News summary

Thanks so vry much anon, singerhick, Angel, dreamzstar & Jae for all yr great comments. U guys rock! Anyway shouldn't have responded cos always a serial 'someone' lurking around to complain David getting too much attention >"< Wonder if other fansites get it too. If they dun like David, why come here & torture themselves? Maybe they r just DT masochists heehee
Anyway some quite exciting news regarding my love god ^__^ concerts & new album but as yet no official confirmation so here's short roundup:
* Malaysia Love Can concert maybe in May.
* Love Can concerts may also go to US & Canada.
* David has written quite a few songs for new album & may release a single in May.
* He may also sing new song in HK concerts.
* Nxt mth he will participate in event called 'The same song' in Guangzhou
Actually I highly doubt he will sing new song in his concert. There is always speculation that he sing a new song but he nvr ever did. Even speculation he might sing a Canto song sang by Anita Mui *roll eyes* Altho it would nice if he sang Song for Anita in HK concerts. As for the single, it could be the song he wrote for Honda Civic? So all vry exciting, just wish he leave a msg on his website to confirm.
Found a few great new vids @ youtube:

HK Love Can press conference, credit to Reb & davidcn

Catherine MV, really like it, vry understated but the boy is so sweet & there's a gorgeously pensive David. What more do you need?

David meeting Bibi @ Hunan NY concert. Probably posted by Bibi fan. Nice to watch their interaction & the hug was so spontaneous.

Kaira Gong's mv of song co-wrote by David. Little girlies seem to like it alot. Kinda saccharine in a nice way & Kaira's soft sweet vocals vry soothing.

Nobody else like David

Nice pix altho still bit on the thin side *sigh* As I said many times blogging abt David actually made me aware of other great musicians. Recent ones mentioned are John Legend & Boomtown Rats. Perhaps 'somebody' u r peeved cos no mention of yr fav idol ^__^ just joking. Why take a personal blog so seriously anyway? If u r not happy abt all this attention on David then dun have to come here. But plse do not criticise his fans without knowing anything abt them. How do you know they put David at the centre of their lives? How do you know they dun look at the world at large? We all need a little diversion in our lives or we go mad. So long as you dun get overly obsessive, it should be ok.
Speaking for myself I admire him cos he has become my inspiration. To me he is the perfect role model in a world that has so little heroes I can look up to. His music make me so happy & complete. Unfortunately I have time & space in my life for only 1 idol & David is IT so yeah I do tend to go overboard on him sumtime but he really deserve it!
As for his gf, I will be lying if I say I have no interest. Its natural to wanna know abt attractive members of the other sex, you know, bees & birds thingie. But its really up to David to announce whether or not he has a gf & so far he has been tight-lipped. While of cos its his right to keep silence, you cannot deny his fans the right to wonder abt it too. We are all humans & have our excesses. To deny them will be just silly dun you think?
David has always been thankful to his fans for their support & that includes fansites & forums. He is not exactly the media darling & dun get the kinda hype other more prominent idol singers get. Also he dun do lotsa commericals so no need to feature him for advertising dollars. Not that he mind, he rather just concentrate on his music. So I dun think he gets lotsa attention. I think the attention he gets from his fans just rite. Not too much & not too little. He is just so terribly special that this little cyberspace is a small tribute to him. I apologise if all this idol worshipping a bit much for sum but ain't gonna stop now sry :P

Our songwriting prodigy!

Very charming here, love the white jacket. He has a few white jackets but this one is the nicest I think. Goes with his ripped jeans, not too sure abt the spotty tie but overall one of the best ensemble I seen him wear. Here can hear him sing snippet of Susan Says (Link courtesy Phoebe @ davidtao forum) & I thought he did extremely well to adapt the song to a live band without backup singers. Really enjoy this impromptu version, David has such a special quality when singing live.
It could be ppl find his singing 'weird' that day cos they r not used to how hard it is to sing his songs. Most HK songs r kinda written for singers who can't sing vry well >"< so live version usually monotonous & easier to sing. Remember HK songwriter commented that its easy to write for Eason Chan cos he can sing any kind & any range of songs. Considering that David had to attend concert promo & radio interviews with little time to rehearse with the band, for sure he did the best he could.
kitty from HK [8:40:48 AM]
Hello all DT fans~
Just wanna share with u guys that I saw David last nite in TVB's music program.
David is so nice, he always wave back to us when we waved him!! (Actually, I am way toooo old to join such music show, but this is really for David~ you know my friend and I are over 30 already!
Thk so much Kitty from HK for sharing yr DT experience with us ^__^ As missred & Angel said, can nvr be too old or young to enjoy DT heehee Hi Bing De, actually we come from all over the world here from Spore, Malaysia, Bangkok, Korea, Japan, Indonesia, HK, Australia to US. Sorry if I miss yr country but these r the ones I know.
Just wanna share this small review of Kaira Gong's album (scroll down) where the reviewer wrote "What's most remarkable about Gong Si Jia’s album is not that she wrote 80% of the songs in the album, but that those songs were better than the one penned for her by song-writing prodigy David Tao." WOW David praised as a prodigy but yet the song he co-wrote for Kaira not as good as her own? But do think the reviewer miss the point here.
When I first heard the song, I thought it was vry nice & suited to Kaira but not as outstanding as the song he wrote for Fanfan or Fish Leong. This song proved to be the most popular as kept hearing it everywhere cos vry easy on the ear & to sing, probably karaoke fav by now. Hopefully it will make ppl buy the album & listen to the better songs penned by Kaira. All albums need at least 1 K song to entice ppl to listen. David always try to challenge his listeners but he also try to include a few crowd-pleasing songs. When he write songs for others, I guess he try to challenge the singer as well. So guess the review got 1 thing correct - David is a songwriting prodigy but we all know that already :P

David on HKTV

David appearing on Hk program. According to Mark posting @ Davten, he sang a medley of Rain, Regular Friends & Susan said & was in good singing form. Altho sum HK fans watching the program thought he sounded 'weird' >"< This program is recorded live with live band & maybe he is not used to the band but think I go with Mark altho he can be extremely biased towards David like me ^__^
He appeared with Jolin Tsai & Arron Kwok who is releasing Mandarin album. Jolin looked kinda diff with black hair; she is now officially with EMI & maybe David could write a song for her but dun hold yr breath heehee David is notoriously vague abt writing songs for others. His song for Elva Hsiao still to materialise. More pixs @ Tungstar, do scroll down as the last few pixs really sweet!
Above sum screencaps of David's performance taken by Mark who kindly send to me *thank u thank u* not vry clear but still can see David's marvellous expressions when he sing. David was also on HK radio & the best thing is he joked abt stripping in concert when he is 70 which meant he still thinking of staging concerts even when he is focusing on movies. Also he said that he will carry on releasing albums so long as ppl wanna hear him. He just need to balance filming with his singing career. Altho I wanna believe him but since he is such a perfectionist & focused in what he doing, it may be diff for him to do a album & stage concerts while filming. Anyway for the time being I am happy anticipating his new studio album & live concert dvd.

HK concert booking

The Swarovski model looked slightly like Scarlett Johansson whom David chose as the actress he most like to work with. Wonder if its deliberate? Booking of HK concert tickets at the moment only available to Manhattan card holders.
Here they presented him with calligraphy with his Zhe character, so cool. He was on entertainment news & also HK radio but both rather short. It was funny when they asked if he dressed up as Tarzan since the stage like a forest & he said only if fans ripped off his clothes ^__^ Always so humorous.
He looked superduper charming here, not yr garden variety idol heehee David is more like hothouse orchid - sensitive, rare & gorgeous. That's what I think anyway ^_*

HK Love Can Press Conference

David being his adorable self ^__^ @ HK press conference. Can watch here but vry slow. He is really cute & as usual talked alot unlike sum celebrity who just stand there letting the mc talk, he is doing most of the talking & since I adore his voice, its ok. Paco who is this legendary boss of Gold Label presented him with this jersey embedded with Swarovski crystal.
The model kinda scary as she tried to be all sexy & upstaging but David just looked even more endearing haha
During the interview he said even tho its impossible to have a diff concert for each country, he is thinking of ways to add new elements to his HK concerts that will reflect his feelings towards HK. Love him when he is being this sincere.
No guests as expected & altho sum may think he is being conceited cos he said that the ppl who attend his concert just wanna see him perform, he is speaking the truth. Like ppl attending Sting or Rolling Stones concert dun go expecting to see guests. Just admire him so much for trying to maintain international standards in his concerts in the east. Even tho it may affect the attendance but for his fans he will always try his best to be true to himself. His journey in music so arduous but he is resolute as always. Anyway wish him all the best & success in the HK concerts. So good to see him again & dun care what others think or write abt him, in my heart, he is always the best. More pixs here & here

A lighter David

News that David already in HK *excited* & maybe we get to see sum new pixs soon. Below he talk abt his new album:
Monday February 20, 2006
Taiwanese singer David Tao says new album will be lighter
HONG KONG (AP) - Taiwanese singer-songwriter David Tao said Monday his new album, due out in the middle of the year, will contain less rock and won't explore such heavy topics as his earlier work.
"I don't have an overwhelming desire to produce something too serious,'' Tao told reporters in Hong Kong, where he is promoting his upcoming concerts. "It will be a lighter album.''
But he denied he was adjusting his sound to cater to tastes in a Chinese-language market saturated by sappy love songs.
"It's my state of mind now,'' Tao said. "I know the albums I produce burden some audiences. They are too serious.''
On Tao's last album, "The Great Leap 2005,'' he explored the oppressiveness of city living in the track "Ghost.'' An earlier song, "Black Tangerine,'' deals with depression.
Still, Tao said he is driven to produce non-conventional music.
"The whole environment prompts me to want to challenge the market, challenge listeners, apart from challenging myself,'' he said.
Tao said his upcoming concerts in Hong Kong will be rain forest-themed and feature a used helicopter. He said a depressed concert tour market puts pressure on singers to put on high quality shows.-AP
I nvr feel burdened by his music, just inspiring. So sad that he felt his audience cannot accept his 'serious' music, but still cannot expect him to always inject realism into his music. If he feels in the mood to produce a 'lighter' more refreshing album, yeah that will be good too *can't wait* With his voice, he can sing anything & still sound good heehee but as he said he will still continue to challenge the market. Just dun start another trend like 'chinese opera/r&b' & I will be happy ^__*

Honda screencaps

Honda interview caps courtesy of David Tao & Soul Power Diner thank you vry much! Hope they dun mind me reposting as he looked so wonderful & so long since we seen/heard from him.
Also pix in below post actually appearance taped last yr & showed recently on Chinese tv. So David not in Asia at all but he should be here nxt wk *fingers crossed* Maybe he will bring the Honda song.
Find a few more David sites: Addicted to Taoism & Chinese blog which is nice as thought I was the only 1 left blogging abt him in cyberspace ^__^ He is really quite well-loved not in obsessed fanatic fashion but just by ppl who appreciate his music.
This one makes my heart race faster, just adore it when his hair fall all over his face for sum reason heehee

Sighting of David!

David appearing at variety show in China. Actually this show started from 1/8 & featured heaps of stars. David sang Rain & Susan says. He looked casual & relaxed. Guess he will stick around as he will head to HK nxt week. So nice to know he is back in Asia, makes me smile again even though its silly I know ^__^ Thanx cherrypotato re new Honda clip -- a longer interview with David this time. He looked wonderful, vry handsome cos his hair is longer *yeah yeah* He chatted abt the song & what he is trying to achieve, vry in control & sooooooooo man *big sigh* The clip ended with msg that David has finished the song so hopefully we hear it soon. Anyway vry excited to see David again & dun you think its time for another msg?

2/22 - date to keep for David

Here's the Honda Civic David will be writing cm song to be sang by supergirl Jane Zhang which ... erm ... seem a lot time coming. Must have seen 5 or 6 news abt it since Dec 05 & still no sign of the song. Guess it will not be David if he dun keep ppl waiting ^__^
Looks like David will be in HK on 2/22 for a song show, not sure if its awards or what but probably he is there also to promote his April concerts. It will be telecast on TVB from 11pm but not sure if it will be on cable. Hopefully there be pixs so can have glimpse of him at last, hope he put on sum weight. He was a bit scrawny during TW concerts. Getting excited abt his forthcoming album, just hope it will be music without any kinda fusion.
I am really tired of the east/west mix. Ppl get indignant when reviews after Rain's NY debut that both his dancing & music borrow heavily from the west. Get real, did the east invent r&b & hiphop? No matter how much eastern stuff in pop music, its still influenced by the west or it would hardly be pop as we know it. Also all these extravagant claims abt wanting to introduce Asian music to the West. It's already been done. Have they not heard of Tan Dun? He was recently awarded the prestigious Duisbury Music Prize last Oct for 'his outstanding contributions through music to intercultural relations between the East and West'. What a small xenophobic world sum pop singers exist in! Guess if its not on MTV then its dun count as far as they r concerned.
Ditto to wuxia anything, really tired of it too. Poor Ang Lee, little did he know that when he made CTHD he will open a floodgate of endless wuxia epics from China & HK. Now he has made gay cowboys so cool even Willie Nelson is singing abt it heehee

Melody & Legend

Congratulations to Melody who recently got married. Nice to see sum happy news. Blogger is giving lotsa problems. Had to replace my template few times. Post pixs dun work & the vids disappeared. My archives were missing at sum stage which gave me shudders, thot lost them all >"< Just have to patient & wait till its all fixed I guess. Must be contagious cos davidcn is down too.
Add a new Love Can review from Teens Jan issue @ Interactive. Quite good, I gave it 5 stars. Watch a bit of Grammy & remembered John Legend Heard his Ordinary People when it came out & loved it. What a voice, definitely a legend in the making. He got grammies for best new artist, best r&b album & best r&b male singer. His site is the best, heaps of media to enjoy including Piano Room where soon can request for John to perform fav hits. This guy plays the piano the way it was meant to be played. No hype, no gimmicks, just pure music. He is such a nice guy too, unassuming, modest, & can tell he is not putting it. Mega-talented, cute with the voice of an angel. Hope he dun get pulled into movies like Norah Jones who apparently will be in WKW's first english movie called My Blueberry Nights. Sounds intriguing & maybe I may enjoy her acting more than her singing ^_*

Happy Valentine to David

I light a virtual candle for you everyday to keep you happy, healthy, safe and warm ^__^ Have a nice Valentine Day!

Rest

And after years the boy came back,
both of them were old.
"I really cannot help you
if you ask for another gift."
"I’m nothing but an old stump now.
I’m sorry but I’ve nothing more to give"
"I do not need very much now,
just a quiet place to rest,"
The boy, he whispered, with a weary smile.
"Well", said the tree,
"An old stump is still good for that."
"Come, boy", he said,
"Sit down, sit down and rest a while."
And so he did and
Oh, the tree was happy.
Oh, the tree was glad.

Lyrics adapted from The Giving Tree (1964) by Shel Silverstein (1930-1999)

No more Sprite

Seemed David will no longer be signing up with Sprite this year. JJ Lin is the new spokesman. Actually suspected something like this when David did not received any major awards @ Sprite Awards last yr. Basically dun really care cos actually its hard for me to believe Sprite is David's preferred beverage. He seems to drink mostly water or occasionally beer. So whether or not he endorsed it dun really matter. Love the cms he did with them but I really rather his image more serious & towards charity. But since he has been quite prominent with Sprite, there probably will be adverse news abt his popularity falling & such like. Already news article claimed that since David's contract is not up yet, Sprite arranged for him to film cm with JJ Lin in Thailand but David turned it down so making David looked like a sore loser *sigh*
Basically this is like deja vu. Remember all the news abt how he wanted to be first @ Taipei Arena & was beaten by Rain. Well, the untold story behind was actually quite different & David was even ready to give up at the end cos he was so resolute abt what he wanted to give his audience in his concerts. With David its all abt the music & his fans. In this I believe in him totally so already braced for whatever silly things they might wanna write abt him & Sprite. Anyway best wishes to JJ Lin even though hardly ever listen to him but he is also good singer/composer. Just that like with Leehom I find their accents a bit erm odd, dun know why *shrug*

David & karaoke

Found another David related clip @ youtube, this guy syncing to Regular Friends. The guy posting claimed to be the guy in the vid & yeah he's non asian & dun know what he is singing but he sure put on the rite expression, so cute ^__^ Just watching the clip makes me realised once again how brilliant singer/songwriter David is. The song is chinese of cos but even with a non asian guy singing it sounds so rite cos 1)David knows how to sing r&b 2)he just blurs the boundaries between east & west in his songs. I dun know how he does it but listening to his songs I always thought I am listening to an english song but sang in chinese and yet sound so rite. Dun know how to explain it. If u always want a DT notebook & here sum pinyin & english translation of David's songs although there's sumthing wrong with the eng trans, a pity cos I wanted I Like It. Hopefully the webmaster will wake up to it but still its nice sumone actually bothers to put sum David's lyrics on the net. Wonder if I do a countdown to his new album release in June maybe could make it arrive faster heehee

David @ HK Coliseum

Just started watching My name is Kim Sam Soon & saw this rather sweet montage clip using Melody @ youtube. Not as delightful as Full House & lacked a light touch but still vry enjoyable.
Apparently no internet booking @ Hong Kong Coliseum at the moment but they do accept fax booking for overseas patrons. The URBTIX hotline is 852-27349011 from 10am to 8pm (HK time) daily & enquiries@lcsd.gov.hk the email. They will send fax form & service fee is HK$20. Of cos details of David's concerts not on yet but will check often & post as soon as booking starts which should be Feb 21. Seems there may be one more night making 4 nights from April 14-17. So exciting!
Mag, the DT msgs @ blog forum r reposted from his website davidtao.com & yes, it's really David ^__^ although he hasn't left a msg for quite some time. Guess he is busy but hope to hear from him soon.

David the director

Hi Mag & welcome to blog, like dreamsztar said u can join SGFC forum to chat abt David. Will post info abt his HK concerts once there is official confirmation okie. Lisa Fan, watched the Lisa segment on TV so not sure if there's a link but I will look diligently as I really enjoyed her performance so much. She also sang a Taiwanese song & really showed her range. She is really so much prettier than in the concert pixs, not that she dun look good there but a more simple sweet look.
Hey Jae, r u planning to go to HK concert? Yeah DT fans increase slowly but steadily. Like to share this surreal forum chat where sumone heard Black Tangerine in China by chance & decided to look for it cos reminded me when I heard BT just after he released Ultrasound. Remembered the song straightaway as I heard him sang it in award show sumtime ago. It was the first & only time I bought CD of unknown singer based on 1 song ^__^ So yeah Mag I am real uber fan heehee Zoe my cyberfriend so glad u know those Thai singers I mentioned.
During interview after TW concerts, David said as planned he will be going into movies as early as nxt yr. He hopes to start writing script end of this yr & start filming nxt yr. It will probably be black comedy & he promised to bring us 'surprises' like in his concerts. A bit depressed he is going into movies so soon altho he did promised another 2 more albums or maybe his 6th studio album will be soundtrack for his movie, that will be real exciting.
Dear David, even tho can't bear to let you leave the music scene still if that's what you want to do then 100% support you. So do try & attend his upcoming concerts in HK & Malaysia cos if he start filming nxt yr, who knows when he will stage another series of concerts or whether he will still want to have concerts *sad tears* Anyway here's short clip of his TW concert to enjoy, info credit TW Yahoo Grp.
Pixs credit Hype Records & DFTC

David and Tradition

Have to wish Lucky Happy New Year as its his year heehee Anyway not much news abt David but SGFC is already planning HK concert trip so if u r thinking of going, u might wanna join the discussion @ their forum. Thanks so much anon in Comments for all yr comments. Actually more of a purist so dun really find its fresh or creative to insert classical opera or music into any kind of pop music. Quite a few in both East & West had done it so not really an original idea.
When I fell in love with David's music, I nvr noticed that he used Chinese instruments in some of his songs. Esp Our Love, I find its a simple, charming, melodic song with the bittersweet hint of an unfulfilled first love. Or the intro in I'm OK which I love almost as much as Black Tangerine for the clashing rock sounds. So plse do not be offended as this is a David Tao blog & I am merely expressing my opinions, but this is why David is so much better than any other Chinese singer/songwriters. When you listen to his songs, you dun think wow its so cool or creative he is using Chinese instruments or any other background sounds. Usually his voice or the melody takes precedence & you completely lost yourself in the song or his voice. Later when you listen to the song for the umpteen time ^__^ then you realised how he blend in the instruments, the sound layering, his backing vocals. Well that is how I listen to his music anyway, I dun listen to it to find out how creative or cool David the musician is. I listen to his music because it speaks to my heart.
I am not saying that overly creative music is necessary a bad thing but its really what you want from listening to music right? Or that David is not creative. He is extremely but he usually try not to overuse it in his music cos I think he wants us to feel the music not marvel at how creative a musician he is. Of cos there are some exceptions like inserting sounds in Airport in 10.30, Rain, My Anata, Kungpao Chicken but its not jarring or overwhelming. Not only that but take away the sounds & the song will sound just as good. Of cos he is the expert at blending in Chinese instruments that it usually enhanced his music & not stand out as the integral part. When the chinese instruments do stand out, its usually cos the song requires it like Moon over whose heart, Susan says, The Art of War.
Susan Says I feel is a song that was waiting to be written by David. Bejing opera was a part of his life & the relationship with his mother which he put into Catherine. But it don't necessarily mean that David actually enjoys Chinese opera or want his fans to go & listen to it. When initally he was asked the role of his mother in Bejing opera, he wasn't even sure >"< I believed that he mentioned his grandfather was from Nanjing ... the worst atrocities suffered by the Chinese during Japanese invasion was in Nanjing. Not that there is anything in it but sure make Susan Says more interesting for me.
Anyway speaking for myself I dun particularly enjoy popsongs featuring any kind of classical or operatic music. I love classical music so its just annoying when ppl mixed it up with modern sounds. As far as I am concerned ppl should be able to appreciate classical music untainted, if they only like it mixed into a popsong then its not classical music anymore, its still just pop. Liking Susan Says is not going make me want to enjoy Beijing or any kind of Chinese opera. Its still an unknown artform for me & maybe one day I may understand it more but certainly not cos of a creative popsong that uses some of its more accessible elements.
So to me the overuse of traditional instruments or music in pop could be a bit like the making of the movie Memoirs of a Geisha. Its very creative, very catchy, very beautiful, very well done but ultimately self-serving. If ppl are geuinuely interested in something, they will go & find out abt it irregardless of a movie or popsong. If they become interested cos of a movie or song, their interest may not last vry long or just as long as the next cool movie/song that use a different hook.
Of cos not to say that I dun appreciate efforts by singer/composers who use traditional instruments/music esp by Leehom who travelled all over China to record such music so as to incorporate into his albums. But I really rather listen to his original recordings if he ever feel inclined to release them in an album.
Wow I really can go on a bit yeah @_@ Still on the subject Zoe just for you I went & watch sum Thai music program & amazingly found 2 newly released Thai songs that use elements of Thai traditional music. Broken Hearted Man by James is a fun song which used Thai musical instruments in kinda My Anata way so I think u will like it! Don't Lie by Endorphine dun actually used Thai musical instruments but it incorporated traditional Thai melody & verse into a western style rock song. I really like this one cos the female lead singer has quite incredible vocals & the song really rocks.
Also while looking for Thai music programs, managed to catch segment of Music Time of Fei Yu-Ching which featured Lisa, the other female singer in Love Can concerts. She is an incredible talent noted for her husky voice which apparently rather rare in the Chinese entertainment scene. She also looks much prettier without the cornrows heehee Anyway she demonstrated Boosa Nova by singing The Girl from Ipanema as well another African music genre I am not familiar with. Then she sang her most famous hit which was jointly written by Lou Dayu, an extremely familiar song I heard before & like alot. Unfortunately busy at that time so didn't write down the name. But really hope to hear more from Lisa cos she is really very very very good!