Content (by award-chronological order):
Additional information:
About:
All of my comments on this channel (award) are my personal opinion, have no relation to any organization or company.
This is derivation of SoPeRe Music Award. Contain award winner performances which originated from Asia .
Editor´s remark: Listen music with non English lyrics for many people can be unpleasant. But song with in its original lyrics is expressive and can transmit more feeling.
At seventeen
SongWriter: Janis Ian
Award winner is: Regine Velasquez, One Night with Regine 2002, Live concert at Manila (MALAYA), National Museum´s scenic steps at 2002, fragment, Click here .
The song itself is an award winner one. From one side bear many emotion and feeling. From other side it is hide deep in, and need a talented performer to free all of.
Original performer of this song was JL. She´s recording is some kind of taste for a song which encapsulate many emotions. Strange, but looks like the 70 year old JI perform this song in more coherent and emotional way than the 25 years old one. Maybe because it is free from style bond of actual decade.
Looks like RV´s special to hide diamond in it recordings and concerts. This song is performed by many great singer like Celine Dion, but the absolute top is RV´s award winner one. This part of "woman medley", which itself in an interesting performance. But focusing to At seventeen, harmony of a guitar and leading vocal (RV´s style and performance) is exceptional and transmit all emotional content of a song. The masterful arrangement is command a wide string section to frame a song in a high emotional way.
The audio recording for this song is good but not perfect. The problem is to find balance between leading vocal + instrument and the string section. This is good but can be better. The video recording is not a best one.
´Till I Met You
SongWriter: Odette Quesada, Arranged By Homer Flores
Award winner is: Kuh Ledesma, From (album) 6th Metro Manila Popular Music Festival, 1983, Click here ( Audio only but better audio quality Click here or Click here or Click here ) .
This is an "HOPELESS ROMANTIC" song from OQ. In my opinion its lyrics and music are very good but not perfect. The lyrics and music little bit "strange". But instead transmit emotion in a high artistic way and lock song to audience. Moreover this song and its performance won many awards.
Significant performances are: AQ most poular version: Click here . KL other award winner version 1989: Click here . KL Vinyl 1987: Click here . OQ with KL version: Click here . OQ version: Click here . RV version: Click here .
This is a very good example how performance important to explain emotional content of a song. But need to perform in very careful way. May all think it is easy to sing this kind of song in a high artistic level, but based on SoPeRe viewpoint even KL´s performances are significantly different. If a song itself more artistic, then more easy to break its emotional message and break down the all performance.
This is why KL´s 1983 performance selected for SoPeRe award. It is the Grand Prize winner of 6th Metro Manila Popular Music Festival. Other sides this is a real delicacy (at high artistic level), and OQ´s song is a very good base for this. This performance are the best form SoPeRe viewpoint. Coherently flow emotional content of a song to audience and NOT do any emotional break on. The result is an exceptional performance that emit a high emotional waves where audience need just float on. But even the great RV cannot reach performance level of SoPeRe award winner KL one.
My worry only is the arrangement of. The cymbal overrepresented in a recording and sometimes overlap voice of a leading vocal and destroy radiation of emotional waves. Other sides I miss acoustic music instrument orchestration version of a song. The keyboard is typical for years 1980, but this song worth more than this.
The arrangement and mixing are good but not perfect. The audio recording quality is good (1983!).
I Think I´m In Love
SongWriter: Cecille Azarcon-Inocentes
Award winner is: Kuh Ledesma, at WishClusive ( Wish (tm) 107.5 ), 2020, Click here .
CA as songwriter get on this song and its emotional message onto a Latin American rhythm. This is not a common way for emotional message "I´m in love". In this way the song and its message become a little bit cheerful instead of melancholic. But there is a trick. To perform it at high artistic level is need more exceptional talent, arranging and orchestration and moreover performance. Fortunately songwriter CA set up the song for by minims.
This song preformed first by KL in year 1984. But looks like after many decade she find a remarkable way to perform this song at highest artistic level. Maybe the performer experience is give freedom for KL to perform with some kind of joined lightness and elegance. This is why this performance selected for SoPeRe award.
As essence KL´s vocal break rhythm by unbelievable freedom at highest artistic level. The arranging and orchestration (with guitar and drum as leading musical instrument) support well this kind of performance (are very good and well fit for a leading vocal). The result is an exceptional and incredible performance of this song. Using other words, KL take an favourite striped t-shirt, step into the bus and perform a song in a top artistic level never done by other performer in a world before. Whether or not, the result is a performance of a song in a high artistic level, higher than before or maybe after.
My only worry is the recording quality of a leading vocal and its mixing. This is very good near for all WishClusive recording. But unfortunately (we do not know why) this is not true for this exceptional and incredible performance.
Editorial remark: Wish (tm) 107.5´s WishClusive provide a good cross-section of available performers at year 202x (from 1980 to 2022). If it is true, then we must say: other singer can have better vocal performance, but KL without doubt is the best performer we can found today, even if she perform just for a mic! But we have a hope. For example Jayda Zaragoza performance level is very good and near to KL´s one.
To Love Again
SongWriter: Odette Quesada
Award winner is: Odette Quesada, at WishClusive ( Wish (tm) 107.5 ), 2020, Click here .
Reference: Sharon Cuneta, The mega collection, Click here .
Reference: Vanya Castor, at WishClusive ( Wish (tm) 107.5 ), 2020, Click here .
OQ as songwriter push many emotions onto this song. The song itself is some kind of melancholic ballad (match to OQ´s performance´s style).
At performance this song official belong to Sharon Cuneta. But even I run through many performances (SC and no SC) I found no matching to songwriter´s conception until OQ´s performance at WishClusive.
Looks like OQ has courage to perform this song with only a guitar of Top Suzara (voice and guitar). Today this is quality of just top performers. The result is an incredible performance that is transmit many emotion than any other. OQ´s performance experience is able to free all emotion of a song.
The audio recording quality is good.
Kailangan Kita (I Need You)
SongWriters: Music and Lyrics by Ogie Alcasid
Award winner is: Regine Velasquez vocal with Filipino/Tagalog lyrics, Martin Nievera and Regine Velasquez World Concert Tour, live at Araneta Coliseum (Big Dome), Quezon, 2003 summer, Click here or Click here .
This song is a very popular in Asia. Why? Because its lyrics expressing many felling in an artistic simple way. The music mount it like gem in a ring. Its English translated lyrics found at Click here . The song is enough simple to carry many emotion, and they do it. This song just wait for a performer who can free its emotion.
The award winner performance without any doubt is by RV. See the explanation at Special award winner for song "I´ll never love this way again ". RV´s style and talent is the only one to perform this song at highest level. Other words, I do not known other singer who can perform this song in higher artistic level. Moreover in my opinion RV in this performance find peak of its own art. During performance use own artistic expression "tools" in extreme refined way.
This performance is free from chain of English language, because RV perform it in Filipino/Tagalog (original) language. Exceptionally the leading keyboard and the all orchestra well follow the leading vocal.
The original audio and video recording was good. From one side the audio crew mix in the "air" of a concert hall in. This method add some sparkle to the recording and help to unhide emotional content of a song. Other side sometimes the crew not find well balance between orchestra and leading vocal. The reason is RV´s very wide performance dynamic. Moreover the recorded echo of a concert hall and real airflow on a stage give some extra original "stamp" onto the performance. Tell, it is not a studio, it is a highly real art.
But the available recording are (looks like) rerecorded from television broadcast. Therefore the quality is little bit degraded. Other words do not forget what you see is recording of a recording.
Ikaw (You) 1993
Songwriter: Composed by Louie Ocampo, Lyrics by George Canseco
Award winner is: Regine Velasquez, One Night with Regine, Live concert at Manila (MALAYA), National Museum´s scenic steps, with San Miguel Philharmonic Orchestra and the 55-member San Miguel Master Chorale, broadcasted by ABS CBN, 2002, Click here .
The song itself is a title song of romantic drama (film) Ikaw 1993. The film nominated to FAMAS Award. The Filipino lyrics constructed by rich emotion and using many poetic expression as the film imply it. Unfortunately there is no English translation for the lyrics. Some taster: "Because there is only one you. You missing forever. To every moment is. To again and again is. To love you is."
This song originally performed by actress Sharon Cuneta, female star of a film. She´s performance is excellent for the title song of a film. But other side it can be better by as song by a top performer.
Therefore from SoPeRe viewpoint award winner live performance of RV is a top. RV´s performance is a coherent song. Without and (moving) picture free all emotion hide in a song in a professional level and provide deep art for the audience. Other words RV tell every emotion of a film by song. As remark, from half time of a song RV switched from Filipino to Spanish lyrics.
Original quality of the audio and video recording was good. But do not forget what you show is a recording of a recording (thanks to RV Remaster).
Kailangan Ko, Kailangan Mo (I need, You need)
SongWriter: Gerry Paraiso (Gerardo Jr. Paraiso)
Award winner is (shared): Richard Tan (Richard Tann) and Bambi Bonus (Bambie Bonus, Heather Pants), for album The Third Metro Manila Popular Music Festival, 1980, Click here .
Award winner is (shared): Martin Nievera and Regine Velasquez, 2003 World Tour Concert Series, live at Araneta Coliseum (Big Dome), Quezon, 2003 summer, fragment, Click here .
The songwriter GP write no just a music but a lyrics too. In this way had a chance to write an exceptional harmony among music and lyrics. And they done. The Filippino lyrics use rich of expression and using many poetic expression to explain emotions. Moreover the lyrics radiate a strong emotions and the music just amplify it in a natural way. Unfortunately there is no English translation for the lyrics. As taster: " What a sadness of the night. There are no stars. I am alone in the dark. No meaning of this life, if no one is loved or love. " We all need a companion in this world. I hope you are. I hope you are with me."
We can think lees than dozen performance of this song are published, therefore easy to decide about the winner. But instead it can be a most hardest decide in history of SoPeRe. So then we have shared winners, because both are artistic performance even it´s mentality are mostly differ.
About RT and BB performance. RT and BB done a very good studio work. This duet open up near all emotion hide in a song. Female vocal of BB is more artistic than RT´s male vocal. This recording mostly use acoustic music instruments and in this way give some glitter for the recording. Moreover the arrangement is use wide range of music instrument and in this way give more value to. This give more value for Bigger disadvantage of is, this performance is a studio recording, and therefore it is a little bit too dry and regulated.
Quality of the audio recording are good even it is recoded in 80´s. Because I found no any picture or video from a duet, then I exceptionally refer to only picture what I find .
About MN and RV performance. First of all, MN and RV wake up a more than 25 year old song. This is parallel with target of SoPeRe award. Instead MN and RV transform this song to arena. Female vocal of RV is more artistic than MN´s male vocal. We can think duet of a showman (MN) and a talented singer (RV) are disastrous for the song. But MN and RV pass to each other style. Both performer are find a compromise among show and deep art. Moreover during this performance both singer are wandering from show kind performance humour to a deep art. But this does not destroy emotional message of a song, just perform it in other way than the studio version.
The live performance and the audience open up new ways to explain emotional content of a song. Remarkable is, the official MN and RV performance of this song are far not good if we compare with this live performance. This recording mostly use electronic music instruments, and in this way can damage quality of. As far as w known this performance are nominated for Best Performance by a Duet at the 2007 Awit Awards
Original quality of the audio and video recording was good. But not forget what you show is a recording of a recording (thanks to Midnytsnack). As remark, on original video recording there is a moment where the crew try to capture silhouette of RV on a backlight background. Because quality of cameras was not enough good, then they failed. But the try itself indicate some kind of artistic demand.
Bakit Nga Ba Mahal Kita (Why do I Love You)
SongWriter: Larry S. Hermoso, 1994
Award winner is: Gigi De Lana (Mary Gidget Dela Llana) and The Gigi Vibes, LIVE on Wish 107.5 Bus, 2021, Click here .
The song itself is inviting performers. With high level lyrics give a chance to perform it on a high artistic level. But as in this level it is easy to injure its performance.
Original performer of this song was Roselle Nava at year 1994. Later Kakai Bautista done an more elegant performance of. But Even Gigi has no any performance to reach artistic level of the awarded recording. Looks like the studio bus has some kind of magic environment, and throw performances to unbelievable high. Gigi´s cloth and eyeglass make the performance endless real. Maybe the studio bus, but Gigi put so many emotions to performance and to the song. In this way the small studio is close to explode. This amount of emotion can fill a huge arena, provide a high artistic level performance, and worth an SoPeRe award.
Because the studio, audio and video quality of recording is good. Its remarkable, the mixing found well balance between the leading voice and the big balance of electronic music instruments.
Ya Es Muy Tarde (It´s too late)
SongWriter: José Luis Ortega
Award winner is: Yuridia, At studio, piano and voice version, 2015, Click here .
The song by José Luis Ortega give a chance to perform in high artistic level. Its lyrics at very high artistic level just wait to perform.
Yuridia´s this performance is exceptional. No other even no Yuridia can do in this artistic level before or after.
Yuridia´s close eye is say she is not there. She is in a word of emotions and she´s voice and performance is some kind of bridge to. She´s performance is endless real nothing synthetic in. In this way every tone of a song and every word of a lyrics radiate sensual emotions and result high level artistic performance. And finally this is worth an SoPeRe award.
The quality of a recording is good, but not perfect. Its remarkable, the mixing is little bit fail to found the balance between leading voice and the piano. Moreover the editor is miss a top quality piano because this level of performance worth that.
爱要有你才完美 (Love is complete when with you)
歌曲 : 爱要有你才完美 (Song title: Love is complete when with you)
作词 : 丁 薇 (Lyricist: Ding Wei)
作曲 : 金武林 (Composer: Jin Wulin)
Award winner is: 演唱 : 何卷卷 (Singer: He Juanjuan), CCTV studio, Cover, 2022, Click here .
Reference: Click here by 那英 (Na Ying) .
Reference: Click here by 那英 (Na Ying) 2011 live.
Reference: Click here by 那英 (Na Ying) 2013 live.
Reference: Click here by 张赫宣 (Zhang Hexuan) 2020 live.
Reference: Click here by 妮妮 (Nini) 2012 live.
The song is written for a film (2010) by composer Jin Wulin and Lyricist Ding Wei. The bad news is: we found two failure in a lyrics. All other are good news. The song itself is a real good work from music and from lyrics viewpoint. The orchestration use big balance of electric guitar. We are enough old to remember this kind was used first by Carpenters and it is a special expressive way to amplify emotion. Weakness and strongness of this song to allows transmit near endless emotion depend on performance.
This song is belong to Na Ying. She performed it countless time in studio and in live and win many award with. But one day a small lady called He Juanjuan in red dress stepped to studio stage of CCTV and performed (cover) this song in an exceptional way. She´s found a harmony between music and lyrics and orchestra and vocal and soul. This is like a "physical phenomenon of resonance" where harmony of all components are amplify emotion and artistic value to incredible high. But by our experience
we would say there is more in. This small lady in red dress can fill it with real emotion and art not just in a studio, but in a concert arena and in the all country and maybe in the all world. Other words she´s performance is not a best of China or best of America or best of Europe. She´s performance is comparable to best of a world. The tragedy is: in she´s home country this kind of intensive natural emotions or performing at level of endless emotions at stage is unusual. But from global viewpoint this is a top of vocal performing art.
This or that way, this performance and recording is worth an SoPeRe award.
As editorial remark: This above not baseless because He Juanjuan teaching vocal performing art and playing piano well.
The audio and video recording quality is good. Just one remark: For this high level of performance and for this high-skilled performer need a two free hand. Therefore the handy microphone is not a best option. For this the head microphone needed.
相思河畔 (Acacia River)
歌曲 : 相思河畔 (Song title: Acacia River)
作词 : 纪云程 (Lyricist: Ji Yuncheng)
作曲 : 暹罗民谣 (Composer: Traditional = Siamese Ballad = Siamese folk song)
Award winner is: 演唱 : 叶翠 (Vocal: Ye Cui), CCTV studio, Cover, 2022, Click here .
Reference: Click here by Ye Cui.
Reference: Click here by Meng Huiyuan.
Reference: Click here by Xu Xinwen / Hu Yue.
Reference: Click here by Liu Yue.
Reference: Click here by Dai Jun.
Reference: Click here.
Reference: Click here.
Reference: Click here.
Reference: Click here.
Reference: Click here.
Reference: Click here.
This song basically is a traditional Siamese ballad or Siamese folk song. There can be many interpretation and performance of.
This song are performed by many singer including Meng Huiyuan and Xu Xinwen / Hu Yueand and Liu Yue and Dai Jun. The basic problem is we do not known which one is the authentic performance because there is no any scientist for song history. Therefore to judging we can use our opinion. Accordingly this song is bind to China (Shanghai) at years 1940. By this: the best and matching performance for the award winner one is by Ye Cui. Moreover this performance is the best one to summon spirit of the river and the emotion.
Moreover let´s look for Ye Cui´s performance at year 2020. This is a good confirmation for SoPeRe principle. The same song the same performer and the same leading vocal performance but the result (artistic value) is far different. Why, because the orchestration is different. The 2022 version provide a different orchestration. This is places the song in place and time and give to higher artistic level. Other words without doubt this has less artistic value than the winner one.
The audio and video recording quality are good.
南海姑娘 (South sea girl)
歌曲 : 南海姑娘 (Song title: south sea girl)
作词 : 庄奴 (Lyricist: Zhuang nu)
作曲 : 汤尼 (Composer: Tang ni)
Award winner is: 演唱 : 刘惜君 (Vocal: Liu Xi-jun), CCTV studio, 2021, Click here .
Reference: Click here from 2013.
This song is born near at years 1950. The lyrics by Zhuang nu and the music by Tang ni composed in a way to allows many different way of performance. Moreover there is no limit for the song´s emotional messages.
This song is a very popular song of China and performed by countless singer at countless performance. But performance of Liu Xi-jun is an real unique because performed at level of strongly controlled emotions. This kind of control is part of Chinese art. This mean just a top Chinese singer can perform in this way. Moreover this is the guarantee for uniqueness and for specialty and for high artistic level of the performance. This orchestration including a harp is framing perfectly a style of performance. Therefore this performance without doubt worth an SoPeRe award.
The quality of audio and video recording is good. The only exception is a dancers. There is some problems with dance in harmony and the choreography is not fit well for this kind of high artistic level of performance.
我要你 (I want you)
歌曲 : 我要你 (Song title: I want you)
作词 : 樊冲 (Lyricist: Fan Chong)
作曲 : 樊冲 (Composer: Fan Chong)
Award winner is: 演唱 : 老狼 (Vocal: Laolang = Old Wolf), CCTV studio, 2020, Click here .
Reference: Click here by Zhang Wanqing .
Reference: Click here by Mao Buyi / Liu Tao .
Reference: Click here .
The song and lyric is by Fan Chong. It is some kind of Swiss knife can used in many way. It need to be found the right way to performing it, and then this song can offer high emotion.
This song is performed by for example youngster Zhang Wanqing and Mao Buyi and Liu Tao. But no any of them are capable to free all emotion hide in this song. This is because the Old Wolf with more young musicians find an exceptional way to do it. The trick is maybe to set free the good musicians and allow to performing in own style. Unity of orchestration and musical instruments and the performer and its performing style are exceptional. Reveals and carry near all emotion which hide by this song. Moreover the Old Wolf´s performing tricks are lifting it much higher in artistic value.
Therefore this recording and performance is worth SoPeRe award.
The audio and video recording quality are good.
亲密爱人 (Close lover)
歌曲 : 亲密爱人 (Song title: Close lover)
作词 : 小蟲 (Lyricist: Xiao chong)
作曲 : 小蟲 (Composer: Xiao chong)
Award winner is: 演唱 : 肖懿航 (Vocal: Xiao Yihang), 演奏 : 宋思衡 (piano: Song Siheng), CCTV studio, 2019 (2022), Click here .
Reference: Click here by Tsai Chin .
The lyric and music by Xiao chong composed in a way to leads the way of performance. But this kind of restriction are make it hard to performing at stage. Moreover there is no limit song´s emotional message.
The song is a very popular in China and performed by countless singer at countless performance. But interpretation of Xiao Yihang is like the Old Wolf would have bitten and infect this young lady. Looks like Xiao Yihang is some kind of natural born rebel, knows no boundaries at performance including performing in English lyrics. This kind of freedom is give unique and high artistic level for she´s performances. This performance is some kind of lucky meeting between song and performer which lift this song to unbelievable high in scale of artistic value.
But this is not all. The pianist is Song Siheng who one of a top pianist of China. This factor is lift the performance from unbelievable high to more higher. Therefore this performance without doubt worth an SoPeRe award.
The quality of audio and video recording is very good.
如果这就是爱情 (If this is love)
歌曲 : 如果这就是爱情 (Song title: If this is love)
作词 : 阿弟仔 (Lyricist: Adizai)
作曲 : 阿弟仔 (Composer: Adizai)
Award winner is: 演唱 : 张靓颖 (Vocal: Jane Zhang), Live arena, 2017, Click here .
Reference: Click here .
This song originally written for family made film-clip at year 2010 and issued for album Believe in Jane. The lyric of are very good. In the lyric the refrain "if" (" 如果 ") is used at masterfully way. For this the music provide well framing for. Moreover the music itself offer a way to play it at highest level by a basic band. But this song is not designated to everybody.
JZ as performer an excellent choice. This song is well fit for she´s performer style. Only problem is JZ has not enough experience with audience interaction. Therefore has no chance to use all possibility of audience interaction on the song. And finally this song was at top ten over a decade with good reason. Therefore this performance without doubt worth an SoPeRe award.
The recording quality is not a best one. But the high level performing are counterbalance this problem.
夜夜夜夜 (night night night)
歌曲 : 夜夜夜夜 (Song title: night night night)
作词 : 熊天平 (Lyricist: Xiong Tianping)
作曲 : 熊天平 (Composer: Xiong Tianping)
Award winner is: 演唱 : 金池 (Vocal: Jin Chi), Live arena, 2013, Click here .
Reference: Click here at 2019 .
Reference: Click here by 塔斯肯 (Tusken) .
Reference: Click here .
Reference: Click here .
Reference: Click here .
The song is one of most poular song of China. Singed by many singer countless time at very high artistic level.
Up to 2012 we have no any information about JC. But she´s bursts onto stage at this year on " 中国好声音进 " (" Good Voice of China ") competition. At year 2013 she has many concert and she issued the first album " 我就在你面前 " ( " I´m Right in Front of You "). She´s producer and mentor was the popular singer from Singapore named 女歌手蔡健雅 (Tanya Chua).
This recording is selected for SoPeRe because it is she´s first performer´s year. At arena stage JC perform together with a piano. This is the quality and potential of the best performers of the world. But JC perform this song at unbelievable high artistic level and points out that it is higher than possible.
And finally she maybe not a best voice of China. She maybe not a most beautiful girl of China. But she is one of best vocal performer of a world. No matter what kind of song she get, she is perform it in different language at highest possible artistic level using its own unique style. Sometimes usine its own talent to shift artistic level of a song to above highest possible. This or that way JC is one of the most special performer of China´s music world and this recording demonstrate it well.
The recording quality is not a best one. But the high level performing are counterbalance this problem.
一荤一素 (One meat and one vegetarian)
歌曲 : 一荤一素 (Song title: One meat and one vegetarian)
作词 : 毛不易 (Lyricist: Mao Buyi)
作曲 : 毛不易 (Composer: Mao Buyi)
Award winner is: 演唱 : 钟镇涛 / 毛晓彤 (Vocals: Zhong Zhentao and Mao Xiaotong), studio, 2022, Click here .
The song itself is close to a Chinese folk song. But its orchestration transposes it into another dimension.
The intergenerational pairing of the award-winning singers could be disturbing on a normal case. But in this song, and in this recording of the song, it is perhaps the highest possible artistic standard that can be achieved. The good performing skills of both singers should be included here too.
But the real genius of the recording lies in the shadow plays. These are simple artistic devices that take the shot to incredible heights in a small studio. The shadows themselves are a separate means of expression in harmony with the duet, giving the shot an extremely high artistic quality. It should be noted that it is also ingenious how the view of the studio is open up at the end of the recording, revealing the magic of shadow play. Normally this would crush the artistic value but in some special way it just about raises it even higher here.
The audio and especially the video work is very good. That is why this recording deserves a SoPeRe award.
她她她 (She She She)
歌曲 : 她她她 (Song title: She She She)
作词 : 王海涛 (Lyricist: Wang Haitao)
作曲 : 谭维维 / 魏雪漫 (Composer: Tan Weiwei and Wei Xueman)
Award winner is: 演唱 : 蔣凡 / 金池 (Vocals: Jiang Fan and Jin Chi), studio ( China HunanTV official, The Treasure EP8 MGTV ), 2023, Click here .
Reference: Click here by the trio .
This song is outstanding in many ways. Its lyrics are brilliantly based on the refrain 嘿 (hey) . And the song starts off with an electronic guitar and towards to palette of an symphonic orchestra. It is almost impossible to perform this song at a high artistic standard.
Interestingly, or rather understandably, there are only two known performances of this song, and both of them are associated with JC. At least two singing voices are needed to perform the song. Even if we disregard this, we are still faced with the JC problem. Whenever and in any song where JC sings with other (male) singers, the difference in performance skills (distance) is always obvious. JC is a JC and performing always at highest level.
However, his partner almost always performs at a much lower level which is confusing for us. We are at a loss as to how to find a (male) singing partner for JC who can perform with him at the same level. So we welcomed this ingenious solution: let´s go to the opposite direction. JF is a singer with little experience. Yet in duet with JC, an excellent artistic performance is created. Of course it should be noted that JF is an natural born actress. Coupled with JC´s performing ability, a unique artistic duo is created.
The duet makes masterful use of silence and the dynamic range of the vocal voice throughout the performance. JC´s vocal performance style and JF´s acting skills add to the value of the performance.
It should be noted that JF´s skirt is a bit foreign to us. It is reminiscent of the North American music clip award style where the dress is more important than the performance skills. We understand why this was necessary, but we think JF´s knowledge is worth more than that.
The audio and video recording quality is good. But the Audio crew has problem to recording and mixing well the fortissimos. But this performance is truly worth an SoPeRe award.
故乡的云 (Hometown clouds)
歌曲 : 故乡的云 (Song title: Hometown clouds)
作词 : 小轩 (Lyricist: Xiaoxua)
作曲 : 谭健常 (Composer: Tan Jianchang)
Award winner is: 演唱 : 欧阳娜娜 (Vocal: Ouyang Nana), studio + streets, 2023, Click here .
Reference: Click here 1987 live by 费翔 (Fei Xiang) .
Reference: Click here 2023 by 孙砾 (Sun Li) .
Reference: Click here 2023 by 欧美同学会合唱团 (European and American Alumni Association Choir) .
The song itself is a true Chinese iconic song. It is simple and expressive, but it is still true to what it says. That´s why it has the incredible ability to be performed in countless ways.
This song was performed by giants like Fei Xiang and Sun Li and the European and American Alumni Association Choir. So who would have the courage to sing it authentically? Who else can think of anything new to do with the performance of the song? Well only an unknown musician who sing a duet with the people of the street. This song has a serious and real message. Beside the performer giants only people of the street, together with the performer´s, can elevate it to artistic heights.
Thus only the performers themselves are quite untrained to raise the song to serious artistic heights. It is not a matter of a beautiful singing voice or performing style, but of the performers themselves authenticating the message of the song. And they certainly do that.
And the judging of artistic quality is no longer just about the song and the performers. It´s not just a song, it´s more than that, it´s a music video. The choice of locations and moments should be rewarded separately. Recording and editing are particularly important elements of artistic production. They add credibility to the performance and raise the clip to a high artistic level.
We have only two small objections to the clip. One is the audio cut points. This clip would require top professional editing and editing equipment. So "well matching" of the audio cut points, or rather the lack of it, bothers us a bit. Our other problem is that the sound of the fireworks at the end of the clip is a bit over-represented as if the song has already ended.
That said, the concept, idea and implementation itself is brilliant and artistic. Both the audio and even more the video conception and recording is very good. So this recording deserves a SoPeRe award.
It looks like the award winner recording had a data source error. We are pleased to see that a slightly differently mixed recording without a data error has now been released (2024.06.21).
狼人 (Wolfman)
歌曲 : 狼人 (Song title: Wolfman)
作词 : 姚若龙 (Lyricist: Yao Ruolong)
作曲 : 陈小霞 (Composer: Chen Xiaoxia)
Award winner is: 演唱 : 潘辰 (Vocal: Pan Chen (Miss Underwater)), studio, 2020, Click here .
Reference: Click here 2019 .
According to our information, this song is a film song. And the lyrics are a value in themselves. Again emphasising the SoPeRe principle, it only has special value if it is accompanied by the orchestration and the artist and the performance and the recording and much more. And fortunately, in the case of this award-winning recording have. But of course the key is unique performing style of "Miss Underwater" that broke the surface on this day. Truth be told, as a "dumb Europeans" we didn´t understand the song at first. But after two more listening, her precious treasures and qualities were revealed to us.
We only have two complaint and/or reamrk about the recording, but 2020 was this kind of year (COVID?!). 老狼 (old wolf) came into the studio, sang "just for fun" for a bit, then went home (See SoPeRe Asia). Then 演唱 (Pan Chen) came into the studio, sang "just for fun" for a bit, then went home. So they both bite off end of a song because this is a "just for fun" production. This would not normally be a problem, but their "just for fun" production was of an extremely high artistic standard. So it certainly degraded the performance.
The other problem is that this song is a silent duet of the leading vocal (PC) and werewolf. However, the werewolf does not appear in the visuals. One means of artistic expression could be that it is not because it is so far away that only the song reaches it (award winner version). The exact opposite of this could be a 2 meter high wolf that who accompanies the leading vocal throughout the song. This, however, is contrary to the lyrics and mood of the song, but would probably be a true blockbuster.
Perhaps artistically the most fitting would be the shadow of a wolf that accompanies the lead vocal on stage. With each step he would get closer and closer to his human form until at the end of the song he is step out from the shadow to the light as a human. And to give us a little smile, the one who step out could be none other than China´s only certified wolf 老狼 (Laolang the Old Wolf). However, either way, the wolf would be an incredibly difficult task to portray. The slightest mistake or sloppiness could drastically degrade the artistic quality of the song.
And last but not least, this song is a prime example of the importance of SoPeRe principle. It´s worth watching the song´s 2019 reference performance. The same song and the same artist and the same style and the same instrumentation but the artistic quality is completely different. Again, we emphasise that achieving a truly high artistic standard cannot be planned, it is simply the result of a constellation of countless factors. And unfortunately, such performances are mostly unrepeatable.
The audio and video work is of high quality. So this performance and recording is well worth a SoPeRe award.
我们 (Us)
歌曲 : 我们 (Song title: Us)
作词 : 葛大为 (Lyricist: Ge Dawei)
作曲 : 陈建骐 (Composer: Chen Jianqi)
Award winner is: 演唱 : 苏诗丁 (Vocal: (Juno) Su Shi Ding), studio, 2021, long 4 min. version, Click here .
Reference: Click here official MusicVideo 2013 by 陳奕迅 (Eason Chan) .
Lyrics repeat words with a kind of unabashed freedom. Since this is not a refrain, it would normally be considered a mistake. However, here it does something special as part of the song to raise its artistic level. The song itself and the orchestration is brilliant. It almost amalgamate with the artist to lift the recording to an incredible artistic height. Taking a risk, he steps out of the "one piano" concept and practically enlists a chamber orchestra as accompaniment.
And SSD´s melancholic performance is incredible match for the song. It´s that unimaginable moment when song, lyrics, instrumentation, band and performer come together in a single point and take the song to unimaginable heights emotionally and artistically. However, if you take any factor out of the equation, the result becomes worthless.
The playing of the solo instruments is also close to perfect. In the end, the song itself not only conveys emotions but also unleashes buried emotions. This is another dimension of music that very few artists in our world can reach.
SSD as a performer is the exact opposite of He Juan Juan. While HJJ uses all means to release the feelings hidden in the song, SSD uses only his singing voice. But this is only the means by which they both reach the top of the world artistically. No matter we talking about HJJ or JC or SSD, such artistic production cannot be organised and it cannot be prepared for. It must be said that it is the fortuitous coincidence of innumerable things that makes such a precious performance possible. And that is why such a recording is so valuable.
Looks like an triumvirate seems to have been successfully formed. 何卷卷 (He Juanjuan) with 爱要有你才完美 (Love is complete when with you); 金池 (Jin Chi) with 夜夜夜夜 (night night night); 苏诗丁 ( (Juno) Su Shi Ding) with 我们 (Us). And the jewel in the crown is Su Shi Ding´s performance. Not because it was the last song what we discovered, but because this is really the best.
The video recording and audio mixing is also excellent work, worthy of this song. Therefore it highly worth an SoPeRe music award.
Editor´s remark: having officially listened to tens of thousands of recordings and songs and performers from all corners of the world over the past decades, we can safely say: we´ve heard it all and seen it all. And then along comes a lady called SSD who basically turns our worldview upside down. Are we angry about that? No. Are we sad about it? No. In fact, we welcome and welcome all the songs and singers and recordings that are turning our worldview upside down. It is safe to say that we have only seen and heard a few examples of this level of artistry.
The magic of the song and its performance almost chains the expert ear to the headphones. The last time we felt this was with the songs of the triumvirate. What we can´t decide is whether SSD has taken one step up or whether we are simply hearing a drastically different style. It looks like we´d go for the former. And finally again and again. SoPeRe award is not for the most popular songs. This is an award for the highest artistic level.
童年 (Childhood)
歌曲 : 童年 (Song title: Childhood)
作词 : ? (Lyricist: ?)
作曲 : ? (Composer: ?)
Award winner is: 演唱 : 张磊 (Vocal: Zhang Lei), studio, 2024, Click here .
Reference: Click here 2018 by 罗大佑 (Luo Dayou) .
A good song, some good performers and 2.3 acoustic instruments. That´s all you need for a high quality song. It is a unity based on simplicity that takes the song to incredible artistic heights.
listening from an audiophile quality source and on equipment, the song goes up one more notch (excellent audio work). By the end of the song the audio mixing attention runs out (equipment failure?), the balance of the instruments is off and they simply melt together. On contrary Luo Dayou´s performance ignores the nature of the song and instead imposes its own style. That´s why Zhang Lei´s performance is brilliant, because he lets the song control its performance.
Put another way, it´s a very strange story in terms of the award. In the end we can to get a stereo recording. There the positions of the instruments are a bit mixed up, but it´s still an excellent illustration of the advantages of the recording. But of course, it was Luo Dayou´s performance that really convinced us that Zhang Lei and he´s band deserved the SoPeRe award.
新不了情 (Unforgettable love)
歌曲 : 新不了情 (Song title: Unforgettable love)
作词 : 黄郁 (Lyricist: Huang Yu)
作曲 : 鲍比达 (Composer: Bobida)
Award winner is: 演唱 : 金池 (Vocal: Jin Chi), 2018, full recording, live studio Click here at timeindex 15:35 .
演奏:星空现场流行乐团 (Performed by: Starry Sky Live Pop Band)
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The song itself was written in 1990, but don´t let that fool you. This in itself does not determine its artistic value. It is an excellent song both musically and lyrically. It has been sung by countless great artists (see references). But in this case there is no question that JC´s performance takes it to incredible artistic heights. There is nothing to comment on, you just have to listen to the recording.
What makes this recording special is that, unusually for China, it takes the stage focus of the leading vocal away from the music several times and gives it to the leading musical instrument. This is a bold and beautiful presentation which is to be commended in itself.
The award-winning recording is accompanied by Sky-guys, which gives it a special light. In addition, JC´s dress is exceptionally suited to the artistic level of the song. On top of the world, you can´t perform in just anything.
At the end of the recording, the first applause is a badly mixed artificial one. That is why we felt at first that this recording did not meet the SoPeRe criteria. But after listening to it many times, we decided it was extremely valuable. And in terms of the rules, the ugly clapping is not actually on the original recording, but was mixed in afterwards. So we awarded the SoPeRe Music Award.
大女人 (Big woman)
歌曲 : 大女人 (Song title: Big woman)
作词 : 赖伟锋 (Lyricist: Lai Weifeng)
作曲 : 陈迪 (Composer: Chen Di)
大女人專輯 (From album big woman)
Award winner is: 演唱 : 金池 (Vocal: Jin Chi), 2018, full recording, live studio Click here at timeindex 29:37 .
演奏:星空现场流行乐团 (Performed by: Starry Sky Live Pop Band)
Reference: Click here 2015 full ive recording.
Reference: Click here .
Reference: Click here 2015 original clip.
Reference: Click here 2015 audio only.
Reference: Click here 2015 clip by CD.
Reference: Click here 2015 clip by CD.
Our first impression was that this song was written for JC´s character, and we haven´t heard anything since to disprove that.
This song is built on an excellent musical foundation. However, we feel that the lyricist did not really believe in the success of the song. Fortunately, he was wrong, because this song made it into the China top 10 in 2015. But may the song and lyrics be as excellent as they are yet we must say that JC´s performance elevates it to artistic heights. But not only that, it also gives it a real emotional message.
With some knowledge of the world, it is safe to say there are less than a dozen performers in the world who can perform this song at anything reach this level. That´s why we can say with such certainty that JC is one of the best performers in the world.
The award-winning recording is accompanied by Sky-guys, which gives it a special shine.
Regardless, this song gave us a serious challenge. We had to decide which recording should win the award. The CD mentioned as a reference and the clip made from it would be an obvious choice. The recording the orchestration the orchestral accompaniment is excellent. But one important thing is missing from the recording, JC´s dynamics and energy. That is why we chose the 2018 studio and audience version. Although the recording is not nearly as perfect and the orchestral accompaniment is not nearly as rich, but JC delivers his usual top performance.
传奇 (Legend)
歌曲 : 传奇 (Song title: Legend)
作词 : ? (Lyricist: ?)
作曲 : ? (Composer: ?)
Award winner is: 演唱 : 李健 (Vocal: Li Jian), 2021, live arena Click here.
This performance is a real speciality that is capable of captivating an entire arena audience. Excellent music, text, performance, accompaniment. In fact, it is a recording that could make the performer a legend, if only because it was performed in an arena and was a success.
鲜花 (Flowers)
歌曲 : 鲜花 (Song title: Flowers)
作词 : ? (Lyricist: ?)
作曲 : ? (Composer: ?)
Award winner is: 演唱 : 回春丹乐队 薛凯琪 (Performers: Rejuvenation Pill Band and Sit Kai-chi), 2023, arena Click here.
Reference: Click here 2018 by Rejuvenation Pill Band.
This song is an excellent text based on good music. It is (hard)rock. However, its real value is that it uses the full range of rock music while staying within the boundaries of the music. The casting of performers is excellent. It should be noted here that this is not just about the person but also about their so-called maturity level, in other words how mature they are to perform the song.
Not only the song itself but also the instrumental accompaniment is excellent. The leading vocals also leave nothing to be desired. The unity of this all is capable of filling any kind of arena with music of a high artistic standard.
It is interesting and important to note that the artist on the reference recording is the same as the award winner one recording, but the difference is still significant.
The quality of the recording is excellent. Listening from Audiphile grade sources and equipment noticeably increases the quality even further. Thus the recording has more than just studio quality.
It is therefore obvious that this recording is worthy of the SoPeRe Music Award.
当你老了 (When you get old)
歌曲 : 当你老了 (Song title: When you get old)
作词 : ? (Lyricist: ?)
作曲 : ? (Composer: ?)
Award winner is: 演唱 : 赵照 (Vocal: Zhao Zhao), 2023, arena Click here.
We couldn´t resist this song. The music and the lyrics alone carry a high emotional content. ZZ´s performance and the accompanying musicians give it a high artistic quality. But that alone would not be enough. However, the use of natural instruments raises the artistic quality of the performance and recording to an extremely high level. Speaking from personal experience, this performance could fill any kind of arena aroung the world.
The quality of the recording, both audio and video, is good, making this recording worthy of the SoPeRe Music Award.
汲露茶香 (Jilu tea fragrance)
歌曲 : 汲露茶香 (Song title: Jilu tea fragrance)
作词 : ? (Lyricist: ?)
作曲 : ? (Composer: ?)
Award winner is: 指挥：谭利华 (Conductor: Tan Lihua),
演奏：中国电影乐团 慈溪青瓷瓯乐团 (Performer: China Film Orchestra and Cixi Celadon Ou Orchestra),
2023, in natural environment and in concerthall Click here.
We feel that this is a contemporary piece of music. What takes it to incredible artistic heights, however, is the integration of natural instruments and natural surroundings (CCO Orchestra). This is a real speciality that does not detract from the unity and harmony of the piece, but rather enhances it.
The quality of the recording is excellent, making this recording highly deserving of the SoPeRe Music Award.
终于等到你 (Finally waiting for you)
歌曲 : 终于等到你 (Song title: Finally waiting for you)
作词 : ? (Lyricist: ?)
作曲 : ? (Composer: ?)
Award winner is: 演唱 : 金美儿 (Vocal: Jin Meier), studio, live Click here.
演奏: 星空现场流行乐团 (Performed by: Starry Sky Live Pop Band)
The song itself and the lyrics are a good basis for JM´s performance to rise artistically high. AND if you don´t believe us, listen to the audience reaction.
It seems that such a high artistic performance is require the group of the "Sky guys", not to mention an excellent performance and a good recording. Replacing the keybord by strings section would be an step upward in artistic level and this performance would be a stand one´s ground on any stage in the world.
Our only serious complaint is that the audio crew ignored the exceptional dynamic range of the recording. As a consequence, the noise of the audio chain was mixed into the highest emotional moment of the song.
Nevertheless, it is clear that this song and this performance are worthy of the SoPeRe award.
Last update:
April 2, 2025