All about the music

David @ fans gathering in China 3/25, pixs courtesy davidcn. He does look unnaturally thin here & starting to look like a lollipop (big head thin body), hope he dun succumbed to 'the more famous the more thin' celebrity syndrome heehee. God I can be a bitch abt his appearance rite? But I miss his healthy, muscular appearance in the Soul Power concerts. He was the right weight for his height & looked masculine. Now he wasting away like a girl, no wonder ppl r starting to call him 'sissy'. Remember David its all abt yr music not your looks, so stop dieting & start eating. We dun care if u r fat, we just care abt your music. Sry but he kinda scary in this pix dun u think, & I really get turned off by men who diet too much.

Anyway according to the Singapore fans, it seemed David will be here end of April for promo & attend the NKF charity show I suppose. Its abt a mth away David, u haf time to fatten up & let yr hair grown haha. But still I am proud of him as he has been really hardworking & attending fans gathering in Chinese cities to promote The Great Leap. Fans @ davidcn kindly post a clip of him singing Susan said & it was so nice even tho he was singing to a backing track, he just keep sounding better & better live.

Btw I hve seen both Art of War & Love Can mvs, Catherine mv has oso been premiering in TW. Quite enjoy Love Can mv, the simple, refreshing & stylistic format went well with the melody & lyrics of the song. But Art of War was vry disappointing. I can't believe with such a brilliant song, masterful lyrics & the participation of the 12 Girl Band, they can come up with such an uninspiring music video. All that rebonded hair blowing in the artificial fan, like one post @ davidcn described it was more like a hair shampoo cm. I am sry cos sure the director & staff for the cm worked vry hard & meant well but unfortunately the creative meaning u guys wanted to convey seemed to haf escaped most of DT fans.

Alrite then after all that negativity, will end wif this great Malaysian writeup where he revealed that he had a special CD made for his mum without Catherine & she kept playing Ghost to him, meaning he is a ghost! Everybody now, "aaaaaawwwwwwwwww!"
PERSONALITY: Tao's great leap
Sharon Wong
Mar 26: David Tao can't wait to make the transition from singer to movie producer. SHARON WONG writes.
It's been two years since his last album and his last visit to Malaysia. Musician/producer/singer David Tao couldn't be more delighted with the chance to meet up with his Malaysian friends and fans again.
"The last time I was here, I went to Johor Baru but I've never been to Penang, Kuching or Seremban," he said. "I am really excited about all the food here and, of course, the opportunity to meet my fans again. I really want to thank them for being so patient in waiting for my new album."
Tao's first album with EMI, The Great Leap 2005, went gold (15,000) within one week of release in Malaysia and is well on its way to Platinum (25,000) status.
Although Tao is known as the godfather of R&B, he refuses to categorise his music, saying that it would only limit his creativity.
According to him, The Great Leap 2005 signifies the beginning of a new phase in his life and the birth of new feelings, ideas and struggles as he grows older. He considers it to be 'heavier' and rawer than his previous albums with deeper emotions involved expressed in the lyrics.
One of the tracks in this album attracted more interest than the rest. Apparently, it is about Tao's mother and she wasn't too pleased about it. "The track Catherine was actually written by a 23-year-old Harbin boy," he said. "He was a fan who wrote the song in the China fan site. I thought it was quite good and got in touch with him.
"Initially, the song was about his girlfriend but because it was not my own story, I found it rather difficult to get involved emotionally. I needed it to be of someone I know personally and the only person I know who is called Catherine was my mum. And that was when all the problems started..." he concluded rather sheepishly. The track is about being suffocated by a person's love and Tao's mother was not amused by being such an 'inspiration' to him.
"I really meant no disrespect," Tao said. "I made a special CD without that song for her and she kept playing the track Gui (Ghost) to me... meaning I'm a 'ghost' ... but everything's okay now."
Where the rest of the tracks in the album are concerned, Tao said that they are not exactly pessimistic but as one grows older, there is less fantasy now. "This album reflects the truer aspects of life and society," he said.
Initially, it might take some getting used to but Tao insisted that his music grows and changes along with him and in time, it will be accepted, just like his last album.
Tao, who has been compared with Jay Chou and Wang Li Hom, believes that time will tell the difference as they are all good musicians with something to offer the music scene.
"It is good to have more musicians like Jay and Li Hom," he said graciously. "This will allow more variety and ultimately, competitiveness will be good for the scene on the whole.
"As recording artistes, we need to be more professional," he said. "My aim is not to get awards or have best-selling albums but to do my best to change the scene for the better.
"Fortunately, when I see such talented artistes like Singapore's JJ and Malaysia's Penny Tai, among others, I feel that there's hope yet for the music scene."
Tao however revealed that his lifelong dream is actually in making movies. "By the time I was 10, I knew that I wanted to be a director and make movies," he said. "But somehow, I was 'sidetracked' by music.
"The movie I eventually make will have to be a film of substance as I don't want to use my status as a singer for leverage. I want people to look at me as a director but it will take time."
That is certainly something to look forward to but meanwhile, for this year and the next, he will be embarking on his Asian tour, which he promises will be a completely new experience.