盧廣仲 Crowd Lu 四菓冰 4 Topping Shaved Ice

Verdict out of 5: ✌ ✌ ✌ ✌
Fun fact: Crowd’s stellar impression of Russian singer, Vitas, had fans referring to him as “Vitas Lu.”
Label: A Good Day Records (Taiwan)
Release Date: 2010-08-16
Language: Mandarin
Artist’s Official Page: Captain Lu @Facebook; Blog

Take a good look at the person to your left, yeah the one holding a guitar with the stylish bowl cut hair and exposing his hairless man legs in his ultra short-shorts. v4victory!!

His signature look consisting of his bowl cut hair, cheeky grin, thick black rimmed glasses, and short-shorts are responsible for bringing sexy back.

Believe it or not, this guy who goes by the name of Crowd Lu, is a mega, super, rock star in Taiwan.  When I say “rock star,” I mean fans-will-punch-you-in-the-face-if-you-dare-insult-his-hair, type of rock star.

This 25 year old, only entered there scene in 2007, but his “charm,” impressive vocals, and musical talent, has garnered him with a legion of fans around Asia – the type who show up at his concerts dressed up in his signature look.

I’m not kidding, click here to find out why.

The portable “stove” in my dorm kitchen is so poor and impractical, I may as well just start frying eggs on America’s head.

Just kidding. But that’s exactly how hot it is in Shanghai – so hot and so humid that if we stood outside for more than five minutes, I could potentially use his head to heat a pan and prepare a nice stir-fry dish.

Shanghai’s weather has hovered at 40 degrees Celsius (105°F) for three days straight.

And the smell. Let’s not even talk about the mix of body odour that engulfs my face every time I enter a subway.

It’s so humid mosquitoes have stopped biting my legs.

There are reasons why Shanghai men walk around half-naked or with opened pot-bellies. Aside from the overall charm and possibility that it could attract women like me, showing your belly actually helps ease the pain (not that I’ve tried).

Here are some easy steps to help you avoid heat stroke, a type of sickness that can develop from over-exposure to extreme heat.

At the risk of sounding prudish, heat stroke can lead to shortness of breath, fainting and hyperthermia. If unattended, it can also be fatal (according to Wikipedia).

10 easy steps survive the oppressive heat

Olivia Ong 王儷婷:  夏夜晚風 Olivia Live CD + DVD

Verdict out of 5: ✌ ✌ ✌ ✌
Fun fact: Olivia was introduced as the “tender killer” in the PK rounds by One Million Stars host Matilda Tao.
Label: HIM International Inc. (Taiwan)
Release Date: 2010-08-11
Language: English & Mandarin
Artist’s Official Page: Olivia Ong

If you even remotely enjoy music and you’re currently scratching your head asking: “Who is Olivia Ong?” – you are definitely missing out!

After a decade of honing her skills in the industry, this 24 year old Singaporean native, will capture your hearts as she covers yesterday’s mainstream hits such as “Killing Me Softly With His Song,” with her seemingly effortless vocals.

Click here to find out why.

Verdict out of 5: ✌ ✌ ✌ ½
Fun fact: The last track features school children singing from Sierra Leone.
Label: Sony Music Taiwan; preview the album here.
Release Date: 2010-08-12 (China) and 2010-08-13 (Worldwide)
Language: Mandarin
Artist’s Official Website: www.wangleehom.com

Being busy is an understatement for 王力宏 LeeHom Wang.

This weekend, the American born, Taiwan-based, multi-hyphenated, musician, singer, songwriter, conductor, producer, actor, writer, and director, will unleash new material for your auditory and visual senses.

Yes, Asia buckle up your seat-belts and get ready for some major LeeHom overload as he releases his new album 十八般武藝 The 18 Martial Arts, and his directorial debut 戀愛通告 Love In Disguise.

十八般武藝 The 18 Martial Arts, seems to serve as the film 戀愛通告 Love In Disguise‘s soundtrack as it features two theme songs 你不知道的事 The Things You Never Knew and 伯牙絕弦.  This album marks the return of LeeHom’s “chinked-out” musical style that infuses traditional musical elements of the east, with the beats of western hip-hop.  Unlike chinked-out songs off 心中的日月 Shangri-La (2004) and 蓋世英雄 Heroes of the Earth (2005), some of the heavily computerized tracks in this album tend to force my brain to send signals to my fingers asking them to please press “skip.”

Don’t get me wrong, the album has several ingenious moments as well.  His talent in composition is evidently displayed when he cleverly arranges for, I am assuming – eighteen different instruments – including Chinese traditional instruments like the double stringed erhu (二胡), harp like guqin (古琴), guitar like pipa (琵琶) and Chinese bamboo flutes.

Lyrically, 徐若瑄 Vivian Hsu‘s heart-warming lyrics for title-track 柴米油鹽醬醋茶 The Daily Necessities, expose LeeHom’s dreams of trading in his hectic lifestyle for the simple life.

Click here for a full review