Leo Ku's Monica

Interesting pix during the making of Ghost mv, courtesy davidcn.com, be nice if David can come out wif dvd showing the making of all his mvs. Heard that the mv for Susan Says, he will be dressed in ancient clothing *faint* The good news dis weekend is The Great Leap 2005 sold 900,000 copies across Asia & is No 1 on the Taiwan chart (eat yr hearts out 5566). They haf the usual ice breaking ceremony during David's autograph session in Taipei. Can see the pixs @ davidtao.com, so a big congratulation to David!!!!!!!!

Leo Ku's new compilation album haf a vry interesting song called Monica. The tune & lyrcs referenced the orginal Monica sang by the late Leslie Cheung & is arranged by David for Leo. Dis the first time I heard David did background vocals for cantonese song. Its quite a nice song & interestingly the ending is a bit like Who do you love except it dun haf the long piano interlude. If u wanna hear it, I haf put it in my Yahoo briefcase, details in the Media section of blog forum.

Another nice article from Malaysian paper:
MUSIC: Rallying call against violence
By Ricky Yap
Jan 30:
IT was Taiwanese rhythm and blues king David Tao's fourth Mandarin album, but it was launched in Hong Kong amidst much fanfare and hoopla. Peaceful World is Tao's first release with EMI Music. His first three Mandarin albums were released with Music Street. In keeping with the imparting-of-positive-messages tradition of its predecessors, Tao's latest release, as its title suggests, is a rallying call for a violence-free Earth.
More than 800,000 copies of the album have been released worldwide, with media representatives from countries such as China, Singapore and Malaysia, invited for the launch. In addition, the event was simultaneously broadcast to other countries, with Tao showing off his multi-lingual skills, speaking in Cantonese, Mandarin, English and even Spanish.
While waiting for Tao to turn up, guests were treated to a loop screening of the nine-minute-long MTV film, Love Me Or Him (the first single from his album), which also featured him in his first kiss. Tao said he was a red-blooded professional during the MTV shoot: "I didn't stop kissing until the director yelled Cut!'," he quipped.

Tao added that EMI also wanted to pick a second single, but its title, Qui (Devil in Mandarin), was deemed too sensitive.
But, as Tao explained, it was a perfect example of a storm in a teacup: "The lyrics have nothing to do with apparitions or the supernatural. The song is about bad people, commonly referred to as devils' in conversations among Chinese. So, there is nothing controversial about it." Picking the songs for the album and the actual recording took eight to nine months, although the planning process started about two-and-a-half years ago. Unlike his previous efforts, Tao has included several mainstream and commercial songs in Peaceful World.
"These tracks acted as insurance', just in case music lovers do not like the rhythm and blues songs on the album," said Tao, who turns 35 this year and is worried he might not get married by the time he reaches 40.
Tao was born in Hong Kong but moved to Los Angeles, California, in his early years. At the age of 11, he followed his family to Taipeh, Taiwan, and returned to the US a few years later to complete his high school education. He earned a degree in psychology from the University of California in 1991. A chance meeting with a Taiwanese album producer in Los Angeles led to his recording debut, Taoism, in 1997.

Big & little David Tao

Guess when u r such a big star as David, sumtimes u dun even noe yr schedule. Like when media asked David why he wanted to have sum store activity in Beijing where fans can haf pix wif him if they bought an item from the store, he dun even noe he had such an activity. Anyway that activity had to cancelled after half an hour cos the crowd was 2 big to handle.
David went on quite a few entertainment shows & it was all vry entertaining. David did vry well, presented himself vry well as well as explained the concept behind his album. His dad accompanied him on sum shows & it was hilarious when they r together. Oso the hosts were all great, they might joked around but it was wif respect. Except for one show hosted by 5566. It was a disgrace. They had David as a music teacher to teach how to sing Ghost, Who do you love & Susan Says & then just acted stupid.
Kinda lost all credibility when 5566 released new album @ the same time & had publicly announced they want to be No 1. Oso they r having activities over the weekend @ the same time as David. It was annoying cos David was really good, god the man can sing under any kind of circumstance, & u can see dat despite the situation getting outta hand, he was still trying to show the audience not the two buffoons how to sing the songs.
Fans haf alreadi post lotsa msgs regarding their unhappiness & saying David shouldn't haf gone on the show but then he prolly dun even noe his own schedule so he haf no choice. Well I kinda nvr noticed 5566, dun even noe what they looked like, they r supposed to be vry popular amongst young girls in Taiwan & Singapore. I noe they released an english song which a friend send to me thinking I might like it. It was terrible. There were only 2 of them hosting wif David & both of them not vry goodlooking. David looked way better than them & lots younger. (Any 5566 fans reading, sry but yr idols suck so if u wanna abuse on shoutbox go ahead heehee).
Its vry simple when u invite a guest on yr show, the least u can do is show sum respect, there r other ways to raise a laugh then trying to make fun of sumone's songs & singing ability by clowning around & rolling around the ground. Oso I bet dis time next yr while yr album is long forgotten, ppl will still be singing David's songs @ ktv. Dis the best kinda revenge so all DT fans let just put dis episode away.
Sum links of interest:
1) The intro & ending music in Who do you love mv is Clair de lune (Moonlight) by Claude Debussy, a vry popular piece used in many movies. If u dun noe it, can listen online. Debussy once said, "There is no theory. You have only to listen. Pleasure is the law. I love music passionately. And because l love it, I try to free it from barren traditions that stifle it. It is a free art gushing forth, an open-air art boundless as the elements, the wind, the sky, the sea. It must never be shut in and become an academic art." David will understand that, but not the buffoons in 5566.
2) There is Spotlight David Tao broadcast on HKVP Radio on January 31, oso contest to win The Great Leap album & AVCD but apparently only open to US residents. No spotlight & contest on 5566 *gasp* guess they haf vry good tastes (yeah I know must put behind but they really r disgusting.)
3) Hmmmm...apparently there's David Tao interview by Stella Chang on 8tv, hope they repeat it soon.
4) More great pixs here & here on his appearance on Small S's show.

A blog not a fansite

Just wanna repeat this is a blog not a fansite. I called it David Tao Zhe blog only cos it is thru him & his music dat I expressed myself & my views on life & the world. All views & opinions expressed here haf nothing to do wif David Tao. Oso the reason dat sum DT fans post here is cos there is at present not many english David Tao fansites around & fans come here to read the latest stuff abt him. If u r upset at sum of the content on this blog, I kindly ask you to leave & not to visit again cos this is my little patch of cyber territory where I haf the freedom to write anything I choose.

David haf been attending lotsa interviews & entertainment shows which quite normal 4 new album release, but surprise is the appearance of his dad at these shows. They looked so comfortable together & can tell they haf great relationship. Oso a lot of funny situations like the one where Small S wanted to 'feel' David's body heehee. He talked a lot abt the inspirations for his songs & will prolly write longer on dat later as along wif the change of musical direction, David has oso emerged as more political & revolutionary. In fact he really has achieved a 'great leap' & ventured into places where other singer/composer can nvr follow. BTW David haf left a 6th msg in his diary, oso if u wanna legally dl the song Ghost or the uncut mv, the link is in this msg.

Well, basically not going to stop anyone from writing abuse on my shoutbox, the thing is dun mind if the person haf sumthing meaningful to say but just tirade cos I say a junior writer on a tabloid write bad english. There r more things in the world to worry abt than my meaningless blog like the racist Tsunami song for eg. Now that is sumthing dat u can really vent yr anger.

David march to Malaysia

A few english articles on the HK album launch posted altho they r so bad except for the last one which was written by a Malaysian. The smallmindedness of S'poreans really come thru in their writings & I can bear it if they write well but bad writing, cheesy attitude & absolutely no research really p*ssed me off *sigh* The usual Jay comparision, mention of ex Melody, a not so subtle dig at his supposedly failing popularity. The last article is meatier & listen up Malaysian fans, David will be heading to your shores during March 15-20. Oso Zoe, David may be visiting Thailand too. As nlayhua shout out, David's 5th diary msg posted @ his website.
His music style is changing, and so is the American-born Taiwanese singer's world view
DAVID Tao (right) doesn't mince words.
Just minutes into our interview, the R&B singer launches into a tirade against corrupt politicians.
'Why do you think people get into politics? It's for the money, that's why. It's a business with more money than you can imagine.'
We had been talking about the single Ghost from his latest album The Great Leap, which is David's angry outpouring directed at those 'with power and money, but give absolutely nothing to the world'.
The American-born Chinese was in Hong Kong last Friday for the launch of his album.
Like his previous album Black Tangerine, which was inspired by the Sep 11 tragedy, The Great Leap is also teeming with the socially-conscious 36-year-old's views of the world.
This time, bad politicians bear the brunt of his diatribe. He had refused to vote during last year's hotly-contested US elections.
'Our political system is a joke! Who can I vote for then? I prefer to exercise my rights through my music.'
David certainly wasn't beating around the bush with his comments, but could it be a particular Bush that he was bashing?
David claims that he was not.
'I'm not entirely pointing the finger at just one in particular, it's anyone who has the power, money and control but doesn't use it appropriately.
MUSIC WITH A MESSAGE
'Probably, some people might think I'm a troublemaker for my incendiary thoughts, but I truly believe that with more love around, we can have more hope for our current situation.'
And with The Great Leap, David is also making a great leap of his own to his 'mid-life stage' of music-making.
'At this point, my views of the world and society are now different from before, and my songs will be different too.'
He is no longer content with music just for entertainment, but music with a message.
'In the West, we have people like Sting, Bob Dylan and Bono who are not afraid to voice their views on politics, but we don't have an Asian singer who does that.'
But what if his fans are not ready to accept this wise and serious David Tao?
'I'm not worried. I don't think my attitude is self-righteous.
'I'm just expressing my opinion. We are all guilty of a lot of things. But to criticise doesn't mean you are self-righteous as long as it's constructive.
'If people get sick of hearing what I want to say, they can stop buying my albums.'
Clearly, David has no plans to keep his opinions to himself and doesn't have plans to buckle under external pressure.
At his press conference earlier, David had thanked his fans for their support with a bow, and then promised that he would never 'sell out' in terms of music.
ARTISTIC FREEDOM
When asked what that out-of-the-blue promise was all about, David replied: 'It means caving in to the market, to the record companies.
'It's about artistic freedom, about doing what you want to do.'
He added: 'This has always been a struggle with the artistes and there's been changes in quality of the music that some of the singers are putting out now. I don't need to name names.
'I guess it's not entirely their fault, it's because the market keeps changing. But I still prefer to stay true to my music.'
Could he be talking about arch rival Jay Chou? After all, when a reporter had compared him to Jay earlier, David's comments were politically correct but hinted at a deeper meaning nevertheless.
'Jay comes up with more albums and more frequently than me.
'His performance is very good. But different musicians have different ways of doing things.
'I'm older than Jay by quite a bit and my thinking is different.
'Sometimes, music is not about the number of albums you come out with or the sales figures. What's important is whether your music influences society or not.'


Fans thrilled to be part of new CD, music video launch
THE press conference for the launch of David Tao's new CD was not held at the usual hotel function room but at the open plaza of the bustling Times Square shopping mall in Causeway Bay.
An unusual decision no doubt, but one that left many of David's fans delighted.
VANTAGE POINT
Administrative officer Agnes Fung was at the shopping mall three hours before the press conference to reserve a vantage point to see her idol.
She couldn't believe her luck when she heard that the press conference was going to be held in an open area that she could have access to.
'I have been waiting for two years for David to come to Hong Kong,' she said.
There was no mistaking who were the curious shoppers and who were the fans.
The fans - besides bearing the usual placards - also had a bright orange 'tattoo' of the Chinese character Tao on their cheeks.
One of them, undergraduate Echo Cheung, 21, told The New Paper: 'We got the idea from football matches. We saw how some people paint the name of their country or their favourite teams on their cheeks and decided to do the same.'
Though there were less than a hundred fans present, they were enthusiastic and cheered loudly to set the mood for the press conference whenever one of the TV crew members requested them to do so.
The fans also got very excited over the unveiling of David's much-talked-about music video for his song Who Do You Love.
SIZZLING KISSING SCENE
The nine-minute music video, which features a sizzling kissing scene between David and Chinese actress Qu Ying, was shown for the first time.
It elicited a lot of screams and catcalls from his female fans, who were obviously not used to seeing their idol in such a 'compromising' position.
David was both amused by his fans' reaction, as well as the fuss over the kissing scene.
He said that the scene was done in four takes and had taken not more than 10 minutes to complete.
He had not met Qu Ying before the filming of the video but said that it wasn't awkward to film the scene at all.
'If she is my friend, then it would have been awkward, but it's precisely because we don't know each other, that's why we treat it as only a job.'


Melodies for the women in his life
KATRINA, Catherine, Melody, Susan and Angeline.
They have all had the honour of having a song written for them by David Tao.
We do know that Melody was written for his ex-girlfriend Melody (left). But how are all the other ladies related to him?
Is he some Lothario who likes to pen songs as a nod to all his exes?
David, amused by the question, was quick to defend himself: 'Angeline is a fictitious character I wrote the song for, it's about a mermaid. Melody, well, you all know already. Katrina is not my ex-girlfriend, but someone I briefly knew.
'Catherine, was written for my mum, while Susan is actually a song about Chinese opera, and is a play on the title of a famous opera, not a person.'
And while David was more than happy to talk about his work and views of the world, he was tight-lipped about his love life.
He refused to comment on recent rumours that he was dating a woman named Joanna.
He claims he hasn't 'found my rose yet' and doesn't have plans to settle down for the next two years as he wants to concentrate on his career.
'I always treat my personal life as very private... I always find that the paparazzi is a double-edged sword. Sometimes the publicity helps, but there are times when you can do without it.'

Tao wants to make the world a better place
BY NG CHENG YEE
HONG KONG: Being an Asian R & B king is not just about looking good and making lots of money.
For acclaimed singer-songwriter David Tao, it is also important to be concerned about problems in society.
"I hope to change my living environment through my music, if I can’t change the world," he said after launching his album The Great Leap 2005 at Times Square here yesterday.
For example, Tao said the song Ghost was to remind people that human beings could be scarier than ghosts because of the damage they inflicted on society through wars and terrorist activities.
"It is a song that uses a negative symbol to send out a positive message in that human beings might be able to destroy society like ghosts but their love and care could also make the world a better place," he said, adding that he was upset the song was banned in China.
Tao also received the platinum award for the sale of his four previous albums.
Three million copies of his albums were sold in Asia alone.
Although the music was not completely different from his previous albums, he said the new album was more mature and simpler.
"When you reach 35, you will have different views about your life, love, career and parents and these will be reflected in your music as you tend to keep things simple by using fewer musical instruments," he said.
On whether he was “playing safe by including commercial love songs such as Who do you love? in the album, he said being commercial was not necessarily a bad thing.
On his future plans, Tao said he would visit tsunami-affected areas in Indonesia and Thailand with other artistes, apart from promoting his new album.
"I'm also planning to organise concerts in China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore and Malaysia this year," he said.
Tao will be in Malaysia from March 15 to 20 to promote his latest album. The event will be organised by Galaxy Production and presented by Hotlink.

Net chat @ Tom

David attended net chat @ Tom after his autograph session in Beijing. He answered a lot of questions & perhaps was tired, rambled on a bit but it was vry interesting & he looked adorable. Click here to stream watch. He looked serious here haha, more pixs!

He did revealed a lot abt his album song by song:
Catherine - he did not compose the tune but a young new composer from mainland China called Dean who had composed the theme for davidcn, David heard the song & liked it a lot so he got one of his co guy to get in touch with Dean. Dean send sum more of his compositions & Catherine was one of them. Dean wrote the song for his gf called Catherine but when David sang it, it wasn't quite rite. Then he remembered his mother was oso called Catherine so he turned it into a song abt son/mother relationship.
Love Can - David vry happy lotsa fans like this song as he wasn't sure whether his fans would like this kinda composition.
The Art of war - Fans were surprised dat he wrote this b4 the tsunami tragedy as it was mentioned in the lyrics, but David said this song was actually written abt his concerns for the environment.
Who do you love - mostly talking abt THE KISS heehee
Susan Said - David demonstrated the melody of beijing opera can oso be modern
Fated - this song is actually quite sad abt how sumtimes love cannot be fulfilled, sounded as if David talking abt his own experiences
Sula & Lampa - lotsa mainland chinese dun understand this song but David didn't explain, just say it will be explained in time.
2Night - David explained the reason 2 rather to cos it abt 2 people.
What's Love - Another 'love went wrong' song.
David oso told a story abt when he filming environment docu for Komodo Dragons in Singapore, when he & the camera crew was chased by the animals cos they went into the enclosure. It was really funny. But he sounded rather tired & sick, poor David, but he will be getting sum rest b4 heading back to Taiwan for weekend autograph sessions.

The Great Leap 2005

A lot of news on David as can be expected as The Great Leap 2005 was officially launched 1/21 in Hongkong. David wore tan suit with green shirt and brown tie, & I think he has a haircut. He oso attended the 12th China Songs Chart last night but did not win any award. He did performed a special song which is a blend of Susan Said & Moon over my heart. Here can see more nice pixs as well as read his interview if u noe chinese, & here can see pixs of him performing. He looked real nice in jeans, brown jacket, white shirt & gold cravat.

More on his album launch: David greeted the media & fans in english, cantonese, chinese & spanish (wow!), 3 of the most widely spoken languages in the world. A 9min version of Who do you love mv was shown & female fans yelled continuously when the kissing scene was shown, making David vry embarrassed.
When asked if he enjoyed the kissing scene, he said not really as he & the actress hardly known each other & they had to do 4 takes, by the 3rd take he hardly had any feelings but must looked as if he had. When asked if he had any experience of such passionate kissing, he said most probably but not in front of the piano. Fans oso yelled when he got out of bed in his shorts & was disappointed he didn't take his shirt off. (Hmmmmm David becoming a sex symbol alredi?)

David oso said dat he is not worried abt sales as good sales do not always mean the album is good. He is more concerned abt staying true to music & not selling himself & his music, oso his fans. But the EMI bosses presented him a plaque anyway for the good sales of all his albums.
There was a lot of first for David in this album. First time he had a song written by another composer, first time he cooperated with 12 Girl Band, first time he wrote 6 songs all at once, first time he kissed in a mv, first time he had Asia wide album launch. Oso the first time he wrote a song for his mom altho he said that he will be 'finished' if she read the lyrics of the song, but he oso had a gift for his mom in Susan Said. He recorded the beijing opera bit in LA but he called his mom to ask her how to sing it & then recorded it. So lotsa good memories for David in this album.
I have been listening to the album nonstop for the past 2 days & love all the songs. There's not one song I do not like, of cos I like sum more than the others but the whole album is excellent. I don't have a favorite DT album, I like them all but Great Leap comes very close to it. Although I have to say if you are expecting something ingenious or fresh & cool, you might be disappointed on first listen. All the songs except possibly Ghost sound like songs by other singers such as Jay, Leehom, JJ Lin, Anson Hu but as you listen you find that the way David sang or arranged the song made them different.

I don't know how to describe it. Its like he took the most simple of melodies, arranged them with a great mix of musical instruments and sang them in his own special way. Basically he did what he said he wanted to do, take music back to pure form. I love how the instruments sound as if they were playing alongside him when he sang so the album has a less 'studio' feel. After listening to the album, I just feel so refreshed, drenched by the power of music.
For this album he will be getting the usual criticisms. That he keep redoing old songs - he only did one, Susan Said & its not even a cover but completely new song. That he is following the current trend of using chinese instruments - actually David has always used chinese instruments from his first album. That he is repeating himself & did nothing new - just ignore cos these ppl dun understand music. Ditto for those who said that he is copying western music again *sigh*.
Its hard to be David fan cos he is always being compared & u feel as if you haf to defend him all the time. But now that I am a fan for almost 2 yrs, I feel there is nothing left to said. Basically I will not be a fan if I follow blindly the current trends without understanding why they r so popular.
To me The Great Leap 2005 redefined what is real music. While I enjoyed Usher's Yeah & dancing around my bedroom, David's music tell me its time to face & accept the world without fear. I like both type of music but alredi I haf forgotten Yeah & moving on to the next pop tune, but David's music will stay with me for life.

I love this pix from the making of Who do you love mv which I haf seen abt 3 times. Its really good & David is excellent with a natural flair. He really looked the part, successful chinese man bored with his pretty gf & looking for an affair. In the pix above he is trying to seduce Red Rose.
Lotsa fans r unhappy & disappointed dat he played the role himself with kissing & bed scenes. But really both scenes r pretty mild compared to sum others I haf seen, & David did not even take off his shirt. Oso while we want our idols to be pure as driven snow, must oso remember David is a normal 35 yr old man & considering that he put a certain sound into Let's fall in love, this mv is not really the most daring thing he has done. On de other hand dun think David will date sumone out just for one night stand either *roll eyes*

Red rose & white rose

Here at last Lynn's latest DT Tshirt design, sry for the delay, but wanna made them look pretty heehee. Really nice, thx Lynn!
Latest news is David has kissing and bed scenes (why?why?why? David) in his new mv for Who do you love...but apparently he did it in one take...

...looked more like a friendly peck on the mouth hehehehehehehehe. At first was a bit disappointed dat like others must haf kissing in his mv but this mv based on Eileen Chang's famed story, Red Rose and White Rose.

Story describes dilemma of a man who fell in love with two vry different women. One the passionate & fiery Red Rose, the other the sweet & demure White Rose. He refused to marry Red Rose cos he felt she is not suitable to be his wife, instead he married the obedient White Rose then find that she was boring compared to Red Rose. This story kinda explores the double standard of chinese men who traditonally preferred their wives to be subservient & then haf affairs to satisfy their more carnal desires. I think lotsa men can be like that at times.
This story has been filmed before by renowned director Stanley Kwan with Joan Chen as Rose Red. Joan oso won Golden Horse award for best actress in 1994 for this role. The adapted screenplay slightly different from the book:
Wonderfully acted and beautiful looking period romantic drama from acclaimed director Stanley Kwan. Winston Chao is Tung Jan Biu, a 1920's-era Casanova, moving from woman to woman, like a bee flitting from one flower to the next. The "red rose" of the title is Joan Chen, and her character is fiery and passionate. The "white rose" is Veronica Yip, all quietude and timidity. Their relationships with Tun Jan Biu says something about their individual characters, but even more about Tun Jan Biu himself.

The author of the book Eileen Chang oso vry interesting. Sum brief biographies:
Eileen Chang was born and went to school in Shanghai, and attended Hong Kong University from 1939-1941, but returned to Shanghai when the Japanese occupied Hong Kong. Living in Japanese-occupied Shanghai she wrote many popular pieces published in mass-circulation magazines, but her remarkable use of language meant that she was also taken seriously as a writer. She moved to Hong Kong in 1952, and then to the United States in 1955, where she lived for the rest of her life. Her long story The Golden Cangue was described as "the greatest novelette in the history of Chinese literature" by the critic C.T. Hsia.
Eileen Chang Ailing (September 30, 1920 - found dead September 8, 1995) was a Chinese writer. Her works frequently deal with the tensions between men and women in love. Born and bred in Shanghai, Zhang was recognized as one of the foremost writers of love stories and novels during her lifetime. Publishing her first novel in 1943, Zhang immediately became the most popular author in Shanghai. In 1952, she left Shanghai and worked for the American News Agency in Hong Kong. She moved to the United States in 1955, and also wrote several English novels, none of which has met the popularity her Chinese works had, however.
Majority of her works haf been adapted as movies, plays or tv series wif most well known being Half Life Fate or Eighteen Springs. Oso Love in a Fallen City with Chow Yun Fat in the lead. Eileen herself was oso subject of many books, a couple of films, plays & tv series. Here u can read sample of her work translated into english. Marvellous writer.
Anyway this the background to mv being shot for Who do you love, quite exhaustive for a 4min music video which kinda what expected from DT by now. If y haf listen to the entire song & the lyrics, think u agreed Red Rose and White Rose is vry suitable & oso why David agreed to be filmed in bed & kissing his 'Red Rose' just to be realistic & in character. And the song became even more poignant as he is actually singing abt himself betraying 2 women.
Its amazing how I can rambled on DT for hrs cos he just generated from me this kinda crazy ramblings. He always associated with vry interesting, highly unusual stuff. Well just to conclude the mv will be premiering 1/20, a day b4 his album release. According to news report this mv like Ghost is shot like a movie & David acted throughout without singing. Looking foward to it greatly altho a bit heart pain @ seeing him kiss.

Who do you love?

He's killing me softly with his smile heehee. No wonder his taiwanese fans kept saying that he was soooooooooooo shuai. He keeps looking better & better, maybe the cold weather cos apparently it was really cold during the autograph sessions in Taiwan. He did sing a little bit of Susan said & lucky fans who were last in line got to hug him. Much preferred this deep purple tee. Purple & black leather is a good look, oso like the necklet, vry neat. If u noe chinese, can go to davidcn to watch snippet recorded by one of the fans. Can see how he always looked up and smiled at his fans, vry friendly & warm.

5 dressed up ghosts came to wish him good luck & gave him a pot of gold, kinda chinese good fortune so his album will sell well.

David oso appeared in charity concert & sang Up where you belong with Karen Mok. His part was more than Karen & he sang really well. Just made me long for an english album *sigh* But imma alredi in love wif his second new song Who do you love? I love the way he sang & the diff emotions he put into it, vry moving. Pixs courtesy sina.com
Even his hands look gorgeous >"<
Lynn, got yr tshirt pixs, thks, will post tmr as haf to convert them a bit okie

No ghost in China

David's album not even released yet but alredi lotsa news as haf been confirmed Ghost banned in mainland China. So David now has unbroken record of having a song in every of his album banned in China. Also cos of the 'disturbing' content, Ghost mv can only be shown after 11.00pm & the avcd is restricted to 18 & above.
David went on most of the popular news entertainment shows in Taiwan to promote his preorder. He looked skinny & rather tired, but still his charming, talkative self. But this time I thought he was more restrained & serious, in fact almost intensive in his outlook. He explained meaning of Ghost vry simply ending wif, "Humans are more frightening than ghosts!". Oso he decided not to sing during his autograph session which was rather unusual as most fans expect their idols to sing. In fact reading sum posts from his taiwanese fans, they will rather disappointed & hope he will sing Who do you love or Susan said.
I think David is trying to move away from the idol image completely. In fact during one interview when asked why he took so long to release his album, he said dat since he's not an idol, dun haf to release 6 albums per yr (heehee think he's tired of being told he is slow). & when asked if he felt that Jay releasing his live cd on same day will be competing, he just said that in a 'healthy' music market, there will not be competition but room for variety. And in his radio interview, he even said that if u like it, buy it, if not, then not his problem as his record company is the one responsible for selling the album. Yes, David @ his most honest & most adorable.
As mentioned b4 he wrote a song for Anita Mui cos he felt that of all the HK celebrities who died, Anita was the one most remembered. Oso a song with 12 Girl Band cos he saw their mv when in HK & was inspired to write a song with elements of East, West & rock. The most interesting & prolly more 'controversial' than Ghost is a song begining with Sula and Lampa, the word Lampa is a dirty swear word in taiwanese (actually meant a certain human organ). He used dis word cos he felt since taiwanese politicans r using it freely, than shouldn't blame him for using it in a song (uhhhhhmmm can anticipate no gma nomination again).
Oso for the first time David cowrote a song Catherine wif new songwriter who wrote the song for his ex-girlfriend but David used it to express mother/son relationship. As mentioned in his msgs, David has filmed 5 mvs wif 5 diff directors. The first to release in China is Who do you love? & this popular mainland actress below cast opp David. Oso think I read sumwhere he rejected director's request 4 french kiss wif costar but think just news gossip.

David said

Sum new promo pixs posted @ davidtao, quite sweet. Its weird he can go from smouldering, cool, sopisticated & sexy on his website to sweet & boyish in these pixs. Much preferred the smouldering ones of cos. David posted 2 more msgs in quick succession in his diary & 4 those who find it diff to access flash website or intimidated by tiny chinese words, posted them @ blog forum.
If u haf not read them, I urge u to do so cos u learn & understand a lot more abt David, his thinking & his new album concept.
Words cannot express the enormous love, respect & awe I have for him so actually at a loss for words so did not post @ DT forum hee hee. I think you will not find another artist like David both in the chinese & western entertainment. He opens his heart so honestly to his fans & friends & its not to gain fame, popularity or to sell more of his albums. He has something to say & it don't matter if people dun want to hear it, he is just going to say it. And for those who want to hear it, he reward them by using the most beautiful musical language in the world to tell them what he wanna say. Anyway just go read his msgs.

Who is Catherine?

The coupon to collect David's new album <3<3<3 Hope u guys got yrs! Watch the mv 3 times alredi, its really quite brilliant. Love the spooky overture wif familiar music u can heard in lotsa chinese ghost movies, vry nice touch David. Oso the ghost movie cliques like old elevators, water dripping, working late in office, black shadows, etc. Of cos the music is great, a little MJ, a bit Linkin Park, sum U2 & lotsa DT. Actually felt was too short considering its the longer 6min version. I could haf watch him sing the chorus for at least 3 more min heehee. Just can't enough of DT.
Think everybody like Susan said but Who do you love is heartaching beautiful. The way David sings remind of how he sing One last cry, so hopeless & tugging at yr heartstrings. Actually David's singing seems to be even better if dat possible. Or maybe as he said by using 4 instruments & simplifying things, the music become the main focus.
Latest news is Ghost maybe banned in mainland China & so the debut song there is Who do you love. Anyway think it fated dat at least 1 song from his album is banned. Oso he wrote a song for Anita Mui called Her song (so sweet) & worked wif 12 girl band on another, dun noe how to translate song title. & thx to nlayhua who reported dat Catherine is english name of his mum.
David will be appearing on sum entertainment programs to promote preordering. Oso visit the video section of davidcn to dl sum clips of his appearance in love charity show. The one where he donated his guitar was cute. Oso clip of behind the scenes shooting ghost mv. Be interesting to watch 4min ver of ghost mv tonight.

Ghost teasers

My mind dun work any more, numb from listening 2 so many chinese songs (why do they all sing in monotone?) heehee but all 4 David except they nvr did play Ghost again *tear*. But good news there r two teasers @ Great Leap site. Click 3rd chinese word (shi kan) from left & u see Ghost Teaser Part 1 & Part 2 in white text. Really cool like trailer 4 ghost movie. Anyway admin @ DT forum said 2 watch carefully cos...not sure 4 what.
Oso Yesasia haf more info on David's new album. Apparently his new partner is Li Zhuo Xiong & this cd is 'first instalment in a new musical trilogy' meaning there r 2 more new albums to come *joy* Oso the preorder gift is called Golden Collector's AVCD featuring Ghost full length 6min mv & 3 appraisal version of Ghost, She's still my love (Who do you love) & Susan says. Appraisal version just a vry long word 4 sample.

Maybe sum r confused by explanation of the song Susan said. The story of Su San or Yu Tang Chun (Jade Hall Spring) is classic beijing opera abt a girl called Su San, so even tho the title is Susan, when David is singing, he sings Su San not the english Susan. Managed to find synopsis here:
"Yu Tang Chun" follows the story of a lower-class girl named Su San who is sold to a brothel out of poverty. At the brothel, she gets to know Wang Jinlong, the son of a high-ranking official. They fall in love at first sight. Short of funds, Wang can't raise enough money to free Su San from the brothel. Wang decides to make a fortune, then marry Su San. So he works very hard at an exam, which, if he can get a high score, assures him a high-ranking official position. Unfortunately, at the same time, Su San is sold by the brothel owner to Shen Yanlin, a rich merchant, as a concubine. Shen's wife is so envious of the beauty of Su San that she intends to poison her. But by mistake, Shen drinks the poison prepared for Su San and dies. Accused of poisoning Shen, Su San is sentenced to death. Unwilling to give up, Su appeals to a higher court, until finally, her case arrives before Wang Jinlong, who now is a high official because of his high scores on the exam. Wang examines the case carefully and the truth is revealed. The lovers marry at last.
So David sings beijing opera but in a vry modern, r&b way. U just haf to listen to believe.

Susan said its Beijing

David & his dad doing their bit for charity. So happy to see him at last, look so adorable when answering phone, they showed him up close few times. Jimmy oso there & sooooooooooo handsome, getting more shuai all the time but imma biased as he is my favorite Tension mbr heehee. Lotsa celebrities, literally who's who of Taiwanese entertainment. Oh, they sang Hand in Hand but no David or Leehom *sad* but still there was Shin.
Btw forgot 2 mention dat his namecard was 'Tao Ji Ji' instead of 'Tao Zhe', but its sweet, make him so special to haf such an unusual name <3<3<3
So there u go Zoe & others affected by tsunami, we will nvr let u down. Actually done my own donation drive & happy to report many Singaporeans & Malaysians r generous. Pixs credit davidcn & taozeehk.
So the big moment tmr, launch of 1st single after 2yrs. So excited cannot breathe & so proud my eyes tearing. But I noe no matter what critics & non fans said, David haf alredi done it, came out wif another truly inspiring album. Even just reading the songlist give a fresh feeling, & such anticipation, 12 brandnew DT songs to explore. Yes admit did haf sum doubts & trepidation, did the creativity & passion run out like the others? But reading posts by fans who haf heard his 3 new songs, they were delighted & surprised by the completely diff styles in each.
The one taking most by surprise is Susan said which contrary to the western sounding title is actually based on a famous Beijing opera song & cleverly Susan is the phonetic equivalent of the name of the heroine in this opera song. Actually so curious how David managed to put r&b & beijing opera together dat went to listen online sample & oh it was so nice, such a beautiful song. Can't wait to listen to the whole song esp the beijing opera bit that David did, I noe hard to believe dat beijing opera can be inserted into r&b song & sound good but remember Blue moon & Somewhere over the rainbow, well its a little like dat, just lovely. Anyway there will be lotsa surprises & pleasure to come for sure.
Okie, anonymous who post msg asking to post David's 2nd msg, not sure which 2nd msg u want, the email or the website, but can find both here @ blog forum. Oso post the 1st website msg & his Great Leap msg 4 those who haf problem accessing flash website. Oso u can access DT forum w/o going thru website, will add to links.

Ghost premier 1/10, MV 1/12

Can he get any more gorgeous than this? Heehee, prolly yes, anyway David did turn up 4 the love charity telethon thingie 4 tsunami victims, so happy dat he did. He donated his guitar & helped to take calls, so sweet, wish could be the one calling in, "Hi David, how do you stay so gorgeous?" hahahahahahahahaha
Yeah am in a happier frame of mind, must not let things or ppl get me down again cos it takes forever to recover & its not FUN!
Well, onto more serious things like his new songs, seemed quite a few fans esp in TW alredi heard the 3 songs & love them. A poll started @ DT forum alredi haf 5 voting Who do you love?, 5 Susan said & 3 Ghost. According to fans, Who do you love vry touching song, Susan said kinda r&b with Beijing inspired sounds & of course Ghost is allout rock.
Ghost will premier in Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore & Malaysia 1/10, & the mv 1/12. The lyrics for Ghost was written by David and cowriter who is not his usual partner, Wah Wah. Here's translated sample:
If there is ghost inside you
Who knows whether it is the same kind
Your blood turn to poison in the dark
In reality who is afraid of who
Aw I am a ghost
Come on, I am a ghost, I am a ghost
Yeah, should you be afraid of humans
Or really you should be afraid of ghosts, ghosts
So basically he is not talking abt real ghosts but the many things that can influence yr thinking & life. It seemed there is a phrase in chinese when things r going wrong, you said, "I see ghosts." So David used this to represent the many things that can go wrong in yr life due to unhealthy habits like gambling, drugtaking, etc. They r like ghosts, all around u, unseen. Oso the media & gossips surrounding David oso made him feel that he is surrrounded by ghosts. Asked whether he haf seen a real ghost, David said no but once in the studio, he felt something strange & feeling uneasy, he said a little prayer & everything was fine. Then recently in Shanghai, he thought he saw a black shadow flying towards him but nobody else saw it, and he joked prolly just cos the day was darkening.
U know I was half watching the highlights of the love charity show in hope of David appearing but no luck *sob* anyway there was dis 2 veteran singers singing lovely bit of canto opera & their voices, my god, pure & ringing thru the stadium, such perfect diction, each word separate & clear. While the other younger, more popular singers, u can hardly hear them, & when u do, u dun know what they r singing *sigh*

Debut song - Ghost

Getting real excited just listening to his teaser & looking @ all the cool pixs. Not a big change of image but definitely harder edged. The debut song is Ghost & its another David looking at society song. The ghosts in his songs r metaphor of the many temptations & influences in life & how u can lose yr soul & become a ghost yrself. In the mv, David can be seen in 3 diff images - an office worker, a cool singer & the devil himself!

Preordering alredi in Taiwan & Yesasia, HK, Singapore, Malaysia next wk. The preorder gift is a Golden AVCD which haf unedited 6 min version of Ghost mv. Unfortunately 4 Malaysia, the mv dun make the censorship but of cos, slip across the causeway if u r avid DT fan heehee.
There r 12 songs (yeah yeah) & translated only the ones I can - Ghost, Catherine, Must love you, Who do you love?, Susan said, Fateless, 2night hidden love, Her song, What is love? David wrote quite a bit re his inspiration 4 the album @ his site, saying he limited his instruments to 4 & oso less layering of his music taking it back to basics. Sounds good to me.
The album is officially due 4 release on 1/21 but of cos the mv prolly be screened next wk & David will prolly do sum promoting. (Btw guess whose concert cd expected release 1/20 *evil eye*)
Altho David not seen participating in celebrities charity drive 4 tsunami tragedy, I believe he would haf donated & helped in his own way. Oso sum reports regarding rape, abuse & child trafficking duing the tragedy kinda make David's new song, Ghost, even more relevant. There r always ghosts amongst us & they r not necessarily dead.
Btw haf sum unpleasant exchange @ DT forum, always sumone anal retentive trying to police forums, wtf, forums r 4 expressing yr views, ideas, so forth, & David himself said to carry on wif our say cos he really wanna noe, I know he does, dat y he haf a forum & its not 4 ppl to keep saying how great & wonderful he is *roll eyes*

David's Great Leap

Title of David's new album, The Great Leap 2005, finally released (thx nlayhua). So dat why he called his album red heehee sry cannot resist the communist dig. The Great Leap Forward, altho chinese title is diff, sumthing abt the great peace, dun understand myself but seem to be causing lotsa confusion among mainland chinese fans. One asked if its ironic. But I believe in David & sure he will explain why he named his album.
But what I wanna noe is how he managed to get ecentury to agree to this controversial title? Maybe he used emotional blackmail, agree to this title or I take another 3 yrs to complete my album kekekekekekekekekeke Anyway this is David, if he dun come up with surprises like dis, then he is not David Tao! Well looking so forward & excitedly to new album, hope at least 12 songs & 1 of them english. But no matter what, I will listen carefully b4 making judgement cos like yr title, dis album may even be a departure from yr previous albums & not be as commercial & radio friendly.
Oso, the song in Ken Chu's new album is by Wu Bai & Tao Zi so sadly dun get David & Wu Bai working together. Latest news is David helping William So with his new album, but not getting excited until further confirmation.

He looked so gorgeous when he is grinning happily.

Close the world, open the next

After spending a whole day in bed listening to David's songs cos I have a cold, I feel just a bit better. Anyway I left a msg for u Zoe @ DT forum & hopefully he saw it & pray for u. I really don't know what else I can do or say to comfort those affected by the tragedy except for donating & donating again. If David fans wanna group together & donate, let me know cos I am more than happy to join in.
Above pix courtesy davidcn a favorite of mine cos he looked so expressive. I really can't save the world, all I know is that my world is a lot brighter because David is around. I don't know why, not that I am in love with him or wanna marry him. I don't even care if I would ever meet him or talk to him. All I know is that so long as he is around to make and sing his lovely songs, my world is a better place. I wish I could delete the whole tsunami tragedy even if it mean deleting my whole existence like Lain.

If only the solution could be so simple as closing the world & opening the next.
I am falling, I am fading, I am drowning
Help me to breathe
I am hurting, I have lost it all, I am losing
Help me to breathe