yk042 – Faye Wong and Chang Fei

In the first video, we have Faye Wong (王菲) with host Chang Fei (张菲) in a live 1994 TV performance in Taiwan. In this rare video, we see Faye dancing to “Flow Not Fly” (from Hundred Thousand Whys, Sep 1993). In the second, we have the two again reuniting ten years later, at the 2004 Golden Melody Awards in Taiwan. Both videos were added to YouTube by yk042 on 5 June 2009.


I think most of us are familiar with the second video, but the quality of this version is exceptional.

Thanks, yk042!

Faye Is a Role Model

By Deb
16 December 2008

[Editor’s note: This is a slightly edited version of Deb’s comment on “Faye at the 2004 Golden Melody Awards.” It’s a great comment that deserves to be a separate article!]

Ahhh . . . who are these other girls?? Not to be biassed, but . . . p-leeease, how do they even remotely compare to Faye?!?!? I have actually heard of the other girls, but they aren’t even in the same stratosphere as Faye. Kinda weird, lots of emtpy seats, Eason Chan and the guy who claps (dunno his name) look really bored.

Could someone translate what Faye said, my Mandarin is worse than poor! [Click here for the video.]

Remembering all the award shows especially in the ’90s, Faye has NEVER enjoyed them and never placed much importance in the results. I think this sentiment is generally shared by many credible/talented artists. Good actors usually say they’d rather win the Actor’s Guild award than a Globe because it is voted by your peers, so it’s a recognition of your skill, effort and inspiration and not a popularity contest. Asian music awards are much more contrived than the western equivalents, it’s purely based on popularity and much of the results are determined by which “star” gives more “face” to whoever is running the award show.

There used to be a phrase in the HK pop scene where artists were either in the “Idol group” or the “Talent group.” Basically Idols are just manufactured singers with a pretty face but little talent, and Talents are singers who actually had talent and their sales didn’t rely on them being a pretty face. I used to be a die-hard cantopop fan back in the ’90s, but eventually I realised that so many of them are a bunch of fakes. After this many years, I have found that only Faye gives me a true sense of inspiration and talent, and I have admiration for her as an artist and a person. I must admit that Faye had a profound effect on me as a young woman, she was a role model to me and I learnt to not worry about what others thought of me, as long as I tried my best and did what I love, that’s all that matters.

Faye at the 2004 Golden Melody Awards

In this video, Faye Wong (王菲) accepts the award for Best Female Artist at Taiwan’s 15th Annual Golden Melody Award, 8 May 2004. This video is especially significant because it captures Faye uttering the now famous line in her brief acceptance speech: “I can sing songs. This I know. Now that the Golden Melody judges have given me their approval, I approve of their approval.”

Faye was up against Singapore’s Tanya Chua (蔡健雅), Taiwan’s Jolin Tsai (蔡依林), and Malaysia’s Fish Leong (梁静茹) and Penny Tai (戴佩妮). For a sense of the regard that the entertainment establishment has for Faye, note the portion in which the nominees are interviewed prior to the awards. The interviewer remains standing when she interviews the different stars. However, when she gets to Faye, she sits in the aisle so that she’s at Faye’s level and not standing over her. Also, Faye is alone, among the nominees, and she’s in the first row while the others are grouped in the second row.

This deference underscores Faye’s stature in the business. She is special. Without equal.

About her words, I believe they can be interpreted in different ways. One is that she’s insolent and disrespectful. But I don’t buy this interpretation. I believe Faye is simply stating a fact: a singer’s success isn’t manufactured by awarding bodies. Instead, they’re earned by the singers and their supporting artists through hard work, creativity, skill, and inspiration. From her perspective, the awarding groups are audacious in their attempts to pass judgment over performers. And this is the attitude that Faye is speaking against. Thus, in a very real sense, she’s telling all the other artists not to accept the judgment of the Golden Melody Award voters that they’re less than winners. And in doing so, she’s also saying that the award doesn’t make her superior to others.

The key to Faye’s personality is that she’s genuinely egalitarian and sees all people as fellow human beings.

(Source: YouTube, Reonsu, 8 Dec 2008)

Even Entertainers Go Gaga Over Faye

I downloaded a 6-part video over a year ago from YouTube that featured TV personalities and performers who tried to imitate Faye Wong (王菲). Based on the setting, which displays a poster for Faye’s No Faye, No Live! album, I’m guessing this program aired in November or December 2004. Faye serves as a judge for the “contestants” in this humorous, tongue-in-cheek show. I combined short clips from the fourth and fifth segments to demonstrate how fans aren’t the only ones who go nuts when they meet Faye. In this composite video, we see that even her fellow entertainers go gaga when they’re in Faye’s presence.

You know that Faye is really very special when entertainment professionals, too, turn into crazy fans when they meet her up close. They all become excited and want to touch and hug her. And when they do, they have a look of pure ecstacy on their faces and can’t let go. At these times, Faye is a very good sport and accommodates their antics and infatuation with a sense of humor.

The visual and audio in the original flash files were out of sync so this version is, too. I searched the web for better quality videos but came up empty.

Faye Invited to Star in ‘Rise of the Machine’

According to an XK.CN article (18 Nov 2008), well-known director Liu Zhenwei (刘镇伟) has invited Faye Wong (王菲) to star in his upcoming film, Rise of the Machine (机器侠). Apparently, Liu was very impressed with Faye’s performance in Wong Kar-wai’s (王家衛) 2004 film, 2046, and feels that Faye has tremendous potential that has yet to be tapped. The article also states that Katie (陈家瑛 Chen Jiaying), Faye’s manager, told reporters on Nov 17 that Faye is painstakingly creating new songs and is in “a positive state of waiting for the right opportunity to resume her career.” Asked if Faye would accept Liu’s invitation, Katie said, “It depends on the circumstances.”

Faye in Malaysia Feb 2004

Faye Wong (王菲) made a live appearance in Malaysia on 7 Feb 2004 to promote her latest album, Jiang Ai. The appearance is divided into two parts. They’re from videos uploaded to YouTube by Adelineshim on 6.5.06. In the opening two minutes or so, we don’t see Faye, but we see and feel the excitement of the crowd that’s waiting to see her. The electricity is palpable!

Fayve Concert Photos – 002: Taipei 2004

Faye Wong’s (王菲) 27 Nov. 2004 “No Faye, No Live!” concert in Taipei has to be one of the best in terms of costumes. In this set, we have what I think is one of the hottest outfits she’s ever worn. In the second of the two photos, she’s stripped off the jacket and created one of the all-time best concert shots.

Some of the other outfits she wore in this concert are also dazzling, and I hope to find some photos that will do them justice. In this series, the aim is to not only showcase my favorite concert photos but to present them in quality images wih the best possible resolution and focus.

Fayve Concert Photos – 001: Beijing 2004

Here’s a photo of Faye Wong (王菲) that I haven’t seen before. It looks as though it was taken at one of the concerts in her “No Faye, No Live!” tour in 2004. [Added 7/28: According to Leelee2046 (see comment) , this photo may be from Faye’s Beijing concert, held on 28 August 2004, the fifth stop on her tour, following performances in Hong Kong, Shanghai, Xi’an, and Chengdu.] With this photo, I’m beginning a series on “Fayve Concert Photos.”  I’ll be numbering them for reference purposes. The numbers don’t imply any sort of ranking. If you have links to other great concert photos that you’d like to share, please post a comment. I’m also interested in any info that you might have about the concert in which this picture was taken. Please post a comment if you can help. Thanks in advance.

(source: CRI Online)

Added 7/28: According to Leelee2046 (see comment) , this photo may be from Faye’s Beijing concert, held on 28 August 2004, the fifth stop on her tour, following performances in Hong Kong, Shanghai, Xi’an, and Chengdu.

Leaving Me Loving You – 2004 Promo Photos

Here are some photos from a 3 March 2004 press conference to promote Leaving Me Loving You (大城小事, Big City Minor Matter), released 12 Feb 2004. Faye Wong (王菲) and Leon Lai (黎明 Lai Ming) starred in this visually stunning romantic comedy. I’ve seen photos and videos from this session, but never these particular shots, which I found at ent.sina.com. At the bottom, I’ve also added some links to related videos. Click on the images to zoom in.

Link 1. A preview that gives you an idea of the fantastic camera work.
Link 2. Video of the Hong Kong premiere.
Link 3. Click to see a related article with additional video links.

Faye’s 1985-86 Albums – (3) Miss Charm

Faye Wong Collector’s Album (王菲珍藏集) was originally released as a cassette in April 1986. The CD was released on 19 Oct 2004. A variant of the title is Charming Miss Faye Wong Collector’s Album (迷人小姐 王菲珍藏集) or just Miss Charm (迷人小姐). Wei-yuan (卫元) produced this album, which is purported to be the last Faye released on the mainland. Again, the CD and the cassette don’t match up track by track. Three songs on the cassette aren’t on the CD, but the CD has 15 tracks versus 14 on the cassette. For the introduction to this series, click here.

01. 心墙 Core
02. 潇洒的走 – 潇洒 The Walk
03. 月光下的恋情 Affair Under the Moonlight
04. 十三妹 Shisan Mei (13 Younger Sisters)
05. 最后的表白 Final Statement
06. 除了你 In Addition to You
07. 下次相逢 Reunions Next [aka Will Meet by Chance Next Time]
08. 请你别说 Please Let Alone
09. 多梦的童年 Childhood Dream of Many
10. 你在我身旁 You Next to Me
11. 请你猜一猜 You Guess
12. 我们俩 The Two of Us
13. 想让你知道 Want You to Know
14. 女孩 Girls

My favorite tracks in this album are “Affair Under the Moonlight” and “In Addition to You.” In these two, you can hear a Faye that’s really beginning to mature and grow in confidence. “You Guess” is a fun song that captures Faye’s youthfulness. The engineering in this CD is better, resulting in a much improved sound quality throughout.

“Affair Under the Moonlight”

“In Addition to You”

“You Guess”