DT @ Chengdu

David looking stressed in Chengdu. He arrived late for the press conference & only had time to pose for pixs before he was rushed backstage. It could be he didn't realised he was the first to perform as I think he had to play some games with selected mbrs of the audience. He sang Rain, Moon represents whose heart, Smalltown girl & Susan says. Before singing Susan says, David joked that he has the habit of getting a girl up to serenade & singing halfway he surprised the audience by leaping down from the 1m tall stage *gasp* maybe he is still in 007 mode hehe He then went up to his fanclub mbrs & invited a delighted girl fan upstage but the uniformed guards refused to let the girl entered the restricted zone so David had to get back on the stage by himself. I thought that was a bit unprofessional >"< Dear DT more singing less tricks plse :P
Still he did look happy performing cos he really loved his Chengdu fans who dun often get to see him. He told them that his album will most definitely come out in Jan09 & they will get to see his movie next yr too. Hopefully he is able to keep both his promises. Below is a great pix credit & much thanks to DTFC fan in Chengdu:
Read some news abt Typhoon wanting to sue Sam Chen who resigned after the controvesy with Jay last yr. Not sure what its abt but personally feel that Typhoon is just revengeful that he stole Jolin away *sigh* There's also speculation Stefanie Sun & A-Mei may go back to Warner cos of him. Also heard some rumor abt the largescale concert held in Taipei sponsored by Macdonalds. Seemed both companies for Show Luo & Wang Lee Hom were squabbling to have their stars sing last. Singing last meant that the singer has the most popularity to made the audience stay until they appear *roll eyes* Anyway since both endorsed for Macdonalds, the organisers were having a hard time to decide but finally opted for Show Luo causing some bitterness for Lee Hom & his company.
OK plse fans of both I am not saying this really happened cos its probably a makeup story by paparazzi. But the thing is dun think I have ever read abt squabbling who to appear last in Taiwan before. I know it does happen in China. In the past when both DT & Jay Chou were to appear in the same concert in Taipei, DT opened the concert & Jay appeared last. There was no squabbling abt who is the most popular. So I am thinking it might just be Typhoon wanting to promote Show since he has a new album coming out next mth. Anyway the more I read abt Typhoon & their method of managing their stars, the more I hope David is going to leave them soon.

DT news roundup

It was reported that Harlem Yu who has some domestic problems lately sang Bastard with a guest during his program & that he seemed to enjoy belting out: you will regret all your life *roll eyes* But it is true that there does seem to be a DT song for every occasion ^__^
There was some weird rumor that Ella will be singing a duet with DT in his new album but I doubt that David will do another boy/girl duet. Now there's news that Ella wrote lyrics for Huang Yida so I think it was probably a mistake in the first place & Yida was the singer/songwriter whom Ella worked with not DT. Much as I like Ella, dun really wanna hear another duet from DT.
Apparently Rain has been having problems with his new single Rainism cos of the supposedly 'explicit lyrics'. Which made me think of DT's Let's fall in love. Has he ever been in trouble with that song's 'explicit lyrics' I wonder?
Apparently Stanley Huang has left Typhoon & is now with Warner. He will be releasing his new album soon *sigh* Poor DT, when can you get yr freedom? Maybe his TW fans can set up a Release DT tent outside Typhoon office in Taipei & play his song Free 24/7 haha
DT Bond: Release me or else ...

Release DT!

A very DT pix credit & thanks to DTFC. He will be heading to Chengdu next weekend for a couple of fan meetings & another largescale concert for a telco company *sigh* seems that Show Luo's new album is coming out next mth, so there can be no denying that there is a deliberate delay on DT album. Even more so now it seems certain Jolin Tsai has signed up with Warner after the extremely quiet release of her english album. Although Typhoon has been heavily promoting Anson Wu as 'China's little r&b heavenly king', I think they would still wanna hang on to DT for talent power at award shows. At the moment he is their best bet for nominations & wins. Poor David, this is not the kinda pressure he wants at the moment surely. Come on, Ronald Cheng, I always thought you are someone with some integrity. Don't try & harnass him to your company. Give him his freedom to go do the thing he wants I beg of you.

Mourning with DT

David looking like he lost a lot of weight & sleep. I lost a few pets myself so I probably understand how he is feeling & Lucky had been with him a lot longer than mine - 13 years. So maybe its a good thing he has a few more activities in China & then he can shut himself in the studio to put the finishing touches on his album. He told the audience that he will 'see them' in the New Year Eve concert in Shanghai which is also sponsored by Nokia.
As usual some fans complained his voice was hoarse & his live singing less than perfect. Strangely enough, I always wondered why at EVERY live performance & concert, there will be a few fans complaining abt his voice & singing but when I listened to the available recording, he sounded fine. Now with the debate abt lipsynching flaring again, I am beginning to wonder if some audience may not be able to differentiate between actual live singing & singing to a backing tape. For it seemed that lipsynching is more prevalent in China than I thought, a lot of ppl are coming out to say that as much as 80% of chinese singers opted to lipsynch & there were a lot of reasons from bad acoustics to singers who really cannot sing live. But the reason which really floored me was that a singer cannot remember the lyrics or even how to sing the hits that made them famous in the first place. Now that's really unprofessional.
So I am proud to say that on Nov 15 David sang Wang Bu Liao from his 5th studio album, Susan says from his 4th studio album, Rain from his 2nd studio album & I Love you from his debut album. He sang all of them live & maybe he did forget a few lyrics here & there but he made the effort to remember the songs & not rely on a backing tape. Actually I am not that against lipsynching if it makes for a better performance. A lot of chinese singers lack vocal power & they cannot project their voice even with a microphone. I find that annoying. Its like a chef who has great recipes but cannot cook well. Also apparently for some events, singers are allowed to tape their performances during rehearsal & lipsynched to them on the actual day. Which was what David & Jolin did when they sang Marry me today @ Spring Nite. But still most singers prefer to sing to a studio backing tape than pretaped a live performance. I don't know nor do I care anymore honestly. I think that chinese entertainment has made their bed of promoting 'singers' who can't sing & now they have to lie on them metaphorically speaking.

Sad news

Some sad news posted @ DTFC & davidtao forums that Lucky, David's pet dog, has passed away due to old age. At the moment not sure if it can be confirmed but do hope David is feeling alrite. I thought he had an aura of mourning when he sang Butterfly, it reminded me of Eric Clapton's Tears in Heaven.
DTFC reported that he looked pale & tired @ the Nokia concert *heart pain* He sang 4 songs - Wang Bu Liao, Susan says, Rain & I Love You. Some other depressing news is that his fans & the media are getting suspicious abt his album delay. They felt that it was a delaying tactic by Typhoon as they are afraid he will end his contract with them after the album release & go off to film his movie. They wondered why there are still so many activities for David when he has no new album to promote. They also speculate that David may set up his own company rather than sign up with a record company. Anyway the writer of the article who could be a DT fan, concluded that it would be a pity that a music talent like David should be harnassed by commericalism and hoped that the album delay is due to something simpler like economic conditions.

DT effect

Found another youtube version of David singing Butterfly @ 11/1 concert without the talking part. Already a lot of fans have been shaking their heads at his lapse in lyrics in this performance. But I guessing that he didn't even have time to rehearse which would explain the music stand. So he had to remember guitar chords as well as the lyrics. Also Butterfly is not the easiest song to sing even without strumming the guitar. If you are not careful, you could end going too high which almost happened with David. But he was just amazing as he kept his voice under control without using vibrato or going nasal. I have noticed he sometimes, but not often, used these vocal techniques in his live performances (not his concerts) when he was tired or trying to rest his voice. Remember this was his second song & he had been talking for abt 5 mins but the clarity of his voice just got better & better as he sang. He sang with conviction, with feeling, with love mixed with a tinge of sadness, right till the very end. His guitar strumming was almost flawless, matching the mood of the song without any kind of showman flourishes. What a command performance! Probably cos he was playing for God.

DT & gossips

Our Dave did it again & got himself into the gossip rag:

punters got more than their fare share of skin this week when Shatina Chen (陳思璇) showed off a considerable amount of her leggy assets. The former “queen of the catwalk” had been laying low since she was caught last year in a late-night rendezvous with a married man on Yanmingshan. She returned to the spotlight this week in high style after performing a sexy number at a press conference during which she wore a skimpy black skirt that provided a clear view of her white knickers. Is there nothing models won’t expose for a little exposure?
If gossip rags are to be believed, Chen’s long legs were alluring enough to enrapture David Tao (陶吉吉), who sweated through her performance and drooled over her afterwards — an amazing feat, really, because Tao is notorious for pursuing sweet young thangs.

So much gossip so soon after returning to Taiwan. He must have wished he was back in LA. Dear DT, dun worry, I believe you are not a womaniser even though there seem to be a concerted effort by the Taiwan press to paint you as one. Some celebrities no doubt wish they have the level of exposure you have but you only want a quiet life *sigh* There seems to be early news that Jolin Tsai will most probably sign up with Warner to reunite with her ex-manager who gained fame as Jay Chou's No 1 enemy :P The news claimed that Jolin was not happy with the delay of her english album. At the moment Typhoon seems to be heavily promoting Anson Hu who is preparing for his first concert in Taipei & of cos Ronald Cheng. So it doesn't look very good for DT who was also rumored to be unhappy abt the delay of his album.

Tao of bike

No news abt DT but he should be departing for Shanghai soon for the concert on 11/15. Just posting some nice pixs, above a big thank you to Beachgurl for sending to me. Really like his simple outfit. Also luv him when he is laughing with abandon:
At last a model with curves not bones ^__^ As to why DT was chosen to endorse a Bond movie, could be he is one of the few Taiwanese male artists BMW can trust to ride their monster bike up the stage without causing grevious bodily harm ... to the bike hehe There's a breathtaking motorbike stunt in the movie of cos but not sure if the bike is BMW.
Anyway I think DT has the makings of 007. He's ex-cop so he should know firearms & self-defence. He's suave & muscular *__* Not sure if he drinks martinis - shaken not stirred - but we KNOW the man likes to drink ^__^ The tabloids like to take unauthorised pixs of him with different women like promo pixs of Bond :P Lastly he can ride a bike pretty damn good.

00DT

David appearing as 007 at the opening nite of Quantum of Solace in Taipei. Once again surprised by his chameleon qualities to appear like serious singer/songwriter one nite & mandopopstar the next *__* There are not many who can straddled both worlds comfortably. But my does he look superduper suave in this event although don't much care for the WMD he is holding >"<
Some newsclips here, here & below. So wonderful to see him so relaxed & hearing his familiar making-me-melt voice and oh make sure you catch beginning of the clip below as he flew onstage on the BMW bike *heart stop* vry vry vry vry vry Bond hehehe

Also funny to see the slight distance he was trying to keep from the lovely model :P Could be cos he was followed by paparazzi earlier & caught on film walking with a pretty longhaired girl along the streets of Taipei. Dun wanna post the related pix cos it was taken without his permission but he looked MAN in a low-neck grey T with the coolest shades <33333333
Poor DT always at the mercy of the tabloids *sigh* but dun worry, we still love you as can be seen in these pixs of the 11/1 concert where a lot of his Taiwanese fans showed their support.

Inspiring mando-pop DT

The Christian Post online has a very nice article abt the Franklin Graham event in Taipei:

Graham Concludes '08 Crusade in Taiwan
By Ethan Cole
Christian Post Reporter
Wed, Nov. 05 2008 01:07 PM EST
American evangelist Franklin Graham concluded his 2008 world crusade this past weekend in Taipei, Taiwan where nearly 10,000 people committed their lives to Jesus Christ during the event.
The four-day festival from Oct. 30 to Nov. 2 drew more than 150,000 people to the outdoor plaza of Taipei’s famous Liberty Square - formerly known as Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial Hall – making it the largest religious gathering in the history of the venue.
Graham preached a simple but fundamental message about salvation only through Jesus Christ, which is proclaimed at all the Franklin Graham festivals.
“There is no other name under heaven by which you can be saved. It’s only through Christ,” Graham said, according to the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, to citizens of a country that is 90 percent Buddhist and Taoist. “Jesus said ‘I am the way, I am the truth, I am the life. No man comes to the Father but by me.’”
In addition to the 150,000 adults that attended the Taipei festival, another 33,000 kids attended a special children’s event on Sunday.
Local musical artists opened for Graham each night, including Heavenly Melody, JJ Lam, and popular mando-pop singer-songwriter David Tao.
During his visit to Taiwan, Graham also met with Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou on Oct. 30 in the Presidential Office.
President Ma called Graham “one of the world’s best-known preachers” and said he was delighted to meet the evangelist. He also praised the past evangelistic event led by Franklin’s father, renowned evangelist Billy Graham, for its positive effects on Taiwan 33 years ago and expressed that Franklin’s event would also bring the same comfort to the people in the country.
Graham also met with many of the country’s leading pastors and city leaders.
In total, some 650 local churches participated in the Festival.
The event in Taipei was the sixth Franklin Graham Festival this year. Prior festivals were held in Belfast, Northern Ireland; Knoxville, Tenn.; Villahermosa, Mexico; Timisoara, Romania; and Charleston, S.C.
For 2008, more than 487,000 people in total attended the Franklin Graham Festival events.

So DT is a 'popular mando-pop singer-songwriter' ^__^ Anyway just wanna express my heartfelt thanks for the msgs below. I really love it when you guys rant abt DT cos really reinforce my own feelings abt him. Like Sukyee I too feel at a loss 'without the conviction of his voice'. Perhaps that could be his weakness, that his physical presence can sometimes be so overwhelmingly inspiring that we need to be constantly reassured. Thanx beachgurl for digging out the Parable in Black Tangerine. He got the album rite anyway if not the age :P
Black Tangerine could be his most inspiring album perhaps. When the album came out, it made ppl realised that music can be inspiring & that it could reflect social issues happening in our times. The reason David was able to touch us with songs like Black Tangerine, Today's News, Dear God & Angel was because he was witnessing the events at firsthand. He was in the US during the 911 incidents & he was affected by them directly. So he wrote the songs that told of his fears, his depression, his frustration, his anger, his helplessness & his uncertainties. The songs reach out to us cos we felt all of his feelings with him & we could think of situations where we felt the same. In these songs he cried out to us not to sit back but to do something cos this is the world we live in & no matter how hard we try, we cannot run away.
Reality always bites. President-elect Barack Obama made history significant again but he had to make his acceptance speech behind bulletproof glass walls. There is no magical 'ever after' where he and his family can go and live happily in the White House. I would imagine he would require the tightest security ever by a US president. Brave new world indeed. Dear DT's fav phrase hehe but then he has always been a visionary man. So yeah I long for his new album. Apparently on 11/1, he said that he is the midst of producing his 6th studio album. I thought he said earlier that it was completed. Whatever. So long as there is a DT album coming out SOON I hope.

DT & change

History in the making & for sure, DT will be pleased ^__^ Anyway found this interesting blog all abt DT's appearance at the Taipei Franklin Graham festival including his speech, the story he told, Butterfly lyrics as well as link to dl the related mp3. Only thing is its all in chinese. But once again, his simple but heartfelt sincerity has seemingly inspired quite a few ppl. To me DT is the Obama of chinese music who believes in change, the future, hard work & the will of the common people. Everytime he appears in public, he just brings along such hope & inspiration. Amazing man. Although do agree with anon who post below abt the lyric stand hehe:

Anonymous said...
Oh I L-O-V-E this unplugged performance, just DT and the guitar. He looked comfortable and confident, that's my man !
PS : Zhaodi, I think he needs the lyric stand for the parable part - geez it's some 4 minutes or so...
11/05/2008 1:37 AM

DT & talents

Almost full-length pix of the most mesmerising man in my life hehe He looked too gorgeous at least in my eyes ... & he sounded just as mesmerising *__* Thanks to Noshka's links to youtube vids posted by sansword of the entire DT portion of 11/1 concert:


In the 2nd vid before singing Butterfly, he told a biblical moral story called Parable of the Talents ^__^ He said he heard this story when he was doing his 3rd studio album (Black Tangerine). He was at a loss even though he had money, career & success. Even though he was happy making music, he didn't know what it was for. After listening to this story, he realised that he must not waste the wealth of talents his master (Jesus) has given him. He is such an adorable as well as ecclesiastical man -- worthy of my devotion. His rendition of Butterfly is the purest, most superb acoustic version I have ever heard. His voice, his singing, his guitar strumming is just out of this world, heavenly. Thank you so much sansword for posting the vids.
Noshka, I too wonder if David is going to vote & he may very well be back in US now since his nxt performance is on 11/15 in Shanghai. Although its possible to vote even if he is not in US, just have to go to the US embassy. Anyway this is a private matter for DT so all the best to the US Presidential Election.

DT galore

Everything A-OK with DT? YESSSSSSSS if he keeps on looking so ultra-manish ^__^
Looking slightly embarrassed? Since he confessed that his album will be delayed till Jan09 *sigh* but we are always willing to wait.
A lyric stand for 2 songs? Guess he wanna make sure he got the lyrics rite hehe

Covering DT

Apparently DT was in good form for the Taipei Franklin Graham festival & sang 2 songs, Rain & Butterfly, strumming on his acoustic guitar. He dressed simply in green T & jeans wearing a cap as well as specs. How I wish to hear him sing acoustic version of Butterfly *sigh* Update: Found Jkt concert vid of DT singing Season of Loneliness:

Anyway tonite I chanced upon Yang Peian covering DT's I'm OK on Sunday Night Fever, a program that inspired to be all abt good music & live singing. It was a damn good cover too & Yang managed to own it too making it his version not DT version. Later when the hosts interviewed him, he said David was a huge influence on him & he had once interviewed him on radio. A pity he nvr said more abt the interview, only that David gave him a lot of confidence to pursue his own music ideals. He praised DT's versatility & ability to sing both rock & soulful ballads. He then said his nxt song is also DT's which is a bit 'unrefined' in chinese ^__^ yeah it was Bastard hehehe but he didn't quite do justice to the song which is not really his fault. I have yet to hear anyone cover Bastard well.
Actually I think these 2 songs show the artistry of our Dave. He is such a remarkable songwriter that he is able to write songs that is generically unique if that made any sense. I'm OK has recognisable rock elements but David's arrangement was fairly safe. Perhaps even at that time he knew the chinese market too well that a heavy rock song was nvr gonna be accepted. Still I'm OK was not popular & known mostly only to his fans. He went further in Black Tangerine but by that time he was probably more confident in composing a rock song that would still be accepted. I have yet to hear a good cover of Black Tangerine too cos its probably imbedded in my mind too much as a DT song ^__^ Still I'm OK kept resurfacing as it was probably one of the few good chinese rock songs around but nobody managed to cover it well. Actually all it took was a good voice & the right rock attitude. All of which Yang Peian has in spades so he did the song full justice.
Bastard was an entirely different case. Bastard sounds like a simple song to sing but it does has a rather complex melody. It will not grab you on the first listen & in fact most ppl would not list it as their fav DT song. I am actually convinced only David can sing this song because he wrote it for himself. He said he wrote it after someone scratched his new car but I think he is releasing all his frustration in this song. All the injustices he felt he has suffered in this world. In fact most ppl who like & play this song feel the same, that they are releasing their frustration. There u go - 2 completely different songs from David, one you can cover well only if you have a good voice & the right attitude & the other uncoverable hehehe
If u dun know Yang Peian, well he has released one album I think but he is more famous for being able to go very high. Fortunately he has stopped appearing on entertainment shows where all he did was to show off his high range. Strangely it was hard to find a good normal pix of him only promo ones where he was dressed frivolously in ridiculous poses. Also unfortunately that episode of Sunday Night Fever was the last repeat.

DT shanghaied

David will be in Shanghai for this Nokia music festival on 11/15. Another bigscale concert *sigh* Come out with yr album already so you can end yr contract & stop being a paid singer. Dear DT, we love you & we dun care if you ceased being a popstar. We just want you to walk your walk, continue your music & movie journey without selling out.
Selling out is just such a common feature in chinese entertainment now. Even Qing Feng of Sodagreen cannot avoid walking the familiar road of becoming famous, becoming commercialised & writing songs for female idol singer known more for popularity than singing. David has been down that road before & my heart ached for him then. I am glad that he has stopped writing songs for other singers now cos I think he realised the futility of writing songs for singers who are not able to express what he wanted to express in a song.