Chinese Music Blog

Two days before having his first concert in the most prestigious concert stadium in Hong Kong, Justin has his second album “No Protection” released. With the first album being such a success and him being the first HK artist to launch a concert just after one album, many people have been expecting this album a lot. Making the second album is always harder than the first one. This album never disappoints me!

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Track 1: Intro – Siu Sang Pa Pa
The intro is a short clip of 4-year-old Justin singing, recorded by his mother on cassette years ago. He sounded so excited that I can almost visualize a small child jumping, belting out the Alan Tham’s song. The intro puts a big smile on my face.

Track 2: 決戰二世祖 Kuet Jin Yee Sai Jo (Battle With The Rich Man’s Son)
It’s one of the surprises from this album. The tune is so catchy and the electronic modified child’s voice adds color to the song, even though the idea has been used several times by other singers (with Akon’s “Lonely” being the most famous one). The lyrics are also interesting, which is about him competing with a rich man’s son to earn a girl’s heart. Here’s a trivia for you, in the middle, there’s a line of the real little Justin singing. Ok, go find it out yourself!

Track 3: 運 Wan (Luck)
A slow ballad. It sounds placid at the verse, then the tension builds up from the second chorus. I’ve grown to love this song more and more the more times I listen to it, especially the lyrics, which is very uplifting and motivating. It’s best to listen when I feel down. Now I listen to it twice whenever I listen to it. Here are my favorite lines.
“先清楚自己這麼有運氣 能在海關感嘆 世事沒完美
(Now I’ve realized how lucky I am, to sigh about the imperfections in life at the customs)”
“極運滯日子都不要忘記 還在呼吸心跳 我未被遺棄
(However bad the days are, do not forget that as long as I’m still breathing, my heart still beats, I’m not abandoned)”

Track 4: Kong
If you like “Meng Ngang” from his debut album, you gotta listen to this too. Nice melody with an amazingly wide range. The song uses the love story of King Kong and the beauty to describe the determination of a lover. However, there’s also a story behind this. There was once when Justin said he imagines himself as King Kong and all the bullets (paparazzi and the negative news) won’t hurt him. That’s also the reason why you see King Kong appears on the album cover. The lyrics are very well written. “我 我沒有害過人 (Me, I never hurt anyone)” – The first line is already hurting. What more about lines like “夠決心 越中箭我越勇敢 (I have enough determination, being shot more I become braver)” and “不屑 不信 不怕 打擊更令我堅強 (I despise, I don’t believe, I’m not scared, disappointment makes me stronger)”.

Track 5: 夢女 Mong Lui (Dream Girl)
Second surprise! I’ve always loved this kind of dreamy, mystery feel. Love the arrangement, love the feel and the few lines of speaking in Spanish (if I’m not wrong bout that) by a girl. It’s so sexy!

Track 6: Volar
Another big surprise from Justin. This song sounds like a blend of American hip-hop and Cantonese pop. I kinda like the way he raps. It’s hard to believe that Justin will do a song like this, then I suddenly realize the American influence on him since he lived in America for many years. As what said by himself, American-music and Canto-pop music influences are in him, which is a good thing I think.

Track 7: 情永落 Ching Wing Lok
This phrase sounds weird right? It’s actually the name of his first girlfriend (not exactly the same words but with the same pronunciation). When I first knew that, I thought this will be a sad love song. It turns out to be a very positive song. According to him, when he broke up with her, it was as if the end of the world. But it was because of that incident, he started to compose and produce songs. Every cloud has a silver lining; every negative thing has some positive elements in it. Justin’s voice sounds very powerful in the chorus. Gotta love it when he sings the high notes.

Track 8: 美麗之最 Mei Lai Ji Joi (The Most Beautiful)
What a powerful ballad! Justin has said how he loves this kind of ballad. And this kind of song is perfect for him! This song gets me high and it’s another song that I keep repeating.

Track 9: 走音 Chao Yum (Out of Pitch)
The melody is boring for me, it’s too typical pop, very easy to remember the tune. The pitch of the song sounds too low for Justin. However the lyrics are tailored for him. He used to compose songs for girls he loved, but most of the time it didn’t work out. Quite a sad song actually.

Track 10: 得來不易 Dak Loi But Yee (Got Without Ease)
Maybe it’s due to too many ballads in this album, I started to get bored when I reach this track, except for the sustained falsetto note at the end of the song. For me, this album will be great without these two tracks.

Track 11: You’ll Shine Again
What can I say more about this song? I already love the Cantonese version (track 2 of “Justin” album) so much, and he’s even better singing this English version. Justin has showcased his range, his powerful vocal and his ad-lib in this song. Even though I prefer the original arrangement to this piano-only arrangement, I love the English lyrics more. “I see the light, see a rainbow, see the beauty that’s within you…. You’ll shine again.” Yup, Justin write the lyrics himself.

Track 12: Dream Away
This is another English song, but with three lines in Cantonese. First time Justin writing Cantonese lyrics? ;) In fact, this is more like an outro or a demo, taking into account the length of the song. With only guitar accompaniment, it’s like a lullaby Justin sings for you before you sleep. It’s so sweet! Oh and I love the way he sings the words “close your eyes”. :D

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There will sure be fans to feel disappointed of the lack of R&B songs. Indeed, I love his “Erica” and “Superstar” so much. But look, there’s no R&B but we get to hear so many more new elements in this album. Moreover he has never labelled himself as an R&B singer, however good he is in that genre. He’s more into pop and soul.

It’s such a pleasure to listen to Justin’s song with a earphone, because I can listen to the background vocals clearly. All the vocals are done by Justin himself. Another thing is that unlike some other Hong Kongers who have lived in a foreign county, Justin pronounces Cantonese very well.

After listening to the whole album, I find that the songs have gone much more positive compared to his previous songs such as “Hoe Yan”, “Ngo But See Hoe Yan”, “Erica” etc. Will it be suitable to say that “Justin” album describes his past while “No Protection” describes his present?

Recommended tracks: 2, 4, 5, 6, 8, 11, 12

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Click here for translations of lyrics.
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