TIT for TAT #3

I went to my first big concert a couple of weeks ago. I had been to a show at Easy 5 (a much smaller, jazz cafe), but I wanted to know what a big production was like.... I have to say I was a bit disappointed (so I won't say the name of the singer). The singing was fine but the production was boring, with too many breaks where they'd show a video with the singer talking in a melancholy voice about love and high-heeled shoes. "My High Heeled Shoes" was the theme of the concert, which I thought was pretty silly - though she did wear some kick ass shoes. Overall, I thought the production was more distracting than anything. Maybe they were trying to distract us from the fact that all the songs sounded the same, especially the slow ones (she did about ten in a row)!

We left before it was over. I'd take Julia Peng at Easy 5 over this any day of the week...

Update

Hi everybody! I know it's been a while since my last post, things have been a bit crazy. I ended up being voted back onto the show, which is cool, but life has not been super easy. I've been living out of a suitcase for 6 weeks, trying to find a way to make steady money, feeling homesick and just plain tired a lot of the time, so it's been hard to concentrate on singing. But I know that we create our own happiness (and our own sadness), so I made a new determination to be successful, positive and hopeful no matter what! And what happened? Two steady jobs, some paid singing gigs and a more comfortable place to live... The weather has even become more bearable - no more stifling heat - YAY!

Things are definitely looking up.

These people wanted to take pictures with me, even though I lost that day.... so cool!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OdCWTieW1n8

I did a long interview with a reporter from Apple Daily the day before the last round of the show.... She asked a ton of questions and took a ton of notes, so I was surprised at how short the article actually is. I guess she cut it after I lost! Love how the whole thing is totally sensational - nothing about music!

 

《超偶》黑妞棄170萬年薪逐夢 嫌銀子太多哦

第5屆《超級偶像》日前進行36強決定賽，阿霞聽說參賽者中有個33歲的美國黑人魏麗珊是今年4月在洛杉磯舉辦的北美選拔賽總冠軍，她來勢洶洶，阿霞忍不住想一探究竟。

慘遭淘汰求復活

阿霞 發現魏麗珊中文超溜，學過15年中文的她，還放棄美國南加大海外交換學生顧問工作，阿霞聽說這工作年薪高達170多萬元台幣。阿霞看她手上2克拉鑽戒亮晶 晶，原來是法國白人未婚夫送的訂婚戒，實在有夠閃，不過她竟然慘遭淘汰，真是跌破阿霞眼鏡，只能等2周後錄影能否復活重回舞台。

Pets in Taiwan

I'm fascinated by how people treat their pets here. Many substitute their pets for kids (just like in the US), but others treat them like accessories; dogs go in and out of style like handbags. Poodles and Maltese are all the rage now; but I remember when i was here before lots of people had Yorkies.... Its rare to see people with good old mutts - people are way too into name brands for that...

Can someone please explain to me why this dog can't walk?

Adam is a world class, bleeding heart animal lover after my own heart. When we went to Jilong he must have petted a dozen different dogs and showed love to them all... cute.

This dog takes the cake. Why does he need a backpack?

Super Idol Disaster!

We did the taping for Super Idol on Saturday. What a disaster! I got cut! Luckily I have one more shot, but it was slightly humiliating none the less. My handler (保姆, nanny in Chinese) told me it was a good experience to have had though - and he's right. Every experience is an opportunity to learn right? Here's what I took away:

1) Be forceful about the version of the song I want to sing and be sure the band is playing the song the way I want it (tempo, key, etc). I never felt right about the way the song sounded, and I had practiced the live version of the song with my teacher in LA (not the original version, which is what they made me sing)... The band isn't competing; I AM!

2) Find a way to calm my nerves before I start singing. When I sang with my bands in Paris, we'd sometimes all have a shot before we went on stage. May need to do that next time :)

3) Share in the joy of the winners and the sadness of the losers.. I was a loser but I did some great bonding with my fellow losers while still being happy for the winners. There was one girl, Joyce, who was convinced that she would never pass, because according to her 'regular Taiwanese girls are nothing special'. But she's beautiful and her voice is good; I kept telling her to be confident. Then she passed! She was so surprised she started crying, and I was so happy for her I cried too..  

4) Speaking of confidence, I realized that I need more of it. I let myself get psyched out (because there were some really good singers there, and I got put dead last for the sake of good old TV drama), but I need to stay confident no matter what. Every action starts as a thought - if I think there's a possibility I can screw up, chances are I will. Funny, I found myself telling the other contestants to believe in themselves, and I let myself down! I gotta get my swagger on...

5) I need to practice more. There's no substitute for it... I already have my action plan, and am planning to KILL IT next time.

In spite of the outcome, it was really great to meet the other contestants. They're all super nice, all of them unique in their own way, and some of them are AWESOME singers...

These guys are three of the best singers I've heard in the competition. The two guys on the left are from Malaysia; the other is from Hong Kong. The guy with the beard sounds like Jamie Cullum...

These guys all got cut too - and they're really good singers. All Taiwanese...

On-set producers and production assistants. The guy in the purple jacket asked how many of us wanted to lose weight... and then suggested that some of the people who hadn't raised their hand should reconsider their decision... nice.

Super Idol - Round 1

We taped the first show on July 31st, but it just aired last night. Funny that we all spent the whole day at the station for just a couple of minutes on TV. Phoebe, her friend Yuko and her niece Annie were nice enough to be my first fans/ supporters, and not only made cool signs but spent the whole day sitting on the floor waiting.... I owe them big time!

It's too bad they cut so much of what was actually taped though... The song I sang was twice as long, when I came out I got to jump around and celebrate with Phoebe and Yuko, and I had some great banter with the hostess Li Qing 利菁. She sang some  Chinese opera, and then asked me if she was more popular than Oprah in the US.... I said 'hmm, I'm not sure', but when she asked me if she was a better hostess than Tyra Banks I had to say yes (and I meant it - Li Qing is awesome!)

 Before the show... waiting in the hall.

 Look at the cute signs they made!

Warming up before going onstage. Kevin and B-Lam (also from the US competition) did a great job of making everybody feel at ease. We got a bunch of other contestants singing with us! Notice the black guy sitting next to B-Lam? That's right, I won't be the only one - can you believe it? Dooley's cool - he's from Phoenix, been in Taiwan for 7 years, sings in a band here, does a lot of TV shows... He was just as surprised to see me as I was to see him. This is going to be fun indeed!

With Felicia (behind me, also from the US) and Season, who we met that day. She was super nice; too bad she didn't pass to the next round. Felicia, Kevin and Dooley did pass though - best of luck to them!

Before going onstage. Next taping this Saturday!

TIT for TAT #2

When you think of Taiwan, do you think of drummer girls? I didn't before I saw this chick... she put it down (sorry for the poor sound quality!). I think my drummer friends (all guys) would be impressed. It's always cool to see girls doing stuff that guys normally do - and even cooler when she's Taiwanese because it's so out of the ordinary!