Mando-pop singer Roger Yang (楊培安) belongs to a special breed of pub-trained crooners who are highly revered on the TV talent show circuit but who have yet to demonstrate the ability to fill venues. Dubbed the “high-register prince” (高音王子) by the media, Yang is known for his powerhouse delivery of inspirational, octave-jumping anthems such as I Believe (我相信) and See the Whole World (看見全世界), chosen as theme songs for a Taiwan Beer advertising campaign and the 2009 Kaohsiung World Games, respectively.
On Wednesday, Yang will test his commercial appeal by holding his first large-scale solo concert — Roger Yang: 2010 Back to the Ego (楊培安【2010 Back to the Ego:回歸自我】演唱會) at Legacy Taipei.
Yang will be putting his story to music — his 12-year struggle on the pub circuit before landing a record contract and the release of his debut album at the age of 35.
“I want to present my story,” Yang, now 39, said in an interview. “I’ve always believed that, besides hitting the right notes, music has to tell a story for it to linger in audiences’ hearts.”
Yang won the best vocalist award at the Yamaha National Pop Music Contest at the age of 19. At the age of 23, he started performing as a pub singer in Kaohsiung. “Those years in the pubs were formative because I was immersed in a lot of music,” he said. “In southern Taiwan’s pubs, we often had to continue singing when fights broke out in the audience or sometimes even when people pulled out guns. It was scary at the time, but fun thinking back on it.”
Acclaimed for his Mariah Carey-esque multi-octave delivery, Yang considers himself blessed. “I was lucky because after puberty, I didn’t lose my higher registers but instead broadened my range by gaining some lower registers.”
“When my friend Chen Kuo-hwa (陳國華) contacted me to tell me that his label wanted to sign me, I was initially hesitant,” Yang recalled. “I told them I don’t have the looks or the networking skills. All I have is this voice. It turned out that they wanted this voice, so I became a record newbie at the age of 35.”
Yang released his debut album 2AM After Midnight (午夜兩點半的我) in 2006 and has gone on to release two more studio albums. His live album 10,000 Thanks ... Live & More garnered him a nomination for best male Mandarin singer at the 2008 Golden Melody Awards, the same year he served as a judge on the hit TV talent show One Million Star (超級星光大道).
Yang became friends with Ricky Hsiao (蕭煌奇) while performing in Kaohsiung’s pubs. The two later joined forces to stage the best-selling joint tour Ricky Hsiao & Roger Yang 2008 Tour (蕭煌奇 & 楊培安 2008巡迴演唱會). “As soon as I heard Ricky’s voice, I was bowled over by his passion,” Yang said.
“Even though Ricky is blind, he doesn’t let anything get in his way,” said Yang. “His optimistic and warm personality has affected my outlook a lot. We chat on MSN every day.”
“For my future albums, I would love to try recording with a live band because that’s the most real and direct experience,” said Yang. “Even though there will always be some minor flaws, that will only make it more human.”
What was the population of Taiwan when the first Negritos arrived? In 500BC? The 1st century? The 18th? These questions are important, because they can contextualize the number of babies born last month, 6,523, to all the people on Taiwan, indigenous and colonial alike. That figure represents a year on year drop of 3,884 babies, prefiguring total births under 90,000 for the year. It also represents the 26th straight month of deaths exceeding births. Why isn’t this a bigger crisis? Because we don’t experience it. Instead, what we experience is a growing and more diverse population. POPULATION What is Taiwan’s actual population?
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For the past five years, Sammy Jou (周祥敏) has climbed Kinmen’s highest peak, Taiwu Mountain (太武山) at 6am before heading to work. In the winter, it’s dark when he sets out but even at this hour, other climbers are already coming down the mountain. All of this is a big change from Jou’s childhood during the Martial Law period, when the military requisitioned the mountain for strategic purposes and most of it was off-limits. Back then, only two mountain trails were open, and they were open only during special occasions, such as for prayers to one’s ancestors during Lunar New Year.
March 23 to March 29 Kao Chang (高長) set strict rules for his descendants: women were to learn music or cooking, and the men medicine or theology. No matter what life path they chose, they were to use their skills in service of the Presbyterian Church and society. As a result, musical ability — particularly in Western instruments — was almost expected among the Kao women, and even those who married into the family often had musical training. Although the men did not typically play instruments, they played a supporting role, helping to organize music programs such as children’s orchestras, writes
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