My top genres were Chinese pop, Japanese pop, Korean pop, Thai pop, and Japanese video game music. I don’t listen to a lot of English songs. So yeah, I don’t really expect many of you to know the music I listen to.
I shared this song in a blog post, and it still gets a lot of views today. Click here to see it.
Joker Xue has been on my Spotify Wrapped for the third year in a row now, so I’m not surprised about this.
It was 33k last year.
The audio aura thing is new. I wonder how it’s determined. What does dramatic music sound like, anyway?
If you have a Spotify wrapped, what was your audio aura? I’m curious!
Thanks Minty for the tag. ❤ There are so many prompts, hahaha. 95% of the music I listen to are from Asian dramas, anime, other shows, and games. That’s why most of the songs I listen to are in Chinese, Japanese, Thai, or Korean.
Rules
Link back to the original (Sophie @ Me and Ink) so she can see your answers and listen to the tunes.
For every prompt you choose, name 1-5 songs (you can use Sophie’s grapics)
Have fun and play your music LOUD!
1) Home Town Glory
Songs that remind you of home
The gist of it is: Suddenly, it seems that time has passed by so quickly and you’re left feeling confused where exactly that time went. It’s a very sad song.
2) It’s a Love Story
Your favourite songs about love
This is from The Phantom of the Opera musical. Raoul is played by Kwang-ho Hong. I actually don’t like Raoul and prefer Erik, but I like Kwang-ho Hong too much. I like this specific performance.
Another favourite is Time of Flight 時間飛行 by Bai Yu 白宇 and Zhu Yilong 朱一龍. It’s from the Chinese BL drama, Guardian. I talk about this song more in #11.
3) Shut Up and Dance
Songs you have to dance to
I’m a boring person and never dance to music.
4) If This Was a Movie
Songs from movies/TV/Broadway
I love the songs from the musicals, Jekyll and Hyde, The Phantom of the Opera, and Death Note. My favourite musical singers are Kwang-ho Hong and Zheng Yunlong.
I like anything Kwang-ho Hong sings. Here, he sings This is the Moment from Jekyll and Hyde.
5) Comfort Crowd
Songs that make you feel calm
Kago no Naka ni Tori 籠の中に鳥 by yourness makes me feel calm. It’s from the anime, Sing “Yesterday” For You.
A chill instrumental song is Revelation, also known as Oracle. It’s from the Catherine OST. Catherine is one of my favourite video games.
Another calm song is Artic Whispers by Bai Yu. It helps me fall asleep.
When I was in a child, I listened to S.H.E, Fahrenheit, and JJ Lin every day after school.
I believe this song is from 2006 because it has clips from the Taiwanese drama, Hana Kimi. Two of the Fahrenheit members starred in it.
7) Let’s Get Down to Business
Songs that motivate you
I was feeling down one day and then Man With a Mission’s Fly Again played on my phone (it was on shuffle). At the time, the lyrics and the overall feeling of the song lifted my mood. I still feel lucky about getting a pick at their concert.
8) Old Town Road
Songs from the past (like really old ones) that you love
I feel like this and #6 are the same for me.
9) Cry With You
Songs that make you cry and cry
Where Has Time Gone? (See #1) makes me cry.
10) I Think I’m in Love
Your latest music obsessions
This one is easy to answer. The songs that I listen to repeat are from the shows I’m currently watching.
The first one is The Love Letter 唯一寫過的情書 by Alex Chou 周予天. It’s from the Taiwanese BL drama, We Best Love: Fighting Mr. 2nd. I loved the first season, but this season feels so… raw. I’m enjoying it a lot more. I don’t know why I love dramas that are painful to watch.
The next song is Ask Heaven by Liu Yuning. It is the opening song for Word of Honor, a Chinese historical BL series. I’ve been listening to the entire album non-stop these days.
This series was recommend to me by a Twitter stranger, and I’m thankful for them because I’m enjoying it a lot. If you like The Untamed, I definitely recommend Word of Honor.
11) Writer in the Dark
Favourite lyrics from songs
The English translation for Time of Flight by Bai Yu and Zhu Yilong (#2) probably won’t make a lot of sense.
In Guardian, Bai Yu plays Zhao Yunlan and Zhu Yilong plays Shen Wei. Zhao Yunlan and Shen Wei are soulmates, and this has been proven time and time again. No matter how many years pass (and I’m talking about thousands of years), the feelings are never lost. They will find always each other again.
Zhu Yilong: How much more serious and how firm it is to make a difference
How many exercises will you become like this?
Bai Yu: I am always waiting for a message here, you have not given up.
Chorus: Flying together across time”
I also like the lyrics from Joker Xue’s Animal World. I’ve interpreted the lyrics in this post.
別再進化 別讓動物世界太假”
12) Sign of the Times
Songs in the charts that you love
I have no idea. I just listen to what I like.
13) More Than a Memory
Songs you have specific memories attached to. Tell us the memory.
When COVID was a new thing, I got into Thai dramas for the first time. Listening to the songs from the dramas reminds me of that period because I had so much energy at the time. No one wants a pandemic, but I made the most of my time and tried a lot of new things.
This song is sung by Bright Vachirawit, who played Sarawat in 2gether: The Series. I’m currently watching Lovely Writer: The Series. Thai dramas make me so happy and I love the music.
Another song is Wu Ji 无羁 by Xiao Zhan and Wang Yibo. The reason is because I watched The Untamed with my friends and did a blogger collab on it. Instead of watching alone like I normally do with shows, I had people to watch and talk with. I talk about it more in #17.
14) Sing to Me Instead
Those songs you have to sing to
…
15) I Wasn’t Expecting That
Songs that you didn’t expect to love, but you do
In 2018, I knew that the opening song for the anime, Wotaku ni Koi wa Muzukashii, was popular. When I listened to it the first time, I thought it was overhyped. I didn’t include in My Top 5 Spring 2018 Anime Opening Songs post. After I published that post, I couldn’t stop listening to it. LOL
The song is called Fiction by Sumika.
16) Favourite Record
Albums you can’t live without
My favourite album is The Untamed OST by various artists. The Untamed is my favourite Asian drama, so I hold the music dear to my heart.
My other favourite albums are the Guardian OST (#2 and #11) and the Word of Honor OST (#10).
17) Video Games
Name your favourite music videos
I’m a little confused why this is titled “Video Games’ when it’s asking about music videos. Anyway, my favourite music video is Wu Ji 无羁 by Xiao Zhan and Wang Yibo. It’s the opening song for The Untamed. It’s my favourite music video because my feelings for this drama resurface every time I watch it. It’s one of my favourite songs.
I started a new Taiwanese drama called No. 1 For You today and I’m almost done watching it. It happens to all the shows I love – Once I start something good, I will finish it as fast as I can. I think I’ll make a list of the shows I’ve binged and post it on the blog. The drama is a BL, by the way. Both main leads are very attractive.
Anyway, I loved one of the songs in the drama. Then I found out that the actor that plays the main character (Shu Yi) sang the song. I also found out that he is half-Japanese and is fluent in it. In the drama, Shu Yi sometimes talks in Japanese, so this makes more sense.
The song made me cry. It’s the perfect song for this drama.
I’ve already reached both my follower and blog hit goals, so I wasn’t entirely sure what to do with this blog. I just really like the song, so I wanted to blog about it. I think that’s the direction I will take… to share the things I like and a bit about my life. 🙂 Thank you.
Obviously, I haven’t listened to every OP and ED of 2020. If you have any recommendations, let me know!
MyFavourite Openings
忘言歌 Song of Words Unsaid by 赵磊 Zhao Lei (Chuan Shu Zijiu Zhinan / The Scum Villain’s Self-Saving System)
This is a Chinese song. I’m a huge fan of the series (novel and donghua). I also really like the singer.
No Separation by Jeff Chang (Heaven Official’s Blessing)
This is the series I am currently obsessed with! It’s a Chinese series by the same creator of Scumbag System (above) and Mo Dao Zu Shi. I think this opening has the best art.
Great Pretender OP by Yutaka Yamada (Great Pretender)
I’ve blogged about one of my favourite composers, Yutaka Yamada. He also composed the music for Tokyo Ghoul, which speaks to how versatile his music is. Great Pretender is amazing anime.
Dying Wish by 畠中 祐 (Moriarty the Patriot)
This song grew on me. I didn’t have a strong opinion of it at first but now I love it. Moriarty the Patriot was an amazing anime.
My Favourite Endings
籠の中に鳥 Kago no Naka ni Tori by ユアネス yourness (Sing “Yesterday” for Me)
In a recent post, I shared that this is one of my favourite songs.
SLUMP by Stray Kids (Tower of God)
I prefer the Korean version, maybe because they are a Korean group. I think it’s great that the show used songs from a Kpop group. After all, it is an adaptation of a Korean webtoon.
Lost in Paradise feat. AKLO by ALI (Jujutsu Kaisen)
This song is amazing. It is catchy and chill. I really like the animation here too. I’m really enjoying Jujutsu Kaisen right now. It’s kind of like a mix of Demon Slayer and Parasyte.
Other Side by MIYAVI (ID:Invaded)
ID:Invaded was a good anime. The concept is similar to the game, AI: The Somnium Files.
Do you like any of these songs? What are your favourite openings and endings of 2020?
Another year, another music update. I’ll say this again: Spotify does not have all of the music I like.
The last one is Bai Yu. Spotify only has a few of his songs. Joker Xue, Jay Chou, and JJ Lin are still on the list but their rankings have changed.
Three of the five are from The Untamed soundtrack, hahaha. The fourth singer is Zhou Shen. All of these songs are in Chinese.
It says I’ve listened to Spotify for 33k minutes this year, which is close to my 2018 and 2019 numbers. If we add other music, I’m guessing the true number is around 40-45k minutes.
A bit of information about me: In 2018, I was invested in Singer 2018, which is a singing competition for professional and well-established singers. It took place in China.
Earlier this year, I was super invested in Chuang 2020, a girls trainee survival show that took place in China. The 7-member group, BonBon Girls 303, was formed. I voted every day when it aired.
I’ve also watched a boys trainee survival show called Chuang 2019. The 11-member band, R1SE, was formed. I’m currently watching Super Vocal Season One, which is a singing competition for opera and musical singers.
Each episode is around two hours and the finales are around four hours. Two hours for one episode is not enough, by the way. There’s so much content that gets left out. You can probably tell that I like these types of shows.
Why, though? Note: A lot of these reasons are applicable to non-Chinese singing competitions.
1) TO WATCH THE CONTESTANTS WE LOVE
A lot of the contestants already have established fanbases. I watched Singer 2018 for Hua Chenyu and I watched Chuang 2020 for Chen Zhuoxuan, Nene, and Joyce Chu. I’m watching Super Vocal for Zheng Yunlong and Ayanga.
2) TO DISCOVER TALENTED ARTISTS
I became a fan of Zhao Lei, Zhou Zhennan, and Liu Ye after I watched Chuang 2019.
3) FOR THE FRIENDSHIPS
Although these are competitions, there are moments of beautiful friendship between the contestants. In Chuang 2020, Nene cried because she was afraid that Wu Yalu was going to be eliminated. Nene had a secure ranking but the one she was worried about was her best friend. Liu Xiening and Xu Yiyang’s friendship was touching, too.
In Super Vocal, Zheng Yunlong and Ayanga’s friendship started from when they were roommates during their university years.
4) TO FEEL INSPIRED
The contestants are hard-working and determined to achieve their goals. I know I felt inspired when I watched this scene in Super Vocal:
The contestants have to face a lot of challenges during the show, too. Although it’s challenging for them and entertaining for us, it pushes them to learn and grow as artists.
5) FOR THE MUSIC
All the contestants are talented! Since these are singing shows, there’s obviously beautiful singing involved! Sometimes there’s rap, dance, and musical instruments too, depending on the show. Not only do they sing, they sometimes rearrange the music (Singer 2018, Super Vocal), write the music, and create the choreography (Chuang 2019). The art of performing in front of an audience is important as well as selecting the right song.
It’s entertaining!
6) TO APPRECIATE NEW MUSIC GENRES AND SONGS
Prior to watching Singer 2018, I didn’t really appreciate Chinese folk music. I changed my mind after I learned more about it and saw the hard work behind the scenes.
7) TO LEARN NEW THINGS
I’ve liked songs from musicals and opera for many years, but I didn’t know the meaning behind some of the songs. In Super Vocal, they explain the story behind the song.
8) YOU GET TO PARTICIPATE
This one is for survival competitions that involve voting. It’s exciting to support your favourites. There’s a reason to vote for them: So that they can debut (This depends on the show).
When Chuang 2020 aired, I had something to look forward every week.
Do you see why I like Chinese singing competitions now?
R1SE is an 11-member boy band that was formed at the end of the Chinese trainee survival show, Chuang 2019. The 11 members secured the most votes and thus, R1SE was created. They are popular in China but they aren’t as well-known internationally. I suspect this has to do with the lack of translated content. The Chuang episodes on YouTube don’t even have English subtitles. They deserve more recognition!
Since R1SE is a temporary group, they have less than a year left. I still think this is worth writing about because they have some amazing performances.
You’ve probably listened to their songs if you have watched Mo Dao Zu Shi, The King’s Avatar live-action, or Scumbag System.
1. R1SE – 少年如故《魔道祖师 Mo Dao Zu Shi》
This is the third ending of Mo Dao Zu Shi. Five of the members sing it. They are Zhao Lei, Ren Hao, Liu Ye, He Luoluo, and Zhai Xiaowen.
2. R1SE – 荣耀的战场 《全职高手 The King’s Avatar》
Most of their videos on YouTube are in Chinese.
3. R1SE 赵磊 Zhao Lei – 忘言歌 Song of Words Unsaid《Scumbag System》
Zhao Lei is one of my favourite members. Scumbag System is actually airing right now. You can watch the episodes legally on YouTube. They have English subtitles! The CGI rubbed me the wrong way at first but I quickly got used to it. The story is by the creator of Mo Dao Zu Shi. I recommend it.
4. R1SE – 曜
This is their live performance of 曜. They’re amazing in this one! The chorus is catchy.
5. R1SE – 中国话
The original song is sung by the Taiwanese girl group, S.H.E. In this live performance, they added Chinese opera and rap. It’s cool that they combined these different genres. This is one of my favourite performances of theirs. At the end of the performance, they pulled out nunchucks like?? Wah.
I love Zhao Lei’s opera in the beginning and Zhang Yanqi’s rap @2:57.
6. R1SE – YOU
This is the practice video version of YOU. This song is more focused on vocals. I love Liu Ye’s vocals the most in this one. He’s also my favourite member.
7. R1SE 翟潇闻、赵磊 – Forever Young
This is Zhai Xiaowen and Zhao Lei’s live performance of Forever Young. The original song is sung by another singer but I actually prefer their cover. They are the main vocals of the group.
This is a performance from Chuang 2019. Only two members of R1SE are in this one (Zhou Zhennan and Zhao Lei). This is my favourite performance from the show. Zhou Zhennan, the one who secured first place in all the episodes, is amazing in this one. Not only is his rap great, but his vocals are perfect @2:50. This song isn’t really his style either, which makes it even more impressive.
9. R1SE+SNH48 – Y’all Don’t Touch It
I like this performance but I think R1SE does a better job than the girls… I think Ren Hao, Liu Ye, and Zhou Zhennan’s visuals pop out in this one. Ren Hao is the one in the beginning and Liu Ye appears at @1:40.
Runner-up songs and performances: 梦在黎明破晓时 and Blue Bird (Yes, the Naruto opening).
I hope that you’ll check out R1SE’s songs. It’s a shame that they aren’t promoted to international audiences. That’s why us fans are pulling our weight in hopes that someone out there will be interested!
I was surprised to read about Yutaka Yamada’s works because I realized I liked his music from different anime but didn’t know it. Suddenly, it all made sense.
1. Glassy Sky (Tokyo Ghoul)
Tokyo Ghoul gets a lot of hate for being a bad anime adaptation. I like Tokyo Ghoul a lot but I’ve realized it’s because of the soundtrack.
Glassy Sky helps me fall asleep. I’ve lost track of how many times I’ve listened to it.
2. Promise (Death Note: Light Up the New World)
This is from the live-action film, Death Note: Light Up the New World. I watched the film in June 2017. This song inspired me to draw this:
3. On My Own (Tokyo Ghoul)
I rarely listen to English songs too.
4. Licht und Schatten (Tokyo Ghoul)
5. Great Pretender Opening
This song is a very different from what you would hear in Tokyo Ghoul. I was surprised to learn that it was composed by Yutaka Yamada. He’s insanely talented.
Great Pretender is an amazing anime, by the way. You can read my impressions post here.
I was also surprised to learn that he did the soundtracks for Babylon, Vinland Saga, and the Inuyashiki live-action. I’ve been listening to his music on Spotify. Maybe I’ll have an updated list in the future. 🙂
flumpool is a Japanese band. I’ve liked them since 2009! They did the theme songs for the 2008 Jdrama, Bloody Monday. In 2010, they did the theme song for Bloody Monday Season 2. flumpool’s new songs are still amazing. I love them soo much! I especially love Ryuta Yamamura. He’s the vocalist.
Another thing I like about flumpool is that they have songs in Chinese. I don’t know any other Japanese band or singer that have songs in Chinese. Ryuta recently posted a lot of videos of him speaking in Chinese and practising Chinese. He even asked fans to help him learn. T_T
Over the rain (2008)
This is the theme song for Bloody Monday.
残像 / Zanzou (2010)
This is the theme song for Bloody Monday Season 2.
花になれ / Hana ni Nare (2008)
I love the violin in the beginning! I can’t believe this song is from 2008.
証明 / Akashi (2011)
Ashin from the Taiwanese band, Mayday, wrote this song. This is one of flumpool’s Chinese songs. There is also a Japanese version. It’s so beautiful. T_T
HELP (Chinese ver.) (2020)
This came out just a few weeks ago! The Japanese version was released in 2019. I love it.
君に届け / Kimi ni Todoke (2010)
This was the theme song for the Japanese film, Kimi ni Todoke. It’s based on a shojo manga. I think this is one of their more popular songs.
素晴らしき嘘 / Subarashiki Uso (2020)
This is a new song from 2020. I love it.
明日への賛歌 / asu heno sanka
I think this is from 2014. I love the music video so much.
OAOA (2013)
flumpool sang a Japanese cover of Mayday’s 2011 song, OAOA.
These are my favourite flumpool songs. Please give them a listen, their songs are so good.
Wretched and Divine 