#lady bees

5. Qiu Feng Ze and Weijin

Qiu Feng Ze, who is a soloist I really like, and Weijin, my favorite member of SpeXial, which is one of my current favorite extant Mandopop groups, released this amazing duet, “Signal.”  Their voices work together impressively well, and I really liked the smooth mellow sort of rock tinged vibe that the song has.  I would love to see more collaborative work from the two of them.

Qiu Feng Ze also had another MV release this year I really liked:  “Known Existence.”  I really enjoy his voice, and this mellow style he’s been going for recently.  While “Signal” is definitely my favorite thing from him this year, this was great too, and I look forward to more from him!

This was a pretty quiet year for SpeXial and Weijin on the releases side (though there was more member stuff going on, and honestly I’m a little lost on that front at this point).  They did release an MV through a show they did (I’m not super clear on the details though) called “Really Really,” and it’s pretty cute.  I hope that 2018 is a smoother year in terms of regular releases and member stuff for them!  I really love Weijin and Mingjie’s voices especially and want to hear more of them (I like all of the members to varying degrees, but they’re my favorites).

4. Teresa Tseng featuring Liu Yuxin and Zhang Youran (both of Lady Bees)

Teresa Tseng’s song “穷得只剩音乐” (So Poor I Only Have Music) featuring Liu Yuxin and Zhang Youran who were both on the elimination show (and they are both in the final group) Lady Bees with her was one of those songs that really caught me.  I’ve listened to it so many times since it came out.  Teresa and Yuxin were probably my two favorites on the show, so having them both here was awesome.

I am definitely looking out for more from Teresa in the future, and I’m really glad that I got the chance to find out about her!

3. TFBoys

TFBoys released “我們的時光” (Our Times) right at the end of the year, and it’s an awesome catchy little song.  I started following them when they were definitely still kids, and it’s cool seeing them growing up (they’re 17-18 and I’m not used to this idea yet).  They’ve definitely kept a refreshingly cute image and style, and I like it a lot.  The song is catchy and easy to listen to, and it makes me smile.

In other TFBoys things this year that I’ve enjoyed:  Yi Yang Quan Xi (Jackson Yi) who is my favorite member released a solo song that I really liked “离骚” (The Lament).  He’s maturing into his singing really well!

2. Lady Bees (蜜蜂少女隊)

Ladie Bees released a few things this year, but “Where to Find You” (above) was definitely my favorite.  I enjoy the style and the way it showcases all of their voices while building something that works really well together.  I also just find the concept of the song and MV really charming.

They also released “GPS” which I didn’t like quite as much musically, but was definitely still fun and catch and has an excellent aesthetic.

1.  Wang Leehom

Leehom was literally the musician who got me into pop music, so unless he somehow becomes far less himself, pretty much any year he releases things he’s going to be sitting at the top of this list (though Jolin maybe has a chance of stealing his place sometimes, since she’s the only other artist I’ve been into for consistently as long).  I really liked most of his releases for this year, and I appreciated that a lot of them started around a concept from an excellent multi-lingual pun.

Probably my favorite song from him this year was “親愛的” (Dearest) above.  It’s just such excellent heartfelt Leehom voice being beautiful.  I like his more upbeat and electronic sound songs a lot, but there is a very special place in my heart for this sort of thing from him.

The MVs and songs for “A.I. 愛” (A.I. Love (where love is pronounced “Ai”)) and “奇遇的起點” (Singularity) both follow a similar concept based on a pun about A.I.s and the word love in Mandarin Chinese.  I love the pun, and the songs are catchy and interesting.  (”Singularity” is definitely the more serious of the two songs.)