DT forward to 2012

DT rehearsing for the Hunan TV New Year show in Quangzhou & looking scrumptious! This show is probably one of the biggest in China tonite as it features lots of big names like Faye Wong & Jolin Tsai both of whom rumored to receive big bucks for their appearances. I don't know but I think if all they can write abt your participation is your fee ... oh Faye is supposed to sing another new song yet again with a Buddhist theme. Anyway back to DT who is rumored to be singing 7 songs including Black Tangerine with new arrangements. Here's a lovely rehearsal vid where he surreptiously peeped at his latest version of iPhone most probably to check on the lyrics altho of cos he still managed to forget most of them *roll eyes* More delicious pixs here. So as 2011 comes to a close, it's reassuring at least in my blog that some things remain the same: DT wearing cap, specs, muscle tee, IWC watch, using iPhone, forgetting lyrics ... in all my life, I never have such a constant as David Tao doing what he does best in the most adorable ways. But DT is going places as well. He launched The Mushroom album on 12/26 & going digital with it by using Tencent QQ, the largest & most popular online music platform in China. That would explain why he's now using Tencent Weibo instead of Sina. I do quite like the way he is managing his talents with vry little fanfare just letting their music do the talking. He has done well with PB33 whose songs had appeared in a popular online game as well as teenage fantasy movie. Yes, 2011 had been quite a satisfactory year for DT's music journey - new song, new duet, fabulous live performances, first-time music judge, indie producer role. I have a feeling next year is going to be even more DT spectacular. Happy 2012!

Featuring DT

(Photo & vid credit courtesy of 陶吧)
相信有一天 mv already out & online & YEAH we get to see DT & Atsushi singing together. It's interesting that EXILE is always attached to Atsushi probably to reassure fans that he is not going solo. The mv is not really the full song more fan service with footage of DT & Atsushi meeting, greeting, shaking hands, singing & embracing. Also DT was shown playing keyboard so I think he was also responsible for the music. In fact he seemed to be very much in control of the recording, arranging & producing. Also from his easy manner of greeting Atsushi, the recording & production may even be in his own studio. Anyway I enjoy the mv as much as I enjoy the song. It's been a long time since I seen so much of David! By the by, vid below was put up obviously by DT fan so it has 陶喆 featuring Atsushi for the title rather than the other way around. It's a bit disrespectful but actually most DT fans are usually not so childish.

DT & Atsushi redux

(Photo credit: Yahoo News TW)
Ooh la la 2 cuties together. Some Taiwan news on this collaboration as i-radio would be broadcasting the song as new song introduction from Dec 5-7 & the mv on MTV from Dec 8-10 ... wait a minute there's a mv?!? Do we get to see DT & Atsushi singing together? I can't wait, hope it will be online soon. I really love their co-operation, in fact it's my fave DT duet so far. Their voices really blend together so well & it's just fabulous to hear DT going back to his r&b roots. David even said that he hopes to collaborate with Atsushi again in his own album. It seemed they really worked hard on recording & production of this song with producer Mark Lui. They tried different methods of singing & both of them expressed their passion for music. Also arigato to Mika for clearing up abt Rising Sun error below:

Hi just FYI, "Itsuka Kitto （いつかきっと・・・）" is already released on 14/Sep/11 as a single CD coupling with "Rising Sun". "Itsuka Kitto" is the theme song of TV drama "Hi Wa Mata Noboru （陽はまた昇る）" and "Rising Sun" is the charity song for Japan earthquake. No song called "Hi Wa Mata Noboru" of EXILE/ATSUSHI. 12/06/2011 2:10 PM

Atsushi too had said in the news that Itsuka Kitto was released along with Rising Sun for the Japan earthquake charity. He was vry pleased to release this Chinese/Japanese version with David. It seemed that some EXILE/Atsushi fans are landing here from searches so I will do my bit to introduce David Tao to these newcomers. I myself enjoy EXILE music like their big hit Choo Choo Train & personally think that Atsushi is a very passionate r&b singer. It's not the first time that David sang in Japanese actually. In his 3rd studio album Black Tangerine released in 2002 he had a song called My Anata where he sang a few words of Japanese:

Then in his 6th studio album 69 David Tao released in 2009 he wrote a song called Zero to Hero which had some reference to the Japanese anime Kagaku Ninjatai Gatchaman & the song too had some Japanese words:

From these 2 songs, you will see that David is not just r&b singer. In fact even though he has been straddled with the honorific 'Godfather of Chinese r&b', there is a wide range of musical genre in his 6 studio albums. Even when singing live, DT tends to be more natural than r&b. He is a very honest, sincere singer/songwriter who doesn't always uses his talents to earn a lot of money or gain a lot of fame. He will rather infuse his listeners with his love & passion for music or influence them to think abt social issues. He is a very rare breed in the Chinese music/entertainment world.

DT branching out

DT came back to Taipei last weekend to attend Luo Dayu's concert & during the encore was invited to sing his fav Luo's song 之乎者也 with his idol. Here's the complete version at youtube -- vry enjoyable. It was just so wonderful to see both of them on stage together. I love how supportive DT was from presenting gifts personally at Luo's press conference to attending the concert & finally singing with him. He is certainly not the sort to claim someone as his idol & then could not even bother to attend his concert. Not only that, it's rare that he sing someone else song as a guest. Normally he would sing his own songs but for Luo Dayu, he even memorised the lyrics backstage but of cos he did forget some lines :P

Come to think of it, it's also rare that he sang in a song released that is not his own like 相信有一天. The above version recorded I think in Taiwan is clearer than the HK one with less voiceover. As usual with juvenile fans, they each claimed their idol's voice is superior. How can you compare? It's like comparing apples & oranges, like DT said. I prefer oranges but I still eat apples cos both are good for me. However as a DT fan, I just love the sharp clarity of his voice even when singing falsetto. He is one of the few r&b singers in Asia who can sing falsetto without sounding 'girly'. His voice is always his own even when singing Luo Dayu's songs. By the by, Rising Sun was a completely different song released by EXILE and not the theme song for 'Hi Wa Mata Noboru'. However there was a song called 'Hi Wa Mata Noboru' released to help raise funds for the Japan earthquake to add to the confusion. Atsushi did not release 'Itsuka Kitto' officially but there is a solo Japanese version available on youtube if anyone is interested. I really like to hear a solo DT version.

DT lost in translation

Okay while looking up for the lyrics of Atsushi/DT duet as requested by dtindo below, discovered some confusing details abt this song. It was also the theme song for a Japanese TV series called Hi Wa Mata Noboru aka The Sun Also Rises which of cos has nothing at all to do with Ernest Hemingway to add to the confusion. The song sung by Atsushi & called Rising Sun was then released as a single by EXILE. This TV series abt the going-ons in a police academy was screened during July this year. So was this the second time the song was released? Cos Atsushi said that he wrote the song which was actually the lyrics during the earthquake in Japan which was in March. So did he set his lyrics to the melody then or maybe the melody was written for the TV series & Atsushi decided to use the lyrics he has written a few months ago? Or did Rising Sun had different lyrics & then Atsushi decided to change the lyrics to his own for the duet with DT? The mind boggles ... also considering this song was not really a hit when it was first released since even Atsushi's fans did not know abt it, why release it again as a duet? The only answer I can think of is that maybe the Japanese TV series will soon be screened in Hong Kong & this will be the theme song again. Anyway here are the lyrics with the Japanese translated to Chinese - I don't know by who so I can't give any credits very sorry.

ATSUSHI & 陶喆 - 相信有一天
いつか悲しい思いに (有一天　懷抱著悲傷感覺)
向き合えずに 一人だけで (卻獨自一個人　無法去面對)
不安になるそんな夜は (於是感到不安的夜裡時分)
慢慢地　把手心貼近胸前
有種莫名感覺　從心的最裡面
漸漸甦醒　重新回到身邊
我知道　有一天　不怕再多試煉
誰かが光失って (因為有人失去了希望的光線)
涙がそっと溢れて (臉頰就悄悄多了兩行淚)
自分の無力さを感じて (發現自己的無力有多狼狽)
就算這樣　依然願意付出一切
分享自己　成全別人的心願
凝結成一股暖流 在身體流動　一點點蔓延
那一天　剎那間一道光線
明明隱約看見　卻曇花一現
於是又拼命追逐它的腳步
我的歌　這條路　不會有休止符
もしもすべてを失って (如果說失去了現在的一切)
涙で前が見えなくて (因為眼淚模糊了眼前的視線)
ひとりの孤独さを感じて (一個人獨自去承受孤單的感覺)
心灰意冷對一切感到厭倦
為什麼而活　為什麼盲目地追
就算困在重重迷霧不見來時路
相信有一天… いつかきっと…
あの空の彼方 (那片天的遙遠邊界)
見え始める日が (能夠看到的那一天)
必ず 来るはず (一定會來到我身邊)
幸せの意味探して (尋尋覓覓幸福的真正意念)
何度も明日を信じて (有多少次相信會有明天)
それでもくじけそうになるけど (即便這樣依然覺得被挫折包圍)
直到我心裡面背負的一切
被宣告終點的日子來臨以前
絕不會輕易去放手　此刻我願承諾
相信有一天…直到那一天…

DT the boss

Ok, the lyrics of Atsushi/DT duet already online. Atsushi (why is this guy's name always in caps?) did not write the melody, only the lyrics. The melody was written by a duo, Matthew Tishler & Andrew Ang. There is already a Japanese version called 'Itsuka Kitto' sang by Atsushi. The Chinese lyrics was written by DT & Taku Cho. The producer is Mark Lui who hailed from Hong Kong so I can only presume that the recording was also done there. This Chinese/Japanese version will only be released in HK but maybe David will include it as a bonus track in his own album? This colloboration seemed to puzzle both fans but I am guessing, only guessing OK, that DT could have done it for public relations. Remember he is a boss now & lately PB33 had performed live in both HK & Taiwan. He needs to get on the good side of the ppl in the entertainment business in many Asian countries so as to be able to promote his mainland artistes. Unfortunately the star most ppl want is still himself. Still even though it's not a great song but I enjoy it tremendously. DT had been working hard over the weekend appearing in Beijing for a celebration of some company. He did not sing, maybe he was resting his throat, just interacted with the audience. He hasn't appeared in Million Stars for quite sometime. Hope to see him next mth cos I really enjoy watching him being all judgemental :P

DT the linguist

Wow that's fast but Atsushi & DT's duet 相信有一天 already online, listen @ tudou, sounded like broadcast on HK radio. Atsushi will also be singing a song sang by HK singer Miriam Yeung called 小城大事 translated into Japanese in his solo album which could explain the fast HK promo. I really like the song which is r&b as anticipated. Their voices are quite similar & they each sang a combination of Chinese & Japanese which actually works quite well *__* Atsushi wrote this song during the Japanese earthquake and at first he thought it would be depressing but after recording the song with David, he found it surprisingly pleasant. David too was satisfied with his part & both are happy with their efforts at singing each other language. There was not much written abt how this collaboration came abt & when they met or even if they did meet but the song sounded like both was recording in the studio at the same time, not separate recording & then editing into one track. I love the live sound of the song with no computer trickery & the blending of their voices with both singers surely being two of the best r&b singers in Asia. EXILE is a big name in Japan selling million of albums & winning many awards. They are not a band or a boy group, more a performance group like a smaller all-boy version of the all-girl AKB48. There are two main vocalists, Atsushi being one, with the others being backing vocals & mainly dancers. Earlier this year, they had performed in the famed Beijing National Stadium for the annual 3-nation (China, Japan & Korea) festival. DT was also one of the performers being very daring to do an acoustic version of his song just by strumming on his guitar on the huge stage. It could be Atsushi watched it, liked it & decided to ask DT if he wanna duet hehehehehehehehe In other DT news, he was spotted enjoying tea-tasting at a teahouse in Xiamen, southern China. DT really knows how to enjoy life eh?

DT, Otamatone & Atsushi

It seemed that DT will be featured in one of the songs in the solo album of Atsushi, vocal member of Japan 14-member group EXILE. OK fear not, Atsushi is not flying solo but his solo album will be included in the release of EXILE's new album in Jan 2012. Not sure what kinda marketing strategy but hey 2-in-1 can't be all bad for EXILE fans rite? The song is written by Atsushi not DT so I'm really not that excited. It is also reported that it will be a duet with Atsushi singing Chinese & DT singing Japanese ... erm hope not. I just cannot understand why singers want to sing in a language they are not familiar with because it rarely ever works. Anyway we find out soon & it could be a nice song probably r&b as Atsushi is a very good r&b singer. Also he seems to share the same fashion sense as DT teehee! It could also explain why DT posted a cute vid of himself on his Weibo playing with a blue Otamatone, a fun musical toy from Japan. Could be a gift from Atsushi or maybe he bought it on a secret trip to Japan to record with Atsushi. All will be revealed in the secret life of DT *__*

DT, the indie producer

Latest pix of DT in concert for the celebration of a well-known fashion label in Humen, China. Below is the vid which I thoroughly enjoyed:

Of all his largescale concert performances, this is the one I liked most. His voice was near perfect, sometimes he could be lazy abt hitting the high notes but this time he just cruised along with minimum effort. He sang Rain, Susan Said, I Love You & Moon represent whose heart. For Susan Said & Moon, he used a backing track which was understandably as both songs had a lot of backing vocals. However he somehow managed to incorporate & not hide the backing track so that it was very clear that he was still singing live. He is really such a master at performing live that I can now understand why most chinese reporters tend to single him out for giving the audience 'ear pleasure'. I also liked that his fans held out light signs of the names of his songs while he was singing them. It was really cool & I think he appreciated that too ^__^ Read an interview with PB33, the mainland 3-member band that he signed up & the first Great Entertainment artiste to release an album called Not Acting Cool. They said that DT signed them up after listening to their live performances & demos of their self-penned songs. He felt that their rock style was vry similar to his & that they had ambition & dreams just like him. The first time they met David, they felt he was vry bright & friendly. He chatted to them abt music all the time, especially music that was similar to their style & will not hesitate to play the music for them no matter where they are. So DT, I can picture them in the toilet while he whipped out his iPod to get them to listen hehehehehehehe! They said they really learnt a lot from DT, especially the drummer who said that DT would advise & teach him different methods. As for their album, it took a year to prepare & DT was with them all the time & was their producer. Although it was DT who selected all the songs, they all had their say & voted on their choices as well. David also made sure that their original style did not change because he wanted the songs to reflect who they are. It was after all their original rocknroll style that first attracted him (PB33 had a style quite similar to the Beatles). The recording was done in Bejing & post-production in USA. Basically it was what I expected of DT the producer. That he would not try to impose his own ideas & styles on his proteges, but he did choose the kind of music that he enjoys & will like to produce which is quite daring in today's chinese music industry where success is judged by how popular & how high the ranking. Both PB33, a poprock band, & The Mushrooms, a hardrock band, are most definitely not your chinese idol group. Most of them have average looks & they don't dance but they write their own music in the style they preferred not crowdpleasing tunes. At the moment, David is probably the artiste who can make the most money in his company which could be the reason he is running around China performing in largescale concerts. Another reason is that he has actually announced that he will release a new album as well as his movie next year *GASP* So he has also been organising fan meetings where he was performing in order to touch base with his fans. Clever move. Actually I think he will be silly not to release an album now that he is his own boss & can do virtually any kind of music he wants. So plse don't have any high expectation that he will do a crowdpleasing, charttopping album although I still hope that he will do an english song pretty plse. Talking abt english songs, Wu Jiru has composed one called Why, go listen -- although rather derivative, it's vry heartfelt & I like it a lot. I do have high hopes for Jiru even though he was thrown out of Million Stars for forgetting lyrics.

DT & Maotai

DT interacting with fans during his performance in Quizhou for the celebration of the 60th anniversary of Maotai, China's famous alcoholic beverage. He looked nice in the floral jacket. He also posted a pix posing next to the giant Maotai bottles in his Weibo. He sang Marry Me Today with this female singer whom I don't recognise, could be a local singer. Haven't been feeling extremely well lately so unable to post much. Missed a lot on DT but rest assured he is having a great time travelling around China performing as well as promoting Kiehl: So cute. He was grounded when travelling to Beijing & had to cancel due to the heavy fog. He also performed in Beijing National Stadium, the famous birdnest which hosted the 2008 Olympics. Here's a lovely pix: The dancer later posted in his Weibo thanking him for his cooperation. Found out that his company is called Great Entertainment in english. Apparently the logo was designed by our vry own DT: I think it's a combination of the handsign for 'rock music' & a chicken which is his chinese horoscope. Note also the filmstrip - look out DT's movie coming hehehehhehehehe Here's the website where can listen to his new song My Everything as well as songs by PB33 & Mushroom, the two indie bands he signed up so far. The lead singer for Mushroom was also one of the PK singers in Million Stars singing a song by Yuan Wei Ren aka Xiao Pang. He got 24 losing only by 1, David was of course not judging which was only fair. Go here to watch all the episodes of Million Stars. Finally My Everything on youtube, make sure to listen rite to the end where there's a surprise:

DT & Kiehl's - brand new song

At last, a new DT song even though it's commercial but it is for a very good cause - children - so close to DT's heart. Kiehl's & DT's new campaign to help needy children in Taiwan:

Even though it's not a great departure from his signature style but I love the sunshiness & his honey-toned voice. The vid is vry heartwarming too. Can't wait to hear the complete version. Also love the Kiehl's tee, wish I could get one. He looks so good in these pixs, the best I seen him so far. Some more info in chinese. Other DT news is Mushrooms related haha not food but the band. On Mon 9/12 which is also the Moon Festival, The Mushrooms held a concert in Shanghai where if 1000 people came, they would get to release their debut album. More details at this website which actually expressed what I initially felt that it was gimmicky. But I think it's just DT's way of making sure that The Mushrooms is ready to release their first album & that they get to control what they want to give their audience. Also whether they could get an audience in the first place. I don't know but I do believe in David & here get to see him in indie producer mode watching his protege band. The fact that The Mushrooms was singing Black Tangerine on the 10th anniversary of 9/11 almost seemed like a passing of the baton from DT, that this is the band which potentially could influence socially the young minds of China. If anyone could do it, I guess it's DT. A lot more news of DT but it's terrible that I don't have much time to blog at the moment. Just have to be patient till I can get it all out :(

DT & Wu Jiru

Warning! Long post! Lotsa DT news so gonna do it all-in-one. First his guest appearance in Harlem Yu's new music program 哈音樂 was finally screened on 7/30 & repeated 7/31. He even blogged abt it in his Weibo. Of cos most of his fans, including myself, was expecting at least 30 mins enjoying DT chatting & singing 60s songs but it actually lasted abt 10 mins with not much singing:

Only nice thing was that he sang one of my fav Sarah Chen's song 梦醒时分 in his unmistakenably DT style. It was so so so good but much too short with Harlem butting in with his weird rock version. During Million Stars he was always advising contestants to find their own 'voice' & not to imitate cos you will never sound as good as the original. Here he is following his own advice & sounding so heartbreaking David Tao to me. Maybe his fault, if it's one, is that he could never sound anything but himself. However, it looked like he did it on the spot as they had to hold up a big cardboard with the lyrics & he was practising as he sang. Some enjoyable fanmade vids of his session with Lu Yu last mth.



Once again in the last vid singing Lou Dayu's 鹿港小镇 he still managed to sound like himself. This is one song that almost anyone singing cannot help but sound like Lou Dayu. However, he decided to stop out of respect for Lou Dayu. I don't know but I would have loved if he had sang more. It sounded great. I always wanted to hear him sing this song. DT had also been busy performing in various bigscale concerts in mainland China *sigh* but he was back in Taipei last Mon 8/1 to continue with his recording of Million Stars. Of cos they had to have a theme just for him - 'The golden tunes of Heavenly Kings & Queens'. 6 contestants dutifully selected his songs but only one went thru. The second theme was A tribute to Liu Jia-Chang & of cos the legend appeared onstage. David was trotted out to sing r&b version of Liu's latest song called Thinking of You which, for various reasons, was the hottest topic in Taiwan lately. I guess it took David maybe a grand total of 4 minutes (a bit less than for Sarah's song) to do his version. Besides a lot of versions of this song has already sprouted & this song is considered more a laughing stock than a geuinue hit. So why is DT adding himself to the list? Not trying to be disrespectful to Liu Jia-Chang but it sounded like a children song which is not really a problem but Jeremy's monotone singing borders on the ridiculous. There had been accusations of buying top spot ever since Jeremy's album debuted on top of G-music. Liu's appearance on Million Stars seemed more like a PR exercise & DT brought in to give Thinking of you some legit. Not sure if DT was in on it right from the start or it was sprung on him during the recording. To be fair to DT, I will give him the benefit of my doubt. He looked amazing & gorgeous here but doesn't prevent my growing anger at him. What are you really doing DT? He told us that he needed time for his movie & that he needed to reboot & go back to zero. In the meantime he had stopped talking abt his movie which is fine, I mean it's better than the empty promises for when the movie will come out. Now it seems to me that he is just cruising on his past success lately. He has no new works at all & yet he is able to get on all sort of gigs. He spends little to no time training his voice & it shows in his performances. I used to think that the chinese entertainment world underrate his talents but I am thinking I might be wrong. At the moment they seem to go out to indulge him cos they suspect he is one of the few chinese singer/songwriters able to shake up the music world if he wants to. The trouble is he doesn't want to, it's not challenging for him anymore & his heart is not in it. Now it's looking more & more like he had agreed to participate in the farce in Million Stars cos it appeared extremely likely that there is already a pre-determined winner as usual with such shows. The latest news on Million Stars was abt this 'talented' young female singer who is apparently as beautiful as her voice. Furthermore this girl is described as a men's magnet which borders on paedophilia considering she is only 15 yrs old. She has apparently been getting consistently high marks & praises from the judges & yet I don't have any impression of her at all - not her appearance, her voice nor her performance. She is currently at the top of the final 22. My only hope is that DT don't get to manage her or produce her album *sigh* I think I will most likely wipe this blog off the face of the earth if he has anything to do with this pre-adolescent girl. Still DT did it again, I think he has already earned his fee said to be substantial by inadvertently providing Million Stars with its only bright spark - Wu Jiru. He is also called David Wu but I think Jiru suits him more. Jiru's 30 secs debut was so bad that he would have been cast aside without any further thought. But DT's curiosity was probably piqued since one of the judges called him 'king of music arrangements'. He recalled him for Last Chance & Jiru shone with an impromptu rendition of Joanna Wang's For No Reason on his guitar. On a whim, DT awarded him his lucky star. Jiru went on to astonish in the 1st round with the most fabulous version of Daniel Chan's 心理游戏 on his guitar. Then in the 2nd round, Jiru showed his true colors when he orchestrated a sweet little musical duet with Bee Gees' How deep is your love. Using only his guitar, he managed to create almost a Broadway feel delighting the audience. He also managed to coax a wonderful performance from his lovely partner, Piya, who was subjected to the most horrible abuse from the judges during the opening rounds. They called her all sorts of silly names including Kungfu Panda cos they felt that she should be able to belt it out cos of her size. This gentle girl just want to croon like a bird, what's the hell is wrong with that? Anyway Jiru just bowled me over with his tremendous talent & feel for music. Like the way he had Piya sang high & he sang low in the chorus then switched it around for the ending. It was so goooooooooood!!! However Jiru didn't do well in the 3rd round crazily choosing one of Raine Yang's ballad. They all had to choose hits from this year only. This epi hasn't aired yet so I don't how badly he sang or why he cried, poor baby. He is a sensitive boy. He did dismally too for the next 2 rounds when DT was judging which was a pity as it would have been great if DT was able to hear him at his best as he was the one who saved him. However being such a talented & creative musician meant that Jiru can also be extremely flaky like DT ^_^ & it will require time & patience for him to shine again. Besides he has done extremely well so far. He is the only one of the 'saved' contestants who survived & made it into the top 22. Jiru will probably be eliminated soon like Piya but interestingly it seemed Million Stars had included him in the 10 contestants picked to appear in the Variety Show of Mr. Con & Ms. Csi. It could be a nod to his immense potential & marketability. He is overweight but weight CAN be taken off. He is tall & while not handsome, is modest & people-friendly with an extremely sweet smile. His voice is still not strong enough but that too can be trained. But that's only appearance, what Jiru has is not something that can be taught or trained. He has the soul, passion & integrity of a true musician. He is someone who is capable of shaking up the Chinese music world. He is not your trendy R&B singer/songwriter, in fact he doesn't do much R&B. He doesn't carry a guitar just to look like a musician, he can actually play the guitar pretty damn well. In fact he reminds me of the David Tao during his first self-titled album. Here are some vids of Wu Jiru going thru his rounds in Million Stars:
Singing For no reason in Last Chance. From 6.10


Marvellous rendition of 心理游戏 - awesome guitar skills!

Singing How deep is your love with Piya. From 4.40


Finally he just posted on his Weibo his new original song he composed with his friends.

A date with DT

DT did not appear in Million Stars on 7/17. Apparently he only records once a month so he will probably appear in next mth episodes. Sry will only post the vid when he appear, here's an uninterrupted vid of the 2nd epi on Youku. If you have cable in Singapore, the first epi started showing last Sunday on Cable 825 & 826. He was quite the Simon Cowell in the second half & really hurted one of the contestants when he criticised her for being 'flat'. Hope he will be more considerate next time as the girl cried for a whole nite. However really loved his camaraderie with Lin Xi when they high-fived after mowing down Xiao Pang for insulting a male contestant for not singing 'manly'. Probably will not watch any of the epis without him judging as honestly I am not really interested in these kind of shows.
DT being the busy bee again running around in China to appear in various largescale concerts boasting zillion of 'heavenly kings & queens'. Although still not too enthusiastic abt this hired singer gig, it does seem to be getting vry popular with other Taiwanese & HK singers as more & more of them are appearing in largescale concerts. I suppose it must pay well as the tickets are not cheap & also an extremely great way of getting in touch with your fans without the huge expense of a solo concert.
On 7/17, DT went for a recording of A Date with Lu Yu. He had appeared in this interview program once before. His fans reported that he looked extremely slim & charming. Lately a lot of his chinese female fans kept saying that he is 'shuai', maybe his older masculine charm is overwhelming them *_* Anyway he sang an acoustic version of Regular Friends still sounding exactly like in his CD. He then said that he was extremely moved by his mainland fans filming his birthday vid & reminding him that his music is still very much in their lives making him determined never to give up music (very emotional after hearing that, GO DT!). The chinese artist who has a great influence in his life is still Luo Dayu & his favorite song is still from the Beatles - All you need is love. He also talked abt his dad, his childhood, his guitar. He would like a simple wedding ceremony where he & his fans sing Marry Me Today together -- vry sweet! He also showed a music video he directed for another artist when he was twenty. Wow look forward to that. This program is usually on Phoenix Cable 805 so I will look out for it but hopefully it will be posted online soon.

Happy Birthday David Tao!

Second episode of Million Stars watch here

1 day to DT's birthday

This birthday vid by his mainland China fanclub, davidtao.cn, should bring tears to DT's eyes. It certainly brought tears to mine. He has vry dedicated mainland fans even though he doesn't really go all out to woo them. Certainly his mandarin has improved a whole lot but he still peppered his speech with english phrases. His chinese fans really appreciate his western style of music & his thinking. DT has chosen a path where instead of more fame, more sale & more awards, he settles for less publicity & less limelight. He chooses to do the things he wants, compose the music he wants and live the life he wants. He is happier this way and is glad that he still able to support himself and his loved ones. I think his fans like me are so dedicated because they can feel his sincerity and passion. He has given us so many years of good music and we are grateful & willing to wait for what else he still has to give us.

2 days to DT's birthday

DT looking seriously like a judge but also extraordinarily cute. The bespectacled man next to him is the master lyricist from Hong Kong, Albert Leung. He writes under the pen name of 林夕 & his most famous collaboration was probably with Faye Wong. I really like this panel of judges as they all seemed vry earnest and fair in their judging without being too critical. Here's another look at DT's monster bike. I think it's a Harley Davidson. Anyway, eagerly anticipating the next episode of Million Stars & also DT's birthday. Wonder where will he be to celebrate? Here's a really nice birthday vid done by one of his mainland fan:

3 days to DT's birthday

DT will be 42 not 44, thanks Henny for pointing out mistake. Probably cos his birthdate is 7/11 so I type 44 instead of 42 so sorry. But he still looks young for his age. He has been vry active in his Weibo posting that he was performing in Lvliang in Shanxi Province on 7/6 where he has never been. Currently he is in Dongtai in Jiangsu Province, another place he has never been in China. Since he is managing himself, guess he can choose the places he perform. He also posted a really cute pix of himself in a car using his notebook & claiming that it was his mobile office. Then only a few hours ago he used Twitter to advertise 2nd hand furniture for sale. So anyone interested in getting a piece of David Tao's furniture?

4 days to DT's birthday

Doesn't he look like a music producer here? Yeah, this is one of DT's many roles now as he has his own independent company called 伟大音乐 which has offices in three countries. I am guessing Taiwan, Singapore & China. Not sure the english name but roughly translated it would be Brave or Courageous Music. Interestingly the phonetics of the chinese name, Weida, when reversed sound like David - Dawei - in chinese. Not sure if that's deliberate. These gorgeous pixs appeared in this online article abt David. There's not much new abt his past history but at the end, it talked abt David's new company which is a music management company as well as film and television production. During his interview for Million Stars, he did say that he will be looking for new talents to sign up. So being a judge for 华人星光大道 looked like a right move for him as it would be thru his company & most likely a partnership with Million Stars to sign up & release album for the winner. Also it looks like the rumour that he signed up rock band The Mushrooms may well be true
The Mao show has The Mushrooms, Shanghai's breakout band that were signed to David Tao's indie label.
So now he can add 'indie music producer' to his curriculum vitae & probably soon 'indie film producer/director' *__* He seems to be managing The Mushrooms in China vry nicely too with quite a few live performances & already garnering recognition without even releasing an album. I do think it's a smart move on his part to start his own film production company seeing as the huge success of Nic Tse's film production company in Hong Kong would probably have raised interest among many investors. Clever of DT to get in early into this lucrative market. It would also be easier for him when making his own movie & hopefully releasing another album in the future. His performance in 华人星光大道 was I think quite good. He was probably the most 'businesslike' of the judges approving contestants he felt could sing quickly as it was only the first round. I think he will get more critical in the later rounds. His comments were also vry realistic, to the point & usually centering around the contestants' ability to sing as this is first & foremost a singing contest. He got a bit testy with one of the judges giving the last chance to a contestant who cannot sing to save her life only because she is a songwriter. In that case, shouldn't she enter a songwriting contest? David of cos kindheartedly gave the contestant who could actually sing his saving star although being David, he did chastised her for not giving her all when singing a song with soul. So DT!

DT & million stars

DT arriving in style for the recording of 华人星光大道, Taiwan version of American Idols. Love those sunnies. Here's another pix: Watch the first episode here or here Really enjoyable. David was surprisingly the most lenient of the judges being often the first to press the buzzer. Love watching him being all serious & judgemental hee hee Can't wait for the second episode. Here's a promo pix: He looked incredibly young although he will be 42 in a few more days our birthday boy. There's a recent fabulous interview with him, will post that soon as it has quite interesting news of what he has been doing lately & gorgeous pixs. Here's an interesting article of President Ma making the effort to present GMA award to Taiwan's aboriginal singer. It mentioned that he shook hands with R&B musician David Tao. Also nice vid abt how best new artist William Wei was disappointed at not meeting DT during GMA & was delighted when David posted msg for him in Weibo to "keep in touch!". I gonna watch 华人星光大道 again cos it's just so great to watch & listen to DT on the screen. Add oil, dear David.