Post by siewlee on Dec 1, 2005 13:24:56 GMT 8
HERE"s da article..
MUSIC: Daniel’s swift debut
Chow Ee-Tan
Dec 1:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Xing Yun Er (The Lucky One) is a song from Daniel Lee’s debut album, and it aptly describes the Malaysian Idol 2 champion.
Less than two months after winning the title, with a record-breaking 1.2 million SMS votes, Daniel’s self-titled album is now in the market, released by Sony-BMG.
It has been pretty surreal for the 23-year-old. He described his feelings about the whole experience as “mixed and complicated.’’
“Everything happened so fast,” he said.
“I am thankful to the many people who helped me. But now I am feeling a little nervous,” Daniel, clad in red T-shirt and jeans at his album launch, told a Press conference.
If that’s the case, he certainly didn’t show it when he confidently performed two songs from his album – Heaven Knows and You Ji (Organic Love) – at Planet Hollywood, Kuala Lumpur last Tuesday.
It was more than just a Press conference. Adding colour to the event were his parents and a group of predominantly teenage girls from his fan club ‘The Pinkies’.
They cheered and applauded enthusiastically.
More fans, all clad in pink, stood outside the restaurant waiting for their idol with a banner.
Working on his first album was nothing like he had imagined. The production took about one-a-half-months but the recording was done in just one week.
“Some people have asked if the quality of the album would be compromised by the haste. Well, all I can say is that we’ve given our best.’’
The 10-track Mandarin album sees the contribution of a group of multi-racial Malaysian musicians such as Zhang Jue Long, Li Nai Gang, Azlan Abu Hassan and Greg Henderson, making it a totally ‘made-in-Malaysia’ album.
There is also an English song, Heaven Knows (originally recorded by Rick Price), which Daniel performed during MI2.
Also included is MI2 theme song Mimpi, which is recorded in Bahasa Malaysia and Mandarin.
Daniel gave himself a rating of seven out of 10 for his performance in the album.
“There was so much that I had to learn and improve, especially my vocals. I think seven is a fair rating.”
Why a Mandarin album?
Daniel said he felt more confident and comfortable recording in Mandarin - his mother tongue - considering the little time they had.
However he did not rule out recording English and Malay albums in the future. His album is special as the Chinese lyrics are romanised so that non-Chinese-educated listeners can sing along!
Most are melodic love songs with R&B and pop elements. The Lucky One, which is influenced by Jay Chou, is composed by Daniel.
“I wrote the tune a few years ago. I am happy the company has chosen it to be in my album. The lyrics (penned by Chen Xin Yan) are very meaningful to me.’’
Daniel is also getting the hang of composing.
“I always write music when I am at the half-asleep stage. Usually late at night or when I suddenly wake up in the middle of the night. That’s when the inspiration comes.
“When composing, I either play the piano or guitar, while humming the tunes.’’
And yes, he would like to include more of his own compositions in future albums.
He has left the song selections to the ‘experts’ to decide as he felt he was still very new. Overall, he is happy and comfortable with the songs.
As for the production, he said the recording company gave him the freedom to explore his own style not only in his music but in his image, as could be seen in his photographs which capture him in a casual mood.
It’s been a frantic last two months for this Malaysian Idol. With the release of this album, it also means more work.
Daniel had a showcase and meet-the-fans session at Berjaya Time Square last Sunday where a sea of pink was again seen. He sang three songs and signed autographs for one-and-a-half hours.
To his amusement and slight embarrassment, a fan even said Daniel was ‘better than Jay Chou (Daniel’s idol) because Daniel could sing in three languages but Jay couldn’t!
In mid-December, Daniel is going on a nationwide promotional road tour. It looks like Daniel might need to take more time off from his studies.
Due to Malaysian Idol 2, the music undergraduate at Universiti Sains Malaysia had to take one semester off.
“Releasing my first album is something so big for me so I need to take time off again. But I will never give up my studies. I may be transferring my course to Kuala Lumpur as I’m based here,” he said.
Does he have any expectations on how the album will perform?
“I don’t dare to have any expectations at all,” he said with a laugh.
“There is no benchmark to compare it to as it is my first album. I just hope people will buy and listen.”
The album has a modest shipout of 7,000 units to test the market.
Despite his quick rise to fame, the lad from Kedah seems to still have his feet firmly planted on the ground.
When asked whether he would further his music career in Taiwan, Daniel said he wanted to build his career at home first.
“But it all depends on my company too,” he said.
MUSIC: Daniel’s swift debut
Chow Ee-Tan
Dec 1:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Xing Yun Er (The Lucky One) is a song from Daniel Lee’s debut album, and it aptly describes the Malaysian Idol 2 champion.
Less than two months after winning the title, with a record-breaking 1.2 million SMS votes, Daniel’s self-titled album is now in the market, released by Sony-BMG.
It has been pretty surreal for the 23-year-old. He described his feelings about the whole experience as “mixed and complicated.’’
“Everything happened so fast,” he said.
“I am thankful to the many people who helped me. But now I am feeling a little nervous,” Daniel, clad in red T-shirt and jeans at his album launch, told a Press conference.
If that’s the case, he certainly didn’t show it when he confidently performed two songs from his album – Heaven Knows and You Ji (Organic Love) – at Planet Hollywood, Kuala Lumpur last Tuesday.
It was more than just a Press conference. Adding colour to the event were his parents and a group of predominantly teenage girls from his fan club ‘The Pinkies’.
They cheered and applauded enthusiastically.
More fans, all clad in pink, stood outside the restaurant waiting for their idol with a banner.
Working on his first album was nothing like he had imagined. The production took about one-a-half-months but the recording was done in just one week.
“Some people have asked if the quality of the album would be compromised by the haste. Well, all I can say is that we’ve given our best.’’
The 10-track Mandarin album sees the contribution of a group of multi-racial Malaysian musicians such as Zhang Jue Long, Li Nai Gang, Azlan Abu Hassan and Greg Henderson, making it a totally ‘made-in-Malaysia’ album.
There is also an English song, Heaven Knows (originally recorded by Rick Price), which Daniel performed during MI2.
Also included is MI2 theme song Mimpi, which is recorded in Bahasa Malaysia and Mandarin.
Daniel gave himself a rating of seven out of 10 for his performance in the album.
“There was so much that I had to learn and improve, especially my vocals. I think seven is a fair rating.”
Why a Mandarin album?
Daniel said he felt more confident and comfortable recording in Mandarin - his mother tongue - considering the little time they had.
However he did not rule out recording English and Malay albums in the future. His album is special as the Chinese lyrics are romanised so that non-Chinese-educated listeners can sing along!
Most are melodic love songs with R&B and pop elements. The Lucky One, which is influenced by Jay Chou, is composed by Daniel.
“I wrote the tune a few years ago. I am happy the company has chosen it to be in my album. The lyrics (penned by Chen Xin Yan) are very meaningful to me.’’
Daniel is also getting the hang of composing.
“I always write music when I am at the half-asleep stage. Usually late at night or when I suddenly wake up in the middle of the night. That’s when the inspiration comes.
“When composing, I either play the piano or guitar, while humming the tunes.’’
And yes, he would like to include more of his own compositions in future albums.
He has left the song selections to the ‘experts’ to decide as he felt he was still very new. Overall, he is happy and comfortable with the songs.
As for the production, he said the recording company gave him the freedom to explore his own style not only in his music but in his image, as could be seen in his photographs which capture him in a casual mood.
It’s been a frantic last two months for this Malaysian Idol. With the release of this album, it also means more work.
Daniel had a showcase and meet-the-fans session at Berjaya Time Square last Sunday where a sea of pink was again seen. He sang three songs and signed autographs for one-and-a-half hours.
To his amusement and slight embarrassment, a fan even said Daniel was ‘better than Jay Chou (Daniel’s idol) because Daniel could sing in three languages but Jay couldn’t!
In mid-December, Daniel is going on a nationwide promotional road tour. It looks like Daniel might need to take more time off from his studies.
Due to Malaysian Idol 2, the music undergraduate at Universiti Sains Malaysia had to take one semester off.
“Releasing my first album is something so big for me so I need to take time off again. But I will never give up my studies. I may be transferring my course to Kuala Lumpur as I’m based here,” he said.
Does he have any expectations on how the album will perform?
“I don’t dare to have any expectations at all,” he said with a laugh.
“There is no benchmark to compare it to as it is my first album. I just hope people will buy and listen.”
The album has a modest shipout of 7,000 units to test the market.
Despite his quick rise to fame, the lad from Kedah seems to still have his feet firmly planted on the ground.
When asked whether he would further his music career in Taiwan, Daniel said he wanted to build his career at home first.
“But it all depends on my company too,” he said.