Mando-pop songstress Hsu Chia-ying (徐佳瑩), aka Lala, the sole singer/songwriter to emerge from the TV talent show One Million Star (超級星光大道), made her solo debut performance at Legacy Taipei (傳音樂展演空間) on Friday in what turned out to be a riveting show.
Dressed in a peach blouse, Hsu kicked off the evening with the title track of her most recent album, Extreme (極限), one of two elegantly crafted folk pop outings she released after winning the TV competition, and then moved on to deliver two heartbreakers: Decapitated Love (殘愛) and Disco (迪斯可).
While appearing on One Million Star, Hsu’s co-contestant Born Lee (李伯恩) professed his admiration for her live on TV and the pair went on to date for two years before splitting up.
Photo Courtesy Of Aais Muse
“When I became single, I couldn’t sleep and didn’t eat for a week. Everywhere I went, I saw his shadow,” Hsu told the audience at Legacy Taipei. “No matter how many times you hear this experience described in pop songs, when it happens to you, you think ‘my god!’”
Hsu went on to perform more exuberant numbers such as Waltz (圓舞曲) and Humming a Love Song (哼情歌) from her debut album, the latter song a bittersweet ode to love.
Hsu elicited laughs by changing into pajamas halfway through the concert, which was titled Come Hear Me Sing in My Home (去我家唱歌給你聽).
Highlights of the show included cover songs, and a guest appearance by rapper Soft Lipa (蛋堡), who performed a duet with Hsu of Classic (經典), a hip-hop number that saw the folk singer exploring unfamiliar territory.
The climax came when Hsu covered Lady Gaga’s Telephone, starting off in a bossa nova groove and then switching to high-octane rock.
Surprisingly, Hsu pulled off this radical reinterpretation of Gaga’s hit.
Although Hsu is widely acclaimed as a songwriter of pensive and folksy numbers, she is also an accomplished interpreter of other performers’ songs — the night’s most lively moments came when she delivered uplifting covers.
Hsu ended the evening with her recent hit Fear of Height (懼高症), and performed Oasis (綠洲) as an encore.
The charismatic songstress’ debut performance was supremely confident. Her riveting delivery of cover songs proves she is capable of taking on other genres.
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