Chinese Music Blog

I remember listening to 4 in Love’s music few years ago. She was merely 16. Four years after the Taiwanese girl band broke up, Rainie Yang Cheng Lin, the youngest member in the group came out with her debut solo album “暧昧 Ambiguous”. Rainie has been active in hosting and acting in the past few years, but the now 21-year-old girl insists that her biggest dream is still singing.

Title song “Ambiguous” (Ai Mei), which is also a soundtrack from the Taiwanese youth drama series “Devil Beside You” (E Mo Zai Shen Pang) that Rainie stars recently, became a hit in Taiwan since the series was shown. It describes the ambiguous relationship, ‘more than friends but less than lover’, pretty much like S.H.E.’s “Not Lover Yet” (Lian Ren Wei Man). That’d be a song that many teenage girls can relate themselves.

When I first listened to track 9 “True Blue”, I can immediately sense the J-Pop feel. And I’m right, it’s a cover of an anime song by Japanese girl band, Zone. Rainie did a god job on that song.

The album is not excellent but not a bad one. There are some other good songs such as “Ideal Lover”, “Just Wanna Love You”, “Habit” and “Next Time Smiling”. Her vocal is a bit shaky, however she has a fine voice and room for improvement. Also you can sense her sincerity that she’s taking this seriously.

There are so many female artistes with similar style in the market, whether Rainie can stand up among them will depend on her future albums. After all, this is only her first solo album and her biggest asset is that she’s only 21!

This girl does have courage and the passion for music. Good luck to her!

Track listing:
1. 乖不乖 Guai Bu Guai (Obedient Or Not)
2. 暧昧 Ai Mei (Ambiguous)
3. 理想情人 Li Xiang Qing Ren (Ideal Lover)
4. 只想爱你 Zhi Xiang Ai Ni (Just Wanna Love You)
5. 单眼皮 Dan Yan Pi (Single Eyelid)
6. 习惯 Xi Guan (Habit)
7. 不见 Bu Jian (Not Seeing You)
8. 爱情的颜色 Ai Qing De Yan Se (Color of Love)
9. True Blue
10. 下一次微笑 Xia Yi Ci Wei Xiao (Next Time Smiling)

Recommended tracks: 3, 4, 6, 9, 10