Brave (A-Mei album) explained

Brave
Type:studio
Artist:A-Mei
Cover:Brave (A-Mei album).jpg
Released:June 27, 2003
Recorded:2003
Studio:
  • Platinum Studio (Taipei)
  • Premium Studio
  • Juice Shack Studio (Los Angeles)
  • Martians Studio
  • Theater Studio (Beijing)
  • Monster Studio
  • tman Studio
Genre:Pop
Length:39:55
Label:Warner Music
Producer:
  • Xu Guangyi
  • Jae Chong
  • Will Lin
  • Eric Chen
  • Martin Tang
Prev Title:Fever
Prev Year:2002
Next Title:Maybe Tomorrow
Next Year:2004

Brave is the eleventh studio album by Taiwanese singer A-Mei. It was released on June 27, 2003, by Warner Music Taiwan.[1] The album was produced by Xu Guangyi, Jae Chong, Will Lin, Eric Chen and Martin Tang. Lyricists include Chen Jiawen, Xia Mu and others, and composers include Tanya Chua and others. Brave incorporates musical genres such as pop, R&B, hip hop, dance, jazz, reggae and ska.[2] Around the time of the album's release, A-Mei landed her first major acting role by starring as the heroine of the movie Brave, with the album's title track serving as its theme song.[3]

Brave is the only studio album by A-Mei to date to not receive a nomination for a Golden Melody Award. Despite that, Brave still ended up becoming a commercial success. It was the eleventh best-selling album of 2003 in Taiwan with over 170,000 copies sold,[4] [5] and sold 1.6 million copies throughout Asia in total.[6] To help promote the album, A-Mei embarked on a series of live performances and appearances throughout Taiwan.

Background

In order to fit in with the social atmosphere, A-Mei wanted to spread her innate passion and vitality, hoping to inspire and encourage her listeners.[7] On May 18, 2003, it was announced that the album would incorporate genres such as hip hop and rap for the first time.[8] The album was developed by the Korean musician Jae Chong, Will Lin, Martin Tang, Ma Yu-fen, Xu Guangyi and Arys Chien.[9] At the beginning of collecting songs, A-Mei often went to different Live Bars with the producer to listen to songs, and expressed her feelings about music through her favorite music style; the music style of the entire album was slowly integrated in this way.[7] With the album Brave, Warner was confused about which song should be the title song. For this reason, Warner held an open and sincere public hearing for A-Mei's fans to vote for their preferred title song.[10] In order to avoid unauthorized recording of the unreleased songs, Warner was strict in checking every fan's bag and body with professional security personnel to find out any recordable equipment that could be entrusted to them before they were allowed to enter the show.[11]

Writing and composition

"See Themselves" is a Mandarin adaptation of the song "When I'm Feeling Blue" by Juri. "Fake It" is an upbeat hip-hop and R&B song written by Shefang, while its music was composed by Jae Chong.[9] "It's Me Who's Missing You" is a lighthearted pop song written by Tian Tian and composed by Khalil Fong.[9] The album's title track is a Mandarin adaptation of Juri's "I Hope You Are the End of My Waiting (내 기다림의 끝이 그대이길).[12] "Rescue" is a folk pop song written and composed by Tanya Chua.[9]

"Hate That I Love You" is a power ballad written by Daryl Yao and composed by Arys Chien.[9] "Never Mind" is a hip-hop influenced song written by Cui Weikai and composed by Jae Chong.[9] "Goosey" is a jazz-inspired song written by Xia Mu and composed by Tanya Chua.[9] "Because I" is a reggae and ska song written and composed by Will Lin.[9] The closing number, "Forget," was written by Sam Watters, Louis Biancaniello and Nick Lachey.[9]

Title and artwork

The album was named Brave due to A-Mei hoping to encourage and inspire all of her listeners.[7] The cover shoot was originally chosen to be shot abroad, but due to the SARS epidemic, it was chosen to be shot in Kenting.[13] The album art shows A-Mei with her hair down while wearing a bikini with a silk jacket.[14]

Release and promotion

On June 11, 2003, the album was made available for pre-order.[15] Game agent Huayi Digital Entertainment held the "Fall in Love with A3 Product Launch Conference" on June 17, 2003, inviting A-Mei to be the lead singer of the Chinese version of the game theme song.[16] The songs "See Themselves" and the album's title track served as the theme songs for the Korean online game software "A3," which A-Mei was paid NT$12 million to endorse.[17] The album's hardcover edition came with the CD of the game.[18]

On June 18, 2003, the album's lead single, "Brave", premiered on various radio stations in Asia, including in mainland China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Malaysia, and Singapore. The following day, it was announced that more than 20,000 copies had been pre-ordered in Taiwan within the first three days.[19] On June 27, 2003, A-Mei held a press conference for the album premiere in Taipei, Taiwan.[20]

Live performances

The high sales of Brave convinced A-Mei's record company to spend tens of millions to hold three "It's Me Who's Missing You" summer concerts in Taitung's Seaside Park, Sizihwan and Fulong Beach.[21] The first concert was held at Taitung's Seaside Park on July 12, 2003.[22] The second was held on July 19, 2003, and featured Machi. The final concert on July 26, 2003, was held at Fulong Beach and guest-starred Tanya Chua.[23] In the second half of 2003 the A-Class Entertainment World Tour was held in Kuala Lumpur, Montville, Las Vegas and other places. On September 20, 2003, A-Mei performed at the TVBS 10th Anniversary Gala.[24] A-Mei was one of the performing aritsts at the Superstar Concert that was held at the Shandong Provincial Stadium on September 26, 2003.[25] On the evening of September 27, 2003, the 4th China Golden Eagle TV Art Festival Star Concert was held in Changsha, which included singers such as Kangta, A-Mei, Stefanie Sun, Zhou Xun and Pu Shu performing on stage.[26] On October 24, 2003, A-Mei participated in the "Warner Music 10th Anniversary Charity Concert" at Beijing Workers' Stadium; she sung alongside her labelmates Aaron Kwok, Na Ying, Sun Nan, Stefanie Sun and Sammi Cheng.[27] On October 26, 2003, A-Mei, Jay Chou and others performed at the China Heart Gala in front of more than 20,000 spectators.[28] On February 14, 2004, A-Mei performed at the MTV Asia Awards 2004 in front of 7,000 spectators on site and 150 million MTV TV viewers in Asia.[29]

Singles and music videos

The movie version of the "Brave" music video was directed by director Teng Yung-Shing. It took A-Mei 10 days and 10 nights to complete the filming. Each time, she shot from 3 a.m. to 4 or 5 a.m. the next morning. The production cost of the music video was NT$8 million, but A-Mei didn't get paid a penny, and one of the most NG scenes in the whole drama was her passionate scene with Miao Zijie. In the movie, A-Mei plays a foreign girl who comes to Taipei to work and has beautiful fantasies about love just like any other girl.[30] The music video for "Fake It" was directed by Xu Renfeng. A-Mei found Miluko, a dance teacher who is good at R&B and Hip-Hop, to choreograph the video; during the shooting, A-Mei is seen jumping from the chair to a high platform neatly.[31] The music video for "It's Me Who's Missing You," which was also directed by Xu Renfeng, co-starred actor Ethan Juan.[32] In January 2004, the tracks "Brave" and "Fake It" were listed at number 17 and number 58 respectively on 2003's Hit FM Top 100 Singles of the Year chart.[33] [34]

Accolades

The song "Brave" became the champion song in the gay love song vote that year.[35] In January 2004, "Brave" won the Best Song Award (Hong Kong and Taiwan) at the 10th China Music Awards.[36] At the same ceremony, she also won the award for Best Female Singer of Hong Kong and Taiwan.[37] At the MTV Asia Awards 2004, A-Mei won the award for Favorite Artist Taiwan for the second time.[38] On June 19, 2004, A-Mei won the Best Female Singer Award in Taiwan at the 2003 Music IN China TOP Chart Awards for this album.[39]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: 张惠妹《勇敢》"现身"全新大碟今天发行 . June 16, 2024 . music.yule.sohu.com.
  2. Web site: 新专辑呈现新面貌 张惠妹《勇敢》现身(图) . June 16, 2024 . Sina Entertainment.
  3. Web site: 张惠妹推出大屏幕处女作 "勇敢"演出床戏(图) . 2024-06-16 . China News Service.
  4. Web site: 26 July 2019 . 2003年度唱片銷量(統計:2002/12~2003/11) . zh-TW.
  5. Web site: https://tw.appledaily.com/entertainment/20040331/GXVTLWCPOC6MJQ2IBVEYYJXHE4/ . dead . zh:孫燕姿阿妹金曲兩大遺珠 . Chinese . March 31, 2004 . June 16, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220121114118/https://tw.appledaily.com/entertainment/20040331/GXVTLWCPOC6MJQ2IBVEYYJXHE4/ . January 21, 2022.
  6. Web site: 張惠妹『勇敢』專輯介紹 . June 16, 2024 . zh.
  7. Web site: 张惠妹《勇敢》 . 2024-06-16 . Sohu.
  8. Web site: http://ent.163.com/edit/030518/030518_165919.html . dead . zh:张惠妹六月全新出辑挑战嘻哈音乐 . Chinese . June 17, 2003 . June 16, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20030808065355/http://ent.163.com/edit/030518/030518_165919.html . August 8, 2003.
  9. 勇敢. 張惠妹. 2003. CD album; Liner notes. Warner Music Taiwan. 50-50466-7203-2-0.
  10. Web site: 张惠妹新专辑歌迷定主打(图) . June 16, 2024 . Sina Entertainment.
  11. Web site: https://ent.163.com/ent_2003/editor/030617/030617_174849.html . dead . zh:新专辑触动心扉张惠妹泪洒抢听会 . Chinese . June 17, 2003 . June 16, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20030618075215/https://ent.163.com/ent_2003/editor/030617/030617_174849.html . June 18, 2003.
  12. Web site: 张惠妹何以"勇敢" . 2024-06-16 . Sohu Entertainment.
  13. Web site: 张惠妹新专辑《勇敢》月底全亚洲同步发行 . June 16, 2024 . Sina Entertainment.
  14. Web site: 新专辑月底亮相 张惠妹比基尼造型勇敢登场(图) . June 16, 2024 . Sina Entertainment.
  15. Web site: 张惠妹新专辑比基尼造型登场(图) . June 16, 2024 . Sina Entertainment.
  16. Web site: 图文:音乐天后主唱《勇敢》走向A3 . June 16, 2024 . news.17173.com.
  17. Web site: 张惠妹新台币1200万元天价代言电子游戏 . June 16, 2024 . Sina Entertainment.
  18. Web site: Brave (Limited Edition) . June 18, 2024 . . en.
  19. Web site: 2003-06-19 . 最新大碟预购三天 张惠妹《勇敢》狂卖两万张 . Zhang Huimei's latest album "Brave" sold 20,000 copies in three days of pre-order . June 16, 2024 . Sina Entertainment . zh.
  20. Web site: 张惠妹出新碟激动到哭 白色短裙表现女人味(图) . June 16, 2024 . Sina Entertainment.
  21. Web site: 28 June 2023 . 張惠妹【就是我想你】夏日演唱會,一連舉辦三場!!! . 2024-06-16 . mypaper.pchome.com . zh-TW.
  22. Web site: 张惠妹家乡劲歌热舞 黑色小可爱清凉上阵(附图) . June 16, 2024 . Sina Entertainment.
  23. Web site: 張惠妹「就是我想你」演唱會 最終回 . 2024-07-03 . TVBS . zh-tw.
  24. Web site: 组图-TVBS10周年台庆晚会张惠妹热辣孙燕姿温馨 . June 16, 2024 . Sina Entertainment.
  25. Web site: 跑调 假唱 摆架子 巨星唱“晕”西安观众(组图) . June 16, 2024 . Sina Entertainment.
  26. Web site: 组图:张惠妹安七炫孙燕姿放歌金鹰节明星演唱会 . June 16, 2024 . Sina Entertainment.
  27. Web site: 华纳音乐亮雄厚"家底" 四大天后争奇斗艳(图) . June 16, 2024 . Sina Entertainment.
  28. Web site: 张惠妹周杰伦等激情放歌中国心大型晚会(组图) . June 16, 2024 . Sina Entertainment.
  29. Web site: 郑秀文、张惠妹等加盟本届MTV亚洲大奖颁奖典礼 . June 16, 2024 . Sina Entertainment.
  30. Web site: "勇敢"突破尺度 张惠妹演激情戏不取分文(图) . June 16, 2024 . Sina Entertainment.
  31. Web site: 张惠妹《假惺惺》MV显媚态(图) . June 16, 2024 . Sina Entertainment.
  32. Web site: 才华横溢、清醒自律的他,为何巅峰时选择隐退? . June 16, 2024 . Sina Entertainment.
  33. Web site: Hitoradio‧Hit Fm --華人音樂入口指標 . June 28, 2024 . www.hitoradio.com.
  34. Web site: Hitoradio‧Hit Fm --華人音樂入口指標 . June 28, 2024 . www.hitoradio.com.
  35. Web site: 30 August 2019 . 張惠妹「勇敢」勇奪同志情歌票選的冠軍 . 2024-06-16 . mypaper.pchome.com . zh-TW.
  36. Web site: 第10届全球华语音乐榜中榜获奖完全名单出炉 . 2024-06-16 . Sohu Entertainment.
  37. Web site: 华语榜王菲最晃眼 张惠妹王力宏牵手拿大奖 . June 16, 2024 . Sina Entertainment.
  38. Web site: 15 February 2004 . 图文:2004"MTV亚洲大奖"颁奖典礼--张惠妹获奖 . 2024-07-03 . ent.sina.com.cn . zh-CN.
  39. Web site: https://ent.163.com/ent_2003/editor/music/miscnews/040620/040620_255846.html . dead . zh:2003Music IN中国TOP排行榜获奖名单 . Chinese . June 20, 2004 . June 16, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20040620214850/https://ent.163.com/ent_2003/editor/music/miscnews/040620/040620_255846.html . June 20, 2004.