Stars come out to play at Taipei Music Festival

By David Momphard
STAFF REPORTER
Friday, Aug 13, 2004, Page 17

PHOTO COURTESY OF MTV

All these recent rock festivals must have given the beautiful people of Mando-pop worry lines. Not long ago, they shared the limelight with no one. Now festivals that were once considered "alternative" are drawing mainstream-sized audiences. Time, then, for the pantheon of pop stars to get off the gossip pages and get on stage to do their thing.

Jointly sponsored by MTV and the Taipei City Government, the Taipei Music Festival will let local pop stars shine their brightest alongside entertainers from Japan, South Korea, Singapore and Hong Kong. Jay Chou (周杰倫) tops the bill of local artists along with the omnipresent poster girls S.H.E. and the boy bands 5566 and Energy. The special guest of the evening, though, will be Canada's Avril Lavigne.

Just 19 years-old, the Napanee, Ontario native has enjoyed a meteoric rise to fame since the release of her debut album, Let Go in 2002. On the back of two singles from that release, Complicated and Sk8r Boi, the album has sold 14 million copies worldwide to date. It's sales have slowed only because of the recent release of her second album, Under My Skin, which debuted in the No. 1 slot on a host of charts in the US, Canada and the UK. It's hardly a sophomore effort and displays a song-writing ability not just beyond her years, but improved upon from her debut release.

PHOTO COURTESY OF MTV

Contrast her success to that of many stars in the Mando-pop pantheon, who sing lyrics written for them that are put to recycled Christmas jingles, and you realize why so many Mandarin-language album covers picture the artist staring sorrowfully at their shoes.

PHOTO COURTESY OF MTV

Lavigne, by contrast, has gained popularity as much for her unaffected, in-your-face attitude as for her catchy tunes. Her appearance at the Taipei Music Festival is a special treat for local audiences, as it's a sneak-preview of her upcoming tour to promote Under My Skin. Keen not to suffer their own "Michael Jordan moment," the folks at MTV have said up front that Lavigne will play only a 30-minute set.

PHOTO COURTESY OF MTV

Another special treat is the reappearance of Sun Yanzi (孫燕姿). After releasing seven albums in the past four years, the fresh-faced performer was haggard and has been resting at her Singapore home. Her performance tomorrow night will be her first appearance on stage this year.

Other Asian acts to watch for will be Naohito Fujiki (藤木直人), whose past three albums Bump, Cosmic Rider and Perfect World have sold well in Taiwan, and fellow Japanese mega-star AI and Chinese-Japanese ingenue, Hitoto Yo (一青窈), better known as the star of Hou Hsiao-hien's (侯孝賢) movie Coffee Time (咖啡時光) and as the face of Kirin Beer.

PHOTO COURTESY OF MTV

South Korean boy-toy Rain will also make an appearance, as will Hong Kong boy-toy Dylan Kwok (郭品超) and fellow Hong Kongers Cindy Wang (王心凌) and JJ Lin (林俊傑). Chinese-language gossip pages have been suggesting that JJ and Hebe from S.H.E. are an item. Others say it's all record-company spin to deflect from rumors that Hebe is a lesbian. Don't be surprised if Salina, Hebe and Ella team up with JJ for a song or two.

Filling out the roster of local acts are the pop-rock combo F.I.R., K One, Landy (溫嵐) and the Texas-born eVonne (許慧欣).

Stanley Huang (黃立行) will also be taking a turn on stage, as will rap-rock act Machi (麻吉), Huang is the brother of Machi-member, Jeff Huang. They were both part of the hugely popular LA Boyz, a Taiwanese-American rap act that broke up years ago. Stanley went solo and Jeff teamed up with a few of his cousins to form Machi.

The only other star likely to take the stage will be Taipei City Mayor Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九). While MTV swears he's not on the evening's roster of talent, the mayor rarely shies away from Mando-pop photo-ops. Look for him to welcome Avril Lavigne or sing a duet with Sun Yanzi.

The catch involved with going to the Taipei Music Festival is that, while it' s a free concert, you have to have a ticket to get in. MTV publicist Bess Lin says not to worry if you don't have a ticket, though, as "audiences can watch the concert outside the central zone." In other words, bring something to stand on.

Should you opt against wading into the estimated 60,000-strong crowd, you can instead enjoy it from your living room. The concert will be broadcast on MTV tomorrow night starting at 10pm and rebroadcast again on Sunday at 2pm.

The Taipei Music Festival will take place at Taipei City Square, adjacent Taipei City Hall at 7pm tomorrow night.