DT in Hangzhou

Nice pix of David being interviewed in Shanghai. All I can say is HUNK ^__^ He is not yr pretty dolly chinese male idol & I sure like him that way. He should be in Hangzhou today to attend The 4th China International Cartoon and Animation Festival. Here's a short writeup:

International Cartoon & Animation Festival, tickets available to the public
April 16, 2008
The opening ceremony of Hangzhou International Cartoon & Animation Festival will be at the leisure expo garden lakefront square from 19:45-21:30 on 28th April. For the first time, tickets of the opening ceremony party are on sale to the public.
There are 4 different prices for the ticket- 150/350/550/880Rmb. Everyday 9:00-18:00 you can call free ticket hotline 4008881007 for delivery.
6 special bus lines will be available at Qingchun Square/Wulin Square/Season Square/Dragon Stadium/Auchan/Wushan Square.
The performance group, including pop stars such as Tao Zhe, Cai Yilin, Huang Shengyi and Flowers, will put on a show with musical drama, acrobatics, large-scale magic, etc. And there will also be interlude dramas performed by many cartoon and animation figures.

Apparently he will be singing Can't get you outta my mind, Susan Says & Marry Me Today with Jolin. Welcome to new visitors - many thanks for yr msgs & continuing support of DT *__* Below is his Binghongcha cm screening currently in China:

DT & Shu Ying

Thank you so much for yr msg Shu Ying & sharing yr upclose experience with DT *green with envy* Stole a pix from DTFC so ppl can see how gorgeous you are. You look good with DT ^__^ honestly you must take up his request to show him around next time he is in Singapore *_*

Shu Ying said...
Hello Zhaodi!
Haha! Was waiting to hear your take on David's Sg Concert! Anyway, just like to share with you my wonderful experience of being on stage with him. David's voice was superb, despite the bout of tonsillitis he had right before the concert. It was miraculous and amazing, you could feel the energy and power emanating from him.
Haha I really didn't know what I was in for when he finally picked me, until I stepped on that enormous stage, bright spotlights and all, and 8000 pairs of eyes staring at us. It was mind-blowing.
For one thing, David's talent and adorable charm was undeniable. And it was great tt the SG audience finally showed we're not that shy and passive after all! We were so high that night! With his warm firm hand, and sincere hugs, he totally made my day.
You know, it is absolutely surreal to be seeing him up close, after all these years of watching him on youtube, listening to all his albums, and of course, reading updates abt him on your blog.=)
It was a dream come true for me, and I'm thankful to have this wonderful memory to take with me for the rest of my life.
Let's look forward to his upcoming works, and to support and trust he will give his best in the things that means a lot to him, be it movie or music. If he's happy, I'm happy too.
Cheers,
Shu Ying
PS: Don't know if you still rem, I used to tag on your blog as opalibran.=)
4/25/2008 1:06 PM

Yes I remember you, I think you are studying music rite? Sry haven't been updating as much but working on this huge project & can't see the light at the end of tunnel yet *sigh* Kept listening to David's Free as motivation haha Anyway below youtube vid of lovely Shu Ying being serenaded by David.

Post Sing concert

Thank you so much Kormmandos for your excellent review & pixs. I think you said it all for us ^__^ Here's the song rundown:

Yes No Song
Runaway
Can't Get You Outta My Mind
Close to You
Let's Fall in Love
Ghost
Susan Said
Who Do You Love
Moon Over My Heart
Airport in 10.30
Shanghaied
Small Town Girl
Season of Loneliness
Regular Friends
Black Tangerine
Dear God
Marry Me Today
Too Beautiful
Dance Medley
Love Can
Bastard
Rain
Blue Moon
I Love You

I found the response to this concert much better than Love Can. Could be cos ppl still remembered & expected another concert like Soul Power during Love Can whereas with Wooden Men, there was no expectation & so the audience was more willing to accept what David gave them so long as it ROCKS which it did of cos. The new arrangements mostly went down well with fans once they recognised the songs but it was still his ballads that mesmerised as mentioned in another excellent blog review. The dancing & dancers were not that well-received. I think my dear DT next time just keep your dancing in the closet :P
Once again he 'miraculously' recovered his voice in time for the concert *roll eyes* Did it not occur to him with his psychology degree that the reason might be psychological? That he was under so much stress before a concert that his system kinda shut down resulting in a voice loss. Once he was ready to perform, he got so pumped up with adrenalin that all system go & viola! He can sing again Hallelujah *__* Anyway maybe God did has a hand in it seeing as it's our beloved DT.
I thought it was great he spoke mostly english even though it was a chinese concert. This is who he is - an American Taiwanese who sings in Mandarin. Ppl always thumb down at him for using english in his songs like he was trying to be pretentious. But this is the reality in Asia where ppl sprinkle english in their mother tongue so why it is taboo in songs? David always use some english when he is speaking chinese. It is a part of who he is like giving praise to God.

419 Singapore concert!

Good luck to DT & his band! Hope everyone have a great time tonite! Dear David, just go ahead & hold as many concerts as you like okie. I think I must have been brainwashed by the chinese media cos why shouldn't he hold concerts in whatever chinese city for as many times as he like? Why can't DT hold 2 concerts within a yr in Shanghai? Also why are they accusing him of trying to make more money? Singing is his career & holding concerts to him is like going to work in an office. If he doesn't sing or hold concerts, then how is he to live? Also the media seems to feel offended that DT is still doing music & holding concerts when they are the ones who kept writing he wanna retire from the music scene. Surely David the one to decide when he wants to do what. Jet Li said he wasn't going to do kungfu movies after Fearless but he is still doing them. So how come the chinese media not fuming at him for not keeping his word? Not getting at Jet Li cos why should an actor turn down an interesting role? In the same way, why should David not hold concerts if he still has the popularity to attract audience who want to attend? A David Tao concert is really an experience not to be missed. Like tonite *__*

2 days to Sin concert

Alrite now that I calmed down & read & watched his Shanghai press conference, it does seemed he has been misquoted as usual. The media said he is coming back to say goodbye again, well that's bullshit. He never said goodbye during the first Shanghai concert. He said that after the tour of 123 We are Wooden Men concerts starting in Shanghai, he will be temporarily departing so Shanghai was not his farewell concert. Watch this great interview where he looked heavenly & explained everything. He also nvr said that he will dance but that during the disco medley he will be 'shaking' along with the rest.
He has decided to return to Shanghai, technically his 'home', cos of the constant calls from his fans to stage another concert. In this vid of the press conference, you can see him turning again & again to DTFC when answering questions. He is just so adorable that I fell in love with him all over again, yeah I kinda weird & contradictary that way *sigh* I know, understand & accept that he is not perfect but in my heart I still want him to be my perfect idol. I think this concert is his thank you gift to his DTFC fans whom he is forever grateful for supporting him without fail all these years. For them, he will be singing a medley of the songs in his album that he never sang before in concerts like Do I Do I & Say Goodbye -- lucky Shanghai fans *_*
The media reported that he said he finished only 30% of his movie script. He most certainly didn't say that. He said that while completing half of the script, he went back & found that 30% was not right so he deleted it & wrote again so in the end he is still left with half of the script completed. Anyway the media misquoted & took his words out of context so it appeared as if he is not fulfilling his promise to 'retire' from music to film a movie. Most comical is that they always like to write that he is 'following' Jay Chou to write & direct a movie but now they are writing sarcastically that after 3 years of saying he will film a movie, he still has not. So how can he be following Jay if he already said he want to direct a movie 3 yrs ago? So even the media has to eat their words too ^__^ Anyway thanks to ladiadom who said:

nah, i think he's just under loads of pressure. to me, it's his way of setting goals and high standards for himself so that he'll be psyched to work towards them. i also feel that he's bounded by contract to do all these distracting stuff and it's really frustrating that he's to fulfill all these commitment before he can focus on his true love. Making music and movies. Look, he's only human. and based on his track record, I believe he can deliver. forgive his what appears to be senseless rambling sometimes; it's actually a facade for his deep anxiety and fears. 4/17/2008 11:05 PM

Yeah, you are rite. One should not forget that David is still under contract to his record company & sponsors who own a piece of him. I has forgotten that I always admire his working mentality where he tends to try to compromise & balance with what he wants to do with the demands of his bosses. He also tries his best to give his fans what they want from him too. I guess everyone wants a piece of him & he must be under a lot of stress. So we must give him lotsa love & encouragement & not try to criticise him all the time *slap myself*

6 days to Sin concert

Here's a medialink vid where can get to see David for a sec or so among the other international celebrities attending the IWC event in Geneva. The text reads:

To confirm the truly global nature of this event, Japanese actors Hiroyuki Sanada (The Last Samurai), Kiichi Nakai (47 Ronin), Rinko Kikuchi (Babel, Cha No Aji) and actress/model Lika Minamoto, as well as Chinese film star Chang Chen and Taiwanese singer David Tao, also added themselves to the guest list.

Actually I am a bit curious why he was being added to the asian guest list. I am not fanatic enough to suggest that he is just as famous as the other asian stars who are mostly actors who were in internationally well-known movies. He is the only singer & soon-to-be-director *yeah yeah* I can only guess it was cos he had mentioned ever so casually that he wore the same IWC watch as the David character played by Tom Cruise in Vanilla Sky. The IWC rep in Asia must be so flattered that they invited him or something like that ^__^

9 days to Sin concert

DT & Chen Chang in Switerland on 4/8 to celebrate 140 anniversary of IWC - DT's favorite watch. He looks really sharp in black framed glasses. Not sure if something is wrong with his eyes or a new look but his fans are crazy abt it ^__^ Just proved we are just a bunch of raving fanatics cos to be honest, he looks fairly ordinary but vry sharp that's all haha Its David's first time in Switerland & he lamented that he is cold cos it was snowing & he lost his luggage so did not have enough clothes to wear. He seems to have knack for losing his luggage. There could be no of reasons: 1) He is extremely careless 2) He is extremely unlucky 3) He has expensive taste in luggage & 4) Fanatic stewardess onboard made off with his luggage for which I hope for his sake there was nothing vry personal in there :P Anyway hope he has time to go sightseeing cos he seems to enjoy Europe vry much.

14 days to Sin concert

Ok any DT concert info on this blog comes from other sources such as DTFC. The man himself seems clueless ^__^ & there is virtually no info on his own website. All he ever did say was there will be 6 or 7 more concerts this yr. At this time, there is still no confirmation whether there will be a Malaysia concert. Indonesia stop will probably be small & by invitation. Japan could be cos of his sponsorship with Big John & he does has a lot of extremely faithful Japanese fans. I think DT is trying his best to hold as many concerts as he is able before he disappear to film his movie. Some fans are disappointed cos of this but he has given us so much good music so its time he goes off to do the things he really wants to do. At least he has the artistic integrity to put down his lucrative career as a singer/composer before pursuing his dream to be a director. He is actually taking a very big risk cos he may not be able to make comeback to music if his movie career doesn't take off. It takes a lot of courage & determination to make a career change, even more so when your current career is still at its peak. He could have taken a safer route by doing both at the same time but its just not his style. I feel sorry for him when he kept promising his fans he will not let them down with his movie. Why must he feel as if he is letting us down? Although I admit I did feel a bit upset when he announced his intention to film his own movie. But I respect his decision esp when he is being so responsible abt it by wrapping up his concerts & releasing an album first. Perhaps it is to please his fans that he decided to film a musical so we can at least listen to his OST. He really is good to his fans.
There was a bit in the UFM interview where he said that the reason he didn't change completely the repetoire of his songs in his concerts from Soul Power to Wooden Men is cos he felt he is growing with his listeners. He hopes that listening to his songs at different times in our lives could also give different feelings & memories. Which was why he decided to re-arrange all his old hits rather than change the songlist completely. Spoken like a real artist. I mean will one ever get tired of watching Turandot? The set, actors, costumes, orchestra change of cos but the songs stay the same. Turandot is not Turandot without Nessun Dorma preferably sang by Luciano Pavarotti which is not possible now of cos. But its strange isn't it that we still fail to give proper respect to contemporary music. Classical music during its time is just popular music but cos it lasts for such a long time, it has been elevated to a lofty status. So why it is we can accept a classical concert with unchanging music but not a modern one? I admit I too wonder why he kept singing the same songs. But once again his uncanny wisdom & true devotion to music have given me a new perspective. Impossible not to worship this man.
(Pixs credit & thanks to Angie from Thailand)

15 days to Sin concert

Not sure if this is a new Big John pix but he sure look yummylicous esp the biceps ^__^ His Sin promo was like whirlwind visit but still he did a lot of interviews. Heard UFM100 & he was just stir-crazy in it. The 2 female djs were giggling away like schoolgirls but you can tell they were charmed. He mentioned the possibility of a Japan concert hoping to reverse the flow of music. He talked honestly abt his getting drunk saying he fell asleep after getting in tbe cab & when he woke up he was already at the police station. He was glad he did not land in the zoo & woke up nxt to a bear *roll eyes* He was miffed that his friends wanted to hang an address sign on him. Actually that's a good idea :P
He was hilarious when he compared an unappreciative audience to a sea of corpses saying it was hard on stage for he & his band when they could not get a response. Mind you he is certainly not the first artist who complained abt lack of response from the audience here & I am not talking abt screamy idol-crazy fans with their pavlovian ardour at the mere sight of their idols. Anyway David also said he would consider settling in Singapore when/if he get married as he admires the tolerance towards different religions here. What a guy! Where others may consider US the best environment to raise a kid, it is just like DT to hone in on social integration. Btw do take a look at the DT@Bugis clips on the sidebar. Vry enjoyable esp the ones that show him highfiving fans on his way out. Like YG said it was just fabulous *__*
In a press interview, he revealed he has started dating someone from the entertainment industry. They are just getting to know each other but unfortunately he was too busy to take it any further. Well sincerely hope this time it will be succesful & he can get hitched at last. Also pray for a rumor-free courtship & that the paparazzi will leave them alone. He said recent rumors abt EMI pulling out of Asia are a bit exaggerated. His big boss did not say anything to him so he felt there will not be much change although it has been confirmed that EMI scales back Asia market operations. EMI has also not yet negotiate re-signing of his contract but he thinks it will be soon. Go indie DT please. Really dun like how EMI are promoting their singers now.
David has signed up with Binghongcha 冰红茶 in China & will be their spokesman for this yr & nxt. Here is their website although strangely not operational BUT can see his guitar-toting image on the bright orange dome in the center - oh my just so cute *__* yeah in my fangirl mode haha Oh they updated just as I was typing so now can see his BIG image ^__^ Above pix is credited to the owner here who took series of 12 just gorgeous pixs. Why are so many DT fans abnormally good at taking pixs? They are usually so professional & really show off his priceless expressions. Seems that the Taizhou ocncert has been cancelled & the Shanghai concert will be his last stop. However he may squeeze in Indonesia and/or Japan.

Upclose DT by YG Pt 2

Sorry I didn't post any info abt his Singapore schedule but past few days my eyes were itchy & teary from allergy so its kinda hard. Also the visit seemed to be rather low-ley. Anyway thanks again to YG, we have part 2 of her DT encounter ^__^

YG said...
Ok I'm in gush mode now.
Went to his Yes 93.3 event just now and OMG i think he recognised sis n i fr yest! David was walking along a barricaded path to the stage. He looked cheery n friendly. Everyone was filming and calling him. He saw us n said Hey hi!
Thereafter on stage, he seemed to keep looking in our direction (or was i imagining?=P). We were standing right at the back of the crowd, at the corner.
During the interview, we waved to him n he nodded his head n waved back. We were like, ok maybe he's not waving at us in particular...? haha.. I gestured to him a thumbs-up sign instead and he gave a charming wink and returned the thumbs-up. Haha!
At the end of the event, he walked along the barricades again. We waved to him n he walked over to us n said Hi! thank you!
My sis actually took the liberty to say: David can i hv a hug?
David: Ok ok...
At this point, my sis lost balance leaning over the barricade and he firmly held her both hands instead. She didnt get any hug as he has to move on, but yes she is a very happy gal now. haha.
Me, I just gave him a short note to thank him for the years of good music, take care of his health n see him soon at concert!
He took it, said Ok thank you! Bye!, and patted my hand.
He then went on to hi-five and say bye to the row of fans along the barricades leading to the exit.
=)
I love this guy.
3/31/2008 11:39 PM

I love him too. Wow seems like you & yr sis left a deep impression on DT *__* He is just too precious.
This guy too is vry precious - 忘不了 Leslie Cheung.