Singer with the wow factor - The Sun

News article re-quoted from The Sun Online

Wednesday May 14, 2008

Singer with the wow factor

Emil Chau Wakin continues to amaze and sings his heart out to serenade mothers at his concerts in Genting

by Sharyn Yap

WITH over 20 years of experience and more than 40 albums in Mandarin, Cantonese and English under his belt, Emil Chau Wakin is like fine wine – he gets better with age.
If anything, age has added character to this Chinese music icon who has garnered fans of all ages from around the world in the course of his illustrious career. And he never fails to amaze with his mesmerising vocals whenever he performs.

It would be safe to say that mothers were not the only ones entertained at his Wakin Mother’s Day Concert Live in Genting last Friday at the Arena of Stars, Genting Highlands. He also had another show the following day.

But it was special when he serenaded them with excerpts from the infamous Se Sang Zi You Mama Hou (Mum’s the Best) but then decided that it was too dated. When the band started on Jay Chou’s Papa Wo Hui Lai Le (Papa I’m Home), he changed the lyrics from ‘don’t hit my mama’ to ‘mama don’t hit papa’, much to the amusement of the crowd.

Then to everyone’s pleasant surprise, he launched into the Malay number, Ibu, before dedicating the English song Mona Lisa to all the women present.

There were no frills at the concert – just good singing. There were no dancers or outlandish outfits or stage design. And other than the occasional burst of confetti and pyrotechnics, Chau was pretty much on his own. But the man was in his element, singing his heart out, his booming laughter ringing out loud and clear and his body movements and facial expressions showing just how much he loves his fans. And it’s obvious they love him right back.

From the word go, the crowd sang along with Chau and were especially enthusiastic with his popular hits like Hua Xin (Flowery Heart), Ai Xiang Sui (Along with Love), Ming Tian Wo Yau Jia Kei Ni La (I’m Marrying You Tomorrow) and Rang Wo Huan Xi Rang Wo You (You Make Me Happy and Sad), among others.

"I know the competition in the scene is tough but I never realised that it actually comes from all of you!" he said. "You sing better than the original singer!"

Then, of course, he endeared himself to every Malaysian when he sang the track Xiao Tian Tang (Little Heaven), saying that this is only the second time he’s singing it here and that it is most appropriate as to him, Malaysia is his little heaven.

Can you wonder why the crowd loves this guy?

As with his concert last year, his guest artiste for the night was Lee Chee Cheng. The playful Chau started the track Ai Mei Kui (Love Roses), which was written for Chau by Lee and then went on to mime the words as the latter came on stage.



Lee also sang the track Bau You Wo (Bless Me), which he wrote for Z-Chen.

It was a memorable night with beautiful songs all around but unfortunately, it was nowhere near his record-breaking four-hour marathon concert at Bukit Jalil, Kuala Lumpur last year.

At the same time, although he professed to have performed the most times in Malaysia, he seems to have forgotten that the country is multi-lingual, sticking mainly to Mandarin numbers throughout the night.

But he did sing two English numbers, Mona Lisa and The Beatles’ Yesterday.

The concert was also ‘broken up’ often with solo performances from the band members – there was a drum and bass solo, a keyboard solo and a violin performance – while Chau retired backstage for a change and a short break. They were great – don’t get me wrong – but just a tad too long and too often.

This, coupled with the fact that there were just too many of his popular hits that were not sung that night, led to more than a few disappointed souls, including yours truly.

So when the concert ended less than two and a half hours later, many fans had this nagging feeling that something was still missing. But they were all happy to have Chau serenade them on Mother’s Day.