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Wakin Chau swearing off "Friends"
Channel NewsAsia - 1 hour 55 minutes ago
Hong Kong dramas tend to romanticize rooftops; it is the place where romances begin and happen. Life on the rooftop is also what Hong Kong singer Wakin Chau yearns for; it is not a dating place but a place of escapism. He plans to realize his dreams in 2009 and stand on the "rooftop" of the Singapore Indoor Stadium for a spectacular performance.
Chau tells reporters when he was on a promotional tour in Singapore, that he does not have many chances to go to the rooftop, but feels it is a shelter from the outside world. When he was a teen, he felt that his parents did not understand him and looked forward to leaving home.
He enjoyed standing on the balcony of his apartment, watching the planes gliding in the far blue sky, hoping that he can be on that plane one day flying away from home; at that time, the balcony was his "rooftop". When his brother gave him a guitar, Chau hid in the bathroom practicing on his own; at that moment, the bathroom became his "rooftop". In recent years, the recording studio is his "rooftop".
"In 2000, I took out some savings and built my own recording studio. The studio is really comfortable; that is a world of my own," he explains.
Hong Kong is a city of lights. Being born and raised in Hong Kong, Chau cherished those childhood memories filled with twinkles and glitters as he looked out from his balcony. In pursuing that memory, he restages the Hong Kong night scene for his concert as he stands on top of the world to sing.
"It is a four-sided stage, so it will be designed into a building. There will be many signboards by the sides, old furniture and clothes hanging on the stage where you can see the moon and stars. Below the stage, there will be flashing neon lights. Technology did not allow me to do that in the past; now with the help of computers and LEDs, we can have shooting stars on the backdrop while I'm singing. It's huge investments."
While in many Hong Kong dramas, the rooftop is a place for love to blossom, Chau says his dating place was usually the school, where his girlfriend (currently wife) and he were schoolmates. Otherwise he would spend his time on the phone. His teenage son, who is currently basking in love, uses the same "phone call technique" except that he uses the mobile phone which ends up with high phone bills.
"I tried to threaten him and scold him for the rocket high phone bills; then he started to SMS and MSN. There's no end to this," Chau said helplessly.
Other than being famous for his ballads, Chau is also (in)famous for forgetting lyrics. Yet, for someone like him, the most fearsome thing on a concert is not that, but the dry ice which creates nice effects and also covers the cue screen which prompts the lyrics.
"My problem now is not forgetting the lyrics. I'm practically reading the wrong lines! Fog created by dry ice may be very pretty, but as they flow, they cover three lines on the cue machine!"
Having been around for about 20 years and accumulated many influential hits, the one song he is trying to swear off is the well-received "Friends". Chau finds himself doing better everything he sings "You Make Me Happy and Sad"; on the other hand, he is getting apathetic on "Friends". And the worst thing is, the more he sings, the more he forgets the lyrics.
"One Wakin" live concert strives to evoke everyone's memories with a piece of Chau in it. "I believe there is a graduation ceremony in everyone's life. Naturally if you were singing "Friends" at your convocation, there has been Wakin Chau in your life."
Chau is keeping the special guest a secret for now, but reveals this person is someone closely related to Singapore.
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