Singaporean songstress Tanya Chua (蔡健雅), Mando-pop’s urbane poetess, is a troubadour who delivers lessons on life’s romantic encounters.
On Thursday, her birthday, Chua will present a small concert at Riverside Live House (河岸留言西門紅樓展演館) titled Tanya Chua’s 128 Lounge (蔡健雅的128包廂), at which she’ll sing signature songs from her repertoire, in addition to covers.
One of the most popular and acclaimed singer-songwriters in the pop scene, Chua captivates fans with folksy ballads delivered in her hypnotic and sultry vocals, often set against a sparse guitar backdrop.
“I have spent many birthdays alone abroad during the past decade. This year, I intend to celebrate my birthday with my fans,” said Chua in a phone interview with the Taipei Times on Tuesday. “I rarely go to KTV, but this year, I intend to break some boundaries and have a sing-along with fans.”
A two-time Best Female Singer at the Golden Melody Awards (2006 and 2008), Chua is as much revered by her musical peers as her fans.
Her songs Bottomless Abyss (無底洞) and Reminiscence (紀念) are favorites for hopeful singers on the TV talent show One Million Star
(超級星光大道).
Chua is also a hotly pursued songwriter who has composed hits such as Wrong Call (打錯了) for Faye Wong (王菲) and Longing for Love (對愛渴望) for Aska Yang (楊宗偉).
Because of her image as a modern, cosmopolitan woman delving the vicissitudes of love, Chua has been dubbed the spokeswoman of the “urban ballad” (都會情歌) by the media.
“I am OK with that label, even if I don’t feel that’s who I am,” Chua said. “I think it’s fine if people relate to me in ways that I didn’t intend because I still build bonds with people.”
Chua collaborated with professional lyricists for much of her early career because she had difficulty writing in Chinese. It wasn’t until the last two albums that she wrote the majority of her own lyrics.
“There was a period when I felt lost singing those commercial ballads, written by other people. My confidence was low and I didn’t know what I was doing standing up there on the stage,” Chua said.
After her contract with Warner Music expired in 2006, Chua worked with an independent label and produced her last two albums herself.
She found her way when she became a producer. “I got to know my flaws and strengths more,” Chua said. “I want to make the best of this second chance and become a bona fide singer-songwriter.”
“When I write songs, it’s just me sitting at my dinner table with a guitar,” Chua said. “The best songs are songs that just flow out of you like a stream and you don’t think too much. These are typically composed within five minutes, and they feel natural.”
For those unfamiliar with her albums, Chua comes across as an ultra-sensitive goddess of love who lives and breathes romance.
“It’s true I am a very sensitive person. I feel a lot, and sometimes that’s painful because I can’t block out emotions,” Chua said. “My sensitivities are such that memories [of my relationships with people] stay with me.”
What about her own romantic life? “Just because I write a lot about love doesn’t mean I have a busy romantic life,” Chua said. “Sometimes, a previous romance inspires me to write a song later on, from a different perspective. You can always recycle.”
“I would love to do a world tour someday,” Chua says about her future career path. “There’s also an English-language album that has been put on hold for years. I would like to get that off the ground this year too.”
May 26 to June 1 When the Qing Dynasty first took control over many parts of Taiwan in 1684, it roughly continued the Kingdom of Tungning’s administrative borders (see below), setting up one prefecture and three counties. The actual area of control covered today’s Chiayi, Tainan and Kaohsiung. The administrative center was in Taiwan Prefecture, in today’s Tainan. But as Han settlement expanded and due to rebellions and other international incidents, the administrative units became more complex. By the time Taiwan became a province of the Qing in 1887, there were three prefectures, eleven counties, three subprefectures and one directly-administered prefecture, with
It’s an enormous dome of colorful glass, something between the Sistine Chapel and a Marc Chagall fresco. And yet, it’s just a subway station. Formosa Boulevard is the heart of Kaohsiung’s mass transit system. In metro terms, it’s modest: the only transfer station in a network with just two lines. But it’s a landmark nonetheless: a civic space that serves as much more than a point of transit. On a hot Sunday, the corridors and vast halls are filled with a market selling everything from second-hand clothes to toys and house decorations. It’s just one of the many events the station hosts,
Two moves show Taichung Mayor Lu Shiow-yen (盧秀燕) is gunning for Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) party chair and the 2028 presidential election. Technically, these are not yet “officially” official, but by the rules of Taiwan politics, she is now on the dance floor. Earlier this month Lu confirmed in an interview in Japan’s Nikkei that she was considering running for KMT chair. This is not new news, but according to reports from her camp she previously was still considering the case for and against running. By choosing a respected, international news outlet, she declared it to the world. While the outside world
Through art and storytelling, La Benida Hui empowers children to become environmental heroes, using everything from SpongeBob to microorganisms to reimagine their relationship with nature. “I tell the students that they have superpowers. It needs to be emphasized that their choices can make a difference,” says Hui, an environmental artist and education specialist. For her second year as Badou Elementary’s artist in residence, Hui leads creative lessons on environmental protection, where students reflect on their relationship with nature and transform beach waste into artworks. Standing in lush green hills overlooking the ocean with land extending into the intertidal zone, the school in Keelung