The lyrics are mildly difficult, with a few faster moments, but the belty chorus is also likely to cause trouble for those who can’t belt on key. For the sake of your audience, keep in mind that singing loudly does not always equate to singing well!

如果我能看得見 就能輕易的分辨白天黑夜
ru guo wo neng kan de jian  jiu neng qing yi de fen bian bai tian hei ye

就能準確的在人群中牽住你的手
jiu neng zhun que de zai ren qun zhong qian zhu ni de shou

如果我能看得見 就能駕車帶你到處遨遊
ru guo wo neng kan de jian jiu neng jia che dai ni dao chu ao you

就能驚喜的從背後給你一個擁抱
jiu neng jing xi de cong bei hou gei ni yi ge yong bao

如果我能看得見 生命也許完全不同
ru guo wo neng kan de jian sheng ming ye xu wan quan bu tong

可能我想要的我喜歡的我愛的 都不一樣
ke neng wo xiang yao de wo xi huan de wo ai de dou bu yi yang

眼前的黑不是黑 你說的白是什麼白
yan qian de hei bu shi hei ni shuo de bai shi shen me bai

人們說的天空藍 是我記憶中那團白雲背後的藍天
ren men shuo de tian kong lan shi wo ji yi zhong na tuan bai yun bei hou de lan tian

我望向你的臉 卻只能看見一片虛無
wo wang xiang ni de lian que zhi neng kan jian yi pian xu wu

是不是上帝在我眼前遮住了簾 忘了掀開
shi bu shi shang di zai wo yan qian zhe zhu le lian wang le xian kai

Chorus:

你是我的眼 帶我領略四季的變換
ni shi wo de yan dai wo ling lue si ji de bian huan

你是我的眼 帶我穿越擁擠的人潮
ni shi wo de yan dai wo chuan yue yong ji de ren chao

你是我的眼 帶我閱讀浩瀚的書海
ni shi wo de yan dai wo yue du hao han de shu hai

因為你是我的眼 讓我看見這世界就在我眼前
yin wei ni shi wo de yan  rang wo kan jian zhe shi jie jiu zai wo yan qian

就在我眼前
jiu zai wo yan qian

眼前的黑不是黑 你說的白是什麼白
yan qian de hei bu shi hei ni shuo de bai shi shen me bai

人們說的天空藍 是我記憶中那團白雲背後的藍天
ren men shuo de tian kong lan shi wo ji yi zhong na tuan bai yun bei hou de lan tian

我望向你的臉 卻只能看見一片虛無
wo wang xiang ni de lian que zhi neng kan jian yi pian xu wu

是不是上帝在我眼前遮住了簾 忘了掀開
shi bu shi shang di zai wo yan qian zhe zhu le lian wang le xian kai

Chorus 2x

Ricky Hsiao’s official website (Chinese): http://www.xiaohuangchi.idv.tw/

Ricky Hsiao on Wikipedia (English): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xiao_Huang-Chi

Lyrics on KKBOX: http://tw.kkbox.com/song/aV-n-UA06924lNnxJNnxJ0P4-index.html#lyrics

Learners of Chinese will find this song to be only moderately challenging. It does require a solid foundation for common characters, but there are few difficult words/characters in the song. As for the vocals, the lower key of JJ Lin’s version is manageable for both men and women, but women can consider trying out A-Mei’s version for a challenge. Below are both versions. Enjoy!

Chorus:

誰還記得 是誰先說 永遠的愛我
shei hai ji de  shi shei xian shuo  yong yuan de ai wo

以前的一句話 是我們以後的傷口
yi qian de yi ju hua  shi wo men yi hou de shang kou

過了太久 沒人記得當初那些溫柔
guo le tai jiu  mei ren ji de  dang chu na xie wen rou

我和你手牽手 說要一起 走到最後
wo han ni shou qian shou  shuo yao yi qi  zou dao zui hou

我們都忘了 這條路走了多久
wo men dou wang le  zhe tiao lu zou le duo jiu

心中是清楚的 有一天 有一天都會停的
xin zhong shi qing chu de you yi tian you yi tian dou hui ting de

讓時間說真話 雖然我也害怕
rang shi jian shuo zhen hua    sui ran wo ye hai pa

在天黑了以後 我們都不知道會不會有以後
zai tian hei le yi hou  wo men dou bu zhi dao  hui bu hui you yi hou

Chorus 1 x

我們都累了 卻沒辦法往回走
wo men dou lei le  que mei ban fa wang hui zou

兩顆心都迷惑 怎麼說 怎麼說都沒有救
liang ke xin dou mi huo  zen me shuo  zen me shuo dou mei you jiu

親愛的為什麼 也許你也不懂
qin ai de wei shen me  ye xu ni ye bu dong

兩個相愛的人 等著對方先說想分開的理由
liang ge xiang ai de ren  deng zhe dui fang xian shuo xiang fen kai de li you

Alternate chorus:

誰還記得愛情開始變化的時候
shei hai ji de ai qing kai shi bian hua de shi hou

我和你的眼中 看見了不同的天空
wo han ni de yan zhong  kan jian le bu tong de tian kong

走的太遠 終於走到分岔路的路口
zou de tai yuan zhong yu zou dao fen cha lu de lu kou

是不是你和我 要有兩個相反的夢
shi bu shi ni he wo yao you liang ge xiang fan de meng

Chorus 1x

我和你手牽手 說要一起 走到最後
wo han ni shou qian shou  shuo yao yi qi zou dao zui hou

JJ Lin on Wikipedia (English): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/JJ_Lin

A-Mei on Wikipedia (English): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A-mei

Lyrics at KKBOX: http://tw.kkbox.com/song/.OFfIMRS4H.M51lel1lel0H4-index.html

Five years later, I can’t say I’ve become an S.H.E. fan, but I’ve at least learned several of the ballads on the album. Still, it’s this title track that I still haven’t conquered. Despite the fact that the chorus is largely made up of common characters, its speed and rhythm make it a tongue-twisting nightmare. Great enunciation practice if you need it!

為什麼就是找不到 不謝的玫瑰花
wei shen me jiu shi zhao bu dao  bu xie de mei gui hua

為什麼遇見的王子 都不夠王子啊
wei shen me yu jian de wang zi dou bu gou wang zi a

我並不期盼他會有 玻璃鞋和白馬
wo bing bu qi  pan ta hui you bo li xie he bai ma

我驚訝的是情話竟然 會變成謊話
wo jing ya de shi qing hua jing ran hui bian cheng huang hua

為什麼幸福的青鳥 要飛的那麼高
wei shen me xing fu de qing niao yao fei de na me gao

為什麼蘋果和擁抱 都可能是毒藥
wei shen me ping guo he yong bao dou ke neng shi du yao

我從沒想過有了他 還孤單的可怕
wo cong mei xiang guo you le ta hai gu dan de ke pa

我突然想起從前陪我那個洋娃娃
wo tu ran xiang qi cong qian pei wo na ge yang wa wa

Chorus

我不想 我不想 不想長大
wo bu xiang wo bu xiang bu xiang zhang da

長大後 世界就沒童話
zhang da hou shi jie jiu mei tong hua

我不想 我不想 不想長大
wo bu xiang wo bu xiang bu xiang zhang da

我寧願 永遠都 笨又傻
wo ning yuan yong yuan dou ben you sha

我不想 我不想 不想長大
wo bu xiang wo bu xiang bu xiang zhang da

長大後 我就會 失去他
zhang da hou wo jiu hui shi qu ta

我深愛的他 深愛我的他
wo shen ai de ta  shen ai wo de ta

已經變得不像他
yi jing bian de bu xiang ta

我不想 我不想 不想長大
wo bu xiang wo bu xiang bu xiang zhang da

長大後 世界就沒童話
zhang da hou shi jie jiu mei tong hua

我不想 我不想 不想長大
wo bu xiang wo bu xiang bu xiang zhang da

我寧願 永遠都 笨又傻
wo ning yuan yong yuan dou ben you sha

我不想 我不想 不想長大
wo bu xiang wo bu xiang bu xiang zhang da

長大後 我就會 失去他
zhang da hou wo jiu hui shi qu ta

我深愛的他 深愛我的他
wo shen ai de ta  shen ai wo de ta

怎麼會 愛上別個他
zen me hui ai shang bie ge ta

為什麼水晶球裡面 看不出他在變
wei shen me shui jing qiu li mian  kan bu chu ta zai bian

為什麼結局沒歡笑 而是淚流滿面
wei shen me jie ju mei huan xiao er shi lei liu man mian

我願意在他回來前 繼續安靜沉睡
wo yuan yi zai ta hui lai qian ji xu an jing chen shui

但他已去到別座城堡 吻另一雙嘴
dan ta yi qu dao bie zuo cheng bao wen ling yi shuang zui

為什麼對流星許願 卻從來沒實現
wei shen me dui liu xing xu yuan que cong lai mei shi xian

為什麼英勇的騎士 會比龍還危險
wei shen me ying yong de qi shi hui bi long hai wei xian

我當然知道這世界 不會完美無暇
wo dang ran zhi dao zhe shi jie bu hui wan mei wu xia

我只求愛情能夠不要那麼樣複雜
wo zhi qiu ai qing neng gou bu yao na me yang fu za

Chorus 1x

讓我們回去從前好不好
rang wo men hui qu cong qian hao bu hao

天真愚蠢快樂美好．．．．
tian zhen yu chen kuai le mei hao….

Chorus 1x

Lyrics at KKBOX: http://tw.kkbox.com/song/abkw4G904TW41IA8.IA8.0P4-index.html

S.H.E.’s official site: http://www.him.com.tw/artist_a.asp?aid=1

The  actual music video for the song is just as memorable, with its juxtaposition of cute and emo, complete with a guitar-playing bear. That’s not to say that this is a particularly great song, but it’s catchy and silly, making it great for KTV. It’s also fairly easy song, since it contains only a few advanced words, and contains only one verse. Make sure to sing “Amen” after you finish!

Intro (DaDa):
喔~ 愛你愛到不怕死 Baby 愛我請你讓我瘋狂一次
Oh ~ ai ni ai dao bu pa si Baby ao wo qing ni rang wo feng kuang yi ci

Verse:
愛是什麼東西 不過就是種遊戲
ai shi shen me dong xi  bu guo jiu shi zhong you xi

情是什麼玩意 不就是玩玩而已
qing shi shen me wan yi  bu jiu shi wan wan er yi

Honey Darling Baby 或是叫我小親親
Honey Darling Baby huo shi jiao wo xiao qin qin

只要哄我高興 冥王星都陪你去
zhi yao hong wo gao xing  ming wang xing dou pei ni qu

Chorus:
喔~ 愛你愛到不怕死 但你若劈腿 就去死一死
Oh ~ ai ni ai dao bu pa si  dan ni ruo pi tui  jiu qu si yi si

喔~ 愛你愛到不怕死 Baby 愛我請你讓我瘋狂一次
Oh ~ ai ni ai dao bu pa si Baby ai wo qing ni rang wo feng kuang yi ci

Repeat verse 1x

Repeat chorus 2x

Lyrics at KKBOX: http://tw.kkbox.com/song/r85cVAa01Tp1l6lNV6lNV0P4-index.html

同恩’s Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/tong-en-Rebecca/196103839114

夏宇童’s Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/xia-yu-tong/119746658059906

I have, fortunately, learned some other great songs this year, and this one by Sam Lee is one of my favorites. I love songs with KTV or music metaphors, like K歌之王 by Eason Chan or 不完整的旋律 by Wang Leehom, and this song meets that perfectly, since every KTV has a 切歌 button like this one:

切歌 button at KTV

I also appreciate that Lee is a 37-year-old performer competing against legions of younger rivals and still producing some really powerful music. Besides the awesome vocals, the lyrics to this song – the chorus in particular – are heartwrenching and sweet.** In terms of difficulty, I’d say this one is up there both vocally and lyrics-wise. The vocal range is a bit of a stretch; the song begins too low for most women to comfortably sing, but the final notes are a bit high for most men. Fortunately, if you’re actually going to a KTV to sing, you can change the key to fit your own range. The song is fairly slow, but the bridge has an especially difficult tongue-twisting section that I have yet to master. It’s doable with some practice, however.

I do have one particular request when it comes to this song, which is that, if you’re going to sing it, you must belt it with everything you’ve got. Please? This song wasn’t written to be mumbled. Sing it the way it was meant to be, and your KTV companions will thank you.

**Google Translate is your loyal friend, and a much faster translator than me, so please don’t ask me to translate.

Verse 1:

我坐在鋼琴前面 敲著黑白的琴鍵
wo zuo zai gang qin qian mian  qiao zhe hei bai de qin jian

唱著類似愛情的配樂
chang zhe lei si ai qing de pei yue

你說我們的愛像單調的和弦
ni shuo wo men de ai xiang dan diao de he xian

不夠動聽 不夠經典
bu gou dong ting   bu gou jing dian

Verse 2:

我也努力過改變 學你要愛的完美
wo ye nu li guo gai bian  xue ni yao ai de wan mei

大提琴點綴我的心碎
da ti qin dian zhui wo de xin sui

我的時間不過是你多的時間
wo de shi jian bu guo shi ni duo de shi jian

回憶是終點
hui yi shi zhong dian

Chorus:

用力唱一首歌 忽然被你切歌
yong li chang yi shou ge   hu ran bei ni qie ge

這歌詞很像我 旋律夠曲折 多麼適合
zhe ge ci hen xiang wo  xuan lv gou qu zhe  duo me shi he

就算沒有音樂的伴奏
jiu suan mei you yin yue de ban zou

唱到聲音都啞了
chang dao sheng yin dou ya le

我會記得 你曾是我最愛的情歌
wo hui ji de   ni ceng shi wo zui ai de qing ge

Repeat verse 2

Repeat chorus

Bridge:

過去一幕一幕就像播放煽情的MV
guo qu yi mu yi mu jiu xiang bo fang shan qing de MV

我自導自演不能理解這樣的悲劇
wo zi dao zi yan bu neng li jie zhe yang de bei ju

包箱裡只剩下我自己
bao xiang li zhi sheng xie wo zi ji

Repeat chorus 2x (with vocal embellishments)

Lyrics at KKBOX: http://tw.kkbox.com/song/u8SAfDK07Ob02T63uT63u0P4-index.html#lyrics

Sam Lee’s artist page at Zoommuzik: http://www.zoommuzik.com/artist_01/index.php

The project has officially ended, but now comes the task of writing and posting photos of all the amazing things I saw during my 5 days. I’ve currently only reached the end of Day 2. My goal was to do 50 interesting things of the original list of 94 ideas, and I’ve only blogged 16 of them so far. That means KTV小姐 is temporarily on hold until I catch up, unless I come across some fabulous new music I must share at once.

Speaking of new music… though I wouldn’t call it fabulous, Jay Chou‘s new album is out. Here’s the first single, which I can’t say I love very much. Perhaps you’ll like it:

If you can manage to sing this song well, good on you. The song is slow, but the vocabulary and vocal difficulty make it a little harder for a beginner. The range isn’t easy to cover for most people – in fact, I tend to ask a male friend to sing the beginning for me, as it is quite low for a woman. Extra points for getting all the non-chorus flourishes toward the end of the song. (Note: background chorus is in parentheses)

北風毫不留情 把葉子吹落
bei feng hao bu liu qing  ba ye zi chui luo

脆弱的她選擇了逃脫
cui ruo de ta xuan ze le tao tuo

葉子失去消息 風才感覺寂寞
ye zi shi qu xiao xi  feng cai gan jue ji mo

整個冬天 北風的痛沒人能說
zheng ge dong tian  bei feng de tong mei ren neng shuo

(Chorus)

我從來沒想過 我會這樣做
wo cong lai mei xiang guo  wo hui zhe yang zuo

從來沒愛過 所以愛錯
cong lai mei ai guo  suo yi ai cuo

我從哪裡起飛 從哪裡降落
wo cong na li qi fei  con na li jiang luo

多少不能原諒的錯卻不能重來過
duo shao bu neng yuan liang de cuo que bu neng chong lai guo

翻開回憶角落 完美的生活
fan kai hui yi jiao luo  wan mei de sheng huo

以為幸福都可以掌握
yi wei xing fu dou ke yi zhang wo

仔細回味當初 那個故事背後
zi xi hui wei dang chu  na ge gu shi bei hou

Oh 原來是我 犯下從沒承認的錯
Oh yuan lai shi wo  fan xia cong mei cheng ren de cuo

(Repeat chorus)

在這少了你的世界
zai zhe shao le ni de shi jie

Oh 找不回那些感覺
Oh zhao bu hui na xie gan jue

其實我不想道別 ( 道別 )
qi shi wo bu xiang dao bie (dao bie)

那些過去
na xie guo qu

( 我從來沒想過 我會這樣做 )
(wo cong lai mei xiang guo   wo hui zhe yang zuo)

( 從來沒愛過 所以愛錯 )      從來沒有愛過那麼認真
(cong lai mei ai guo  suo yi ai cuo)   cong lai mei you ai guo na ma ren zhen

( 我從哪裡起飛 )     從哪裡
(wo cong na li qi fei)  cong na li

( 從哪裡降落 )      降落 Oh~
(cong na li jiang luo)   jiang luo  Oh~

( 多少不能原諒的錯卻不能重來過 )
(duo shao bu neng yuan liang de cuo que bu neng chong lai guo)

( 我從來沒想過 我會這樣做 )
(wo cong lai mei xiang guo  wo hui zhe yang zuo)

( 從來沒愛過 ) 愛過 ( 所以愛錯 ) 所以愛錯
(cong lai mei ai guo)  ai guo  (suo yi ai cuo)  suo yi ai cuo

( 我從哪裡起飛 ) 愛錯愛錯愛錯 baby
(wo cong na li qi fei) ai cuo ai cuo ai cuo baby

( 多少不能原諒的錯 ) ooh 請你原諒我的 愛錯
(duo shao bu neng yuan liang de cuo) ooh qing ni yuan liang wo de   ai cuo

Lyrics at KKBOX: http://tw.kkbox.com/song/tvGEsut02D2IH8vtR8vtR0P4-index.html#lyrics

Wang Leehom on Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leehom_Wang

The first is another performance of “I Will Always Love You” on Ellen DeGeneres‘s daytime talk show, while the second is an amazing duet of Total Eclipse of the Heart with William Shatner (of all people – I wonder if Lin realizes what a legend he was performing with!) on Lopez Tonight, hosted by George Lopez:

Finally, for those who can understand Chinese or are trying to learn, check out this interview with Lin. And no, your ears are not deceiving you – they do ask him if he’s a virgin. That’s classy Taiwanese media outlet Apple Daily for you!

If you’d like some additional reading on Lin Yu Chun, tabloid-style, check out Apple Daily’s website here: http://tw.nextmedia.com/special/index/type/Tree/PubDate/20100416

The internets are all aflutter with discussion of Lin’s performance (and, not surprisingly, arguments about his nationality), and people are calling him the next Susan Boyle. If that’s true, then Lin has a lot to look forward to. Of course, this is just a cover, and a kick-ass one at that. But think about it – this could have gone in a completely different direction. There are lots of international internet sensations out there who became famous for how terribly they sang an English song, and I’m sure the countries those singers came from (I’m looking at you, Korea) were cringing while waiting for the fame to wear off.

Lin Yu Chun, on the other hand, nailed it, giving Taiwan an overnight star. And when he starts putting out his own music, the world will hopefully still be paying attention. I, for one, can’t wait to see what else he has to offer.

Edit: Also check him out last year on Super Idol (超級偶像) singing A-mei’s 讓每個人都心碎 (see original KTV vid here)!

I’ve been experimenting lately with Blip.fm, and have been pleasantly surprised with how useful it is. Because it can pull songs directly from YouTube and other video sites, and YouTube has an extensive selection of Chinese-language music/KTV videos, you can find pretty much anything. Best of all, it’s free!

How I’ll be using Blip.fm is to regularly post new songs (mostly with KTV videos attached) and short commentary, which you can now see in the mini-feed to the right. Clicking on the links in the posts will take you to Blip.fm, where you can add the song to your own playlist if you’re a member.

Want more ways to find out what I’m listening to? Here they are:

• Follow me on Blip.fm: ktvxiaojie
• Follow me on Twitter: ktvxiaojie

Although there may be an occasional non-Blip (but still music-related) tweet on Twitter, for now it will mostly be the same content you see to the right.

One last note: If you notice a song in the feed that you really like, let me know! I’ll keep it in mind for a future blog.