Has any mega-pop star really, truly embraced the swells of the indie underground as successfully as Faye Wong? She followed the dream pop/ethereal wave/jangle pop masterpiece Fúzào (1996) with ChàngyóuandZhǐ ài mòshēng rén, works that saw dream pop meet folk pop, downtempo and trip hop, before realising classical crossover ambitions on Yùyán. All three records were achieved in successive years and all with huge chart success, Wong taking bold creative risks and rewarding listeners for, as I’m pretty much demonstrating here, decades to come.
I’d say that, even without its bonus tracks, Chàngyóu is a little baggier than Fúzào – but that’s also because, as someone who speaks neither Cantonese nor Mandarin, Wong’s ballads rarely resonate with me. Zhǐ ài mòshēng rén is baggier still, though not without plenty of highlights and never particularly unenjoyable.
Yùyánwas another peak for Wong, a record that attempted to cross pop with both Western and Chinese orchestral and chamber influences in a way I’d never heard previously. The results are delightful: playful and rich yet deadly serious, always on the brink of the dramatic.
Wong at her peak (by now, she hasn’t made solo music for almost two decades) was a rare pop star. Not just an artist who experimented with different trends and styles but one that built and learnt from each release. That meant by Yùyán, Wong was not just a pop artist attempting classical crossover but one whose music still had the lingering influence of all that came before: jangle pop, dream pop, ethereal wave, downtempo and more. That’s a very special trait – and why, for many, she remains Mandopop’s queen.
Lim Chung Man shared exclusive behind-the-scenes photos that he took on film sets over the years. One even includes Faye Wong and Takuya Kimura in the same frame in a scene cut by the director of “2046”. As an art and costume design assistant at the time, he only had ten days to complete this circus set in Thailand.
[NEWS] 2021.9.20 Faye Wong sings the theme song “Bay”
At 3 pm on September 20th, it was reported that Faye Wong will sing the theme song “Bay” for the CCTV Greater Bay Area Mid-Autumn Film and Music Gala. The song was composed by Wang Pingjiu and Chang Shilei.
The organizer announced the list of attendees for the event that is to be held in Shenzhen, Guangdong Province on the 21st. Nicholas Tse and Deng Chao will host the event. Faye Wong will attend as a guest and sing the theme song “Bay”.
As soon as the news came out, it was immediately posted on the hot search topic on Weibo. There is also news that Faye and Nicholas will record separately, so it is unlikely that they will appear together on screen.
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![[NEWS] 2021.9.20 Faye Wong sings the theme song “Bay”At 3 pm on September 20th, it was r](https://64.media.tumblr.com/04e408a5e861dc46381e0293d77ff495/c145a5746835fd9a-06/s1280x1920/c9fc22892dff6a8d3fd4a9fae92df783b371b981.jpg "[NEWS] 2021.9.20 Faye Wong sings the theme song “Bay”At 3 pm on September 20th, it was r")
