Love You No Matter What
Erica Chiang

I Am Not
Elisa Chen

Winding Road
Lu Yao

This week, we have three debut albums from three women. Say what you want about the state of the music business, it remains a magnet for those with music in their blood and stars in their eyes.
Erica Chiang took the tried-and-tested route of entering a singing competition and swung into the top four in the first Super Idol in 2008.
On her debut, the former golf caddie offers up a mix of original material and covers. She has a big voice but she is in no hurry to show it off, unleashing it only during the chorus of opener Unicellular.
The title track is unabashedly commercial: “I love you no matter what/Even if it means turning my back on the whole world/If there’s a happiness worth striving for/It’s to be with you”. No great shakes lyrically but Chiang imbues the song with warmth and sincerity.
Even on the covers such as Chiang Mei-chi’s Beloved, Why Aren’t You By My Side and Sandy Lam’s Weathered The Cold Wind For You, her voice, honeyed and slightly nasal, makes the songs her own.
Image-wise, she has gone for an understated androgynous look, wearing shirts and jeans and sporting a hat.
Meanwhile, Elisa Chen has gone for an all-out rocker-chick look complete with electric guitar and attitude on the CD cover. But her voice lacks that oomph such an image conjures.
In fact, my favourite track here is not a rock track but the ballad Ever Since. Over a piano-driven chorus, she croons: “You’re the greatest thing that’s happened to my life/Finally understand why life is worth waiting for”.
Bonus points to her for composing all the music and co-writing several tracks on her album even if the songs do not quite reflect her storied musical background. She was a music producer at 24, a member of a jazz group and had worked with local bands in the United States.
In contrast, Lu Yao’s background was in modelling. This is not the most promising of signs but the Harbin native has a set of passable pipes. She fares better on the slower numbers such as Crossing The International Date Line though her voice feels a tad thin on Regretful Beauty.
What makes listening to her album a trying experience is the fact that it has been put together with no regard for thematic unity or emotional continuity.
On Super Lover, an urban track trying uber hard to be hip, she goes: “Honey Honey I want to conquer your heart from the runway”.The next number, I Do, has her in the mood for mellow romance: “I do, I’m willing/This love will never forget/Even if I grow old one day”.
She has nailed one thing though. The road to success is indeed a winding one, and not everyone is going to reach that destination. With so many debuts jostling for attention, only those who offer a spark of something different are going to make it to the next stage of the journey.
(ST)