What’s Stalling Faye Wong’s Return?

I’m sure this question has been on the minds of millions of Faye Wong (王菲) fans throughout the world for the last four years. Since her last No Faye, No Live! concert in Guangzhou on 10 January 2005, the release of the concert album in November 2004, and her To Love (將愛 Jiang Ai) album in November 2003, we have been waiting for a new album or concert performance.

Will 2009 be the year when Faye returns?

I’m not an insider like Katie Chen (陈家瑛 Chen Jiaying), Carina Lau (刘嘉玲 Liu Jia Ling), Vicki Zhao (赵薇 Zhao Wei), or Ma Jia (马葭) so I can’t answer this question with any kind of authority, but like most of you, I’ve been following her career very closely and have a number of thoughts on what may be keeping Faye from returning to her performing career.

(Photo source: 7_70)

There are a number of clues that might, together, provide an explanation:

Clue 1. Faye isn’t motivated by money. She never has been and probably never will. Thus, multimillion dollar offers may not have the appeal that it does for most people.

Clue 2. She’s not staying away because of the children, Tong Tong (竇靖童 Dou Jingtong) and Li Yan (李嫣), as many believe. Yes, she loves them and enjoys caring for them, but in the past, she resumed her career almost immediately after Tong Tong’s birth.

Clue 3. Since Coming Home in August 1992, every album has been different in the sense that, in each, Faye pushes the envelope, experimenting and trying new things. The point is that her discography since 1992 is a continuous progression, development, or growth. In her last album, Jiang Ai, Faye served as co-producer, with Zhang Ya Dong (張亞東), of the entire album. She also composed and wrote three of the songs, the title track “To Love,” “Leave Nothing” (不留), and “Sunshine Dearest” (陽寶), and she composed the music for “April Snow” (四月雪).

Clue 4. She’s not resting, as many seem to believe. Faye has tremendous energy and strength, and the reason for her absence from the limelight isn’t physical.

Clue 5. She’s not being restrained or held back by her husband, Li Yapeng (李亚鹏), as some believe. In fact, LYP is her biggest fan and would want nothing better than to see and hear Faye perform once again. However, to his credit, he’s leaving the decision solely in her hands.

Clue 6. Faye hasn’t lost her voice as some speculate. Her voice and talents are part of her DNA, and she can’t lose what’s a natural part of her. Also, her 18 May 2008 earthquake relief live performance with Faith Yang ( 杨乃文, Yang Nai Wen), Eason Chan (陈奕迅, Chen Yi Xun, ), and Aniu (阿牛) in “Wishing We Last Forever” demonstrated to the world that her voice is as beautiful as ever.

Clue 7. She hasn’t lost her looks. All one has to do is look at her recent photos and videos. She is absolutely gorgeous!

Clue 8. Faye isn’t restless, and this is a major reason, I think, for her reluctance to reignite her career. In the past, her creative juices flowed when she was restless or impatient. It’s almost as though she’s driven by an inner force that only she can feel — a force that can be released only through creative expression in music.

Clue 9. She hasn’t seen or heard anything in the current music scene to spark her creative energies. There’s no modern day equivalent of Teresa Teng (鄧麗君 Deng Lijun) or Cocteau Twins to inspire her. And her former collaborators, Zhang and Lin Xi (林夕), as well as C. Y. Kong, Dou Wei (竇唯), and Nic Tse (谢霆锋 Xie Tingfeng), haven’t been working with her to create new material.

Clue 10. Faye has never said that she’s retired or retiring from her career. And this is perhaps the most important clue. She’s leaving the door open simply because she may want to step into the recording studio when the spirit moves her. There’s no timetable. It’s just a matter of waiting for the right moment to strike, when her adrenaline and restlessness kicks in.

A Likely Scenario for Faye’s Return

So, given these clues, what’s a likely scenario for her return? My guess is that either or both Zhang and Lin Xi will have to make the first move by presenting Faye with new songs or concepts that could be exciting for her. It’ll have to be sufficiently different, new, and edgy, and it’ll have to be something that fits Faye and represents, for her, growth.

These two have collaborated extensively with Faye in the past, and, together, the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. I’d also toss C. Y. Kong, Dou Wei, and Nic into the mix. Faye brings out the genius in each of these guys, and, together, they could create the kind of music that would stir the restlessness or anxiety within Faye that seeks creative expression in music.

In this scenario, Faye would play many different roles, as she has in the past, when she felt in sync with her collaborators, and these roles will include bouncing off her partners and adding her own touches, including original compositions or lyrics or both.

These individuals, including Faye, intuitively realize that, alone, each can’t grow. It’s only in collaboration that they can transcend the limits of their own talents and create music that’ll take them and the entire industry to a whole new level.

So, how do we get this ball rolling? I’d say that someone has to take the initiative, the first step. And from where I’m sitting, the most likely candidate for this task is Katie. She has the personality, the power, and the talent to bring people together. She needs to make this happen by contacting the individuals and asking them to work with Faye to take up where she left off in 2005.

The goal would definitely not be to do an oldies-but-goodies rehash of past hits. Instead, it would be to continue the growth that stopped in 2005, to take the next step into a new and different sound that is purely Faye Wong.

Faye Wong’s Return a Stunning Success

The producers of the earthquake relief special did everything they could to keep the focus of the program on the victims of the disaster, but try as they might, they could not conceal the fact that Faye Wong’s (王菲) appearance would not only attract millions of viewers and dollars but also overshadow the entire effort. The sets were deliberately kept to a bare minimum, and the performers all dressed in simple, ordinary street clothes. The mood was serious and somber. The purpose of the show was grave — to attract nationwide donations for the earthquake victims and to pay tribute to the thousands who died. No loud cheering or applause. But the cameras couldn’t lie. They knew who the main attraction was, and they focused on her. Faye. In the photo below, of Faye with Faith Yang (杨乃文, Yang Nai Wen) and Eason Chan (陈奕迅, Chen Yi Xun), Eason isn’t fooled, too. He’s pointing to Faye, and the message is clear: “Faye is it. Faye is the show.”

Despite preliminary reports that Eason would be the lead singer and Faye would be part of the chorus, when the performance started, I don’t think anyone was surprised to see Faye out in front, opening the number, solo. And she was fabulous. She never resorts to histrionics, in her voice and gestures, and this occasion was no exception. She tried to blend in with the others. But when you’re Faye, you stand out even when you do absolutely nothing. Her delivery, the severe atmosphere, and the complete absence of glitz could not hide Faye’s glowing presence and performance. As each of the four singers marched up to the box to deposit his/her donation, one of the hosts announced her name. But when Faye made her drop, both of them called out her name. You couldn’t help but hear the reverence and awe in their voices. When she sang the familiar opening to “Wishing We Last Forever,” she lit up the stage. Her voice was strong and confident, and there was no hesitation in her delivery even after her three year hiatus. The same ethereal, heart-stopping quality was there.

This performance was big. It answered perhaps the three most important questions: Does Faye still have her voice? Does she still have her looks? And most importantly, does she still have her magic? The answer to all three is a resounding, unequivocal yes — yes, she still has the voice, the looks, and the magic that made her the greatest female singer in Asia.

So what happens now? Can Faye quietly return to the reclusive life that she’s led for the last three years? I don’t think so. I have a feeling this experience could serve as the catalyst that awakens the artist in Faye, the creative force that wants to pick up where she left off after her Sony album, To Love. From the very beginning of her career, she’s been restless, anxious to break out of the mold, to try new ideas, new styles, new media. I think Faye’s fans sense and are drawn to this energy in her, a power that keeps driving her to try something new, innovative, different. For her fans, this is what Faye is all about — a restless, driving spirit who’s never satisfied with where she’s at. We miss this energy, this creativity, which only Faye can bring to the music scene. And my guess is that Faye must be feeling stirrings of this same energy after her performance last night.