Joanna Wang 王若琳 - When You Wish Upon A Star

[pianistica]

great version!

[Katey786x]

How i wish this cover was clearer

[MsApril555]

A Great Asian Talent!

[lostfeelinggonegone]

is this the girl that got beat up by a boxer in the south park episode?

[perfectsky5]

gosh, the amazing softness she sings this song reminds me of "Hallelujah" by Jeff Buckley. I want to go see her now ... asap :o) And yeah, i'll go for TAiwan's Nora Jones...

[tzhow]

this is a damn nice song

[ecchen1]

Look at her, all famous now! I went to the same high school as her and even have her demo CD!!!

[shimasamba]

Joanna I woul;d love to see you do a samba bossa nove cd with roberto and tom's music....I think you will become a bigger star

J. Redic San Francisco

[theycallmethebadone]

um excuse me... what is all this babbling for... this is a girl's song here... got some bull to sort out -- go somewhere else.

[wazupninja]

taiwan's got talent.

[Dam1000Dam1000]

yea..wanna hv a 'the y factor' XD

[onionmon]

should we debate about religion on this thread too?

[xestnawi2006]

music has no boundary, this young singer really sings good. But, why all the mumbling noise at the background?? The audience didn't respect the singer at all!!

[onionmon]

cuz its a cafe, go to a cafe

[MyfavoriteDessert]

everyone, cut out with the dull insults about which culture is eating off of which, take in the music and relax. music is blind to color, race, culture, and see what its done? Just one more thing that anybody can enjoy together....maybe.

[msjeopardy12]

@MyfavoriteDessert totally with you...

[westernsmokeout]

Music is a universal mood inducer. Just sit back and enjoy. Don't matter where you're from...

[blah1866]

stop arguing, wish upon a star instead!

Makes no difference who you are !!! american or asian or whatever!!!

[laoshapigou]

好~!

[biukucanoe]

means "good" hau. Know at least that much chinese....

[laoshapigou]

lol. how do you know that......

囧囧囧

[xAxLxUx]

Beautiful!

[alexmluu7]

I am saying that it is great she is Asian and she is able to be as great as the Westerners, musically. She sings w/o accent and has capture that mellowness that goes with this genre perfectly. That is what I meant in showcasing Western sensibility. Your comment about American cultural imperialism... no one forces another to be a part of the melting pot. One can choose to assimilate and take the best of both cultures.

[biukucanoe]

maybe the problem with Asian singers who sound like good Americans is they don't sound any different - that works fine for classical. There's definitely no mistaking African American music, but Asian American artists have yet to find a formula that sells besides Disney movie soundtracks and Miss Saigon.

[alexmluu7]

There are many Asian singers that sing English... there are many in Singapore for example. I hope that there will be more Chinese that support different types of music and show more versatility in culture than just cutesy pop.

By the way, I love Lea Salonga... amazing talent!

[biukucanoe]

A long time ago, Asians were also-rans in classical music, but now they are among the top talent names, it took 20-30 yrs. In pop music, it's not just the europeans but African Americans who are the leaders to catch up with, and that's an even bigger cultural leap. At the rate of development, China is catching up and may soon rival Japan in international and economic influence, the beijing olympics show was a very good effort, it amazed Americans in many respects.

[Agraviador]

Who gives a shit about american music? They are world leaders only in their own mind. If youre talking about cultural influence then asia has far more reach. At 1.1billion speakers, mandarin is the most spoken language on earth. English comes second at 510million which is almost half of mandarin. So asian singers and musicians have far more influence over the world population that american music ever will......unless they start performing in mandarin.

[biukucanoe]

uhhh, she's performing American music, not hong kong pop hits....

[Agraviador]

It doesnt matter what music shes playing, shes performing to an asian audience and therefore an much larger audience than western based performers cater to.

[alexmluu7]

Thank god! Someone is bringing variety the over-exhausting cutesy chinese pop! This showcases the Western sensibility in Chinese. Bravo!

[jchien]

Why are you equating Western sensibility to good musical taste? True, Chinese musical scene today is homogeneous, pop/commercial oriented. What I'd like to see is more and varied musical genres being developed in asia with asian musical influences. Inmitation is always second rate. American cultural imperialism kills indigenous cultures and stifles creativity.

[alexmluu7]

I am not equating Western sensibility to good musical taste. She is showcasing her version of what she has derived from her time in the US... musically. She is definitely promoting a different genre other than commercial pop, which is a great thing. But you cannot discredit the American cultural influence in her music. This music style is very Norah Jones and a bit of Joni Mitchell which are both American.. as in North America. This is the wrong venue for your ill feeling towards USA.

[jchien]

Where did I express ill feeling towards the US? I was saying people in Asia and around the world should appreciate their own culture and do their own thing instead of always imitating Western pop culture. You praised her for her Western sensibility as if it is intrinsically and categorically superior.

[wandawong]

Why? People in Asia or elsewhere around the world have the right to sing or listen to *anything* they want. Your use of the word "should" only reveals the particular brand of "imperialism" you would push onto Asian people in a world you control. Each person is drawn to the music that speaks to his or her soul.

[wandawong]

...my previous comment was to jchien.

BTW...I love this beautiful, sweet performance.

[jchien]

Do I really need to justify why people around the world should appreciate their own culture? Appreciating one's own culture is a form of imperialism? do u even know what cultural imperialism means? If u havn't noticed, this world we live in today is dominated by western, particularly American culture and values. Again, imitation is always second rate. Someone in asia can never be a westerner. If a whole culture takes a foreign culture as the standard, as superior, that's a problem.

[jchien]

Do u believe "western sensibility" is superior to asian sensibility? or do u want to qualify ur original statement? either way, u have the right to prefer whatever sensibility u want. U can get cosmetic surgery to make urself look caucasian if u want or date a white person; u have the right. My rant is just my opinion with regards to the prevalent western worshipping attitudes in Asian.

[wandawong]

No. My original statement needs no qualification. All you need to do is actually read it instead of inferring I meant anything at all about cultural superiority. All music is a conversation across borders and between souls. Honestly, do you think I'm against Asian people enjoying the music of their respective cultures? As for Joanna Wang, she's singing the music of a culture that actually is a part of her personal life story. She does it as beautifully as anyone I've heard, from any country.

[jchien]

If you praised Joanna for her artistry, masterful command of vocal, for her beautiful performance, that's would be a completely valid statement. But you praised her for her "western sensibility"; western sensibility is aesthetically, musically superior in ur view. If u meant something other than what you wrote, u have miscommunicated urself.

[wandawong]

Again, jchien... you either didn't read my comment or completely misunderstood it. I've said all that I care to say. Others will understand my point.

[Jewelryploy]

wow these debate is really fun. all of your piont of view are rationalbe. i really enjoy listen to them hehe ^^

[biukucanoe]

too bad Asian talent doesn't sell in the US, she grew up in LA. She sounds like many other really good jazz singers, but she's making it in Asia along with all the other amazing Asian singers Americans never hear about except for Lea Solanga.

[alexmluu7]

Yes because we can't sell to their current segments. We are sort of in the middle. We are not as sultry as the originals (at least not yet) and we are not as dynamic (as compared to the skill vocals of Mariah Carey). We can only sell to Asian people who choose to support this genre.

[koIdexx21]

You forgot Tracy Huang also an cover singer in the 70s. Americans as well as Asians love her version of pop songs in her generation.

[allanlai86]

taiwan version of norah jones..

[minnesotajack]

Joanna your voice is beautiful, brings us joy and sadness.

WHen you do these songs slow tempo, it is so very good.

[stradgirl]

I love Joanna.

[2364063]

Very nice, pleasant voice.

[dvnobles]

very nice! thanks. //dan

[ryukyou]

great sounds!

[fenggu518]

声音甜美,不过后台杂音有点大了

[berrytiger]

好听

[qiangjianqiu]

不错

[thirtyone3]

超愛她的，很難想像跟我同年齡。

永遠支持她!!

[joannahkfan]

A nice, deep, unique and special voice is only one of the good thing she got. She is also a musician that she can write song, arrage it and perform it. Such musician is rarely found in the music industry nowaday. There are many singers/idols who know nothing about music and they are products made by the record label. I will support her.

[ramblingvine]

I agree with you that she's excellent - and not an idol. I think it's a mistake to equate musicians with idols in the first place because the record industry (music industry is a misnomer)isn't interested in our artistic enrichment. Good music is just something we have to discover for ourselves.

[anjelline]

live acoustics are always best to listen to, thanks!

[troysKILLbruins]

WOW she really has a nice voice in this one seems different from others

[shenxixi]

her voice is so unique, deep and profound...enjoying...

[Aviva2008]

Simply Beautiful!