Cheering for DT

David's concert in Nanjing has been confirmed for 7/14. It is his 暂别 meaning temporary departure from the performance arena not farewell as had been reported earlier. The Nanjing concert has the lowest priced tickets to make it possible for even students to attend. Now that I am feeling better, I must apologise for ever doubting DT. He IS being true to himself by doing the things he want to do. No grandiose plans just a geninue desire to stage some meaningful concerts for his fans before focusing wholeheartedly on his movie nxt yr. He is not someone who likes to multi-task, a real professional who prefers to concentrate on one project at a time for the best results.
I guess he must have been able to persuade EMI to let him put his last album on hold for a while. Considering they have so many big stars who will be releasing their albums this yr, they probably were agreeable. He is taking a risk but dun think I will miss not having his new album this yr. In fact dun understand why chinese fans expect their idols to release albums every year. Look at Linkin Park & Maroon 5, esp the latter releasing their sophomore album 5 yrs later, both albums have done extremely well despite the long wait. Someone told me she is running out of her idol's songs if he doesn't release his album soon. Huh? I never run out of DT songs, I love every single one & can listen to them over & over again.
I think this could be why I am feeling so discouraged lately - a general malaise over chinese music & listeners. Dun know if you ever read Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy but there is a hilarious part where they were at the Restaurant at the End of the Universe & a cow came out to recommend various parts of its body for dinner. I feel this is what most chinese music listeners have become: so docile & willing to sacrifice their money, time & devotion to whatever idols the chinese music industry has churned out for them. They believe in the 'whole package' meaning their idols must first have the looks, modesty, nice personality & be 'talented'. They are forgiving if their idols cannot sing. They cannot tell the difference between a good album & one that is merely popular. They bring out all sorta argument abt music being 'subjective' if someone criticise their idol's songs or singing.
There is no such thing as 'subjective' music, if everybody likes a song, it dun necessarily mean its good just popular. There is nothing wrong with pop songs or idols but it does get irksome when they are promoted as the best the chinese music industry can offer esp when their cowlike fans buy into it as well. If I feel this way, I would think David who actually works in the industry, feel even more discouraged. Maybe that's why he is keeping a low profile these days just concentrating on the things he still wanna achieve. I am really sorry I lost belief in him even if only for a few days but at this time, I think what he needs most is his fans' support & love. Anyway I am still here cheering him on maybe not forever but I AM BACK DEFINITELY ^__^

Not in control

So adorable *sigh* guess I got over my sulks or David got me back again as he always does ^__^ Still can't expect him to save the chinese music industry singlehandedly rite? It's not as if I see him twirling his hair on TV for some shampoo. He is just being DT concentrating on doing what he loves best. Gotta admit his msg cheer me up, he writes so brilliantly. Like what he said in his msg - we are often not in control of our lives and life, in general. That's so me *__* Vry glad he is working with Goh Kheng Long again. Anyway he got me looking forward to his entirely new & fresh concert!

123 We are all Wooden Men

David has a new diary entry where he went into a lot of details abt his new concert. I want to feel enthusiastic abt it but still feel hollow inside. Anyway glad that he made the effort to re-establish contact with his fans again. Its nice to read all your interesting comments TQ & encouraging that most of you are optimistic that the original David Tao we fell in love with may emerge in time *sigh* The trouble is even with this new msg, I still don't feel his sincerity & fire as before. Just for you Zoe, I put back the archives.
5/24/07
It’s been ages again since I wrote an entry and I’m sure many of you are wondering, “Where in the world did David go?” Well, here I am and I’ve some great news to share with you.
For the past half year I’ve been working on my film project in various capacities including pre-production, script writing and meeting many friends in the film industry. There is still so much to do and I’ve only scratched the surface of what I need to accomplish to complete this film. I won’t go into detail as to what I’ve been doing in terms of the film but I’ve already begun writing the script to the film which I’m planning on directing next year.
The exciting news that I would like to share, however, is that this year I will be rolling out a new concert tour entitled, “123 我們都是木頭人“ which loosely translated in English would be “123 We are all Wooden Men”. This is a brand new show with a new rundown, program and concept. Without giving too much away, I can say this will be a more visually driven show though musically I’m going for a more straight-ahead yet funkier sound. It’s a bit difficult to describe though, hopefully, it’ll all make sense once you watch the show in it’s final form.
There will be quite a few changes to the lineup of the band though Goh Kheng Long will still act as music director and bandleader. We’ve just finished re-arranging the songs for the show and I can’t wait for you to hear them in their new incarnations. About 80% of the songs from my repertoire have been re-thought for this show so you can be sure that they not resemble what you heard in the Soul Power and Love Can tours. This is an entirely new and fresh production.
The concept of this show revolves around a children’s game which is also known as “Red Light, Green Light” in some countries. However, unlike in a game, we are often not in control of our lives and life, in general. Another key theme in the show is the importance of simplicity and the need for us to be more human in this very technological age. With each tour, I’m always working on trying to simplify things, which is actually more difficult than an additive process. Another thing I’m also constantly trying to achieve is give each song more meaning using staging and visual elements. To make a production both visually and musically more complicated by adding flashy gimmicks is actually easier than making things simple. The objective for my production team and I has always been to make things relevant rather than just providing eye and ear candy.
Musically, this show has a very different sound and character compared to both Soul Power and Love Can. My musical director, Kheng Long, and I approached the rearrangement of the songs not for change’s sake but to see if there were alternate “personalities” within the songs that could be released. This may sound very abstract but if you imagine songs akin to human personalities then you will understand how it’s possible to “unlock” different intrinsic traits and personalities with songs and melodies. This can be a very nebulous and unpredictable process but if it works then the results are very rewarding, as in our case. What we wanted to avoid was to force an identity on a song by merely making it Latin Jazz, Rock or some musical style. Instead, what we did was listen to each song and melody very carefully taking into consideration all the elements and then allowing “it” to speak to us. We tried to work more organically than ever before without any preconceived notions on how each song would sound or what new “style” we’d give it. The end result would often pleasantly surprise us and that’s what we hope will make this show different and very exciting for you.
DT

Farewell post

Oh dear how to say this but I honestly cannot continue with this blog for the time being. I tried, really I did but I must be true & honest to myself. My respect for David is slowly eroding & I can no longer write abt him. I understand he is not perfect but in the past, at least I can feel his integrity. I have this sick feeling in my stomach that his largescale concert in Shanghai will not be that successful cos ppl just feel he is using 'farewell concert' to sell more tickets & get thoroughly disgusted by this kinda trick. Also the awful thought that he will still be singing the tired same old songs like a parrot while dressed like one just overwhelmed me. Maybe I am too sensitive but since he is taking a break, I gonna shut down the blog indefinitely. I know some guys are gonna be upset so I will leave the shoutbox so u can leave comments if u wanna. Maybe some of u share my feelings so let me know what u think. Maybe if we leave enough incriminating msgs & somehow he gets to see them, maybe he will know how we feel & hopefully WAKE UP!

Soul Power DT

Thank you GuoGuang for yr info regarding Tao Dawei's appearance on Guoguang Bang Bang Mang. Altho have to confess the 3 male host always slightly repulsed me & I believe 1 or 2 of them were caught on drug charges? Still for sure it will be an entertaining program. I think our Dave is doing his disappearing act again *sigh* as the promised May press conference doesn't seem to be materialising. But that's OK, I still love him although he is annoying me with his grandiose plans for bigscale concert & still to be filmed movie. Yeah Sukyee, like you, I miss & long for the Soul Power DT *sob* But I remained optimistic that he may go back to the right path after a few detours on his journey in music. After all detours do make a journey interesting ^__^
As predicted Mayday was the winner in Buzz mtv thingo *sigh* why oh why do asians have this knack for long names? Maybe I am good at this prediction game so I shall also predict that Gary Cao will win Best male singer in GMA nxt mth. Actually this is not so difficult as Gary is the kinda singer that GMA judges like & approve. He is sweet, humble, modest, malleable & not vry likely to make controversial statements abt them :P Also he has not written a song abt chinese legendary figures like Cao Cao & Confucius which they are likely to frown on. This is not a slight at Gary cos he is really nice & a good singer but I do think that the one most likely to make a breakthrough album is Tank. I think not being nominated @ GMA may give him the impetuous to make some changes & break away from the Jay/David comparision to come up with his own style. He certainly has the talent so good luck to him. He also said that he wants only to focus on music & become a 'real music maker' like his idol David Tao *__* So David all this love & respect for you so plse stay true to yourself.

123 我们都是木头人

Yeah Noshka, most fans lurve this poster but guess it will be on sale in Shanghai & possibly Nanjing. Maybe it will be on sale @ davidtao.com like Love Can concert merchandise. In that case SGFC usually can get some items so will keep u updated ^__^ Its really hard to translate the concert name, but he also has another name for the concert which is equally hard to translate *sigh* something like 'world keep turning' concert. David also said this is a 'farewell' concert where he is giving himself a graduation certificate from the music industry *roll eyes* Most media interpret this as he is quitting music to go into movies but he still has 1 more album with EMI. Dun know, all too complex for me dear David. All I hope is that he will not sing the same songs again plse & be brave enough to sing songs from his albums that are not so popular but equally well-loved by his fans. I really hope he put more effort into the songs selection than on elaborate concert concept, stage decoration or his costumes. I like to hear another arrangement like Blue Moon/Somewhere over the rainbow.
Sry abt another depressing post but just feeling a bit discouraged. Still I was thinking of the Beatles & found out that 40 ys ago on June 1 they released Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. A long, quirky title to an album that is now considered another of their masterpieces. The thing abt The Beatles, esp John Lennon, was that they had always been able to write seemingly childish, nonsensical songs that were actually vry sophisticated & meant a whole lot. So maybe this is what David is trying to achieve in this concert using a childlike concept to express deeper meanings. At least I hope so >"< This is a rather funny article in Taipei Times online. Warning to SHE & Rainie fans: Do not read if you are extremely sensitive. I actually like them both & see no harm in their kawai packaging, but I can also understand where the writer is coming from. The only cm song in SHE album Play is Just be yourself but it actually sounds less commerical & ktv accessible than most of the other songs. At least in this, David still strives to hold on to his musical integrity & the song even challenged SHE's harmonising skills. Btw tonight should be Japan MTV awards but dun think David will win. It will probably be Mayday, the only chinese nominee attending, or Show Luo whose album featured Japanese singer Koda Kumi.

Update!

(Poster pix credit DTFC)
Shanghai concert poster released. It will be held in Hongkou Soccer Stadium & sponsored by Daphne. Oh dear I am so seduced by this poster. He looks so incredibly HOT *__* Damn him! He always managed to come up with surprises ^__^

DT the artist

Thanks Opalibran ^__^ hope so although he is not gonna like this post if he does visit >"< Just to clarify the name of his Shanghai concert. The game is called Statues in english where 1 child stands with his back towards the players who all run to tag him, he can turn around anytime & the players have to freeze like statues. Honestly I think its the most ridiculous name for a concert esp for a singer who is fast approaching 40. Is he trying to relive his 2nd childhood or something *sigh* Also dun understand why he announced its his last largescale concert. He still gonna hold concerts till the end of the yr, is he not? Did he not announce that he will hold 10 concerts this yr? Does it matter if the concerts are big or small? Dun think it matter to fans, all they want is to be able to see him onstage. I find that David has a 'molehill to mountain' attitude to many things in life. And he LOVES to talk & talk & talk abt things before they happen. Like his movie for instance. He has been talking abt it for more than a yr now. JUST DO IT DAVID! Really I am tired of news abt his movie. There are many new chinese movies being filmed every yr, none of them get talked abt more than his still unnamed movie maybe with the exception of Red Cliffs :P Dun get me wrong - I still love him to bits, even more than ever if that's possible. I still wholeheartedly support & believe in him. But sometimes I get frustrated by this quirky artistic side of him. He always tried to hide it by claiming & acting like he is vry calm & reasonable but he is actually extremely paradoxical like most talented artists.

Shanghai concert confirmed!

That's rite! Fresh off the press ^__^ David has confirmed that he will be holding a largescale concert in Shanghai on 7/7. This will be his last largescale concert for some yrs as he intended to concentrate on his movie. In fact David's concert will be 1 of the last few largescale concerts held in China as the country prepared for Olympics 2008. David has given this concert a childlike name - 123 We are all statues - based on a child's game he used to play. Sounded rather iffy >"< but still I did thought the rainforest theme was extremely off too but seemed to have kinda worked *shrug* Anyway since its his last largescale concert guess he can be indulgent. Except plse don't expose yr chest or get girlies to come onstage to serenade. Getting a bit old. Just sing yr heart out, that should be enough :P Anyway here's some vid links of his performance in Dream Olympics Real Men ... is it me or is Chinese entertainment overly fond of long awkward names for their shows?
Rain
Susan said
(Vid links credit Yumiko's blog)
Must say he looked rather yummy *__* even though the sound system was terrible, he gave his best. His Chinese fans had worked terribly hard during GMA popularity voting & he has entered the 2nd round. Here's the final results. Nxt round of voting starts on 5/23. So yeah definitely dear David have your bigscale concert with fancy name & movie where you can realise your dream. But do remember that we love you first & foremost cos of your music.

Ranking David

David inviting lovely girl fan to come onstage to sing Susan Said with him ^__^ Here the journalist is quite funny describing the event by saying how our handsome Dave electrified the fan until she is so mesmerised *__* He sang Rain first & apparently even danced (?) but think its just exaggeration.
Anyway as predicted the big bro tussle is becoming more crazy with this article claiming that Show was supposed to appear with David at this event but was rejected by David who even wanted the organiser to 'rank' him after Show in the last position or he would not appear. Cos of this, Show declined to appear *sigh* Just to clarify things abt ranking in Chinese concerts esp in China. Basically the later the singer appeared, the higher the status so the last singer is considered the most popular & most management will try to get their singers the last position or close to the last position. So far dun think David has ever appeared in the last position in China concerts but most online articles abt the concerts usually mentioned his name in the headline or body text. In fact I remembered one article even wrote abt how he was ranked before Guang Liang & Stefanie Sun in a largescale concert but was the only non-mainland singer whose fans waited vry late for him to fly into the airport.
Always have this feeling that David wrote Walk On partly cos of this silly ranking cos it can get quite pathetic with singers all wanting to grab the top position. Surely the most important is to entertain the audience & meet up with their fans. In this particular concert where he was supposedly 'fighting' rank with Show, he was the first to appear probably cos he was the only non-mainland singer in a pre-Olympic event.
Anyway EMI has refuted this news item saying it was trivial considering David didn't even know who was going to appear in the concert. The second part of the article is just ridiculous & will not even bother to translate. For sure there will be more of such silliness to come so better brace ourselves now that our low-profiled Dave is so unfairly thrust into the limelight. Still maybe able to get more unexpected great pixs like these ^__^

My dream guy

David looking vry fit & boyish, appeared in another concert to support the 24 male athletics in Dream Olympic Real Men ^__^ Apparently all these to build up to the large-scale event on 5/19 in Zhejiang Province which I guess David will also be appearing since he is vry dreamy & man heehee
He seems to have switch to wearing his new watch altho I still like the old one better. Thank you guys for all the info on Show Luo. As for Besame Mucho, honestly when are ppl gonna stop trying to match his songs to other songs. David has stated vry categorically that he has never deliberately 'copied' songs & I believe him, simple as that. Like when I heard Maroon 5's new single, Makes me wonder, it reminded me of Savage Garden but I am not going to try & match the songs or go online to call them 'copycats'. Have some respect for musicians. Even if they do 'copy', they have to live with their own conscience & that can't be easy >"<

DT & Show

So sorry Lynne as dun know much abt Show Luo either. Only knew that he used to host a few programs where David appeared. They seemed to get along really well unlike some other program *cough5566cough* ^__^ Show no longer hosts any programs as he wanna concentrate on his singing career. His biggest hit to date is cover of an english dance song & both keep going 'I wanna knooooow' >"< He was in showbusiness when he was young but could only be a couple of yrs before David. Anyway he can be EMI big bro if he wants cos dun think David cares vry much abt such things.
David went to Hangzhou on 5/12 to appear in preOlympic concert 梦想奥运真男孩 loosely translated as Dream Olympic Real Men. He went downstage to drag a fan up to sing with him but not reported what song they sang & sadly no pix. I do think its nice he made the effort to attend preOlympic activities in China to lend his support. He really seems to keep such a low profile these days *sigh* but so long as he is healthy & happy & satisfied doing what he wants to do, I am more than happy too *__*

DT & Eason

David invited Eason to go for late night massage while Eason was in TW promoting his mandarin album, Admit It. This pix was of cos taken without permission by paparazzi but just posting cos vry hungry for recent pixs of my only idol who always so low-keyed *__* When contacted David said through EMI that he met Eason cos they shared the same stylist & became good friends. He will always meet up with Eason when in HK & when Eason was in TW, he decided to take him for a relaxing massage to relieve tension. Been hearing Eason's mandarin version of Under Mt Fuji, 愛情轉移, many times now & altho love it, still prefer the canto version a little bit more. It must be great being Eason cos this song is not really that outstanding. Sticky sweet canto big love ballad but Eason just imbued it with so much emotion & sincerity that it sounds wonderfully touching esp when he sang as if he was talking sadly with that special Eason touch. Can understand why so many songwriters & producers wanna work with him. Anyway here r both mando & canto version courtesy of youtube:


There's also spurious news item that Show Luo when asked abt the 'big bro' tussle @ EMI if he join, said that altho he is the youngest, he should be considered cos he came out before David. I think most ppl who know Show Luo would know he will nvr say anything so arrogant. He must be one of the most humble TW male artists. Fortunately one DTFCers who was at the scene, reported that Show actually said that altho he came out first, David is currently at a higher position than him. Already so much viciousness from the media before Show even join EMI *sigh*

Just be DT

This is the outfit I like least from his Toronto concert. I hate the tail & myriad details. Still he did manage to look quite good in it ^__^ DTFC has started getting ready for his concerts in Shanghai on 7/7 & Nanjing on 7/14 but details are sketchy. Just curious with his Shanghai concert, is he gonna sing the same songs again with some additions from Tai Me Li album? Cos can't see him doing a different set of songs just for 1 concert. Dear DT, plse hold yr press conference soon or update yr website cos kinda frustrating without any proper info >"<
This yr GMA is having online voting for Most Popular Male/Female Artist, not gonna bother providing link as its in chinese & have to register. Also DT fans usually not the kind who spend time voting. In fact, I actually wish he was NOT nominated cos I have a bad feeling with Gary Cao's chinese name being similar to his that they might wanna pretend to read out the wrong name or something like in the Leehom/Stanley scenario. Its funny I guess when fans want their idols to be nominated & win, I rather David not have anything to do with chinese award shows. I always feel David is kinda sidelined by most chinese music critics because he has too many good songs which are still popular. I think if he has only one hit like I Love You & lots of well-written songs of high standard & great depth which only his critics & his fans can appreciate, then somehow he will be regarded more as a great songwriter. Still one of the reasons ppl said they enjoy his concert is cos of his songs. They could sing along to many of them.
Some ppl are surprised Marry Me Today was nominated as Best Song in GMA cos of its high popularity. Such is the standard of the chinese music industry that a popular K song is automatically regarded as not so good or creative. When I first heard the song, I like it immediately cos its a real duet not like most chinese so-called duets which is really a normal song arranged to be sang by 2 ppl. Also he had Jolin in mind when he wrote it cos he figured most girls her age & personality will have the most fantasies abt the perfect marriage. So to sing this song rite, the female voice & personality must resemble Jolin's. I noticed that when he sang the song with Karen Mok & Kewei, the song did not sound as good. The many times he sang with Jolin, it just clicked. As the Chinese Musician Society remarked, really not that easy to produce this song & made it so sweet sounding that it was an instant hit. David wrote this song to be popular but because he is David Tao, he is unable to write even a popular K song without his usual high standards. So whether or not he get any more awards, its just immaterial cos I think he has already proven that he is indeed a master songwriter.
Again while most fans want their idols to sign up with a big record company with a lucrative contract, I think most DT fans would rather he go independent. Anyway he only has 1 more album with EMI & after that who knows? He may well go independent since he has already set up his own company. Actually I think EMI has treated him quite well but they really have too many big names with Show Luo joining in soon. Btw Hennessey Artistry is having the same world tour this yr & although the headline act in Asia will be Soler this time, David is still slated to perform on 8/4 in Guangzhou. Here's the full cm song 'Good mood, Just be yoursef' sang by SHE whose album dropped today. Its really vry uplifting, can't wait to hear Rene's version. (Link credit Tao Mi Tian Tan)

About DT & GMA

Well Lynne actually not too sure myself since wasn't around when it happened which was Black Tangerine time so it must have been 2003. When Black Tangerine was not nominated in any GMA categories, everybody was surprised & the reason given was the album was not suitable or something like that. The problem could be Tonight's News. This track was almost banned in TW & banned in mainland China cos it contained snippets of Taiwanese news. Maybe it was copyright problem, not too sure but for David living in LA at that time, he must have thought it was alrite to use a few secs of radio news as that was legal in the US.
When David was told abt it, I guess he got mad & I think he said something abt the GMA judges not professional enough or something like that. Hey, u know, the guy spend more than 3 yrs working on an album & for it to get KO cos of 1 track which was extremely significant, he should have the right to be angry & our Dave do have a temper ^__^ Anyway thank god the affair did not escalated as David is not the kind to push the issue but dun think he ever forgive GMA for this slight. Since then he has not attended GMA although he was nominated for every album he released after Black Tangerine. Btw, Black Tangerine was released under Shock Records not EMI so it must have been even more bitter for David as it was his own company.
Anyway I have to say I am on his side, if I have been slighted like that I too will swear never to darken GMA's doors but David is a prominent singer/songwriter/producer in TW & he should be seen as supporting this award show *sigh* Well he did send his dad last yr but this yr I dun know. Anyway I think GMA will not give him the Best male singer unless he attend so he probably get Best song or Best songwriter or just none. Not that I care abt him winning awards anymore.
This yr GMA seems to be promoting fresh acts but I am not too impressed. Deserts Xuan is sweet but she reminds me too much of 60s torch singers - do we really need one in 2000s? Soda Green is very talented but to call them 'indie' is too much of a stretch. They don't have the edge & some of their songs much too saccharine. I seen both perform in the Hito concert while waiting for David & it was like watching a talent show. They were so amateurish & did not emote much. It was Evan Yo who at least try to put on a show but his vocals let him down. No power at all & much too highstrung. Why do TW male singers suddenly all have highpitched voices like opera singers? Weird >"< It is too much to ask them to sing with a natural voice?
msfanjiu, can find all DT msgs in english only from his journal if u click on Messages under Taoism.

No DT @ GMA

It's been reported that David had said he will not be attending GMA. Although wanna slap him over the head for being stubborn ^__^ still admire him for his unbending attitude. Feel a bit squirmy though abt the way they dangle the best singer award for him to attend. Also a bit malicious that they poke him into a bunch of young, up & coming singer/songwriters. Imagine the field day the media will have when, as expected, he lose & they will say his fame is fading, he is getting old, etc, etc, the old yada yada they been repeating forever *sigh* So really its best he dun attend & just stay in LA to work on his script. Also a MESSAGE plse on his journal >"< it has been so long since he last wrote. Here's Rene cm on youtube & ballad version of Just be yourself - NICE!:

LA concert cancelled!

Some bad & good news. Seems LA concert planned for June has been cancelled & not sure if there are plans for any US concert this yr. For sure US fans bitterly disappointed but think the reason could be the venue. Most sponsors will probably only agreed to a casino venue in the US & David does not want to perform in a casino. Still I have this feeling in my bones that David will be able to perform in the US on his own terms so plse be patient & have faith that it will happen.
The good news is David has been nominated in 3 categories in Golden Melody Awards: Best Song of the year for Marry Me Today, Best Songwriter for Marry Me Today & Best Male Singer for Tai Mei Li. He probably will not attend but I am rooting for him to get Best Song or Songwriter. As for Best Male Singer, he has some vry interesting nominees - Nicky Lee, JJ Lin, Gary Chow & Kenji Wu. Basically I am happy that they are all nominated & has no favorites. Anyway congra to all the nominees!
Tai Mei Li did not get into the top 10 albums chosen by Chinese Musician Society in TW but Marry Me Today did get into the top 10 songs. Actually did not expect the album to get into the list only cos of the cm songs. Felt that he should have included them as bonus songs & not in the album tracklist. However the reason cited was that they felt this album was 'weak' & not as powerful as his previous albums. I dun know but surely one should judge the album on its own & not by his previous works. They also said that they felt they had to include Marry Me Today because they knew it was not easy to compose such a melodic commercial song of high standard which kinda sounded like a backhand compliment :P
Anyway, it doesn't matter. Actually glad that they apply stricter rules on him than others. Also find it interesting the different musical tastes in various Asian countries. For eg, I think Beautiful actually well-received in Singapore & music critics thought it was a great easy-listening album which was David's intention. When he was interviewed in HK, he said he wanted to make an album to relieve stress, an album that people would want to listen to after a hard day's work. Beautiful was also nominated for MTV Japan's Buzz Asia award much to everyone's surprise. Maybe it could be that these 2 countries are more exposed to Western music & so more open to the musical influences in Beautiful. Anyway for sure David is happy abt the results. Congra to our Dave ^__^

Just be yourself cms

DT expressions @ Daphne's launch courtesy & much thanks to Bonnie @ DTFC. He looks HOT ^__^ Short english writeup with pixs of Daphne launch @ crienglish.com:
Taiwan Stars Promote Shoe Brand in Shanghai
Taiwan stars Rene Liu, David Tao and pop band S.H.E attend an event in Shanghai to release the new advertisement for a shoe brand on Friday, April 27, 2007. Two versions of the ad's theme song "Just Be Yourself", by Rene Liu and S.H.E, are played at the event. The song is written by David Tao.
Some youtube clips of the cm being filmed by Rene & SHE:



Pix of DTFC attending Friday event with placards to dispel rumors that he had no fans that day *__* Not to belabor the point but I just hate these unprincipled reporters who love to print untruths abt David. Considering he has so little rumors & makes little attempt to get himself into the news unless its his work & music, dun understand why they bothered. They should be proud of this talented chinese musician who firmly believes that hard work & not self promotion will get him good results.