Favorite Songs At the Moment: “Diamonds” and “Let Her Go”

Don’t know about anyone else, but Youtube song covers introduce me to most of my new favorites. Youtube should be your default source for new mainstream music, indie music, and originals. I didn’t even know about Diamonds (even though it was popular apparently…) and of course would never have checked out British-indie ballad from Passenger called “Let Her Go” if it wasn’t for these awesome covers.

Melina’s cover of Rihanna’s catchy “Diamonds” (this reminds me of “Airplanes” by B.O.B)

Tyler Ward’s cover of Passenger’s “Let Her Go, a soothing and above all, meaningful ballad

what have you been listening to this week? Share in the comments 😀

Best of this year’s Super Boy performances (videos)

Been covering China’s Super Boy singing competition on Underrated Gems, introduction to Super Boys – Top 20 – Top 10. Too lazy to catch up on the show? From the competition so far, these 8 performances were the highlights for me.

Most infectious: Yu Tian performs “Zi You Zi Zai” In less than one minute – Everyone get a ‘beautiful high’. No drugs involved 😉

What a story! Unique points for this guy: Wang Jing, performs “I Can CHUA”

Can you not tear up after hearing this? I broke my replay button. (just kid! there’s no replay button on laptop, silly) Liu Junyu brings us a Meteor Garden favorite “The Love You Want”

The torturous battle for China’s top 20 singers & predictions who will be the winners

Why Chinese singing competitions are a gamble. You toss out the pretty boys but then groom the ones who are left into “idol singers”. Since the Top 20 finalists are already determined, I will tell you 10 contestants who I predict will win in this year’s Super Boy. In less than 22 hours, we will see how many of my predictions came true.

Can you spot your favorites who made the top20?

My Predictions for Top 10 Are (bolded are ones I personally hope will get in):

1. 华晨宇 Hua Chenyu
2. 宋伟 Song Wei
3. 于湉 Yu Tian
4. 贾盛强 Jia Sheng Qiang
5. 宁桓宇 Ning Huanyu
6. 白举纲 Bai Jugang
7. 王启 Wang Qi
8. 张阳阳 Zhang Yang Yang
9. 欧豪 Ou Hao
10. 范世琦 Fan Shiqi

By the way, the 10 finalists will be determined on July 26th! Mark your calendars if you think you’ll be tuning in (curiousity kills the cat).

Here are my favorites out of all the contestants (some who have already been eliminated and some are in the finalists):

于朦­胧， 刘俊宇，王博文， 王晶， 范世琦, 马晨， 谢彬彬， 魏一宁，杨洋，魏帅, 华晨宇, 何天宇

MA Chen

YU Tian

HUA Chenyu

HE Tianyu (Terry He)

WEI Shuai

WANG Jing

LIU Junyu (Jerry Lau)

WEI Yining

FAN Shiqi & YU Menglong (Alan Yu)

YANG Yang

WANG Bowen

XIE Bin Bin

Super Boy Competitors Wei Yining and Liu Junyu With Their Many Similarities

I don’t know about you, but good singers can sing the hell out of a song and instill a flame in the heart that makes me want to listen to it over and over again. What makes me love a singer is when he is truly into his song and the stage merges with the artist himself.

Wei Yining performing

Liu Junyu looks like Nishikido Ryo and Chen Kun hehe

LIU Junyu (Jerry Lau)

WEI Yining

As for Wei Yining and Liu Junyu, both are acquired tastes. I didn’t particularly like either even when everybody else was oohing and ahhing at their pretty boy faces. But then I heard Wei Yining sing and then Liu Junyu sing. Though these two are not the cream of the crop in terms of singing, they are sincere singers and it shows through their eyes and heartfelt emotions. And then Wei Yining covers the classic Romance in the Rain’s ending song… Oh my heart. LOL, but seriously, just that song immediately throws me into the romantic setting of Romance in the Rain.

So if you read til here, you might be wondering, what is so similar about these two? Let me tell you something interesting:

1. they have both performed “Those Years” which is the theme song from You Are the Apple of My Eye, in fact, Liu even released a Cantonese single of said song before this year’s Super Boy competition!
2. both were eliminated from the national round where the 66 singers compete for 20 spots (but are both participating in YY’s FuHuo ‘Revival’ which might bring them back in time for the top 5 competition; if you have a lot of fans/supporters, this should be a piece of cake…well maybe)
3. both are fan favorites – something that stems from the fact that they’re pretty nice eye candy. Liu’s face looks like Chen Kun in his younger days. Wei’s face reminds me a lot of Jumei cosmetics CEO Chen Ou.

Tune in tomorrow for the official list on who our TOP 20 Finalists are – and who I predict will be in the top 10. 

10 Contemporary Chinese Singers To Know (Part 1 out of 2)

If you’re interested in contemporary Chinese music but don’t know where to start, get ready to meet some of our favorite music artists here at UnderratedGems.

1. JJ lin

Lin Jun Jie, more known as JJ lin, is a big name across Asia, alongside the likes of Jay Chou and Wang Lee Hom. Singaporean Mandopop singer-songwriter, composer, and actor. Don’t miss Never Learn, which brings a fistful of emotion to the table. Practice Love  was dedicated to victims of SilkAir Flight MI185 crash in 1997, and animated music video for it was breathtaking. Cao Cao is an upbeat, catchy song about a hero from The Three Kingdoms (era of Chinese history).

2. Xian Zi

Xianzi became famous among internet composers in Guangdong province. In 2005, she was discovered by a Taiwanese producer and became a singer. In 2006, Xianzi sang a famous duet called “Bu De Bu Ai ” with singer Will Pan. Looking for a slower-paced, moving ballad? Tian Zhen is an emotional roller-coaster. And, if you’re into rock music, you may want to try Ni Feng de Qiang Wei 逆風的薔薇. Besides these songs, I highly recommend googling Xianzi  – she has so many good songs (JJ Lin too!), you almost cannot go wrong.

3. Wei Chen

Chinese pop singer and actor, who rose to fame through Super Boy, a televised singing competitions. He is best known through his album “Disparate” and his role as Ye Shuo on Meteor Shower. Dust 埃尘 is a gorgeous (seductive) piece that displays Wei Chen’s wide range of vocal ability and talents in kpop dancing.

4. Jasmine Leong

Leong is a Malaysian-Chinese singer who is a well-known name throughout Asia. Leong, known as “the Queen of Love Songs”, is famous for

Cantopop: “once said” by Shiga Lin

Shiga Lin is a Hong Kong model and actress whose starred in HK film Lan Kwai Fong 喜愛夜蒲. For non-Chinese speakers, this is in fact a cantonese song, which I haven’t featured before on this site (usually focused on mandarin-chinese songs) since I barely listen to cantopop. The music video, called Once Said, has already amassed over 1 million hits within a three month period. Soothing and rich in meaning, Shiga’s new song can rival her already popular english ballad I’m Still Loving You, which was on Lan Kwai Fong’s OST. Really great singer if you are looking for cantonese songs.