Asian CDs

About time I review some Asian CDs. These are pretty rare at the library, but I managed to grab some.

YG Family. Never heard of this group before, but their CD cover featured a baseball mitt and a mic (instead of a baseball), so I thought that was pretty cool. Turns out YG Family is a Korean rap/hiphop group. I've heard a few Chinese rap songs, and I have to say it's not pleasing to the ears. Same goes for Korean rap. My personal theory is that rap/hiphop is not traditionally Asian, so somehow it doesn't go well with the language. Or maybe I'm just old-fashioned. I tried listening to YG Family 2 and YG Family Remix. Only one of their many songs remain in my collection (Get Ready Part 2). Avoid these American hiphop poseurs at all cost.

Elva Hsiao (a.k.a. Xiao Ya Xuan). Billed as Taiwan's Queen of R&B, this girl doesn't disappoint. Listening to her Red Rose CD, I'm not too sure about the R&B part, but the girl can definitely sing. For a Taiwanese, her Mandarin AND English are very very good. The representative work of the CD is the track called Rose, but I like Movie Preview more. In the song Movie Preview, she likens it to being in love. "The movie is just starting, but it feels familiar. Just like an art film, even when the movie is about to end, you still don't understand it. Love is like a movie preview; all you see are the exciting highlights. You're not sure what nice things the future will bring; all you want is to experience them now."

Lee Hyori. Another Korean artist that I have never heard of. Her Stylish...E album features a girl with golder hair and golden tan skin. That's one way to get your CD noticed. Apparently, Lee Hyori is the hottest thing to come out of the K-Pop scene. Just 25 years of age, she's already into singing, concerts, movies, TV drama series, hosting gigs, multimillion ads for mobile phones, beverages, lipsticks, beds, etc. I don't understand Korean, but the songs in her album are quite nice - lots of catchy tunes and a few mellow ballads. Take a look at her picture and tell me she doesn't look like J.Lo.