Shanghai TV show with Avril Lavigne & I airs this weekend
- with Zhang Jun
For this show I sang in 3 languages but did Avril Lavigne sing Mandarin? Did she even sing onstage? Well, she was there onstage but you’ll have to read on to find out what she did. For the 2nd year in a row I was delighted to perform onstage for a joint-production by Fairchild and Shanghai TV, this time for a Countdown to Shanghai Expo 2010 show. It airs across Canada on Sunday, May 24 at 8 pm. I’m told it’s already aired in Shanghai, to an audience of over 200 million.
The Countdown show is meant to be a fusion of eastern and western cultures, and some of China’s best artists came to Vancouver to perform. And since east-west fusion is just what I love to do, I was especially honoured to be invited not only to sing but to also perform a duet with one of those very artists, Zhang Jun. He has devoted himself since the age of 12 to the art of Kunqu Opera, known as the “mother” of all operas; it has the oldest history – we’re talking 600 years! No wonder it’s listed with UNESCO world heritage.
- backstage with Zhang
Zhang, whose English name is Jeffrey, was great to work with and I was relieved we were able to communicate using a combination of both English and Chinese. We sang a medley of Mandarin & Cantonese songs (not opera) but the tough part came during rehearsal when I was faced with correcting his pronunciation of one word…I mean, who the heck am I (!!) to be teaching ANYONE Cantonese – I’m a made-in-Canada Prairie gal who’s never even studied the language! I shared my dilemma with Betty the wardrobe whiz and she laughed at me. Can’t blame her, it is pretty amusing, but I actually struggled with this! In the end I realized this is the way one learns a language, and heaven knows I’ve made my share of mistakes (eg. on my first trip to Hong Kong I tried to show off my bartering skills in the night market only to find out I was offering to pay more than they were asking for…hey, no one said Chinese is easy). In the end, I shared, we sang, and all went smoothly.
For my soIo song which followed I was to do any uptempo English song as I’d have dancers backing me up – but trying to choose one from all the songs in my repertoire proved even more challenging than learning the new Mandarin song for the show. I thought long n hard and decided to go with the remix version of Gordon Lightfoot’s gorgeous “If You Could Read My Mind”. This has long been a favourite song of mine from one of Canada’s national treasures and I wanted to showcase our cultural “bridge” afterall – and what better way than with the music of a masterful songwriter and iconic folk singer and btw he’s still performing live at 70 years+!
- Avril Lavigne
Wish I could say the same for Avril. I really was hoping she’d blow me away, perhaps singing some Mandarin in her song “Girlfriend” (as mentioned in my last LEBlog). No such luck - she didn’t sing at all and just came out and interacted a bit with the Expo mascot and emcees onstage. Oh, she was also named Canadian Ambassador of Expo 2010, but for my $ I’d rather be entertained by Canada’s newly-appointed commissioner general of Expo 2010, Dashan, aka Mark Rowswell - you’ve got to hear this guy! We worked together on Beijing TV years ago and not only can he speak Mandarin faster than most locals there, but he’s also hilarious. Hmm, I’m noticing a funny connection here – we 3 are all from Ottawa, go figure! So where’s my invite to Shanghai Expo…?!?
I know I’ll be singing in Mandarin, Cantonese and English, but no idea what Avril’s plans are. Hmm maybe she’ll do her “hey hey, you you, wǒ BU xǐ huan ní NUpéngyo”?! That’s her recording of “Girlfriend” with some Mandarin lyrics: 我不喜歡您的女朋友. I’ve heard the song but am kinda skeptical if it’s really her or not ‘cuz the vocals are verrrry fast and the Chinese language isn’t exactly easy for Caucasian tongues at any speed! If it IS her, as well as the other languages that I hear she’s recorded in, I say “chapeau” to you, young one and kudos for your marketing brilliance doing so. Hey, maybe since we both share childhood years growing up in Ottawa, Ontario, it’s something in the (cold) water giving us powers to sing in many languages, LOL…
- Fei Yu-Ching & Wei Wei
The live 3 hour show next week will tape at The Centre in Vancouver for Performing Arts and tix are by invitation only. Shanghai TV (SMG) is returning to Vancouver once again to joint-produce a show with Fairchild Media Group, this time to promote and celebrate the 2010 Shanghai Expo. Many famous artists will fly in from Asia to perform.
Last year I was involved for their first-ever joint-production which was a fabulous experience and seen by over a billion people. That was my first time meeting Wei Wei韦唯and Tsai Chin蔡琴, and I absolutely love their voices. You can see part of my performance on my LEblog Videos, just click on the Cantonese one. I did sing in Mandarin also but I prefer this clip - check it out and if you like surprises you’ll see why!
I’m not allowed to say too much but I’m delighted to have had the opportunity to combine my 2 careers and passions for the first time in a long time – singing and acting on a US national tv commercial for Subway recently. An interesting, secret premise I hope to get to see up here in Canada – that’s often the case when much of what we film in Vancouver, BC is actually strictly for the US market.
Earlier this week I shot a movie trailer called “My Brother’s Story”, written by choreographer Paul Becker www.paulbeckerchoreography.com and based on his own life story. It’s a dance/action/drama about the journey 2 boys take after being abandoned by their mother and raised by their father. I played the mom and the make-up gal did quite the job giving me (the look of) a black eye for one of my scenes – ouch! Not to mention the fine 80’s hairstyle and clothes…
‘Twas some pretty heavy emotional scenes for me, but Paul, who also directed the trailer, was very personable and focused to work with. He’s done remarkable work in dance and choreography at such a young age including work with the Jonas Brothers, So You Think You Can Dance Canada and many films. I wish Paul and his crew the best of luck getting this made into a feature film!
- with Hins Cheung
Barely into 2009 and loving the variety and great new people I’m working with. I was the opening act here for “Canto popstar” Hins Cheung 張敬軒. I’m leery to call him that because this guy is actually the real deal - a very talented songwriter and musician with an excellent voice - far from what I usually consider most Cantopop singers to be. He also happens to be nice, speaks surprisingly good English and has accomplished much success across Asia and beyond, which is quite a feat since he comes from Guangzhou, China, not exactly a music hotspot.
We had fun filming our opening video together then while I got ready for the show he had meet ‘n greet with all the sponsors and contest-winning fans; Hins’ schedule is very demanding. In fact, this led to a bit of a commotion post-concert because he cut his encores short so he could catch a late flight to Toronto where he had another concert the very next night. Some fans complained he should have sang longer and the hoopla even reached as far as the entertainment pages in the Hong Kong news! Ya know, I heard the same thing about Madonna’s concerts last fall, so I guess it’s at least good to be wanted for more?! (Not that I would know… I had to give up my ticket to see Madonna in Vegas last Nov. ‘cuz I got booked to film a tv commercial for Sylvan Learning that same weekend. Murphy’s Law indeed, but I’m glad I stayed ‘cuz I love my work, the ad airs a lot and funny enough I filmed with the sister of the lil’ girl in my “Under the Bed” spot for BC Cancer).
Back to Madonna. I loved singing the Anita Mui 梅艷芳 version of “Careless Whisper”, half of it, that is. I like to begin singing in English then surprise the audience by switching to Cantonese. Mui Yim-fong, known as “Madonna of Asia”, died far too young at the age of 40 but made such an impact with her talents and low, dramatic voice.
Today’s version of an Asian Madonna would probably be A-mei 張惠妹 and for the Hins concert I finally learned her Mandarin dance song “Bad Boy”. Had fun onstage with dancer/choreographer Raphael Wong; we’ve done lots of shows together and he’s a good guy. Years ago I was part of a huge outdoor concert in Taipei with tons of Asian superstars performing. I knew I’d have dancers backing me up while I sang and assumed the cute girl with platform boots putting sparkles on her face next to me was one of them. Imagine my shock when the producer informed me that “apart from Andy Lau she is the biggest star here - that’s A-MEI don’t you know?!!” Oops. The crowd of 30,000 went nuts when she came out onstage to sing just before my turn. Hey, does that mean A-mei opened for ME?!
- English Bay
Finally it’s been a while without yet another bizarre snowstorm - we “Wet” coasters are NOT used to all that white stuff! Looks gorgeous, but it sure changed plans throughout the month of December, and I have yet to catch up with all my nieces and nephews out of town (…bad Auntie)
One snowfall began Dec.17, the day of the highly-anticipated live event Miss Chinese Vancouver Pageant 2008 produced by Fairchild TV. I was asked to perform and enjoyed learning yet another new Mandarin song, but think the best entertainment happened backstage. The frantic pace of those 10 beauty contestants changing outfits & entire hairstyles to match was a live tv lesson in speed-dressing and they had a troupe of assistants and stylists running non-stop. Bear in mind the gals were there since rehearsals 12+ hours earlier so it was a verrry long day for them and ya gotta admire the dedication.
- with Gregory Rivers
Off-stage I really enjoyed chatting-in-Chinese (!!) with fellow blue-eyed blond Gregory Rivers 河國榮; handsome Aussie event MC who for years was an actor with TVB in Hong Kong. Now I can finally appreciate how surprising it is to hear Cantonese coming from the mouth of a “gwei-lo”! I also got to know former pageant winner Bernice Liu 廖碧兒 who is lovely, smart and a fine dancer, not to mention a made- in-BC beauty. I even caught up with dynamo magician Nelson Chang (soon to be Oslen?) whom I haven’t seen since we both performed at Toronto’s Skydome for the big Chinese new year festival years ago. Now called the Rogers Centre, it was so cavernous that for our Event they had a ferris wheel indoors!
- with Bernice Liu
Post-pageant I nearly wiped out on ice which would’ve been a disaster as I was filming a U.S. tv commercial (actually, three) over the next few days for Time Warner (no wonder I had little time to Christmas shop). I played the role of an office executive - if they only knew the truth - in my unreal “real” life I’m a glamour-gal-entertainer singin’ all sorts of songs; two of my recent English faves being “Rehab” and Christina Aguilera’s fast “Ain’t No Other Man”.
P.S….as for New Year resolutions - while I like to believe we can all improve and evolve, I think the best way to start a year is not with resolutions but with champagne & a To Do list. As they say, to start eating an elephant, go bite by bite and you might just manage it! Break it down into manageable bits. Cheers to YOU, thanks for your support and all the best for 2009.
- Kelly Chen
A friend phoned last night urging “Quick, Lini turn on the TV - I’m watching you onscreen singing at a concert in China!” Well, he was partly right because I had certainly felt like I WAS singing in China then! He was referring to a re-broadcast of the November ‘08 “Our Chinese Heart” concert held at GM Place stadium (yup, the same place Britney Spears and AC/DC play), for an audience of 13,000. This was an ambitious variety concert produced by Asia’s largest broadcaster CCTV featuring many Asian stars such as Kelly Chen, Daniel Chan, Guo Feng and many more. http://www.ourchineseheart.com/jt/home.html
- Onstage with Han Lei
It was quite the experience that’s for sure. Namely because I’d been contacted to perform a Mandarin song I’d never heard of just one week prior to the concert. Negotiations stalled and I was never contracted……..until the very DAY of the show!! I consider myself game for most challenges in my career (ok, except for the National Geographic acting shoot involving live tigers), I had heard the song was brief and straight-forward so decided to cram in a month’s learning into just a few hours. Little did I know what was ahead.
Arrived at GM Place and was informed by the one person who spoke any English that I’d be singing the song with renowned Chinese singer Han Lei. For the 3 hour concert FINALE. Ran through the song just twice with him; he’s a fine gentleman who speaks no English and has a gorgeous, soaring tenor voice. My voice is alto, not exactly the best match for this duet. My ear monitors were faulty and cut out constantly so I finally realized I better not dare move from my spot. So much for my Britney dance moves…
- @ GM Place
Somehow it all came together, we pulled it off, and it’s now been broadcast multiple times to over a billion viewers I’m told. That’s pretty wild. I’m thankful to Vancouver performer Jack Li who helped me and I’m grateful to have experienced a venue of this magnitude. I just ask for a bit more notice for the next challenge, okay Universe?!
You can see more of the photos at http://www.linievans.com/photos.html
Just back from performing in Chicago - what a fabulous city at a fascinating time in history! My show was for 600-700 p at the Chinatown Chamber of Commerce’s annual Gala; the largest event for Chinese and American business leaders in the Chicago area and state of Illinois. Their theme was the Olympic spirit and I had to work very hard to try to pull of SOLO singing the duet from the 2008 Beijing Olympic Closing Ceremony - remember the beautiful, almost haunting song by Sarah Brightman and Li Huan? Not just Mandarin and English, but afterall, he’s a HE voice and her’s very high… soprano that is. Luckily, it was a success and I wish them much luck in their hopes to host the 2016 Games. As a proud Vancouverite, I know the excitement that comes with the Olympics - it’s our turn next in 2010.
- Chicago Hilton
But the best was yet to come. I was at the very grand Chicago Hilton hotel on Michigan Avenue and got up early for a walkabout in the ‘hood the next morning. Right across from me in the crisp, cold sun was Grant Park, the very spot of Barack Obama’s acceptance speech. I had watched on TV just weeks prior the president-elect speaking and moving the crowd of 100,000+. Electrifying vibe and their motto of “yes we can” on T-shirts in store windows has now was changed to “yes we did” - ya gotta love it!
- The “Bean”
I continued soaking up the sun and the stunning architecture combining gothic, historic buildings with modern, sleek skyscrapers. I passed a CNN election bus (still) parked in the park then reached Millenium Park, which to me certainly looked worth the 4 year wait beyond it’s due date. My fave sights were the ”Bean”, an enormous reflective sculpture and the Frank Gehry-designed outdoor concert stage. I have got to come back here and spend more time…oh, and this was all before I hit the shopping! Ahhh, Macy’s, Nordstrom, Mag Mile and more : )
Time to give thanks, and no, not just for pumpkin pie and turkey…
Since I always say Health is the #1 Wealth, that’s what I’ll start with. To family and friends, for all the encouragement and cheerleading; I’m sure in this biz (and any other) on-going support from people close to you is priceless. You know who you are! What a fantastic, diverse bunch you are - you sure keep my life interesting…
And thanks to Doug Brown for helping me get this and my www.linievans.com up and running. What was a chance meeting while out nature-shooting (and let’s be clear, by that I mean photography!) turned out to be a serendipitous chat and start of a fun and worthy project together. You can check out his fantastic photos at www.djb-photo.com
Hey, 2 other names pop into mind at this time of Thanksgiving. Kor, whose name should stand for Knowledge/Opinions/Really a lot of vitamins. Actually, he’s been such a positive influence in my life and I’m grateful for him.
- with Uncle Ray
And Uncle Ray from RTHK 3 - what a wonderful gentleman and interviewer, not to mention Guiness World Record Holder for longest-airing radio DJ. I’d love to get back to Hong Kong and see him again.
Ok, there’s a few of my thoughts on thanks - what are 3 things YOU are thankful for?? And btw funny how life looks even better when I practise gratitude every day.
