Yan Zi
Stefanie Sun
It was a classic case of overnight success.
With her self-titled debut album, Stefanie Sun was catapulted into the top ranks of Mandopop singers, achieving both popular and critical acclaim.
The disc sold more than 400,000 copies in three months in Taiwan, and was Singapore’s best-selling Mandarin album in 2000. She even beat today’s Mandopop king Jay Chou to nab the Best New Artist accolade at the prestigious Golden Melody Awards in 2001.
While Sun was very much in the girl-next-door mould, she stood out with her short crop and casual get-ups of unfussy tops and pants, rarely skirts. And in further contrast to docile doe-eyed lasses crooning about love, there was a spunky edge to her distinctive lower-pitched voice, particularly on faster-paced numbers.
She looked as though a moderately strong wind could carry her off, but proved to be no frail damsel when she opened her mouth to sing.
Turbo kickstarted the album. The track was designed to differentiate her from the crowd, with its snappy tempo and lyrics pumped full of attitude: “The feeling is right, I’m starting out/Using my own steps.”
The undoubted highlight of the disc, though, was Cloudy Day. The ballad with its poignant refrain of “tee or or, bey lor hor” (“The sky is dark, it is going to rain soon”), taken from a Hokkien folk song, grew to be a monster hit.
The canny sampling of a well-known ditty meant that everyone and their grandmother could easily relate to the song. For deftly updating an oldie and turning it into an instant classic, local songwriter and Sun’s mentor Lee Shih Shiong won the Golden Melody Award for Best Composer in 2001.
The ballad Love Document was also a thoughtfully crafted number. Lyrics such as “distance is a test”, “we are still learning for love” and “this love will have its certificate” were a perfect fit for the then 22-year-old who graduated from Nanyang Technological University that year with a bachelor of business degree.
Sun also showed that she could write music with her composition for Fine. She would go on to hone her skills as a songwriter, particularly on the statement-making Stefanie (2004) for which she composed two tracks and wrote the lyrics for one.
Interestingly, Yan Zi closes with Leave Me Alone, foreshadowing the ambivalent relationship Sun would have with fame. She loves to sing, but is clearly less enamoured with the pressures that come with being a professional entertainer.
When she released her ninth original studio album It’s Time (2011), she told Life!: “I just want to sing and enjoy it. I don’t need any record-breaking sales or awards or more titles, I just want to enjoy it while it lasts.”
Perhaps that ambivalence is in part due to the awareness that it is never just about the singing. While there is no question of Sun’s raw talent, a clever marketing campaign was also key to her early success.
Even before her album was released in Taiwan, Sun was already a recognisable face, thanks to an advertising campaign for sanitary napkins. And a generous NT$40 million (S$1.67 million) was spent on the promotion of the record.
More controversially, a man with an air gun tried to take her hostage during an autograph session in Taipei, an incident dismissed by some as a publicity stunt.
Still, none of this should detract from the fact that Sun was a unique voice in Mandopop from day one and Yan Zi was the album that first showcased her uniqueness. She has since proven to be that rarest of stars – an overnight smash who has endured.
(ST)