The Star Online: Entertainment: Music
The Star Online: Entertainment: Music |
| Posted: 11 Apr 2013 04:32 AM PDT Taiwanese singer Evan Yo talks about his passion for music and acting. EVAN Yo just can't seem to get enough of Malaysia. He was here last December to promote his album Super Yo, and he was back here again recently to perform and be a guest judge for the semi-finals of The Ultimate Song, Malaysia's first songwriting reality show, which provides an opportunity for aspiring songwriters to have their songs heard in a professional arena. Yo's first album, aptly titled 19, was released in 2006 when he was only 19 years old, and his fourth and latest album Chao Ji You Nao (Super Right Brain) sees him going into a more mature and complex direction musically. "I wanted this album to be more driven by my own creativity, and the right hemisphere of the brain is where creativity comes from," said Yo on his album title during an interview at Impiana KLCC Hotel. "Compared to my previous albums, I've contributed more towards the creation of this one. I contributed a lot of thoughts and ideas into it," said Yo, who composed all the music and wrote some of the lyrics for the album. Since stepping into the music scene, Yo has continuously evolved as an artiste – he first stepped out with a fresh boy-next-door vibe before channeling a more punk-rock one later. Now, he wants to portray a more mature image, which is reflected in the elaborate and complex arrangements of his music. "More risks were taken this time," he said. Recently, Yo has branched out into acting too. He just finished filming his role as Jeremy, a good friend of the main male character in the Taiwanese drama series Fabulous Boys. "It wasn't actually my first time acting. It was my second time," offered Yo (The first drama series that he participated in years ago was not released). "During my first attempt in acting, I didn't feel comfortable as I was a singer who got called in to act, and there were many things that I had to learn on my own. I didn't have a proper guide," he recalled. He was more at ease the second time though. "By then, I knew what to expect and how the working conditions would be like. While waiting in between takes, I learned to write songs and prepare for my part by looking through the script. I was also really fortunate to have met a good crew that was professional." Now that he has gotten more used to being in front of the camera, Yo is taking the next step to act on stage. He will be playing the lead character in a Mandarin musical titled Walking To The Left, Walking To The Right, which will be staged in various parts of Taiwan this month. "When I was first told about the musical, I didn't want to be in it as I didn't feel it was right for me. But I gave it some thought and figured, why not just give myself a chance to get more experience in the performing arts? "I wanted the opportunity to perform on stage, so I agreed to do it. But immediately after I did, I regretted it!" he said with a laugh. While Yo is nervous about the musical, he is optimistic he would soon get the hang of it, just like how he did with onscreen acting. With so many things going on in his career, it is a wonder how this singer-composer-musician-actor manages to find time to do them all. "I have to tell myself a lot of times what are the things I can and cannot do," he said in response to how he manages his time. "I tend to do a lot of last-minute work because I'm probably greedy and want to do too many things." At the moment, Yo is focusing more on acting and has less time for writing songs. However, he sees these acting experiences as a very important phase in moulding him, but reckons he will never leave music. "Ultimately, if I have to choose between acting and music, of course I'll choose music," said Yo. "Composing music is my basic element. It's my essence." n The Ultimate Song will begin airing on April 21 at 8.30pm on 8TV. |
| Kenny Rogers to join Country Music Hall of Fame Posted: 10 Apr 2013 08:21 PM PDT NASHVILLE, Tennessee (Reuters) - Veteran singers and songwriters Kenny Rogers, Bobby Bare and "Cowboy" Jack Clement will be inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame, organizers said on Wednesday, achieving one of the highest honors in the music industry. Rogers, 74, the husky-voiced three-time Grammy winner best known for songs like The Gambler and Ruby, Don't Take Your Love To Town, will be inducted in the "Modern Era" category, the Country Music Association announced. "Everything pales in comparison to this," Rogers (pic) said, tearing up because the honor came in his lifetime. "My older sons thought I was already in here. Maybe now I can really impress them," he told Reuters, referring to his 8-year-old twin sons from his fifth marriage. Rogers, a country-pop crossover artist who scored a big hit with the 1983 duet Islands In The Stream with Dolly Parton, has charted hit singles in each of the past six decades, and is due to play at the Glastonbury pop music festival in England in June. Wednesday's three new inductees will bring membership of the Country Music Hall of Fame to 121 since its creation in 1961, including the likes of Parton, Elvis Presley, Garth Brooks, Reba McEntire, Glen Campbell and Willie Nelson. Bare, 78, was born in Ohio and moved to California, where he had a hit with The All American Boy in the pop field in 1959. He later moved to Nashville, was signed to a record deal by guitar player Chet Atkins, and went on to have hits with Detroit City, and 500 Miles Away From Home. "This is real huge," Bare said on Wednesday. "This is the culmination of a 19-year-old boy's dream who left Ohio to be a singer." Clements, 82, is a producer and songwriter from Texas who moved to Memphis just as Johnny Cash, Roy Orbison and Jerry Lee Lewis, whom he discovered, were breaking into the music scene in the mid-1950s. He persuaded George Jones to record one of his early hits, She Thinks I Still Care, and also persuaded a record label to sign Charley Pride, one of the few African-American singers to make it big in the country music scene. Clement, who also produced tracks in Memphis for U2's Rattle And Hum album, will be inducted as a non-performer in the ceremony to be held later this year at the Country Music Hall of Fame in Nashville. |
| Justin Timberlake still tops for 3rd week Posted: 10 Apr 2013 07:58 PM PDT LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Singer Justin Timberlake continued his reign at the top of the Billboard 200 album chart for the third consecutive week on Wednesday, keeping new entries by The Band Perry and Tyler, The Creator from the coveted No. 1 slot. Timberlake's The 20/20 Experience sold 139,000 copies last week, according to figures from Nielsen SoundScan, bringing the album's total U.S. sales to 1.43 million since its debut on 19 March. Country music group The Band Perry entered the chart this week at No. 2 with their sophomore album Pioneer, following their performance at Sunday's Academy of Country Music awards, which was watched by more than 15 million people on television. Pioneer sold 129,000 copies, coming in ahead of rapper Tyler, The Creator's latest record Wolf, which notched the No. 3 slot with 89,000 sales. Tyler, The Creator is part of the Odd Future hip hop collective that also includes Frank Ocean, and he scored his best sales week to date with Wolf. Overall album sales in the past week totaled 5.65 million, bringing 2013's year-to-date sales tally to 79.67 million, down 5 percent from the same week in 2012. Nineties boy band New Kids on the Block picked up their sixth top ten album with their latest record 10, while hard metal rock band Killswitch Engage landed at No. 7 with their new album, Disarm The Descent. On the Digital Songs chart, which measures downloads of singles, Bruno Mars scored No. 1 with his latest ballad, When I Was Your Man, selling 340,000 downloads. The song was discounted from US$1.29 to US$0.69 on both iTunes and Amazon MP3. Pink's Just Give Me A Reason featuring FUN. frontman Nate Ruess came in at No. 2 and Rihanna's Stay, featuring Mikky Ekko, rounded out the top 3 digital songs. |
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