Hundred Days

JJ Lin

OK Man

Huang Jinglun

A Whole New World Of My Music Journey

Maggie Theng

Sang Penyanyi

Hady Mirza

Here’s a cheery start to 2010 with offerings from four local singers.

On his seventh studio album, JJ Lin seems to have found a comfortable groove.

He delivers a canny mix of hip, urban tunes (X and Go!) and big, sweeping ballads (Hundred Days and Back To Back).

The title track, a chart-topper here, is paired with poetic lyrics by Daryl Yao: “I let my heart turn into flames/So that you, afraid of the dark, can embrace the warmth as you sleep.”

It is the slinky R&B tracks that prove to be more alluring, though. Go!, with its upbeat message of encouragement, is a standout and features a rap by MC Hotdog.

It is also the only set of Chinese lyrics written by Lin though he composed all the music.

He has been making a mark in the competitive Taiwanese scene along with the likes of Huang Jinglun.

Even though Huang came in sixth in the third season of One Million Star, he was voted the most popular contestant.

With his foray into acting in idol drama Momo Love, his stock has risen even further.

The follow-up to his 2008 debut, Jing’s Note, sees the singer’s wellknown sense of humour intact. He declares in the title number: “Want to eat supper and not get fat/Leave it to me, Ok! Man.”

He plays up his geeky image with Our Show, rapping about not knowing where to place his hands when seated next to a girl he likes in a cab.

The cheekiness disappears in sad-sack ballads such as Old Wound and, unfortunately, we are left with the clunky duet Can’t Win as the closer.

Far more consistent is Maggie Theng’s album of jazzed-up covers which includes her own hit Qian Yin (Leading Along) as well as takes on Tracy Huang’s Spring Light and Eason Chan’s Your Backpack.

The intimate recording makes you feel as though you have wandered into a small, smoky joint with a lone light focused on the singer.

While you wish there was a little more oomph to the voice, it is still heartening to find a covers record done with imagination and passion.

With more than 50 albums to her name, she certainly has a thing or two to teach the younger singers about staying power.

On album number two, Singapore Idol winner Hady Mirza guns for the regional market with a largely Malay- language release. He wrote eight of the 10 tracks, with fellow champ Taufik Batisah contributing two songs.

Hady also served as producer and the material here has been picked to showcase his emotive vocals.

The first plug, Angkasa, is a gorgeous showstopper that gives him space to soar and swoop.

There is a preponderance of ballads, though, and it would have been nice to see Hady rock out more often.

With the dust just settled on another season of Singapore Idol, we can expect to see more home-grown debuts down the road.

So here’s to a vibrant and exciting local music scene in the year ahead. Cheers!

(ST)