Chinese Music Blog

Genie Zhuo Wen Xuan – The first time I heard of this name was 5 years ago. She was merely 15 when she released her first album, after being spotted when she impersonated her idol Coco Lee in a contest. The second time I heard of her was the soundtrack of Taiwanese drama series “Xiang Cao Lian Ren Guan/Lover of Herb”. She sang the main theme and the ending theme. She didn’t release her second album until 2006. She had a kiddy voice back then, and she’s still having some of it now. That makes her vocal less convincing, but in a way it also makes her vocal more distinguishable.

This album cleverly uses the chracteristic of her vocal. The songs are sweet, romantic and some are cute. “Super No.1″, “Xing Fu Tiao Wei” and “Wu Lu Mu Qi Xiao Nv Ren” are cute and lively. Unlike other teenage female singers in Taiwan, her vocal is sweet but agreeable and not too poppy. “Chang Yi Xiu” catches my attention with a taste of Chinese opera and it’s not over-doing it.

“Liang Shan Bo Yu Zhu Li Ye” is a romantic duet between Gary Chaw and Genie Zhuo. Liang Shan Bo is a classic character from the play “Liang Shan Bo Yu Zhu Ying Tai” or “The Butterfly Lovers”, which is always regarded as the “Chinese Romeo and Juliet”. The song is basically a mixed of Eastern and Western culture. As long as the two persons love each other, cultural or race difference do not matter at all. Love conquers it all. Gary and Genie’s voices blend perfectly with each other. What’s note-taking is that they are actually singing the same key! Kudos to Gary!

Genie also composed one song in the album. “Dui Ni De Ai” is a sad ballad in which Genie expresses her own feelings that during the recording, she got so emotional and she cried. “Dong Tian De Ju Zi” is a little boring, but “Ke Yi Bu Ke Yi” is another sweet ballad that suits Genie’s vocal perfectly, along with “Ai Wo Hao Ma”, a cover of Tarcy Su’s song recorded 15 years ago.

Track list:

1. Super No.1
2. 对你的爱/Dui Ni De Ai [My Love For You]
3. 梁山伯与茱丽叶/Liang Shan Bo Yu Zhu Li Ye [Liang Shan Bo and Juliet]
4. 冬天的桔子/Dong Tian De Ju Zi [Winter Orange]
5. 长衣袖/Chang Yi Xiu [Long Sleeves]
6. 幸福调味/Xing Fu Tiao Wei [Spice of Happiness]
7. 可以不可以/Ke Yi Bu Ke Yi [Can Or Cannot]
8. 小空间大爱恋/Xiao Kong Jian Da Lian Ai [Big Love In Little Space]
9. 乌鲁木齐小女人/Wu Lu Mu Qi Xiao Nv Ren [Little Women In Urumqi]
10. 爱我好吗/Ai Wo Hao Ma [Will You Love Me?]

Recommended tracks: 1, 3, 5, 7, 10