Top Asian Musical Talents: Wang Lee Hom (Part 3) - My Favourite Love Songs

I'm in love with Lee Hom's love songs... no, not just his ballads, his love songs.

There... I've said it.

The man is a maestro when it comes to love songs... and a romantic at heart like me should know something about that <3

So what are my favourite love songs by Lee Hom? And what makes a good love song?

My favourite love songs by Lee Hom... gosh, there are too many! As I was looking through his albums (part of my homework for this entry), I realised that Lee Hom really has a lot of love songs in his albums! It's like, they are just packed with love songs... is that why the ladies love his songs so much? :-)

For me, it doesn't matter whether a love song is fast or slow, or whether it is about a first love or a break-up. I think one of the most important things about love songs is that they must come from the heart... the singer must be able to relate to what's being said in the song, and to express it well, so that the feelings in the song are successfully conveyed to the listening audience... and for the person writing the song, I think it's usually more genuine when the song they write comes from personal experience. Of course, it isn't easy to bare your heart and soul like that, but when you do it in a song, it can be very therapeutic and freeing.

Of course, that being said, Lee Hom's love songs are not just about romantic love, there are also songs about loving the environment and loving yourself. One of the things I admire most about him is how much effort he put into researching various kinds of Eastern music with his trips to Xinjiang and other such exotic places, and fusing those traditional and tribal sounds with modern hip-hop and R&B sounds to come up with what is his very own "chinked out" sound... now that's a topic that deserves an entry all by itself.

On that note, let's begin with the love songs that touched me the most...

[NOTE: If you can't view the videos in my blog, please click on the link to view them instead]

On 1 Nov 2008, when I finally attended my first Lee Hom concert, there was a song that nearly brought me to tears when I first heard it being played "live"... from the very first notes, to the sound of Lee Hom's violin singing, to the very last piano notes... I love this song... it was inspired by the movie "Lust Caution"... this is "Luo Ye Gui Gen" ("Falling Leaf Returning To It's Roots").

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JcjjUBjzv-Y

I enjoy listening to Lee Hom's acoustic sounds, whether he's playing piano, or violin, or guitar, or drums, or erhu... as long as it's unplugged... one of my favourite piano pieces to listen to is Lee Hom's "Forever Love"... (this is also Jans' most favourite Lee Hom love song).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qPbtMpGCu0A

Another lovely piano piece is this one, "Kiss Goodbye"... and this is another favourite that I share with Jans :-)

[In case you're wondering, Lee Hom is a celebrity spokesperson for handphones, optical products and certain beverages, so sometimes it tends to show up in his music videos... you might notice that more as we go along].

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sLaZpuF0Xy8

This is one of my favourite video clips on YouTube, so I just HAD to include it here... Lee Hom on a variety show, playing "Kiss Goodbye" on the piano, with no other accompaniment... just heavenly... I'm sure it sounds even better, if you were standing there, right next to him... I'm a great believer in "live" music being better than anything recorded in a studio... you have to agree that it really works for love songs, because the expression in the song is just so much more intense when there's someone right next to you playing it for you...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ijXFbXXcKxo

This is one of his earlier songs, and this is probably the very first Lee Hom love song that I fell in love with... coincidentally, this is another piano piece, and another of Jans' faves too... this is "Ni Bu Zai" ("You're Not Here").

[OK, don't shoot me, but for some reason, I think that Lee Hom reminds me of Wu Chun in this music video... or is it the other way around? maybe it's Wu Chun who looks like Lee Hom, eh?? :-p]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GwtLFgZ411k

For a guy who hated piano at one time, Lee Hom sure has a lot of piano love songs... in fact, he could do a full concert just on piano with all his love songs... and I'm sure that people would pay tons to go watch him do a concert like that in a proper concert hall, like the Esplanade Concert Hall in Singapore. Sting played Esplanade Concert Hall earlier this month, so why not Lee Hom? Maybe I can help him pick out a song list here... LOL! :-p

But seriously, that would be quite a gargantuan task, the man has so many wonderful songs, many of which can be played so many different ways and on various instruments... it might not seem like it to a layperson listener, but ask a songwriter or a musician, and they will tell you so. Music is such a simple word for what is truly an incredibly versatile creature.

Another early song from Lee Hom, I love the guitar/piano combo version of this song which was played "live" during the "Heroes Of Earth" Concert Tour... this is the music video version of it though, I love his vocals in this version, it gives me goosebumps... "Yong Yuan De Di Yi Tian" ("Forever's First Day").

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=elIE748qp74

This another song that made for a good guitar/piano combo, when it was played "live" during the "Heroes Of Earth" Concert Tour... I couldn't find the original music video with English translation on YouTube, so this will have to do for now... this is "Da Cheng Xiao Ai" ("Big City Small Love").

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2qvJ76qumxg

If you've noticed, I'm not really categorizing Lee Hom's songs or trying to pigeonhole them too much, 'cos that's just hard, dude... the man is just too versatile for that, why cage him up, when he sounds so much better being free. The only limit I'm gonna put on myself here is to limit the number of songs I include in this entry, so that I can share more of them with you another time :-)

OK, I cannot go without mentioning the usual crowd participation songs, like this one... this is "Yi Shou Jian Dan De Ge" ("A Simple Song"), once again I couldn't find a version with English translation, but at least you get to hear the song.

During the "Heroes Of Earth" Concert Tour, Lee Hom played this song on the piano, and he asked the audience to sing the melody, while he accompanied them by singing harmony... he did this again for the "Music-Man" Concert in Singapore, and I think it was a real treat for his fans to be able to sing with him in this way... it's like a "mass duet"... what a briiliant idea, Lee Hom! Maybe there should be more of such songs in future, eh? **winks**

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PB2e1OkYjfo

And while I'm on the topic of concert love songs, here's a song that is Lee Hom's traditional closing song, and during a concert, his fans will sing along when this song comes on... usually, when the fans hear this song, they'll also know that the concert is about to come to an end, with no other encores in sight... of course, the latest "Music-Man" Concert Tour was an exception to this rule... yeah, surprise us again, Lee Hom! This is "Wei Yi" ("The One and Only").

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Lt5mPcMEzA

Lee Hom's love affair with his fans doesn't end there though, here's a love song about music that could well be dedicated to them too... "Wo Men De Ge" ("Our Song").

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K7TT0voOmrc

OK, I'm going to conclude this entry with this final love song... this song is particularly special to me right now, because of where I am in my own life... this is "Di Yi Ge Qing Chen" ("The First Morning")... the music video is simple but effective, and I especially like the last part, where Lee Hom and Shu Qi are exchanging glances, but it feels more like he just kissed her without actually kissing her... that's the actor in Lee Hom sneaking out there... well done, Lee Hom... there are so many ways to tell someone that you love them, without actually saying those 3 little words.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eMf7TxfUzQ4

BTW, AnD Artist Tay Kewei also sang this song, and I equally *heart* her version of it... "Di Yi Ge Qing Chen" ("The First Morning"), sung by Tay Kewei.

[P/S: Kewei sings backing vocals for Lee Hom during his latest "Music-Man" Concert Tour, so check out her blog too!]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sGiQlvuzkbc

So are you in love yet?

I sure am <3