So apparently Jay Chou’s new album, 魔杰座 / Capricorn has been leaked - we’re trying to see if it’s really real or just some random stuff masquerading as him… Keep you posted.

Update: Yep, we’re pretty sure it’s real…. Only thing is, first impression wise, it’s really not that good…

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Info

Album: Stand Up (Buy Album)

Artist: 빅뱅 / Big Bang

Release Date: August 8, 2008

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Tracklisting:

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Review By: sky

Review

Anyone who listens to Korean pop, should know about the mainstream artistes such as Wonder Girls and Big Bang. The latter is very active, releasing hit after hit, in the form of mini albums, and concert cds. They’ve swept the continent of Asia by storm, and their fans are regularly surprised by the release of mini albums, and this third mini album Stand Up is no exception., released on 08/08/08.
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Info

Album: 我的電台 FM S.H.E / FM S.H.E (Buy Album)

Artist: S.H.E

Release Date: September 23, 2008

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First Thoughts

Hard to believe it, but this is actually Taiwanese girl band S.H.E’s eleventh album. Titled 我的電台 FM S.H.E (or simply FM S.H.E in English), it quite the interesting album. In this album, Hebe, Selina, and Ella all take on the personalities of radio hosts and DJs, and present the album as if it was one long radio show. Therefore, that leads to some interesting things - namely, first that you should not turn on shuffle when you hear this album for the first time - it makes more sense to go through it sequentially from the beginning all the way through to the end.

Apart from 宇宙小姐 (Miss Universe) and 沿海公路的出口  (Coastal Road Exit), which we first took a look at in this previous post, there are many other songs of note - in fact, I think overall the quality of the songs are better than Play’s, though there isn’t a single song that strikes me immediately as being easily the most famous song in the album. Personal favorites so far: 我愛煩惱 (I Love Afflictions), 我是火星人 (I’m a Martian) and 酸甜 (Sweet and Sour), featuring brother band Fahrenheit/飛輪海.

This is our first listen at it - our official full-length review will come this weekend. In the time being, sound off in the comments section, and let us know what you think!

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Info

EP: 右手邊 / Right Hand Side (Buy Album)

Artist: 光良 / Michael Wong (Guang Liang)

Release Date: September 19, 2008

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Blurb

Everyone’s favorite melancholy singer, Michael Wong (光良) is back with two new songs, released a few days ago as an EP. I’ll be brief, since I have a lot of S.H.E stuff to write about, but essentially, if you’re in a particularly emo mood right now, go for it. Also, the second song is more upbeat (and features a harmonica quite prominently, yay!) and is a duet with Amguulan (阿穆隆), a Chinese-Mongolian singer.

Check out the music video after the break.

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Info

Song: 稻香 / Fragrant Rice

Album: 魔杰座 / Capricorn

Artist: 周杰倫 / Jay Chou

To Be Released: October 9, 2008

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Preview

Literally less than an hour ago, Jay Chou’s (周杰倫) first song from his upcoming album Capricorn (魔杰座) was aired on Taiwan’s HitFM radio - mad props to Alex for letting me know. Entitled Rice Fragrance (稻香), it’s a very folksy tune, yet as Jay Chou himself put it, it has some hip-hop influences to it, and the song is primarily a lesson for everyone to be “content” (知足), and to find that spark in a simple life.

Listen to it above, and let us know what you think! I, for one like it a lot. A far better start to an album than last time. Catch the lyrics, written by Jay himself, after the break.

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Info

Song: 永遠在身邊 / Always By Your Side

Artist: 大嘴巴 / Da Mouth

Release Date: September 2008

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Preview

Da Mouth (大嘴巴) debuted last fall, and they’ve come out with their first song since that album - a love song called Always By Your Side (永遠在身邊). Good thing is, Aisa’s Chinese seems to be much better this time, and they no longer give people the impression that they’re simply ripping stuff off of other people again - contrary to their songs last time, most of which I tolerated (and some which I found positively annoying), I actually like this song. Take a listen, tell me what you think. Have you now found yourself looking upon them in a more positive light?
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Info

Album: Love the World (Buy Album)

Artist: Perfume

Release Date: July 9, 2008

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Blurb

Coming straight from Nippon comes Love the World by Japanese girl-group Perfume. This superbly techy and upbeat techno/electronic single, is simply fun to listen to. Their voice sounds so electronic though and impossibly high, but they sound like that in their other albums as well, so that’s not too bad. Their music video is supremely interesting as well, shot in all black and white. Take a listen, and check out the music video after the break.
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Info

Album: 我的電台 FM S.H.E / FM S.H.E (Buy Album)

Artist: S.H.E

To be Released: September 23, 2008

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Review By: shih

Preview

It’s been over a year since Taiwanese girl group S.H.E released their last album, Play. Featuring hits like 中國話, 藉口, and 謝謝你的溫柔 (featuring boy band heartthrob Fahrenheit 飛輪海), Play was one of the best albums of 2007. On September 23^rd , the trio will be releasing a new album, called 我的電台 FM S.H.E. The album title also highlights the radio station that S.H.E will also be launching in the near future; each member will be a “DJ” and offer advice and stories. Especially in light of the unfortunate collapse of the Twins due to the Edison Chen sex scandal, it has now become clear that S.H.E is the undisputed number 1 girl band in the Chinese speaking music industry. Although short previews for several songs in the upcoming album have been released, two of the songs, Miss Space (Universe) (宇宙小姐) and Coastal Road Exit (沿海公路的 出口) have been released in full. Let’s see what Selina, Hebe, and Ella have to offer this year.
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