2007 in Review: 卓文萱 - 幸福氧氣 / Genie Zhuo - Oxygenie of Happiness

ashih | December 31, 2007

November

Info

Album: 幸福氧氣 / Oxygenie of Happiness (Buy Album)

Artist: 卓文萱 / Genie Zhuo

Release Date: October 26, 2007

Review By: ashih

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Blurb

Although 卓文宣 (Genie Zhuo) has been involved in the Chinese entertainment industry for quite some time, she has not yet ascended to the level of popularity that artists such as 蔡依林 (Jolin Tsai) or 張惠妹 (Zhang Hui Mei) have. If she is going to rise to this level however, her time is undoubtedly now. 卓文宣 (Genie Zhuo) has been receiving a lot of publicity lately as she played a role in the popular Taiwanese drama公主小妹.(Gong Zhu Xiao Mei) or “Romantic Princess,” with members of the super popular band 飛輪海 (Fahrenheit). Most importantly, in the musical arena, her last album, 習慣 (Xi Guan) or Habit, sported several hits. I highly recommend her duet with 曹格 (Gary Cao), 梁山伯與茱麗葉 (Liang Shan Bo Yu Zhu Li Ye, Romeo and Juliet). Her recent duet with 小鬼, 愛的主旋律, was also very popular on the internet. Given her recent accomplishments and considering the fact that there seems to be a shortage of new female singers lately, this is definitely Genie’s time to shine.

Did her latest album, 幸福氧氣 (Xing Fu Yang Qi) or “Oxygenie of Happiness,” deliver? Well, yes, and no. The album definitely deserves a listen, providing that you are the type of person who likes a, for lack of better words, somewhat poppy and cute sound. But there isn’t that much diversity throughout the album, and there are no duets, (which is a shame because she excels at duets). The first track, 幸福氧氣 makes good use of Genie’s cute voice and succeeds at creating a happy mood. This is the best song off of the album in my opinion. Unfortunately, track 10, 甜甜圈 (sweet circle) sounds very very similar to幸福氧氣. I’m not quite sure what mood Genie was aiming for when she sang track five, 瘋了瘋了. To be honest, it sounds like a generic holiday song with boring lyrics. The sixth track, 自從遇見你, or “since the time that I met you” is quite repetitive and I feel that Genie tries too hard to put a lot of feeling into the song.

All of this criticism aside however, Genie is a talented singer with a voice that reminds me of 楊丞琳 (Rainie Yang) before she started shedding the “cute” image. Speaking of 楊丞琳, did I mention that Genie is very pretty and cute? Her voice and her appearance are like a mix of “Cute Queen” 楊丞琳 (Rainie Yang) and Korean superstar beauty BoA.

So will this album rocket Genie to fame? Probably not. Although there are some good songs here, the (lack of) diversity in the album combined with the sometimes weak vocals and lyrics don’t exactly make this one a sure fire hit.