Linda Chung made her debut into the music world last year with promising results. Continuing her career as a singer, Linda’s sophomore album releases on November 12, 2009 entitled My Love Story. Continuing with 2008’s “One Person Dinner, Two People World” [一人晚餐, 二人世界] it is again a love-based CD, but it is more mature and sophisticated this time. My Love Story is a two-disc CD & DVD package containing 12 tracks, 6 music videos, and 7 postcards.

CD
01. “Thinking of You Day and Night” [日夜想你]
02. “Struggling” [明爭暗鬥]
03. “Imply” [暗示]
04. “Love Hurts” [戀愛令人心痛]
05. Cha Cha Cha
06. “Someday” [有一天]
07. Fly Me To the Moon
08. “Live and Die for Love” [生死也為愛]
09. “Heard You Love Me” [聽說你愛我]
10. “Aries’ Love Song” [白羊座的情歌]
11. “Someday” [有一天] (Mandarin)
12. “Let Me Keep Loving You” [讓我繼續愛你] (Mandarin)

DVD
01. “Thinking of You Day and Night” [日夜想你]
02. “Struggling” [明爭暗鬥]
03. “Love Hurts” [戀愛令人心痛]
04. “Imply” [暗示]
05. “Let Me Keep Loving You” [讓我繼續愛你] (Mandarin)
06. “Someday” [有一天] (Mandarin)

My Love Story focuses not on Linda’s personal love story (which is mostly blank at this time) but rather on “love” from many different perspectives. “One Person Dinner, Two People World” showed love more in an innocent, almost childish way (suitable given its status as a virgin release). My Love Story reflects Linda’s views on all of the diverse love and relationships in the world — ranging from crushing on someone (lead single “Thinking of You Day and Night”), getting frustrated that men just aren’t good with reading between the lines (track #3 “Imply”), dealing with a love triangle after the invasion of a third party (second single “Struggling”), heartache (duet with Philip Wei in track #6 “Love Hurts”), and being forever faithful (track #7 “Live and Die for Love”).

Linda musically composed three of the second CD’s tracks — “Thinking of You Day and Night”, “Someday”, and “Live and Die for Love”. “Someday” is a very special and meaningful song for Linda because she wrote it with her brother. It’s an awe-inspiring song that is full of hope. Wong Cho Lam composed the lyrics for “Someday”. “Live and Die for Love” has a costume-drama mood to it. It’s an “ancient”-feeling song reflecting Linda’s conservative views on love; she jokes that she was born in the wrong lifetime. Linda says she was partially inspired by Jin Yong’s famous power couple Yeung Gwoh & Siu Lung Lui from Return of the Condor Heroes.

“Let Me Keep Loving You” is the Mandarin version of “Thinking of You Day and Night”. “Fly Me to the Moon” is an English song, a remake of a very famous US song from the mid-1900. Linda loves this song because it is very “dreamy”. “Cha Cha Cha” is a fast-pace dance song that is reminiscent of Britney Spears’s earlier works when … Baby One More Time released a decade ago in 1999.

Linda has been writing and recording songs since early this year and this CD represents her passion for music and desire to craft a more involved and richer album for fans and listeners. My Love Story is the end result of many months of hard work. It has a solid theme and features an array of songs that’s sure to please.

Order it from YESASIA today!

Be sure to support Linda’s second CD effort!

Everyone knows that Linda Chung’s nickname by the media is “Thrift Sister”. She rides the subway and only spends $20 HK a day. Furthermore her innocent good girl image reminds of “Jade Girl Master” Vivian Chow Wai Man. The name “Thrift Sister” is actually from Vivian’s role in the classic TVB production The Greed of Man.

Yuen Mui — The “Thrift Sister”
In Greed Yuen Mui (Vivian) values money like her life. She works all of the time in order to save up money. She always hunts for the best prices and the cheapest deals. She only spends money when she has to. Her lifestyle is very meager. She has a commendable amount of money saved up consequently (which often is the source of income for the main character Fong Cheen Bok (Sean Lau) in his pursuit to become rich).

The reason Mui cares so much about money is because she has an inherited heart problem. No one in her family has lived longer than 25 years. Afraid of being a financial burden and worried that her grandma wouldn’t have money to live off of after she dies, Mui therefore saves up every penny.

Not only is she “cheap” but she is also very closed to other people. She doesn’t let others in and has never been in love because she’s afraid of hurting others when her illness strikes. She knows her life is a ticking time clock so she chooses this money-conscious and lonely life.

Was Hung Bak Lam based off Yuen Mui?
After winning the Miss Chinese International 2004 pageant, Linda joined the Virtues of Harmony family (who hosted the pageant and saw her get crowned) and gained notice for her role as Michelle Hung Bak Lam.

Those who have seen Virtues II should have been reminded of Ah Lam when reading the character description for Mui.

Just like Mui, Ah Lam is a very money-conscience individual who values money and work above all. Actually she’s “money hungry” according to Lau Ka Sing (Hawick Lau). Exactly like Mui, Ah Lam believes she has inherited a heart problem and won’t live a day older than 28. Consequently she only cares about her career and earning as much money as she can to leave for her uncle.

Similar to Mui, Ah Lam also closed herself to love and others. She is often said to be an ice queen. She drove away her first love Ah Sing and also tried to send away her second love (and eventual husband) Ivan Sze Gee San (Steven Ma). The reason? Just like Mui, she doesn’t want anyone to be sad when she dies.

In the final scene of Greed, Mui and Bok finally get to be together in peace and enjoy a fun, happy, and carefree day. He thinks that she fell asleep on his chest due to being tired from their busy day. Sadly, we know that Mui has passed away (her inherited heart disease has kicked in). Her scarf flies away in the wind (symbolizing that she has died). Greed ends memorably and tragically on that note (because the message from that series is that everyone loses in the stock market and so Bok lost by losing all of his loved ones in the pursuit of justice by playing the stock market).

Virtues II took that same scene and gave it to Ah San and Ah Lam. After a long and happy day, the two end up walking on the beach at night. They’re talking just like Mui and Bok when Ah Lam suddenly “falls asleep” on Ah San’s chest. Her scarf blows away in the wind… Unlike Bok, Ah San notices Ah Lam falling unconscious and grows concerned, thinking that her inherited heart disease has attacked. He shouts out calling her name.



The big twist in Ah Lam’s character is that she actually doesn’t have a heart disease (her birth dad turns out to be someone else without any heart history) and so Ah Lam lives! Ah San and Ah Lam get to have a “happily ever after” ending unlike Mui and Bok.

I’m convinced that Linda’s debut role in Virtues II of Hung Bak Lam was based off of Greed’s Yuen Mui. The Virtues writers like to borrow ideas from past TVB series and then satirize it in one way or another.

Linda… destined to be “Thrift Sister”
Because Linda grew up in a poor family (her parents both worked multiple jobs) she learned from early on the value of money. Therefore she doesn’t spend frivolously. She likes to save her money so that she can give her parents a comfortable life because they’ve done so much for her.

After 5 years in the industry Linda is still the same. She rarely goes out. A good portion of her clothes are sponsored as are certain products that she uses. She rides the subway with “regular” people to go to work.

Linda reminds of Vivian, who made the “Thrift Sister” Yuen Mui famous. Both have innocent, wholesome, girl-next-door appeals and are famous for acting those types of roles. Besides acting Vivian also had a career as a singer. In 2008 Linda made her debut to the music world with promising results. Will Linda be the successor to Vivian as the next “Jade Girl Master”?

Linda was destined to have the nickname “Thrift Sister”.

“Thinking of You Day and Night” [日夜想你] – Linda Chung

This is the first single off Linda’s upcoming sophomore CD that’s going to be released in November (in 3 months!). “Thinking of You Day and Night” was musically composed by Linda (as are at least 6 other tracks off her second album). This second CD is said to have more musical variety (including light rock and R&B numbers) and be more “mature” and “refined” compared to the debut CD’s naivety and innocence (about first love).

To promote the airing of Moonlight Resonance in Malaysia, Linda Chung did an interview for Malaysian newspaper “The Star”. It’s a nice article that offers new insight and news (mostly about Linda’s upcoming second CD). I’m reposting the article. I only fixed a jarring error by the reporter, who thought that Linda was the middle child in her family. Otherwise I left the article in its entirety. It was good to read news on Linda again! It’s been a really long time since she’s had a feature interview.

Winning Star by Szeto Kit Yan
Original article can be read here

This Canadian lass has been on a winning streak ever since her triumph at a beauty pageant in her university days.

Linda Chung Ka Yan sounds almost altruistic when she spells out the roles of an entertainer, a job that she’s been handling with aplomb since she was crowned Miss Chinese International in Hong Kong in 2004.

“We’re not just out to entertain. We can influence people while making audiences happy as they listen to our songs and watch us on TV. When we go out in the street, fans will tell us how much they’ve learnt from our dramas that have different messages. So, we do things not just for ourselves,” the beauty queen-turned-actress/singer states over the phone in a recent interview from Hong Kong where she is a contracted artiste under the Chinese territory’s dominant station, TVB.

Linda Chung, crowned Miss Chinese International in Hong Kong on Jan 17, 2004. She is flanked by first runner-up Mandy Cho (left) from Hong Kong and second runner-up Carlene Ang Aguilar from Manila.

Those close to Chung will not be surprised at her zeal for being an “educator”. For if she had not represented her birth country Canada and beaten 19 other contestants from around the world for the Miss Chinese International title – which provided her an instant passport to the Oriental world of showbiz – at age 20, Chung would very likely to be educating young children now.

Looking back, the 25-year-old says she had wanted to be a grade school teacher ever since she was young and would have done so if she had not gone into entertainment.

“When I was young, I loved to play teacher with my teddy bears. I asked my parents for a chalkboard and read a lot. I really looked forward to school as teachers taught me so much. Plus, I love children,” the star remembers during the phone interview which was set up to coincide with the premiere of her series, Moonlight Resonance, on Astro Wah Lai Toi (Channel 311) this week.

The 40-episode drama, a hit in Hong Kong last year (a record 3.14 million viewers tuned in to its finale last September), revolves around a bakery family specialising in Chinese delights like mooncakes. It is to be shown in conjunction with the upcoming Mooncake Festival (the fest ends on Oct 3).

As a girl who marries a compulsive gambler (Michael Tse)
in the 2007 costume drama “Best Bet”.

However, where she stands now, Chung will not exchange her glamorous career for anything.

“If you ask me now, I will not go back to that. I can’t find a more exciting career than what I’m doing now!” the comely lass exclaims.

“I love my job. It gives me an opportunity to learn so much and do so many things – singing and acting in movies and TV series,” she speaks in a mixture of English and Cantonese. The soft-spoken Canadian is also able to converse in Mandarin and understands French and Spanish.

“In contrast, other jobs would be repetitive and boring. This is a career you can never get tired of, as you can continue growing as an artiste. Everybody dreams of doing something like this,” she adds.

Yet, Chung is in no hurry to further herself in the industry. “I don’t mind taking things slowly if that will help my career last longer.”

With age on her side as well as a future that looks really promising, surely the rising star can take her time to find greater fame and success. As it is, in just five years, the actress has built up an impressive portfolio that includes 16 TVB series (among them, Always Ready, The Biter Bitten, Forensic Heroes), starting with her debut in the epic comedy Virtues of Harmony II (2003-05), theme-song performances and an album.

While she is effusive in her comments about her career, she is understandably less so about the unpleasant aspect of her job, and that means the nasty gossip and negative publicity that come with the territory. Thankfully, the young beauty is zen about these “job hazards”.

Linda Chung, who plays a doctor, and Raymond Lam,
a baker, in a scene from “Moonlight Resonance”.

“As long as you learn how to deal with the resulting stress, it’ll be OK. Honestly, during my first year it hurt a lot. I eventually learnt that people like reading about bad things – unfortunately so. I’ll be fine as long as I’m happy and I know I have not done anything wrong.

“I still go out with my friends and family but I’m more careful in protecting the privacy of others, if they are not from the industry. I don’t want them to be in the news when reporters start taking pictures,” she sighs.

Born in Maple Ridge, in the western province of British Columbia, and raised in Vancouver, the youngest of three children (she has an elder brother and sister), the lovely gal has been triumphant at several beauty pageants. She got her first taste of the limelight in 2002 when, as a student of the University of British Columbia, she became the Crystal Mall Teen Cover Girl. She was also Miss Chinese Vancouver.

In 2004, she became the third participant in four years from Vancouver to walk away with the Miss Chinese International title after Bernice Liu (2001) – who’s another well-known actress with TVB – and Shirley Zhou (2002).

Chung with her fellow doctor in the series, played by Bosco Wong

At present, Chung is busy recording her second Cantonese album, which is slated for release in November.

“The concept is similar to my debut album (Yat Yan Man Chan, Yee Yan Sai Gai – loosely, “Intimate Dinner for One”) except that it’s slightly more mature. The first album was about first love and some of it was rather silly,” she says. Her maiden effort won her several best newcomer awards at leading Hong Kong events last year.

Her new album includes some light rock and R&B numbers in addition to the usual Cantopop ballads. Though she welcomes the opportunity to try different genres, the lady is reluctant to explore too many genres too soon.

“I’d like to do something well before moving on to other things. I don’t want people to say they don’t really remember Linda because she does too many different things.”

In Moonlight Resonance, Chung plays the gentle Yu So Sum, who is sent by her mother Yan Hung (Michelle Yim) to study medicine in Britain to keep her away from baker boy Gam Wing Ho (Raymond Lam), who dropped out of school to help in the family business. Yu returns to work in a Hong Kong hospital where she falls in love with the jovial Dr. Ling Chi Shun (Bosco Wong).

The show notably scooped six trophies at the TVB Anniversary Awards late last year, including best drama, best actor for Ha Yu and best actress for Yim. It’s a sequel of sorts to 2007’s award-winning drama, Heart of Greed, featuring almost the entire ensemble cast from the prequel.

Leading the cast of Moonlight are some of Hong Kong’s best-known veterans, namely Yim, Ha, Louise Lee, Susanna Kwan, Lee Heung Kam and Wayne Lai. Besides Chung, other popular young stars like Lam, Wong, Moses Chan, Tavia Yeung and Kate Tsui complete the list.

Both shows are centred on clans involved in food business; abalone and marine delicacies for Heart of Greed, and mooncakes and other Chinese pastries for Moonlight Resonance. In the latter, the family is split into two households – Chung and Gam – after the patriarch (Ha) divorces his wife (Lee) to marry her scheming friend (Yim).

Chung recalls having an enjoyable time filming Moonlight on Hong Kong’s Lamma Island. “It was my first time shooting there. It was a fun place with many things to do. Also, I didn’t realise there were so many islands out there. So I was really glad to discover their rustic beauty.”

Incidentally, Lamma Island was also the location for her most memorable scene in the drama, which she shared with Bosco Wong. “We were at the jetty waiting for the ferry and it started raining. He took off his jacket and put it over my head. It was such a sweet and romantic scene.”

In Heart of Greed, she acted as lawyer Sheung Joi Sum, a role for which she was named “Favourite Character” at the Astro Wah Lai Toi Awards held at Genting Highlands’ Arena of Stars in February. Her successful pairing with heartthrob Raymond Lam in the drama also won them the “Favourite Couple” award.

Talking about her on-screen partnership with Lam, with whom Chung has been romantically linked, she admits that she was not familiar with the actor during their first collaboration but got better in the second. “Now I know how he works. Initially, it was a bit awkward to act as a couple.”

This year she is starring in three TVB series: the modern A Watchdog’s Tale, period drama “The Legend of Pu Song Ling”, and mystery series “Cross-Boundary Exploration”.

“I enjoy the action element of costume roles as I love to fight like a martial arts expert. But the archaic language can be quite a challenge and I’ll be concerned with memorising the script. In that sense, I’m more confident taking on modern roles because I can understand the language. So my lines flow smoother and I can better convey my emotions,” reveals Chung.

Like many of her fellow TVB artistes, Chung has also contributed to the soundtracks of a number of serials. These include tunes in The Gem of Life (2008), Legend of the Demigods (2008), a duet with Steven Ma in A Journey Called Life (2008), a duet with Raymond Lam in Heart of Greed (2007), and Best Bet (2007).

The versatile lass has also featured in three Hong Kong movies: last year’s L for Love, L for Lies, and Playboy Cops as well as Love is Not All Around in 2007. Her film debut in Love is Not All Around landed her a best new artiste nomination at the 27th Hong Kong Film Awards.

The former beauty queen with the porcelain skin is also known as the queen of advertisements for her regular product endorsements and commercial deals.

Who can blame Chung for thoroughly enjoying herself in the glittering world of showbiz?

Forgetting Ah Chau, moving on from the Moonlight Resonance mess
Two years ago, Seung Joi Sum saved Linda Chung’s [acting] career.

Who knew that one year after that that the same Heart of Greed crew would have the exact opposite effect for her? With the horribly-written role of Yu So Chau, Moonlight Resonance was a nightmare for Linda and reversed some of the “good” that Seung Joi Sum and especially A Journey Called Life’s Sze Ka Ka did for her. She cried in 90% of her scenes in Moonlight and thus annoyed the audience with her tears, “stupid” character, and “love triangle”. From being highly praised, Linda unfairly became widely criticized because of Yu So Chau.

Thankfully, The Gem of Life came to the rescue a few months later.

Gem gave Linda the interesting, fun, and complex character of Elise. For the first time Linda acted as a spoiled, bratty, flirty, conniving, and spiteful rich girl — very different from her past good girl roles. She had rather intense arguing scenes with Ada Choi, Louise Lee See Kei, and Gigi Lai. Linda nailed the role of Elise and gave a breakthrough performance. She was able to win back praises from the audience and “forgiveness” for her acting in Moonlight.

Quiet 2009
In 2008, Linda had five series released — Journey, Forensic Heroes II, Moonlight, Legend of the Demigods, and Gem. This year is a totally different story. Linda will only have one series released — A Watchdog’s Tale. It’s unknown when TVB will release it, but for sure it will be out in 2009. Watchdog reunites Journey’s main cast (Linda, Steven Ma, Kent Cheng) and adds in Maggie Shiu, Raymond Wong, and Koni Lui. The storyline revolves around police dogs.

Linda’s role is a refreshing one. She plays a flat-chest, “ugly” tomboy named Lai Sin Yu. She’s a veterinarian and will be a bickering pair with Steven’s character (who’s a foul-mouthed pervert). Unlike her past series, Linda will have little crying scenes in Watchdog. Linda said that out of all the series she filmed, Watchdog was the most laid-back/enjoyable because it’s a comedy and she didn’t have to cry. It’ll be interesting to see Linda’s performance. Hopefully it will be surprising and show more improvement/versatility for her acting. I think her “ugly tomboy” look is cute.

I’m not really looking forward to Watchdog because the storyline doesn’t sound interesting. It seems kind of silly. Also, I don’t have faith in Producer Leung even though I surprisingly enjoyed Journey. I’ll watch it for Linda’s role and Linda & Steven’s pairing. We’ll see how Watchdog turns out I guess.

It’s a good thing for Linda to have a quiet 2009 because when she comes back, she’ll be “refreshing” for everyone to watch.

Great success as a new singer
No one could have predicted how Linda’s singing career would turn out. Her fans would obviously support her musical venture, but would anyone else? Would her attempt to launch a singing career be an embarrassment or would it spawn a viable secondary career?

Linda’s debut album One Person Dinner, Two People World [一人晚餐, 二人世界] released on August 20, 2008 to generally positive reviews with people saying that she has potential. Since its release, Linda’s first record has sold over 20,000 copies — making it a certified “Gold Record”. Linda’s first album can be considered a commercial success; she’s one of the best selling new female artists in Hong Kong (she was awarded by IFPI for this accomplishment).

Not only did her CD’s sell, but Linda gained recognition and popularity as a singer. Her single “Actually I’m Not Happy” [其實我不快樂] and her themesong for the anime Saiunkoku Monogatari were award-winning hits. These 2 songs won Linda praise. Linda’s trophy case got quite full as a result of her singing career. She was awarded the following awards: TVB8 Music Awards 2008 “Best Newcomer” (Silver), Metro Radio Newcomer Presentation “Best Live Female Performer 2008″, Yes! Idol Magazine “King of Female Newcomers 2008″, Metro Radio Hits Music Award Presentation 2008 “King of New Female Singers”, Jade Solid Gold Music Awards 2008 “Most Popular Female Newcomer” (Silver), SINA Music Awards 2008 “My Most Favorite Female Newcomer” (Gold), and RTHK 31st Top Ten Chinese Gold Songs Award “Most Outstanding Newcomer Award” (Consolation).

It’s kind of ironic that at the moment she has more awards for singing than acting.

Upcoming series
After Watchdog, Linda has two more upcoming series as of now. One is a costume fantasy and the other is a modern supernatural/detective drama.

In “Legend of Pu Song Ling” [蒲松齡], Linda pairs up with Steven for the fourth time (it would have been fifth had she not turned down Sweetness in the Salt back in 2007). It’s a fantasy/mythical series revolving around the life of the author of the famous Dark Tales [聊齋] stories, Pu Song Ling. Also in the cast are Sunny Chan, Fala Chen, Elaine Yiu, and Matthew Ko.

Linda’s character is Lau Sum Yu. She’s a person who fights against evil spirits. Her character is a frank and straight-forward kind of girl who knows martial arts. She’s a strong and smart girl who will have fighting scenes. She’ll be involved in a love triangle with Steven and Sunny (who’s a villain). In the very end, she will “sacrifice for love”. Linda says it’s a “beautiful” story. The story tells of Linda going to find her sister (Elaine) who has disappeared. Along the journey she meets Steven and Sunny, who help her in her quest. It turns out that her sister actually already died and is now a ghost.

In “Crossing the Boundary of Exploration” [囧探查過界], Linda collaborates (and pairs up) with Wong Hei for the second time after Gem. Her character, Chung Yi Dak, is a very cute, silly, and happy-go-lucky girl. She wants a rich boyfriend and loves name brands; in short, a materialistic kind of “Hong Kong” girl. She plays a supermodel and will sport a different outfit and hairstyle in almost every scene. I’m not quite sure what the story for “Crossing” is about. All I know is that Wong Hei’s character is a detective and there’s something about solving cases supernaturally.

Linda is glad to play a “happy” role this time around because she says that in the past her roles were always crying and pitiful. She hopes to learn more [acting] from Wong Hei.

I love Linda’s image for “Crossing”. She looks extremely pretty! I’m hoping that she won’t take her cuteness over-the-top because then it just becomes aggravating and pretentious. In the past Linda tended to lean towards overacting when it comes to these cute/happy roles, but I’m hoping that she has learned and so her acting will be controlled and more natural in this series.

I’m not too excited about either series because “Legend” comes from Producer Leung (again… he loves using Steven & Linda) and I’m doubtful about his productions. His series aren’t horrendous, but they’re usually just acceptable/mediocre (Journey, like I said, was an exception). “Crossing” comes from Producer Lo whose series are often boring. The only series I enjoyed from him was Always Ready (Linda’s second series). Who knows? Maybe I’ll be surprised. Between the two, I’m more looking forward to seeing “Legend”.

The scripts TVB is giving Linda lately aren’t too hot and I’m rather tired of her working with the same people over and over again. For starters, she needs a new pairing! It seems like if she’s not with Raymond Lam then she’s with Steven. Although I love her pairings with both of them, I want to see Linda create new chemistry with other actors. I’m also not too fond of her characters; they don’t sound particularly fresh or exciting. I really hope Linda can get challenging, well-written, diverse roles in strong productions in the upcoming months/years so she can continue to learn and improve.

Sophomore CD releases in November
Originally, Linda hoped to release her second album in September 2009, but due to her busy filming schedule, her sophomore effort won’t be out until sometime in November.

Linda actually began to work on it since earlier this year and is going to musically compose at least six of the album’s tracks. Linda makes up the melodies and then offers them to her record company, who hire lyricists to work her melodies into songs. It turns out that she often hums melodies and then thinks to herself that it would make a good song, so she’ll record it with her phone. Over the years she has built up quite a “collection”.

The good thing about Linda’s new CD having 6 tracks composed by Linda is that it means less of a chance for remakes to appear. The biggest criticism of her debut album is that there were too many remakes/repeats (as I pointed out in my own review of the CD). Linda needs fresh and original songs. Furthermore, it’s always a big plus when singers take part in making their songs; it offers a personal touch. I liked the two songs she composed on her first CD — “Have Her (Or Not)” [有沒有她] and “Rollercoaster” [過山車] — so I’m looking forward to hearing more of her work.

One Person Dinner, Two People World was a very “innocent” CD with pure-sounding songs. Linda says that her sophomore CD will also be “pure”, but it will be more mature. It will be a refined and grown-up innocence. Linda hopes to include more fast-paced songs so that she can dance since the first album was mostly ballads.

I’m hoping for improved vocals from Linda (her live singing has gotten much better so that is a good sign), more variety, and crossing my fingers that there are no remakes/repeats. I’m really excited for Linda’s second CD. I can’t wait to hear new songs!

Insomnia, poor health, bad mood
In 2008, Linda opened up about her “dark days” at the beginning of her entertainment career. She was always depressed and would often cry. She felt extremely lonely being away from her family and friends and living all alone in Hong Kong. Furthermore, her workload got heavier as she got more popular. In 2007, she had a breakdown on the set of Journey due to the stress of filming 2 series & 1 movie getting to her. She cried for an hour. Luckily, Steven and Elaine were there to comfort her. It’s kind of amazing how Linda’s best work (Gem & Journey) came from a time when she was so mentally & physically drained.

Sadly, those days seem to be returning. Linda has had insomnia for a few months now, so she’s easily sick and very tired. Recently she had another breakdown on the set of “Legend”. She was disappointed in herself because she couldn’t remember her lines and perform to the best of her abilities due to her lack of sleep. Linda isn’t satisfied with her performance in “Legend” and feels bad about not being able to act to her potential.

Once again, Steven played the role of “big brother” (this is why Linda loves working with him!) and was there to comfort her. He made soups for her and talked with her to try to cheer her up. Steven came to Linda’s defense and said that she is a very self-conscious and nervous person, always wanting her performances to be perfect. Thus, Linda is often tensed and stressed and this resulted in her insomnia. Furthermore, he criticized TVB for not properly arranging her workload and piling too much on Linda rather than spreading things out.

TVB and Producer Lo (of “Crossing”) were kind and delayed filming of “Crossing” so that Linda would not have to film both “Crossing” and “Legend” at the same time. She was thus able to relax a little bit. Linda’s mood and health has improved these days thanks to her mom flying to be with her in Hong Kong and taking care of her.

Poor Linda! I really hope she’ll be able to take better care of herself.

In less than two months it’s going to be one year since Linda Chung released her debut album. The “Gold Record” One Person Dinner, Two People World [一人晚餐, 二人世界] with sales of over 20,000 copies marks Linda’s entry into the music scene.

Linda’s debut CD is precisely the type of album that one can expect from Linda: innocent and pure. Indeed, her virgin record from beginning to end sounds very “clean”. The songs go along with not only the innocent image and packaging of this record, but with Linda’s image herself.

The melodies of the songs are great — catchy and easy-to-listen-to. Linda’s voice doesn’t fail the [mostly] good songs she is given. Her voice has improved a lot and on this record, her vocals are generally clear, smooth, and carry the tunes. She still, however, struggles to maintain her “air” and control her breathing when singing at certain points throughout the CD. It’s also quite apparent that her voice is not strong. I think Linda’s aware of her vocal limitations and so she doesn’t try to sing anything too out of her range. She mostly stays in her element and sings songs that she does best and is capable of — love ballads.

The most challenging song vocally on the CD has got to be “Heaven’s Matches” [火柴天堂] and surprisingly, Linda doesn’t fare too badly. Despite the difficult, fluctuating tempo, Linda manages to keep up and doesn’t embarrass herself. I was impressed. Of course, I don’t listen to Linda to be impressed vocally (that’s not the type of singer that Linda is nor do I think she is capable of being such a singer). What I like about her singing is that she uses a lot of “feelings” to sing her songs. I can feel that she puts her heart into her singing, so that’s why I enjoy her songs.

I love this CD and have listened to it many times. I think with repeated listening, each song “grows” on the listener and becomes better. My absolute favorite songs though, are the following:

“Actually I’m Not Happy” [其實我不快樂] — This is Linda’s most successful single off the album, winning a lot of praises and it is also a Jade Solid Gold “Gold” song winner — and for good reason. This is a stand-out track that Linda really nails vocally, especially with how much feeling she gives to the delivery of the lyrics. Her voice sounds the best on this song. It’s a powerful and moving song. I don’t like the Mandarin version “I’m Unhappy” [我不快樂] as much. It doesn’t sound as nice and I prefer the lyrics to the original Cantonese version.

“You Don’t Understand My Heart” [你不懂我的心] — Initially I liked the Cantonese version “I Don’t Understand You” [我不懂你] more. However, I grew to prefer and like the Mandarin version more. The lyrics are more refined and mature. The Cantonese version has too many “questions” (the repetitive use of the word “ma”) and doesn’t sound as beautiful. Linda’s Mandarin surprisingly doesn’t sound awkward. I don’t speak or understand Mandarin, but to me Linda sounded pretty fluent with her Mandarin. I really like this track. It’s a beautiful and touching ballad.

“One Person Dinner” [一人晚餐] — This song is absolutely adorable! It sounds really cute and innocent. My favorite part is the chorus. I think this should have been the first single off the album because it really matches Linda. Unfortunately, it doesn’t have “fate” being a single despite being used as one of the two title tracks for the album.

“Have Her (Or Not)” [有沒有她] — This is one of the two tracks Linda composed musically. This ballad is especially moving for some reason. Somehow I think of Heart of Greed when I hear this song. I picture Seung Joi Sum (Linda) singing this about Alfred (Raymond Lam) and his affair with Shui Mak Mak (Yoyo Mung).

“Saiunkoku Monogatari” [彩雲國物語] — This track was included in the “Reloaded” version of the album because of its great success. It won the “Gold Song Award” (voted as the best song out of the top 10 children’s songs of the year) at the TVB Children Song Awards 2008. This song brought Linda a lot of attention musically and it was a popular song. This song is actually the themesong for the anime of the same title. Linda recorded the Cantonese version of the original Japanese themesong to go along with the Cantonese version of the anime when it was aired on TVB. I thought Linda did a superb job with this song. It’s a really cute song as well.

“Swear” [發誓] — I used to be obsessed with this song. This song single-handedly showed how much potential Linda has as a singer when it was released back then and I believe this song opened up the first doors to Linda’s path to becoming a singer. This song made me wait for 2 years to watch Legend of the Demigods. It’s a great, beautiful, and sweet song.

“Heaven’s Matches” — This song is so poignant! This track is actually Linda’s most favorite song from her first CD. It’s also her mom’s favorite song too from the ones that Linda recorded. I really like how tragic-sounding this song is and Linda’s voice was quite surprising since it’s a very difficult song to sing. It’s really a delicate, lovely song.

“Rollercoaster” [過山車] — This song is fun and cute with its up-tempo beat and fast pace. This is the other song that Linda composed the music for.

I don’t care too much for “Two People World” [二人世界] even though I have grown to “accept” it. Sometimes I like it, but most other times I’m indifferent about it. It’s not good, not bad — just “okay”.

The worst track on the CD has got to be “Silent Romance” [浪漫無聲]. It doesn’t flow with the rest of the CD and is just a weird song in general. The song’s title was promising, but the content was so disappointing. This type of song is not suitable for Linda to sing.

My biggest complaint about Linda’s CD is that it lacks “fresh” material.

3 of the 12 tracks are “repeats”. “Swear” was released back in 2006 with TVB’s female compilation album Lady In Red [金牌女兒紅]. “You Don’t Understand My Heart” and “I’m Unhappy” are just Mandarin versions of “I Don’t Understand You” and “Actually I’m Not Happy” respectively. 4 of the 12 tracks are remakes — Cantonese versions of songs from the past. “One Person Dinner” was made from Ariel Lin’s “Lonely Northern Hemisphere” [孤單北半球] while “Silent Romance” was made from Ariel’s “You” [你]. “Two People World” was composed from Jolin Tsai’s “Street of Love” [愛上了一條街]. “Heaven’s Matches” is the Cantonese version of Panda Xiong’s song of the same title.

Despite newly composed lyrics, the recycling of familiar tunes hurts the CD’s originality and makes it harder for Linda to establish herself as a singer since she’s not singing “new” songs that are hers. It restricts her creatively and musically because Linda has to match the original singer’s vocals rather than having freedom to sing the songs the way she chooses. I do understand why her CD had so many remakes/repeats though. It’s because of costs. Linda’s record company is small and therefore not financially wealthy. As a new artist, Linda is “risky” since no one could predict how well she’d sell or how popular she’d be as a singer. Therefore, in order to minimize costs for her debut CD and reduce any potential losses from signing Linda and releasing her CD, they decided to pay for the rights of old songs rather than pay for new songs (which would obviously be more expensive).

Now that Linda is one of the best selling new female artists and has established herself with almost a year’s experience and quite a number of awards, it’s safe to say that her company has increased confidence in her career as a singer. Therefore for her next record, I think they’ll be spending more money on her and so I believe the second CD will be a lot better.

The packaging for the CD was nicely done (especially the “Reloaded” version with its glossy cover and sleeve) and contained a lot of good pictures of Linda. The music videos were disappointing. She filmed mostly all of them in one day, so the final products are rushed and of low quality.

This CD is one of my favorite CD’s and I actually listen to it quite frequently (not so much as during the first few months of course). It’s a good album with nice pop songs and love ballads.

Those who aren’t a fan of Linda’s vocals to begin with won’t like the CD regardless, but those who find her voice acceptable or like it may like her CD. The songs are all mostly good and it’s an easy CD to listen to. It’s a very “pure” CD consisting of mainly love ballads. I highly recommend this debut for those curious about Linda the singer and those who like easy-to-listen-to pop love songs/ballads. Like with her acting, I have strong faith that her singing will continue to improve and consequently so will her future CD’s. One Person Dinner, Two People World does its job at introducing Linda to the world as a singer and is a good starting point.

Rating:

Six months ago, four main leads from Moonlight Resonance — Ha Yu, Louise Lee See Kei, Raymond Lam, and Linda Chung — came over to the US for a Christmas concert entitled Christmas Spectacular Live in Concert at the Trump Taj Mahal casino in Atlantic City, New Jersey on December 21, 2008.

Luckily for me, my friend’s uncle happens to have connections with the concert people (I think he works as a promotions manager or something… not sure) so I was able to attend the show for free. Leading up to and even on December 21, I actually didn’t know for sure whether or not I could go since my friend wasn’t very certain that we could get tickets. Why didn’t I just buy the tickets like others? Because no one really buys tickets to these shows, most of them go for free anyways I’m a poor college student. If it was Linda’s solo concert, then perhaps I’d be more willing to fork out the money to see the show, but when I was only really interested in seeing 1/2 of the show (love Louise & Ha Yu’s acting, but seeing them in concert?), it didn’t seem “worth” it to pay. Thus I was willing to risk not being able to attend Linda’s first US concert.

The show was supposed to start at 1:00 AM. My friend & I got there around 12:30 AM, still without tickets. 1 AM was fast approaching and her uncle was still nowhere in sight. I was getting really worried. At 10 minutes or so to 1:00 AM, her uncle finally showed up and gave us the tickets. I was really happy and relieved. We excitedly went down to the concert hall to enter the auditorium.

It was my first time at a Chinese concert, let alone a TVB one. There were tons of people in attendance. With the popularity of Moonlight and the cast, I guess I shouldn’t have been too surprised. Anyhow, I was shocked to see that we had really good seats. I sat around 15 rows from the stage in the left front area of seats. I could see the stage quite well, so I was pleased with my seat. I did not have my camera with me and pictures my friend took were really bad (extremely blurry), so the following pictures from the concert are courtesy of forbiddenwaffles.

The concert was supposed to begin at 1 AM, but in the true Asian fashion, it didn’t start until after 1:30 AM.

“Hor Ma” Louise came out first, followed by “Jo Bao” Ha Yu, then “Goon Ga Jai” Ray (the crowd went crazy!), and finally “Yu So Chau” Linda.

I didn’t realize Louise was on stage until I heard music playing. All of Louise’s songs were in Mandarin, if I’m not recalling incorrectly. Ha Yu sang a bunch of old Cantonese songs. Sitting through Louise and Ha Yu’s performances felt really long since I wanted to see Linda & Ray. They weren’t terrible singers or anything and I liked the parts when they talked to the audience. It’s just that their performances weren’t my “cup of tea”. I would much rather see them act.

All hell broke loose when Raymond came out. People ran to the stage, cameras started coming out. There were flashes everywhere. Clearly most people had come to see Ray. I enjoyed Ray’s performance. His voice was fantastic and it was nice to hear songs I actually knew and liked. I was actually kind of “falling asleep” before he came out since it was late and I was rather tired. Ray was funny. He kept asking the audience whether or not he should come off the stage. To this, everyone screamed, “Yes!” He laughed and said that he wanted to, but couldn’t because the security people would yell at him. Whenever he was on stage, he would always “tease” about coming off (which would drive all the fan girls crazy). One time, someone shouted out (in English) “I love you!” and Ray responded back in English, “I love you, too”. Raymond’s introduction before singing “Fond of Searching for You in Memories” [愛在記憶中找你] was funny; I believe he said something along the lines of “All guys should sing this for their girls. It’s a break-up song!”

I felt really nervous for Linda knowing that she would have to go on after Ray. She’s easily nervous and self-conscious, so I was concerned that the stress of going after Ray would get to her and hurt her performance. I actually wanted Linda to go on stage before Ray so that she wouldn’t have to go on after someone so popular. Ray ended and the big moment I was waiting for came…

Linda opened with “Two People World” [二人世界], her debut single. She sang the English song “Hero” which she says she listens to every time she’s really sad (it makes her feel better). She also sang Shirley Kwan’s “Hard to Find a Lover” [難得有情人]. Linda interacted very nicely with the crowd and didn’t look nervous at all (maybe a little in the beginning of “Two People World” though), which was great. She was charismatic and quite charming, which I was pleased with. I was worried that she’d be stiff and anxious so she wouldn’t be able to talk to the crowd much, but this was far from the case. Since 2004, Linda has definitely opened up and become more extroverted — what a transformation! She seemed relaxed, confident, and really nailed her performances. Her vocals were the best live ones from her that I’ve heard yet. She has improved a great deal in terms of singing live since 2006. Before I used to semi-cringe and avoid seeing her live performances, but now it’s quite acceptable and getting better. Linda said it was her first time in the US.

Linda talked a bit about her entry into the music industry and how her album had released. She asked if everyone would support her [as a singer] and the crowd yelled, “Yes!” Linda looked very happy with how receptive the audience was towards her (I think she was pleasantly surprised by how much support she has in the US). She seemed really “into” her performances and loved the energy and being on stage.

Ha Yu took the stage again, followed by Louise. Louise was very nice to Linda and praised her a lot. Like Ha Yu, Louise said that she is fond of Linda’s talents. She said that in her heart, Linda is a “Princess” and that she’s a very good girl. She praised Linda’s hard work, acting, and crying. She said that Linda’s smile is very pretty and that her crying is also pretty too. She mentioned how certain people can do really heart-wrenching crying scenes but look ugly while Linda manages to cry beautifully. That’s why she says she enjoys watching Linda do crying scenes. She says when Linda’s on, she can’t help but watch [her performance] — very, very sweet.

For her 2nd appearance, Linda changed into the outfit she wore at Jade Solid Gold (when her song was announced as the #1 song of the week). She sang her hit single “Actually I’m Not Happy” [其實我不快樂] from her debut album and shared the good news with everyone that the song won the Jade Solid Gold “Golden Song” award. She went on to thank Louise for her kind words and shared a personal story. She said that during filming of Heart of Greed, she wasn’t very acquainted with Louise because their scenes didn’t overlap. Linda says it was very tiring to film Heart and that when she was in the make-up room looking exhausted, Louise would ask her how she was doing, offer her encouragement, and gave her her phone number, telling her to call if she needed anything. She thought Louise was very caring and is grateful for having gotten to know her.

Afterwards Linda sang another Shirley Kwan song and then Joey Yung’s “Don’t Know Yet” [未知] because she felt it was time for a fast song. She was dancing a little bit. Linda then expressed that she wanted to sing a duet but wasn’t sure who to do it with. She was cheeky when asking. The crowd went crazy screaming “Lam Fung!”… and so Ray appeared on stage again! Out of all four, he was the only one who did not change outfits.

The two of them wondered if they should address Linda by her character name in Heart — Seung Joi Sum — or Moonlight — Yu So Chau. Linda said something like, “I think Seung Joi Sum because I don’t think the audience knows the name Yu So Chau yet.” Ray corrected her and said that they knew. The audience confirmed. It was very funny seeing how “confused” Linda was. I guess Linda thinks that US fans are a year behind Hong Kong. She probably assumes so since she’s from Canada (and their series are a year behind) and maybe doesn’t know that people can rent/download series nowadays.

Ray & Linda sang their much-overused (they need a new song!) duet “Appreciated” [心領] from Heart. The crowd went crazy when they held hands during the performance. They were really cute! Honestly, it was probably the best rendition of the song I heard them do yet. After finishing, they thanked each other (kept bowing to one another, which was cute) and Linda left the stage to Ray. He sang a few more songs, including the most popular/anticipated song that night — “Love Without Regrets” [愛不疚] from Moonlight.

At the very end, all 4 came out again and sang George Lam’s “Needing You Every Minute” [分分鐘需要你] (aka Fala Chen’s favorite song from Moonlight) and the show ended at around 3:30 AM. In total, it was a 2 hour show with all 4 singing a total of 6 songs each.

It was a great experience and I am very proud of Linda for doing an amazing job! She sang really well (her vocals have improved so much) and has come a long way in terms of her live singing as I’ve stated previously. She actually messed up on 2 songs because she forgot/messed up the lyrics, but it was okay. She just laughed it off and no one really cared. I loved her interactions with the crowd the most.

After the concert, my friends and I waited outside of a restaurant — Dynasty — in the casino. Our reasoning was that they (the Moonlight stars) would be hungry and go eat (also, a few weeks ago, Fala had a concert there and ended up eating at the same restaurant). After waiting for like 20-30 minutes, we heard screaming. Linda was walking quickly towards the restaurant entrance. I ran up to her and was like “Linda! Linda!” Linda walked really, really fast (she was being held/escorted by some lady) and looked scared because of the big crowd surrounding/following her.

I didn’t manage to get her attention (her eyes were focusing away from the crowd because she was too scared to look at anyone), but I was standing like only a few inches away from her and managed to touch her hand. So for now I can say that I have Linda’s autograph with a personal message and have seen her in real life.

Ha Yu, Louise, and Ray came together in a crowd with a bunch of security. I managed to shake hands with Ha Yu. I was like “Jo Bao!” He saw me and shook my hand and smiled. He was really friendly. I wanted to yell “Hor Ma” (Louise was standing next to him), but didn’t. Ray was literally surrounded on all corners by security since they didn’t want to risk any of the many fan girls pouncing on Ray.

The 4 of them went into the restaurant to eat and we (along with other fans) waited to see them come back out. We waited for an hour only to learn that they had left through the back, which was disappointing but not unexpected. Some lucky fans had connections with people working in the restaurant and were able to get in and meet the stars. One of my friends knew someone who worked as a waitress in the restaurant and she was able to get pictures taken with all four! Another girl walked in with Linda’s CD’s and walked out with them signed.

It wasn’t until later that I learned I could have been one of the “lucky fans” and meet the stars due to my friend’s uncle’s (the one who got us tickets in the first place) connections. I felt disappointed after hearing that, but at least now I know for next time.

Overall, it was a great concert. I had a lot of fun. I was extremely tired at the end of it, but it was well-worth staying up until 5 AM.

I probably would have enjoyed the show a lot more if it was just Ray & Linda (I was bored when they weren’t on stage), but I understand the reasoning for them having Ha Yu & Louise. This way both the “old” and the “young” crowd could be satisfied. It was definitely amusing to observe how “dead” the crowd mostly was whenever Ray & Linda weren’t on and how instantly everyone would wake up and a million flashes would go off when one of them was on.

It was quite a surreal experience seeing all four of them “live” in person on stage singing and talking. I’m so used to them being just on TV or in pictures that it’s hard to imagine that I would see them with my own eyes and ears in “real life”. Furthermore, standing inches away from all of them and being able to make physical contact with 2 of them? Quite a Moonlight experience!

The editing and direction matters
I did not feel for Ah Chau (Linda Chung) and Chi Shun (Bosco Wong) when I watched Moonlight Resonance. In fact, I was rather annoyed and frustrated with their repetitive and tiring scenes. I wished Chi Shun never existed and that the writers had just worked on developing the relationship between Ah Ho (Raymond Lam) and Ah Chau, which would have been so much more interesting and coherent to the main story. However, what’s done is done.

I was very shocked when I watched the following music videos created by GeLiGuoLu (whose MV’s are all amazing and extremely well-produced by the way — totally worth watching).

Ling Chi Shun: Yu So Sum, I’m Not the One You Want……
[凌至信：于素心，你要的不是我……]

Yu So Sum: Ling Chi Shun, My Love, My Fate
[于素心：凌至信, My Love, My Fate]

What was shocking was the fact that I actually felt something from and for the couple when I watched those music videos. “I’m Not the One You Want” shows the relationship from Ling B’s perspective while “My Love, My Fate” shows Ah Chau’s perspective. These videos are so well-produced and the scenes used all give such a different “feel” and “meaning” compared to when shown in Moonlight.



These MV’s are proof that good directing, editing, and above all writing are crucial to making something “work”. It further shows that acting cannot save a bad script. Linda and Bosco’s performances in Moonlight are often criticized, but by looking at these scenes alone, I see nothing wrong with their performances. In fact, their scenes were acted fine. I especially love the delivery of the lines in “I’m Not the One You Want” — quite emotional and touching. It’s a shame how people criticized them solely because of their bad characters and even more poorly-written storyline. They did their jobs and successfully acted out what was written in the script given to them.

If I only watched those MV’s and had no prior knowledge of Moonlight, I’d think that their love story was great. But of course, we all know that isn’t the case… Further proof that Moonlight has many great, well-acted scenes (which makes it hard for me to “hate” the series and totally write it off as trash) but these same scenes are poorly strung together in a bad script — unfortunate, really.

Deleted scene from Moonlight Resonance
I was extremely unhappy with the execution and development of Ah Ho and Ah Chau’s relationship in Moonlight. Raymond & Linda’s chemistry improved a lot from Heart of Greed and they shared lots of great scenes in Moonlight, but unfortunately their love story didn’t make the cut because they spent far too little time together as a couple. Ah Chau wasted too much of her time [and thus our time] crying over her stupid Dr. Ling. Thus, Ah Ho & Ah Chau as a couple felt shallow and rushed. I would have loved to see them date, deal with their conflicting “statuses” and family interests, and face all of the issues of them being together. That would have been really interesting and touching to see them fight through it all because of their love for each other and would have gone perfectly with the “family” theme of Moonlight. Instead, we get a dumb and “painful” [for us to watch] love triangle.

Moonlight could have worked. The cast was perfect and the set-up was good. The direction and developments were all unfortunately wrong with choppy and ludicrous writing full of flaws. It just makes me so angry how much of a waste Moonlight was since it had so much potential. Whatever. I ranted enough about Moonlight and don’t want angry fans attacking me again. Moving on…

I was very upset to realize that the scene above was cut. This scene was used in Ah Ho/Ah Chau/Chi Shun love triangle intermission segment. This scene made me anticipate the triangle when I was watching the series during the beginning because the scenes did indeed look very “painful”. Looks are deceiving though…



Judging from the clothes and location of filming, I am 100% certain that it was cut from episode 37 especially since there was a very choppy editing job done in that episode. At 18:26, Ah Chau finished a confrontation with Chi Shun asking him why he was behaving so strangely. In the very next scene, we hear the phone ringing and Ah Ho answering it and learning that his Grandma (Lee Heung Kam) was in the hospital. Ah Chau’s expression seemed very frazzled and the two looked like they were in a middle of a discussion, but were interrupted by the phone call.



I really want to know what they were talking about and why Ah Chau was hugging Ah Ho from the back holding yellow flowers. Who gave her the flowers? I assume that Ah Ho gave her the flowers. I think she was trying to reassure him that she loved him but still cared for Chi Shun as a friend. Ah Chau’s expression as she’s hugging Ah Ho from behind seems quite heartbreaking.

I would have liked to see this scene because it looks like a great one. They should have just cut out one (or 2 or 3… heck, even 10) of Ah Chau’s million crying scenes to make room for this scene.

Why there should not be a sequel to Last One Standing
I love Standing. It was an extraordinary series that was both refreshing and smartly written. It certainly kept me on my toes and the “violence” and “darkness” was a nice change from other series. Over the years, TVB has become less daring like the company’s been castrated or something. If you watch series from the 80’s and 90’s (see Looking Back in Anger and The Greed of Man), you’ll know exactly what I mean.

The ending of the series was open-ended and left the possibility for a sequel. Roger Kwok’s Ah Yin had become paraplegic and was serving time in jail for his evil deeds and was feigning a “redemption”. Kevin Cheng’s Ah Hei and Yoyo Mung’s Carmen (whose characters didn’t end up together) were both fooled by Ah Yin and thought he had changed into a “good” person. Thus, Ah Yin successfully laid the tracks for revenge when he gets released from prison. The ending credits roll with Ah Yin’s spine-chilling and creepy stare and smirk into the camera.

Some fans want a sequel to continue where the open-ended ending left off.

The possibility for Standing having a sequel is slim since ratings weren’t high (although the series built a nice audience near the end thanks to great word of mouth)… and I’m hoping it’s 0%. I don’t want a sequel to Standing because I believe it will ruin the good name of the first series.

The sequel would be extremely frustrating to watch and rather repetitive of the last series since we’ll have to sit through Ah Yin pretending to be “good” and doing nasty things behind everyone’s back and people getting harmed left and right until the end when he’s finally exposed again. It would be tiring to watch. I think my blood pressure would go up way high. Furthermore, much of the cast was killed off in the original series. The number that Ah Yin can target and hurt is much lower and I think the series would feel like a drag consequently.

Even more, we already have such a storyline with the last part of Looking Back in Anger which was already well-done. Ultimate villain Ding Yau Hong (Deric Wan) went to jail after breaking his leg (thus walking with a limp) and came out pretending to be a “good” person who regretted his previous actions and wanted to start a “new life”, fooling his brother Ding Yau Kin (Felix Wong) once again. Under the pretense of redemption, Ah Hong plotted to kill Ah Kin’s whole family for money and revenge. It wasn’t until then that Ah Kin realized Ah Hong had not changed at all and plotted justice.

I really hope TVB doesn’t produce Last One Standing II. I think it’s better not to see what happens after Ah Yin gets out of jail since we can pretty much guess the plot already.

Will The Gem of Life be a success years later?
People love to make fun of Gem for being a flop and criticize it for being a “bad” series. While it’s true that it failed to win ratings (very embarrassing ratings for a grand production actually) and is indeed a “flop”, I don’t think it’s a “bad” series at all. I was recently re-watching various scenes/episodes of the series when my mom was watching it and somehow I appreciated it more the second time around. Of course, the earlier parts of the series was still bad but after episode 20 the series began to pick up and it got good after episode 50 and was great after 60 and became increasingly excellent afterwards. I really enjoyed re-watching it.

Gem’s situation slightly mirrors that of another really long TVB grand production.

Nearly a decade ago, Producer Chik helmed the 105-episode At the Threshold of an Era (which was divided into 2 parts — something that fans of Gem thought Gem should have done too). It was an extremely big and hyped production with the biggest TVB stars around boasting Gallen Lo, Louis Koo, Roger Kwok, Sunny Chan, Flora Chan, Kenix Kwok, Liza Wang, Ada Choi, Maggie Shiu, and many others.

Despite the high production value and hype, the series had mediocre, disappointing ratings (like Gem).

Back in 2005, TVB re-aired Era during its midnight timeslot of old series re-runs. Surprisingly, Era got really good ratings (much higher than when it first aired) and praise. Thus, from a ratings “flop” Era emerged a few years later as a “success” with people appreciating the series. Some fans of Gem wonder whether or not Gem will be a repeat of Era’s success when it re-airs years later. Some people suggest that Gem was released at a bad time because of the economy and the focus on the rich turned some people off. Will people appreciate the series then when the world is hopefully not in such an economic downer?

Time will reveal the answer.

I have not watched Era so I cannot make any comments on whether or not it was surprising that it became a success years later. What I can comment on is that I think many people unfairly wrote Gem off and gave up too early in the series. I’m not defending it as a great series because it isn’t one. It has a bad reputation and I feel really bad for it since I do like the series overall. The pace was often too slow and it had many boring and dragging scenes, but as a whole, it wasn’t a poorly-constructed series. Watching it the second time made me not mind the scenes I previously disliked as much (maybe because I knew what purpose they held). I think that if people had given Gem more patience and a second look, they’d be able to appreciate it.

I’m crossing my fingers that Gem will receive some recognition years later like Era. It deserves some credit.

Review for A Taste of Love
Watching A Taste of Love makes me realize how much I’ve matured, especially in terms of what I expect from a TVB series.

Before I watched TVB to pass time and for entertainment. Nowadays, I watch not to “pass time” (because I have no time to waste) but solely for entertainment. I’m really picky these days. “Mediocre” is no longer acceptable. I think my standards have increased even more than before.

If I had watched Taste 8 years ago when it was released in 2001, I probably would have enjoyed it. It’s a light-hearted comedy/drama with a good leading cast consisting of Lawrence Ng, Raymond Lam, Joe Ma, Flora Chan, Miriam Yeung, and Joyce Tang.

Unfortunately, after many years of watching TVB, Taste was all too familiar. It was extremely predictable and used all of the conventional TVB clichés in its storytelling. Nothing was surprising. Everything played exactly like a recycled series made from plots from past series. After less than 5 episodes, I already knew how the series would develop and end. It was very tiring and boring for me to watch Taste’s 25 episodes. I didn’t laugh despite the numerous “comedic” scenes. I didn’t feel anything for the series and wasn’t interested at all. I basically let the series play in the background when I “watched” it just to finish it because it wasn’t worth my attention.

I probably enjoyed watching Lawrence & Flora the most. They made a good couple. Raymond & Miriam had no chemistry and were unbelievable as a couple. Raymond looked really different in Taste and his acting has certainly come a long way since back then. Miriam’s acting wasn’t bad, but I think she was too “old” for her role and I much prefer her as a singer. I love Miriam’s subsong for the series. Joe & Joyce were annoying (I don’t like characters like theirs).

Maybe I wasn’t in the right “mood” when I was watching Taste so I just couldn’t be bothered with it. Maybe I’m being too critical. Maybe my taste has changed so I no longer like series like Taste with its light-hearted nature and simple plot full of clichés. Maybe it really is just a “bad” series. In any case, I regret wasting my time with A Taste of Love. I’m not even going to bother giving it a rating.

Raymond & Linda galore!
I love this couple! Ah Ho & Ah Chau failed them but they are still successful.

Who knew that Alfred and Seung Joi Sum would become a golden TVB couple? Advertisers love pairing them up and Raymond and Linda have both made lots of money from their appearances as a couple at numerous functions. They have great chemistry and compatibility.

I loved watching the opening for the Astro Drama Award Presentation 2008 (back in February 2009) in which Linda and Raymond reprised their beloved roles as Seung Joi Sum and Alfred.

Seung Joi Sum: Alfred, I really want to tell you that I’m with Dak Dak Dei (Moses Chan) now. He treats me really well. You don’t have to worry about me. If I could, I would tell you that actually — I’ve already forgiven you.

Alfred: Seung Joi Sum. Seung Joi Sum.

Seung Joi Sum: (gasps) How come?

Alfred: I also don’t know why, but knowing that you and Dak Dak Dei are together, I’m really happy. Congratulations to you two! Actually if we are willing to believe, “hope” will always appear before our eyes.

Seung Joi Sum: Exactly. Hey! Look! There’s a shooting star!

Alfred: Yeah! Lots of stars!

Seung Joi Sum: If there are more stars tonight, then that would be great.

Watch the clip here!

What a cute opening monologue featuring Seung Joi Sum meeting Alfred again after his death! It makes me miss Heart and want to re-watch it. I’m really happy to see Heart sweep the awards at Astro; it was expected and deserved. Susanna Kwan should have won Favorite Villain though — what a rob to give it to Shirley Yeung for The Brink of Law (improved and surprising performance from Shirley, yes, but to beat Sai Kai?!)! I’m really happy that Raymond & Linda won Favorite Couple; they deserved it and it is obvious that their pairing is very popular with the Malaysian fans. I’m not upset that they didn’t win On-Screen Kiss because their kissing scene in Heart was not-well done (Linda’s fault). Their kissing looked hesitant, awkward, and unconvincing. Moonlight’s kissing scenes were much, much better.

I love Astro for giving Raymond & Linda so much “focus” and love for their characters and pairing in Heart.

As if I wasn’t spoiled enough with all of the Raymond & Linda from Astro, I was treated to a radio drama starring them less than 2 months later. Although the script was again not good, it was nice to hear their chemistry through just their voices.

Last month TVB aired a special on Raymond to highlight his background and career. Of course, Linda was asked to express her thoughts on Raymond and record a message for him. Although it was a short segment, it was a really cute clip and totally worth watching to hear what they think of each other (not that the information was new though). Watch the clip here!

Linda: He always tells me how he’s ill, has a weak body, needs to take medications, that he can’t take it anymore, and after 10 years he’s not going to do it [the entertainment industry] anymore… things like that. Gradually in these last 2 years, he has more and more work. It turns out he can handle it and can do it so well too! Ah! It turns out that Ah Fung, you lied to me! You faked everything, pretended to be sick! I think that Ah Fung would be a good boyfriend because usually when we work, he would always take care of others. Sometimes to make everyone happy he would treat us to meals. That’s why I think that to be his girlfriend, he would always take you out to eat; I think it would be quite happy!

Raymond: If she was my girlfriend… eh… I think she… I think she would be an appropriate girl to be my girlfriend. But we… actually we get along because our characters are… a bit… a bit… similar. However, I think she will fit being my “good friend” instead, a really close female friend. It’s because she’s a very honest, straight-forward, and innocent girl.

I hope Raymond & Linda can pair up again in another TVB series.

Unless you’re a fan of Raymond Lam or Linda Chung, you’re probably oblivious to their radio drama which concluded a little less than two weeks ago. Hong Kong’s Metro Radio produced and aired a 10-episode (less than 10 minutes per episode) radio drama (they still make them?!) called [情情塔塔] (translated as “Tarot Love”).

The story is about two characters, Ah Faw (Raymond) and Siu Juen (Linda), and how they fatefully meet and fall in love thanks to tarot cards. It’s an extremely typical and clichéd love story; honestly, after the first episode, I already predicted the rest of the story. Sounds like a TVB series, eh? Well, with Raymond & Linda at the helm, it “sounds” just like a TVB drama.

Despite the simplistic and predictable script, I enjoyed listening to this radio drama a lot. In fact, I had chased it every day and looked forward to hearing how the series would develop (despite already “knowing”/guessing the whole plot). This is all credit to Raymond & Linda, of course (otherwise I wouldn’t even bother listening to this drama). Their chemistry just oozes from their voices and it’s just really nice to hear them use only their voice to act. They did a really nice job with this radio drama.

Before the days of TV, the radio was the entertainment source around the house. Radio dramas were prominent back in those days of the mid-1900’s. The experience of listening to this radio drama makes me think about how it must have been to gather around and listen to a radio drama back then. While it’s great to “watch” a series, I think it’s rather fun and refreshing to just listen and imagine how the scenes are playing out. It was truly a different time back then and to be able to get a chance to have a “taste” of what it might have been like is a good experience. Of course, I’m sure the radio dramas back in those days were of higher quality than [情情塔塔].

[情情塔塔] is a cute and sweet radio drama. It’s short, simple, and quite enjoyable. I recommend giving it a try, especially for fans of Raymond and Linda (and particularly those who are fans of their pairing) to listen to it. I liked it.

You can download all 10 episodes and even read English translations of every episode courtesy of Kat at www.RaymondLam.org.

Listen to Raymond & Linda’s Radio Drama Here!

Linda Chung Debut CD Reloaded
“One Person Dinner, Two People World Reloaded”
[一人晚餐 。二人世界 Reloaded] Album Artwork – 13 photos

Click Here To View Gallery

With the economy in a slump and very few people buying CD’s these days, record companies invented the “re-release” in attempt to help their artist(s) sell a few more records and thereby milk more money from fans. Almost everyone re-releases these days. Some do it because their album flopped initially and only gained success later on while others do it to reach a goal sell amount (i.e. gold or platinum status). Re-releases are basically the original album repackaged with a few more songs and some extras.

With over 10,000 copies sold since August 20, 2008, Linda’s debut album “One Person Dinner, Two People World” [一人晚餐, 二人世界] can be considered a success. Her sales exceeded people’s expectations and is a very respectable amount. The majority of her sales were generated within the first two weeks after the album was released.

I was rather surprised when Linda announced that she would release another version of her album less than a month after her CD released. In the US, re-releases aren’t done until months (even a year) down the road. However, the Hong Kong music scene is different from the US. For starters, in HK, a “gold” record only needs sales of 15,000 and a “platinum” record is a minimum of 30,000 copies whereas in the US, an artist must sell 500,000 to have a “gold” record and 1,000,000 CD’s to reach “platinum” status.

Linda’s record company hopes that by re-releasing Linda’s album, she will be able to get the boost that she needs in order for her CD to become “gold”. And so… on October 21, 2008, “One Person Dinner, Two People World Reloaded” [一人晚餐 。二人世界 Reloaded] was released.

CD
01. “One Person Dinner” [一人晚餐]
02. “Two People World” [二人世界]
03. “Actually I’m Not Happy” [其實我不快樂]
04. “Heaven’s Matches” [火柴天堂]
05. “Saiunkoku Monogatari” [彩雲國物語]
06. “Rollercoaster” [過山車]
07. “I Don’t Understand You” [我不懂你]
08. “Swear” [發誓] (Subsong from TVB series Legend of the Demigods)
09. “Romantic Silence” [浪漫無聲]
10. “Have Her” [有沒有她]
11. “You Don’t Understand My Heart” [你不懂我的心] (Mandarin)
12. “I’m Unhappy” [我不快樂] (Mandarin)

DVD
01. Making of the Album
02. “Actually I’m Not Happy” [其實我不快樂] MV
03. “Swear” [發誓] MV
04. “Heaven’s Matches” [火柴天堂] MV
05. “I Don’t Understand You” [我不懂你] MV
06. “One Person Dinner” [一人晚餐] MV
07. “Two People World” [二人世界] MV
08. “I’m Unhappy” [我不快樂] (Mandarin) MV
09. “You Don’t Understand My Heart” [你不懂我的心] (Mandarin) MV

The CD has 2 more songs (the award-winning and very popular song “Saiunkoku Monogatari” [which served as the themesong for the Cantonese dubbed version of the anime of the same name] which won Linda the coveted “TVB Children’s Gold Song” award as well as her first recorded song ever from 2006 — “Swear” from recently aired series Legend of the Demigods). The main attraction of this re-release, however, is the truly loaded DVD which comes with an astounding 8 music videos and a special behind-the-scenes look of how Linda’s debut album came about. This feature (the “Making of the Album”) was for no reason at all excluded from the original release in August. The two-disc CD+DVD album is currently on sale for only $15.99 at YESASIA. Not only that, but this edition comes with 5 bonus postcards as a free gift.

Fans of Linda should definitely consider buying this re-release for not only collection’s sake but also because it is a very good deal with even more Linda to enjoy. People who didn’t buy the original but ended up liking the album should definitely take this opportunity and consider getting this album because of all the extra goodies included. People who already supported Linda and purchased the debut album need not buy the reloaded version, but if you have some extra cash lying around and want to show Linda some support, do consider buying it. The packaging (at least the cover) looks to be improved and all of the added music videos and songs make “One Person Dinner, Two People World Reloaded” a sweet deal.

Help Linda’s album reach gold status! Order it from YESASIA!

Personally I would have liked one new song (in fact, including Linda’s newest song — The Gem of Life’s subsong would have definitely increased this album’s appeal), but I guess the HK music industry doesn’t record songs in excess. However, just having the CD version of “Saiunkoku Monogatari” already makes this CD worth getting for me as I love that song and have been waiting for a clear and crisp version since forever. “Swear” seems a bit outdated now since it’s been out for 2 years already, but I do see the logic in its inclusion since its re-release on this CD coincides with Demigod’s recent release and it is a “classic” Linda song. The cover for this re-release is far superior to the two album cover selections of the original release as this Linda looks much more natural and like the Linda that we all know. The DVD alone though seems worth the purchase. The news wasn’t lying when they reported that Linda was filming music videos non-stop. 8 music videos is a lot!

“One Person Dinner, Two People World Reloaded” was made for and marketed strictly for die-hard fans. Fans that are not so hard-core should save their money to support Linda’s next CD release, which Linda hopes will have more “edgy” and “upbeat” songs that will allow her to dance since her debut album was mainly ballads.

With over 10,000 copies sold since its release on August 20, 2008, Linda Chung’s debut CD “One Person Dinner, Two People World” [一人晚餐, 二人世界] can be considered a success and very ideal. There is a potential for the disc to reach a “Gold Record” status (selling 15,000 copies). Thank you so much for supporting Linda and buying her debut album! With the good response to this record, I think a sophomore album (and hopefully even more records) is a good possibility in the future.

The CD is packaged in a cardboard sleeve and comes with a lot of goodies (depending on which version you choose to buy). I like the design and theme of the packaging. It’s very “pure”, girly, and cute — matching Linda’s image. Most of the pictures are new and especially taken for the album artwork. A few pictures are re-used from Linda’s Bio-Essence advertisements. The mini-poster is actually quite big, but the downer is that it comes folded shoved into a sleeve with the album booklet. In essence, it ruins the poster because of the deep folds. I would recommend buying the version with the 5 mini-postcards more because these postcards are a substantial size and aren’t “ruined” like the mini-poster with its folds. Plus, I think the pictures used for the postcards are more “natural”.

Overall, I’m satisfied with the packaging and product. I definitely got my money’s worth. I’ve scanned the album artwork (CD sleeves, album booklet, postcards, and so on) to share with everyone. Enjoy the pictures!

Front covers of both versions

Back covers of both versions

Version #1 with a mini-poster

Version #2 with 5 mini-postcards

Linda Chung Debut CD – “One Person Dinner, Two People World”
[一人晚餐, 二人世界] Album Artwork – 29 photos

Click Here To View Gallery

Linda Chung’s debut album “One Person Dinner, Two People World” [一人晚餐, 二人世界] is officially on sale starting today — August 20, 2008.

Thank you to everyone who supported Linda and ordered the album from YESASIA! Since the album’s been up for pre-order since last Wednesday, Linda’s CD (with the mini-poster) is at of this moment the #1 best selling CD for the past week! Her sales have increased with each passing day! Furthermore, the second version of her CD (with the mini-postcards) is the #3 best selling CD!

Linda’s album is surprisingly selling quite well!

If you like Linda or enjoy her music, please support her and purchase her album! It’s now on sale for a great deal of $15.99! Her debut album is very important in determining the future of her music career and whether or not she will have future releases.

Please do not download the CD! It is okay to “preview” it, but if you end up liking it, do the right and legal thing and buy the original! Not only do you get album artwork (with your choice of cover), you even get a bonus DVD with two music videos and a poster or 5 postcards! What a great deal for less than $20!

If you see people posting it, please request that they remove the CD. Not only is it illegal but it is also damaging (not supportive) to the hard work that Linda has put into recording this record. Thanks!

Once again, thank you so much for making Linda’s CD the #1 best selling CD for the past 7 days on YESASIA! Keep the buzz going and let’s keep her CD at the top! Although Linda’s transition to becoming a singer is because of her personal interest and passion for song, I’m sure she would be very happy to see her album sell well!

Again, support music and buy — don’t download!

[Translation of Raymond Lam Fung's "Made In Hong Kong" (08/15/08) interview in which he prank calls the gullible and innocent Linda Chung Ka Yan -- hilarity ensues]

You need to call Chung Ka Yan, telling her that your friend’s grandma really likes watching “Moonlight Resonance” [家好月圓], especially the characters ‘Manager Boy’ [管家仔] (Raymond) and Ah Chau [阿秋] (Linda). However, she won’t eat unless doctor Ah Chau comes visit her and encourages her to eat, only then will she eat. Can you convince Miss Chung to come and encourage grandma to eat?

Want to download this radio clip? Right click and Save Target/Link As this link; please do not post this link at any other site and/or forum. Thank you!

Note: I did not translate every single word said and omitted certain parts that didn’t relate to Linda as indicated by the brackets or were too “noisy” to translate, but I translated around 97-99% of the interview parts I chose to transcribe. I could not catch a few parts only.

[Praising the series]

Raymond: I don’t know if I can reach her because she’s filming.

Radio Host: Just try.

[Calling Linda]

Linda: Hello?

Raymond: Hey.

Linda: Hello?

Raymond: Hey, Ka Yan.

Linda: Yes.

Raymond: It’s Ah Fung.

Linda: Hey, Ah Fung, what’s up?

Raymond: No, nothing. I need you to do me a favor.

Linda: Do what?

Raymond: A friend of mine…

Linda: Which friend?

Raymond: My friend, his grandma watches Moonlight Resonance [家好月圓] and really likes our characters.

Linda: Really?

Raymond: Yes. … She was hospitalized.

Linda: Okay.

Raymond: She wants to ask you… you –

Linda: Ask me to come visit her?

Raymond: Yes, she won’t eat.

Linda: Really?

Raymond: Yeah. That’s why I want to ask you to come and encourage her to eat.

Linda: Me?

Raymond: Yeah. Can you help?

Linda: [Exasperated]

Raymond: Are you working?

Linda: Yeah, I’m working now. Are you going too?

Raymond: Of course I’ll go with you.

Linda: Oh… okay. Uh… when? Because this week… I’m… When? Are you joking? Are you playing me?

Raymond: No! I’m telling the truth, the truth, the truth, the truth…

Linda: When?

Raymond: See when you’re free.

Linda: Oh… I think 5 PM, 6 PM, or 7PM.

Raymond: How about if you say a few words to my friend’s grandma now? Is that okay?

Linda: [Agrees]

“Grandma”: Hello?

Linda: Hello, grandma. I’m Yu So Chau!

“Grandma”: Really? Is this true?

Linda: It’s true!

“Grandma”: Ah Chau… the Ah Chau from the series?

Linda: Yes, yes, Yu So Chau — Ka Yan, I’m Chung Ka Yan.

“Grandma”: Ah! I’ve watched you on TV. You’re a really pretty girl.

Linda: Thank you, thank you.

“Grandma”: You did really well.

Linda: Why aren’t you being good? Why aren’t you eating? You need to eat, do you know that?

“Grandma”: You come and eat with me.

Linda: You eat first. In the upcoming days, I’ll come. Can you eat first?

“Grandma”: You really need to come.

Linda: Huh?

“Grandma”: You really need to come.

Linda: Yes, I will. You need to eat first. If you don’t have strength, you can’t see me.

“Grandma”: Are you busy now?

Linda: Yes.

“Grandma”: Ask Fung jai to take you here.

Linda: Sure, sure.

“Grandma”: I’ll wait for you.

[Everyone laughs and reveals it was a radio prank, apologizing profusely]

Linda: Ah! You guys pranked me! Aiya!

Radio Host: Chung Ka Yan, you are really kind.

Linda: Are you kidding me? I was also suspicious. Why would it be like this? … Argh…

Radio Host: Sorry for bothering you.

Linda: It’s okay!

Radio Host: Sorry. When you heard Grandma talking… Let’s talk for a little bit. You changed into a baby-like voice when you talked with the grandma.

Linda: No it’s because I wanted to help. You said she was sick. You played me! This week I keep getting played, it is really funny!

Raymond: I was forced. It’s not my fault.

Linda: Okay…

[Talks about Raymond's new song, Moonlight's sub -- [愛不疚]]

Radio Host: Your upcoming CD, Ah Fung will buy your CD –

Linda: He’s going to buy 10 copies!

Radio Host: Buy 10? Haven’t seen him do that.

Linda: He’ll buy 10 to 20 something copies.

Radio Host: It’s out?

Linda: It isn’t out yet. It’ll be out on the 20th.

Radio Host: What are you doing now?

Linda: Actually, I’m in the make-up room now about to take pictures.

Radio Host: Aiya, sorry for bothering you! Go make yourself pretty. Next time we’ll see you again.

Raymond: Don’t be mad at me!

Linda: This is so funny! Okay, okay. Thank you. Bye bye.

Radio Host 1: Next time you see her, tell her sorry.

Raymond: Okay.

Radio Host 2: She’s really a good person.

Radio Host 1: A really good girl!

Radio Host 2: Yes, she’s kind-hearted.

Radio Host 1: When she heard grandma was sick, she immediately transformed into Yu So Chau and told her, “I’m Yu So Chau!”

Radio Host 2: She’s really like her role, very kind-hearted.

Raymond: She’s always like that, very cute.

[Teases Ray if he feels guilty]

Radio Host 2: This prank was really successful.

Radio Host 1: We can’t find Yu So Chau’s song for the time being, so let’s play Guk jeh’s (Susanna Kwan Guk Ying) song first. Sorry. We’ll play it next, Chung Ka Yan’s song.

Radio Host 2: Ah Chau, we unintentionally hurt you [無心害你] (title of Moonlight’s theme, Susanna’s new single).

[Apologizing to Linda and talks about continuing to watch her in Moonlight, but it won't be on air again until Monday]

Linda Chung’s debut album releases on August 20, 2008. Entitled “One Person Dinner, Two People World” [一人晚餐, 二人世界], Linda’s CD is composed almost exclusively of love songs — Linda’s favorite type of songs to sing. The CD’s title represents the modern working woman’s yearn for love, but lack of time due to her career.

The CD includes 10 songs, two of which are in Mandarin. It also comes with a bonus DVD that includes music videos for her two singles (which the album gets its name from). Most impressively, two songs off the album are musically composed by Linda herself.

CD
01. “One Person Dinner” [一人晚餐]
02. “Two People World” [二人世界]
03. “I Don’t Understand You” [我不懂你]
04. “Heaven’s Matches” [火柴天堂]
05. “Rollercoaster” [過山車]
06. “Actually I’m Not Happy” [其實我不快樂]
07. “Romantic Silence” [浪漫無聲]
08. “Have Her” [有沒有她]
09. “You Don’t Understand My Heart” [你不懂我的心] (Mandarin)
10. “I’m Not Happy” [我不快樂] (Mandarin)

DVD
01. “One Person Dinner” [一人晚餐] MV
02. “Two People World” [二人世界] MV

As a special promotion, the album’s first publication is available in two different covers with two gifts for fans to choose from. The first cover offers a mini-poster while the second cover offers five [different] mini-postcards. The CD is listed for $18.49, but for the time being, YESASIA is selling it for only $15.99 — 14% savings! Do take advantage of the great deal and buy the album now while it’s on sale for a very good price!

Interested in the poster? Order it from YESASIA!

Want the postcards? Order it from YESASIA!

Can’t decide which one you want? YESASIA has a very good deal where you can buy both for only $30.98 — a savings of 16% off the listed price for two! That’s what I did!

If you’re a fan of Linda or like her music, please support her and purchase her debut album! Whether or not Linda is able to release more CD’s in the future is dependent upon the sales of her first CD! Please don’t download and support Linda and the hard work she put forth in recording this CD!

[好狗出更] (literally translated as “Good Dogs on the Beat”) had its costume fitting the other day. In the series, leading actors Steven Ma and Linda Chung take on new roles and images. For the first time, Steven permed his hair. His role is very perverted — reading adult magazines on a daily basis — and foul-mouthed. He will constantly tease Linda about her body, saying that she is flat-chest.

In the new series, not only does Linda have to wear a short wig and big glasses, but she even has to bind her chest (to make her appear flat). It is her first time acting as an “ugly” tomboy role. Linda’s character is messy and doesn’t know how to take care of herself.

In 2008, Producer Leung Choi Yuen gave Linda a breakthrough role as the unkempt Mongkok “Wet mui” Sze Ka Ka who turned good in A Journey Called Life which earned her a lot of acclaim. It seems he is intent in giving both Steven and Linda breakthrough roles with this new series. Although Steven’s emotional scenes were highly praised, some people criticize that he always acts as the “good guy” or in professional, mannered roles. In this new series, the audience will see a totally different Steven. Foul-mouthed, nasty, and perverted… It should be a refreshing performance. Like Ka Ka, I think Steven’s character will change from a bad guy into a good guy in the end.

Linda has looked “pretty” in all of her series, so it’s a change to see her “ugly”. In real life, Linda wears glasses (in fact, her vision is very bad) so not having to wear contacts for the long hours of filming will give her eyes a rest. Her wig… looks fake. I think the reason why she did not cut her hair is because she has to do promotional work for her upcoming CD. Furthermore, her character will undergo a “make-over” during the second half of the series. Apparently, her tomboy role is only for the first half of the series. Her performance should be refreshing. I’m excited to see how she acts it out!

I can’t wait to see Steven & Linda as a couple again. Journey did not have enough of them, so I hope Producer Leung will give them more screentime in this series. However, Steven sounds like such a bad and unlikable guy… I really can’t imagine how the two of them will fall in love. Their love story should be interesting and “new”. I’m confident in their chemistry.

Other cast members for the series include Kent Cheng, Maggie Shiu, Koni Lui, Raymond Wong, and Natalie Tong.

The news did not say too much about the storyline, which was disappointing. They mostly just focused on the changes in Steven and Linda for their roles. It’s reported that Koni’s role is another sexy lady who is mistaken to be the mistress of a rich man. As reported earlier, [好狗出更] is a cop drama focusing on police dog training and how they help the police to crack cases and fight crime. If anyone has any more information on this series and/or the roles of other cast members, do share!

More pictures from the costume fitting

Two brand new music videos were recently released from Linda Chung.

The music video for Linda’s first single “Two People World” co-starring Lai Lok Yi is out! Originally, the male lead was supposed to be Raymond Lam, but some things came up and it didn’t work out. Therefore, Ray says he owes Linda. Who knows how he will make it up to her. “Two People World” actually will have 2 music videos; one is TVB’s version (with Lai Lok Yi) and the other is the “official” version with Hong Kong actor Philip Ng.

I’m excited to see the second music video as it looks well-done!

The full-length music video and at long last, the full version of the song that Linda recorded for the anime Saiunkoku Monogatari has released. A few months ago, TVB began airing this anime and gave Linda the opportunity to sing the Cantonese version of the themesong. Who knew that the themesong that Linda recorded would become so popular? Therefore, I think Linda re-recorded the song to make a full version and filmed an MV for it. I think she filmed it during Moonlight Resonance because her hairstyle is that of Yu So Chau’s center part.

I really love the song “Saiunkoku Monogatari” — such a sweet song and Linda sang it very well. I’m so happy to finally hear the full version. I was thinking that the TV rip was all that I’d ever have! I’m actually a little surprised that she filmed an MV and re-recorded the song. However, it’s a good thing because this means that Linda recognized the success of the song. I’m sure she was happy about that.

Linda Chung – “Saiunkoku Monogatari” [彩雲國物語]

Credits: tvbkids

Linda Chung – “Two People World” [二人世界]

Credits: changegoldsongsx

19 days until Linda’s CD drops! Hopefully there’ll be a bonus DVD to include the music videos that she filmed. I’m really liking her music videos. She did an excellent job. It must be quite a change for her to be an MV lead because she used to cameo in quite a number of MV’s for other artists (Hacken Lee, Ronald Cheng, Jordan Chan, Double R, Raymond Lam, Ron Ng, and Chan Gei Hong).

Linda Chung took the stage on TVB’s music program “Jade Solid Gold” yesterday, July 23, 2008. It was her first time performing there as a solo guest artist. She sang her debut single “Two People World” [二人世界], off her upcoming August 20-release date LP, live for the first time.



Linda has come a long way in her live singing since she sang her debut song “Swear” at Lady In Red’s concert 2 years ago. In general, I prefer Linda’s studio voice over her live voice since it’s clearer and louder. However, this time, I think that her performance was better than usual. While it’s clear that she was nervous because she was stiff at the beginning, she improves and becomes more comfortable and “into” the song later, which is a good thing. I think she did a good job. She looked very pretty too.

She also sang an English song called “Endless Love” with Ken Hung. I actually like her second performance more. She seems more relaxed and comfortable. Linda says she likes to sing “love songs”, so I think her CD will be composed mostly (if not exclusively) of love songs. You can view her two performances below.

alivenotdead.com is an online community similar to Facebook and MySpace. The big difference is that it’s geared towards helping artists get exposure and connecting artists to their fans (and other artists). I first learned of the site when someone alerted me that Aimee Chan created a profile and joined to see Aimee’s page. However, since I’m not an Aimee fan, I quickly forgot about the site and didn’t visit since.




Yesterday, I was informed that Linda has an account at that site. I immediately visited and sure enough — Linda had a page! It’s kind of surprising, but I have a feeling that her record company might be behind this in order to help her get more exposure. While Linda does visit and update her TVB blog, her updates are often composed by other people. With this page, Linda personally updates.

If you’re a fan, do sign up and pay Linda a visit and become her fan!

P.S. Pay me a visit too!

Linda recently filmed her music video for “Two People World” [二人世界] with Lai Lok Yi. Linda looks really pretty from the pictures that she uploaded during the shooting of the MV, so I have high expectations for it. I can’t wait to watch it! Although I’m less-than-pleased with her male co-star choice, I won’t say anything since they are good friends. I just hope he will have limited screen time. I didn’t like “Two People World” when I first heard it, but after listening to it for many times, I’ve grown to accept and even “like” the song. It’s not too bad. It remains my least favorite Linda song, but I do not dislike it anymore.

3 weeks and 6 days until Linda’s CD drops! So excited… can’t wait!

As part of her transition from the TVB scene to the music scene, Linda Chung is making her mark as an “official” singer. She’s going to have her first performance as a singer on August 10 for a charity concert. She’ll be singing the charity song “Sunshine and Blue Skies Return God Save The Earth” [曙光重現見藍天God Save The Earth] with Dominic Chow (周啟生), Hins Cheung (張敬軒), Kelvin Kwan (關楚耀), Stephanie Cheng (鄭融), Cathy Leung (梁雨恩), Tina Chu (朱韻詩), and members of the HK Girl Guides Association. The song and concert is to help raise money for the Hong Kong Girl Guides Sichuan Charity fund, a meaningful effort.

Check out the music video for this moving song below!

It’s great hearing how well Linda fits in with other professional singers. Her voice was distinguishable and blended nicely with the others. She held her own and did a great job! I’m really happy with this song. I don’t know Mandarin, but it sounds like an emotional song. Hopefully Linda’s CD will be composed more of emotional ballads rather than songs like her first single. Although I’ve grown to accept and even like her first single, I don’t prefer Linda singing those type of songs.

Only 1 more month until Linda’s CD drops! Apparently Raymond Lam has already heard her CD and praised her vocals; lucky Ray! I can’t wait to hear her CD for myself.

New song
As Linda Chung promised last week, her new song has just premiered on the radio today. Possibly the first single off her upcoming LP slated for release on August 20, the song is a remake of a song sung by very successful and popular Taiwanese Mandopop singer Jolin Tsai. Linda’s new song “World of Two People” [二人世界] is the Cantonese version of Jolin’s “Street of Love” [愛上了一條街] which was released back in 2000.

Note: Just right click & “Save Target/Link As” to download the song!

Please do not stream or hot link! Posting a direct link of this download to any other site and/or forum is strictly prohibited! If you want to share this song, post a link back to this site. My bandwidth is not free and reserved only for my visitors. Please cooperate! Thanks and happy downloading and listening!

“World of Two People” [二人世界] – Linda Chung – download

Please note: The song is ripped from the radio, so the quality is bad.

What do you guys think of the song?

When I first listened to the song, I thought it sounded weird and didn’t like it. The melody isn’t nice and there isn’t a catchy hook or chorus like in Linda’s previous songs. My favorite part of the song is probably when she sings “La-la-la”. Curious about what the original version sounded like, I searched for the song on YouTube. After listening to Jolin’s version, I think Linda did a good rendition of the song. Still, it doesn’t change my mind that it is my least favorite Linda song.

I’m really hoping that the rest of her CD is not remakes. I want new, original songs! This way Linda has freedom to sing as she wants and doesn’t have to worry about imitating the previous singer’s vocals. Furthermore, it’s just fresher to hear “new” songs. I’m disappointed with this song. Here’s hoping that the rest of her songs are a lot better…

New series
Despite launching her music career, Linda will not be taking a break from TVB.

After the great results of this year’s A Journey Called Life, Producer Leung is reuniting the three main cast for a brand new series. In August, Kent Cheng, Steven Ma, and Linda Chung will be filming new series [有狗出更] translated as “With Dogs on the Beat”. The series is a cop drama. Steven’s role is different and refreshing. Although he will be the protagonist, his role is a “villainous” protagonist. Finally, we won’t see Steven as a 100% good guy as we have been in the past few years.

Just like Steven, Linda’s role is also unlike her previous roles. Continuing to strengthen and prove her versatility in acting, Linda’s new role is a girl who is unkempt. She doesn’t know how to take care of herself and is messy. She only has “big dreams” and doesn’t function too well realistically. Linda has been waiting for a role like this and thinks she will be able to perform the role well because she herself used to be the same way. Before she came to Hong Kong and lived on her own, she didn’t know how to be independent. It is only slowly through the years that she’s been in Hong Kong that she was able to “grow up” and learn how to take care of herself and things. In the series, Linda will be filming with animals; she thinks it will be cute.

Linda is currently creating a new look for herself [for the role]. She always has long hair, which gives people the impression that she’s a “good girl”. While she doesn’t refute this impression, she just wants to give everyone a refreshing look. She doesn’t know what new hairstyle she will have yet, but she thinks it should be cute.

I have clashing views on this series.

On the one hand, I’m thrilled that Steven & Linda are reuniting for the third time. The chemistry will be even better. I’m also excited about their individual roles. On the other hand, I’m iffy about the storyline. I’m praying that there aren’t going to be talking dogs. The theme of animals reminds of upcoming When a Dog Loves a Cat. Someone told me that this series sounds like Man’s Best Friend (with Louis Koo, Jessica Hsuan, and Sammi Cheng) because of the use of dogs and police. I really don’t know what the storyline for this series is going to be about and I’m not exactly a fan of cop dramas, therefore I’m not excited about the “series” itself.

I’ll wait for more news about this series before I say or think anything else.