My posts about Hua Hua are getting views so I figured that many people around the world are interested in learning more about him.
This is one of my favourite videos of him because he is talking about anime in these scenes. There are English subtitles. ^^ His favourite anime is One Piece. MY FAVOURITE ANIME IS ONE PIECE-
*calms down*
Some of the other anime he likes are Assassination Classroom, Tokyo Ghoul, Naruto, Dragonball, One Punch Man, Attack on Titan, Gintama, and Pokemon. His favourite character in Naruto is Orochimaru. He has a lot of figurines at home and really likes Kaneki. He also has a Chopper plush, Chopper hat, Kaneki’s mask, Dragonball pouch and other things!
When asked if he would rather be King of the Pirates or hokage, he answered King of the Pirates. He explains in the video that pirates have more freedom, while the hokage has responsibilities of taking care of the village. This reminded me of Luffy’s quote when he was talking about being a pirate versus being a hero.
Hero? No! We’re pirates! I love heroes, but I don’t wanna be one! Do you know what heroes are? Say there is a chunk of meat. Pirates will have a banquet and eat it, but heroes will share it with other people. I want all the meat!”
Singer 2018 is an incredibly popular show in China. It is always ranked in first or second place on TV in China and it’s watched worldwide. It is a singing competition and the competitors are well-established, famous singers. Obviously I am rooting for Hua Hua (as you can tell by the title and nature of this post). A competitor you may be familiar with is Jessie J from the UK.
I blogged about Hua Chenyu (everyone calls him Hua Hua). You can read it here. I wrote that post in 2017. He gained a lot of fans because of Singer 2018. ^^ He is my number one favourite singer for multiple reasons. I talked about that in that blog post. Hua Hua is truly so talented. These are his performances in each episode, starting from episode 4 (he did not sing in the first three episodes). The show is not done airing and Hua Hua has reached the finals. ^^
Episode 4 – 齐天 Qi Tian
This is Hua Hua’s song, not a cover. It’s the theme song for the film, 悟空传 Wu Kong (Remember I wanted to read a novel called Monkey? Wu Kong is the name of that monkey)
He won first place
He’s amazing at holding long notes
He raps in the middle
After I watched this video a few weeks ago, I wore all black clothes and pink eyeshadow that day LOL
Episode 5 – 孩子 Child
The original singer of the song is 西樓
He’s wearing white clothes and sings at a slower pace. It contrasts from the previous episode
This is not one of my favourite performances of his
Episode 6 – 双节棍 Nunchucks
The original singer is one of my favourite singers, 周杰伦 Jay Chou
Hua Hua made huge changes to the song. I actually prefer this a lot more than the original (I didn’t like Jay Chou’s Nunchucks)
It’s rap heavy
Hua Hua incorporated Chinese opera – This made the performance one of my favourites from this season
Hua Hua’s stage presence is phenomenal. When he is not performing, he is a little shy and introverted (but so adorable). When he is performing, he is full of confidence. It’s a big change. I love how dynamic he is
He came in first place
Episode 7 – 我管你 I Don’t Care
This is one of Hua Hua’s songs. Everyone in the audience knows this, which is why he invites them to join him in some parts
It’s one of my favourite songs of his because of the lyrics. It’s about being true to yourself, embracing your uniqueness, and not giving a f*k about others’ opinions. If you’re a regular reader of my blog, you probably know that I value being true to myself, even if it means being a little different. If I cared so much about fitting in, then I would not be wearing fruit hair ties or cosplaying as male characters. ^^
Back to Hua Hua – It’s clear that he stands by his own lyrics
He placed in first place
Episode 8 – 易燃易爆炸 Super Explosive
He is dressed in black because the lyric composer suddenly passed away. He was going to sing a different song but changed it to this at the last minute. It’s his way of mourning her death
Episode 9 – 山海 Mountain and Sea
The original is by 草東沒有派對 No Party For Cao Dong
The lyrics are quite deep and sad
He ranked in fifth place, but I think the performance was wonderful. Up to now, he has always placed in the top three
Episode 10 – 假行僧 Fake Monk
This performance is absolutely HAUNTING! It’s one of my favourites
He does a crazy/creepy laugh and I love it!
We get to see how versatile he is as a singer. For example, he can sing really high-pitched and we see that here
It is a little different, but that makes him unique, special, and it makes him stand out. I understand that some people are not able to get used to this sort of performance
Episode 11 – 平凡之路 Ordinary Path
The original is sung by Lion
He re-arranged the song. When he arranges music, he does not eat or sleep for two days. It is concerning, but Hua Hua says that he feels joy in doing this. This shows how dedicated he is to his work, and how important music is to him. It’s no wonder that he never fails to deliver amazing performances
Episode 12 – 我 I Am What I Am
The original is by 张国荣 Leslie Cheung
This is one of my favourite performances of his
He came in first place
I love the lyrics. “I am what I am… I like who I am…” – This is a theme in so many of Hua Hua’s songs. Common themes he sings about are enjoying loneliness, being true to yourself, and liking yourself. My values line up with his values very well
The first thing I noticed was his clothing choice. It looks like he is wearing a bathrobe but I think this choice of fashion goes well with the song’s meaning about being yourself and liking who you are
After watching the performance, it is clear that he has experienced a lot of pain. Hua Hua opens up to us through his music. In his childhood, he spent a lot of time alone because his father was always working. Music was what he turned to, similar to what anime did for me
It’s a very emotional song. He is almost in tears and the audience is in tears. I almost cried too LOL
I almost cried because I was lonely when I was a kid too. I didn’t fit in with the other children at school but I never tried to change myself. At a young age I valued being true to myself. It’s not that I didn’t want friends – I wanted friends who would accept me for who I was. To add onto this – just knowing that he felt pain and loneliness is very sad for me because he is my favourite singer
Final thoughts: The song choices were very deliberately chosen. I know that a lot of non-Chinese listeners like his vocals, but I think it would be great if you could also read English translations of the song lyrics. Then the gaps in understanding will be filled and we can fully appreciate everything he does.
Many people know Bii from the Taiwanese drama, Bromance. I was a fan of his music (he is a singer!) before Bromance existed. Bii is one of my favourite singers and he is my number one idol.
About Bromance (2015):
It is currently on Netflix with English subtitles. Bii plays Wei Qing Yang, the male in the second couple. I recommend the drama because it has an interesting premise. The actor and actress in the main couple are famous for their previous dramas, such as Fated to Love You and Two Fathers. I really appreciate the close-ups of Bii’s beautiful face but watching his scenes make me sad at the same time because the girl is not me LOOL. I love that he sings the opening theme song, along with three other singers in his talent agency. One of the songs I really like is sang by two people from his talent agency. His solo songs play during his scenes, as well as other romantic scenes.
My story on how I fell in love:
My friend showed me Bii’s music video for I know. I was busy when my friend showed me so I just listened to the song without watching the video. I thought Bii’s voice was really nice… I decided to watch the video and he was so good looking!
A lot of people say that Bii looks like Luhan, one of China’s most popular stars. Luhan is a former member of EXO. Bii is humble and said that Luhan looks prettier than him. ^^
Then I decided to Google him (LOL this is what I do…). I learned that Bii is half Korean and half Taiwanese, but grew up in Korea. He was scouted by SM Talent when he was a teen in Korea but didn’t go for it. I thought it was really impressive that he became fluent in Chinese because he learned the language after he came to Taiwan. He talks and sings mostly in Chinese, but he does sing some Korean songs.
After that, I decided to watch videos of him on YouTube. He was so kind to his fan and I began to tear up… I was at school at the time and I was feeling unhappy with myself. After watching that one video I decided I wanted to change myself to be a better person who would help other people and become more true to myself. I wanted to be someone I would like…
After that, I started reading his Facebook status updates. (LOL) He wrote in Chinese and it was tough to understand them at first. I live in Canada and although I am a fluent speaker, my reading skills were lacking. Google Translate helped, and gradually I was able to understand more words. ^^ The reason I was working this hard was because his statuses were unlike other celebrities’ statuses.
I don’t follow him as much as I used to, but I remember he wrote statuses for his fans. He would tell us to dress warm so that we would not get sick, and to drink soup because it was cold out. He told us to sleep early so that we have more energy the next day. Bii was so caring and I was really envious of the many girls who had photos of them hugging him, and fans who watched him perform at his concerts.
Several months after I started liking him, I found out that he sang the Korean version of one of my favourite songs, Dui Wang. Dui Wang is the ending song of my favourite Taiwanese drama, My Lucky Star (2007).
Well, I am turning 21 this year and I am not exactly the same person I was a few years ago. I’m not that obsessed with celebrities anymore but Bii is still one of my favourite singers. ^^
Kwang-ho Hong is one of my favourite singers. He is a musical theatre actor from South Korea. Some of his most famous works include Jekyll & Hyde, The Phantom of the Opera, Notre-Dame de Paris, Miss Saigon, and Death Note. He has starred in numerous other musicals.
A couple of years ago, I was going through a rough time and felt hatred towards all men. I came across a video of Kwang-ho Hong singing “All I Ask of You” from my favourite musical, The Phantom of the Opera (2009). I felt so moved… and decided to open my heart. I think I cried.
I started to search him online and found out that he first played Raoul in POTO. A year later, he played Erik, the Phantom. Kwang-ho Hong was one of the youngest Phantoms in the world!
I also found out that he played Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde in Jekyll & Hyde. It’s one of my favourite books and “This is the Moment” is one of my favourite songs. He sings it so well. He also played Quasimodo in Notre-Dame de Paris, which is a story I like as well.
As if things were not enough, he also acted as Light Yagami from one of my favourite anime, Death Note (2015). I felt that Kwang-ho Hong and I are super alike in terms of his roles and my interests. I cannot think of any other person who is better suited to play Light.
Kwang-ho Hong is most famous for playing Thuy in Miss Saigon (2014). He went to London and sang in English for West End theatre! West End theatre is huge in the musical theatre industry.
It’s my dream to watch Kwang-ho Hong perform live in a musical. Although I do not understand Korean, I can still appreciate the music. The fact that I do not understand Korean is not too important because I can still feel the emotion he pours into his music.
I hope by doing this post, I can bring more attention to Kwang-ho Hong because he made an impact in my life. He is truly talented at performing live and his accomplishments are impressive. ❤
Hua Chenyu 华晨宇 is a famous Chinese singer. Most of the information online about him are in Chinese, so I decided to write a post in English for non-Chinese speakers (and for everybody to know about him). He is currently my favourite singer.
Nickname: Hua Hua 花花 (means ‘flower’)
Fans’ name: Huo Xing Ren 火星人 (Martian)
After he posted photos with the monkey on his Weibo, the toy ran out of stock.
I first learned about him through a Facebook video that was shared on my homepage. It was him performing the song, My Skateboard Shoes 我的滑板鞋. I thought his rapping was impressive. Afterwards I decided to find more music by him and found the song, Ashes from Firework 烟火里的尘埃. He has a very powerful voice, especially when he performs live.
I like that his music is comprised of different genres, such as pop, alternative rock, folk and classical music. The fact that he is capable of singing to this wide range of music shows that he is talented.
My favourite song by him is Quasimodo’s Gift 卡西莫多的礼物. Quasimodo is a fictional character from the novel, The Hunchback of Notre-Dame. Everyone calls Quasimodo “hideous” because of his deformities, and as a result he experiences deep loneliness. In the song, Hua Chenyu sings “Quasimodo’s gift is to enjoy the loneliness” 卡西莫多的礼物 享受孤独. This is my favourite part because he helped me realize that loneliness is not necessarily a bad thing. Often times, we associate ‘lonely’ with negative feelings but to be able to enjoy it is actually quite nice. I can relate to aloneness very well from my personal life, and the moment you begin to enjoy is really an eye-opening experience. Practicing self-love, and finding your own interests and passions are just a couple of reasons why this is important.
Hua Chenyu is someone I consider authentic. Authenticity is something I look for because a lot of artists create content for the sake of being more popular. Hua Chenyu does not care about that (he even has a song called, I Don’t Care 我管你).
Despite being famous, he is an introvert and that’s why his first album was dedicated to the topic of loneliness. He also has some quirks which differentiates him from other celebrities. He does not try to hide who he really is. Hua Chenyu promotes the idea of being true to yourself, even if others do not like it.
Wretched and Divine 