontier O.S.T.1 Nyan FRO. (マクロスF(フロンティア) O.S.T.1　娘フロ。, Macross Frontier O.S.T.1 Girls FRO)
Release Date: June 4, 2008
Composer/Arrangement: Yoko Kanno
Anime: Macross Frontier
Genre: Anime Soundtrack
Performers: Maaya Sakamoto, May'n (May Nakabayashi), Megumi Nakajima

Track List:
1. Frontier 2059
2. Welcome To My FanClub's Night! (Sheryl On Stage) by Sheryl Nome starring May'n
3. What 'bout My Star? (Sheryl On Stage) by Sheryl Nome starring May'n
4. Iteza☆Gogo Kuji Don't be late (Sheryl On Stage) (射手座☆午後九時Don't be late - Sagittarius☆9pm Don't be late!?) by Sheryl Nome starring May'n
5. Vital Force
6. Triangler (トライアングラー - Triangler) by Sakamoto Maaya
7. Zero Hour
8. What 'bout My Star? @Formo by Sheryl Nome starring May'n and Ranka Lee starring Megumi Nakajima
9. Innocent Green
10. Aimo (アイモ - Aimo)
11. Big Boys (ビッグ・ボーイズ - Big Boys)
12. Private Army
13. SMS Shoutai no Uta ~Ano Musume wa Alien (SMS小隊の歌～あの娘はエイリアン - SMS Platoon's Theme ~ That Girl is an Alien?) by SMS no Minna
14. Ninjiin Loves You Yeah! (ニンジーン Loves You Yeah! - Carrot Loves You Yeah!?) by Ranka Lee starring Megumi Nakajima
15. "Chou Jikuu Hanten Nyan Nyan" CM Song (Ranka Version) (「超時空飯店　娘々」CMソング (Ranka Version) - "Super Dimension Restaurant Nyan-Nyan" jingle (Ranka Version)) by Ranka Lee starring Megumi Nakajima
16. Alto's Theme
17. TALLY HO!
18. The Target
19. Bajura
20. Kira Kira (キラキラ - Glitter)
21. Aimo ~Tori no Hito (アイモ～鳥のひと - Aimo ~The Bird People) by Ranka Lee starring Megumi Nakajima
22. Take Off
23. Infinity (インフィニティ - Infinity) by Sheryl Nome starring May'n
24. Diamond Crevasse (ダイヤモンド クレバス - Diamond Crevasse?) by Sheryl Nome starring May'n


You know you want it. Buy it!

I'll try to review some songs in the upcoming days.
つづく

Currently listening to: Megumi Nakajima - Tori no Hito

I need to quit finding new music that I enjoy. Anyways the above image are the covers of JYONGRI's second album (top - CD only; bottom - CD+DVD). Her new album is set to release on July 2, 2008.

There will be a CD version and a CD+DVD version.

The tracklist:
CD
01. Love Forever
02. Tender Touch
03. Kissing Me
04. Unchanging Love ～君がいれば～ (with Whisper)
05. Catch me
06. Lullaby For You
07. 私の太陽
08. 泣いてもいいよ
09. You’re the One
10. Lovers DRIVE
11. The Chills
12. Still in Love
13. STARS

The DVD will include:
■VIDEO CLIP
Lullaby For You
Kissing Me
You’re the One
Unchanging Love ～君がいれば～（short ver.)

■First Live at SHIBUYA BOXX (2007.4.21)
～約束～
Possession

■TVCM
au「LISMO」TVCM(Unchanging Love ～君がいれば～)

I wish I have time to properly write out an entry to introduce her but I have some projects I need to get to. However, I did want to bring her up because she does the main theme for "The World Ends With You" (the game by Square Enix that I've been obsessing over for the past month or so) aka "It's A Wonderful World". The song she did for that game is titled "Lullaby For You" and she actually did both the Japanese version and English version for the two versions of the game. Few artists have done this, though it's been done before (i.e. Utada's Hikari/Simple and Clean or Passion/Sanctuary; Bonnie Pink's Ring A Bell/Kane wo Narashite).

But what's even more amazing is how good her English is (granted she did go to Osaka Internation School from age 4-18 so essentially, majority of her education was done in English ...). Don't get me wrong, Utada and Bonnie Pink both speak and sing English very well but I feel that Jyongri sings English more naturally. Let me put it this way, had I not known that Jyongri was a Japanese singer, and had I only listened to the ENGLISH VERSION of "Lullaby for You" I would have thought she was an English (only) singer. But I have heard of the JAPANESE VERSION a few months ago when someone did a review for her single last summer (I think I listened to it for the first time last fall) so I knew otherwise.

Anyways, if you were to ask me to compare her to other J-artists in terms of her singing style, I'd say she falls into the Utada Hikaru (which most people seem to compare her to ... saying things like she's the next Hikki ... I swear it's the RnB style), MINK and Yuna Ito.

Her vocals are consistent but I can't say that all her songs are overall consistent. On the other hand, she's still a relatively new artist and she has potential to become even better than she is now. I do feel that she is moving in a forward direction since her third ("Lullaby For You") and forth ("Kissing Me") single has shown vast improvements of what she has to offer as an artist.

I'll definitely be listening to her new stuff and am looking forward to her second album. *sighs* again I'll be in Toronto at that time so like Ayaka's upcoming album, I'm going to have to wait till I get back as my internet access will be limited.

On another note, I got the new Macross Frontier OST in the mail today! I <3 Yoko Kanno. I can't even put proper words together to say how wonderful I think her music is. She's out done herself time and time again. She's managed to give this album the Macross vibe. By that I mean some songs honestly remind me of Macross Plus for reasons I can't quite explain. I wouldn't say she's plagiarizing her own music, absolutely NOT. You can hear the differance when you play the music back to back but it represents Macross so well yet it has a refreshing quality to it as well. In a sense, I'm speechless.

And I'm happy to see the Opening and Ending theme in full on the OST. Most anime OSTs don't do that nowadays and it's ANNOYING. Therefore, I'm happy to see both those song on this album in full. Trust me, if you love(ed) any of the Macross Plus OSTs you will WANT to check out this album. You won't regret it.

Currently listening to: Megumi Nakajima - "What 'bout My Star?"
Currently reading: "An Imperfect Offering" - James Orbinski
Currently feeling: satisfied