Anti English in CHINESE/KOREAN/JAP songs

[simple_girl]

i should have started this thread ages ago...i get so annoyed when artist like Jolin, BoA and Cyndi randomly have a few english words in chinese/korean/jap songs..its so lame not to mention they can't speak english properly..
i just dont get it how someone can think putting a few english words in chinese/korean/jap..not to mention the words arent even right..like in one of jolin's old song..'i tell you yes i tell you'..i just dont get how they can't even use proper grammar/speak it..if you cant speak it dont do it..and these artists try and sound american...which is even sadder

im alright with dbsk because they kind of add their own flavour[e.g. in their song Trick] and make it blend in a bit..and lee hom..his is pretty good but he kind if wrecks it when singing love songs....x-japan has pretty bad english but they sing so well so its ok...

other examples are from BoA...i checked out one song from her album..to see if it was good...half the words were like english and wasnt prounced properly/couldnt tell if what asian language she was speaking..

Jolin is one of the biggest offenders..in her song bravo lover 'go go sister, go go brother, bravo lover'..wits like wtf...it so ewww...
and her duet with david tao..the song was a classic mainstream love song..until they start rapping it here as goes:

今天妳要嫁给我| jin tian yi yao jia gei wo|marry me today
translation: Shez - www.jay-chou.net
听我说　手牵手跟我一起走　创造幸福的生活
Ting wo shuo, shou qian shou gen wo yi qi zou, chuang zao xin fu de sheng huo
Listen to me, [let’s] hold hands, walk together, and create a happy life [together]

昨天你来不及　明天就会可惜　今天嫁给我好吗
Zuo tian ni lai bu ji, ming tian jiu hui ke xi, jin tian jai ge wo hao ma?
Yesterday you did not arrive on time, it would be a shame tomorrow, so will me marry me today?

RAP：
Jolin in the house
D.T. in the house
Jolin in the house
D.T. in the house
Jolin in the house
D.T. in the house
Our love in the house
[Sweetsweet love]

its like wtf...its a romantic song..not a wannabe rap song..rap and ballad-pop dont go..especially when your singing about marrying people and love you dont break out in "dt in the house, jolin in the house"..its just wannabe american music and sad

i like artists like jay because he doesnt try to add random english words in his songs...i know he has sung a like 2-3 songs with one or two english words..

i know people will say the singers dont write the songs/have choice in picking the songs..but if its jolin or BoA i bet they do have the choice of song selection

if you want to sing english in your songs..sing the whole song in english..dont put random english words which makes the song sound wrong..and embarrasses people..if some caucasian person i know happened to hear a song..their going to rip the asian music industry..i dont want lame english words[spoken wannabe american style]in chinese/korean/jap songs to represent asian songs..im ok with it in jap songs coz most singers make it flow in the songs

There! said and done! I first listen to mainstream chinese music when a few years ago and it really annoyed me and i thought was weird..i might be offending some people but thats just my opinion..i think it brings down a song and makes it awkward/weird/sound bad/worst... im might be seen as an 'abc' which im not thats doesnt know chinese/korean/jap music...

[hobielover]

I also hate it when people stick random English words in their songs just to try to sound smart. Half of the time it doesn't make sense and they can't even pronounce it well enough for those English-speakers who are listening to even know it is English. It's OK when LeeHom does it, since he's from New York and English is his native language. At least he can speak it properly and use it correctly. With the rest, it's just like, "Huh?" I just started listening to Chinese music last year, so I remember how annoying it was when I first heard such things in a song. I completely don't get that part in "Marry Me Today." What were they thinking?!

[sam_ho]

OH yeah. TELL ME ABOUT IT!!!!

I think Jay's the only singer I know in the TW music industry that hasn't tried it. I think.

AND Fei Lun Hai's. In Zhao Xin Fu Gei Ni.

And Xiao Xiao Da Ren Wu. "M-I-C-K-E-Y M-O-U-S-E"? Are you kidding me?

[hobielover]

I think Jay's the only singer I know in the TW music industry that hasn't tried it. I think.
"Baby" in "Long Juan Feng" and "Go" in "Ben Cao Gang Mu," but that's not nearly as much as other singers do. Oh! He also sang "Xiao Shi Hou" with NQMM. Maybe he's the only one over there who realizes how bad his own English is (we all know he didn't do so well in school, and if you've seen the MV for "Ni Ting De Dao," then you know what I mean) and the rest just think they sound cool when they try to speak in English. I'm glad Jay doesn't go around constantly trying to speak English and embarrass himself. Jolin, on the other hand, is coming out with an English album. Please, don't let Jay do that to himself! :oops: He'd sound cute, but English-speakers would definitely make fun of him for it. :cry:

There's also that 5566 song that they came up with for the Olympics. Every other verse is English, and I couldn't even tell it was supposed to be English! I'm American, so you'd think I'd know what English sounds like, but that does not sound like English to me! :rasp:

[jazlyn87]

LOL at the david jolin duet .. i think that particular part spoilt the entire whole song ..

and yes, i got annoyed at XXDRW by fahrenheit too .. although the song is to promote disney .. but the way they present mickey's name sounds too random

artists like lee hom is ok but i do get annoyed too if he put too much into it .. will pan tried it too .

[50chicken]

LOL! I remember that song, I was laughing so hard when they said that. But its not the artist's fault because they didn't write the lyrics. I think Elva is like the only artist I like mixing english and chinese together.

[simple_girl]

LOL! I remember that song, I was laughing so hard when they said that. But its not the artist's fault because they didn't write the lyrics. I think Elva is like the only artist I like mixing english and chinese together.

i think it is...when an artist like jolin who would have all song choice of whats in her album..but i mean..why sing a song called marry me today and have rap...it would have been a nicer and romantic song if it didn't have some lamo random rapping

"Baby" in "Long Juan Feng" and "Go" in "Ben Cao Gang Mu," but that's not nearly as much as other singers do. Oh! He also sang "Xiao Shi Hou" with NQMM. Maybe he's the only one over there who realizes how bad his own English is (we all know he didn't do so well in school, and if you've seen the MV for "Ni Ting De Dao," then you know what I mean) and the rest just think they sound cool when they try to speak in English. I'm glad Jay doesn't go around constantly trying to speak English and embarrass himself. Jolin, on the other hand, is coming out with an English album. Please, don't let Jay do that to himself! :oops: He'd sound cute, but English-speakers would definitely make fun of him for it. :cry:

There's also that 5566 song that they came up with for the Olympics. Every other verse is English, and I couldn't even tell it was supposed to be English! I'm American, so you'd think I'd know what English sounds like, but that does not sound like English to me! :rasp:

yeah i was going to say that..only a few and i think the ones that were might have been written by vivian hsu...5566?!let's not even think about some of their songs..
yes jolin's english album...i heard a few songs..i had difficultly understanding her english in it..and she chose to sing some classic ballads..which didnt not turn out well....dont know why she did all covers..maybe so she didnt need to speak english but mimick it...

yeah but im so glad jay doesnt put english[hardly ever] in his songs..i think it 99% of the time it makes the song worst..i may not know much mandarin but thats what attacted me to jay's music..none of the pretentious wannabe badly spoken english..just chinese lyrics...hard to find these days really

[kathy_arlam]

LOL. Jolin and David's duet was the most hilarious song I've heard in my life. Me and my friends always make fun of that "in the house" part. :D

I think it's ok to have english in it if it makes sense or it doesn't sound lame or anything. But alot of asian songs (especially korean and japanese, even their tracklist is half english = =") the english they put in there doesn't even match the song. And don't even get me started on their horrible accents in attempt to sing english. :glug:

[simple_girl]

omg..just thought of the biggest OFFENDER!
alan/'show' luo..shake it mama shake it
omg that was allowed to be put in a song..the mental picture gotten from that is so bad and could scar any listener for life..im serious...the word mum/mama and shake it should be made illegal to be said...
i just cant believe people thought it was cool...some kid even put it up on his msn..those words.. coz he liked the song so much[shame to say..my cousin and i know his mum>.<]

[tazhs]

hahaha
i hate those artists who incorporate English in chinese songs too..
i mean, a bit is okay.. but a full sentence of it is a bit weird..
or even a whole verse.. thats horrible!
haha i agree that some singers should realize that its not cool. and yes, the English speaking listeners would definitely make fun of them.

[shadowcats2]

[QUOTE=hobielover;17187620 I'm glad Jay doesn't go around constantly trying to speak English and embarrass himself. Jolin, on the other hand, is coming out with an English album. Please, don't let Jay do that to himself! :oops: He'd sound cute, but English-speakers would definitely make fun of him for it. :cry:

:rasp:[/QUOTE]

I'm an English speaker. I wouldn't make fun of Jay even if he did try English, but I agree that he is probably much better sticking to Mandarin. I also don't like when English words are stuck in songs by non-fluent Chinese singers. It ruins the flow of the song usually. But I love it when Leehom mixes the languages, because he does it so well!!

[FreddyC]

YEES!!! English words are so annoying in foreign language songs (foreign to english). Try to be proud of your own culture and language and stop copying other cultures religiously just to look cool, because english words in chinese songs just do the contrary, they make the song sound dumb, pretentious and lowers my respect for the artist.

One thing good about Jay is that he doesn't do this in his songs (not majorly anyway, he might have said "yo" or other minor words).

[jazlyn87]

i agree with freddyC !

however up to date, the only singer that i can see that put english and make sense and still sound sexy is wilber pan

to me, it doesn't sound that weird and it's still in place

but not lee hom .. the english he puts in his songs are way too much .. basically just change it to an english song eh

[phoebe]

hahaha. jolin english is so good that she's making an english album beside her english lessons books!!! david tao n lee hom could not even try that market ! that emi top guy in taiwan is really jolin's no.1 fan/friend!
sprinklings of yo yo man man in hip hop is ok. but too hve random heavy handed doses of random english in chin/kor/jap songs ---??

[hobielover]

i agree with freddyC !
however up to date, the only singer that i can see that put english and make sense and still sound sexy is wilber pan
to me, it doesn't sound that weird and it's still in place
but not lee hom .. the english he puts in his songs are way too much .. basically just change it to an english song eh
Maybe LeeHom does lay the English on too thick. He's from New York, so it should make more sense than it does. Khalil's English isn't bad, though. He's from Hawai'i, and the English makes sense grammatically and his pronunciation is good. For other singers, it just seems like they stick a bunch of random words together and then pronounce it all in a way so that you can't even tell that it's English. Take, for instance, Earth's "Time After Time." "Tim-ey After Tim-ey"? :crazy:

What's that Japanese song that says, "stop then melt," or something like that? :glug: I heard it last year, but I can't remember what exactly it said, but it just sounded horrible. I had a good laugh about it, but that's pretty much it. Who seriously thinks this is cool?! :bang:

[shadowcats2]

Ooooo...Just thought of two more times with bad English in Mandarin songs (both crimes committed in songs by one of my faves Luo Zhi Xiang). There is that horrible duet with Koda Kumi(sp?)..."twinkle, why don't you CRAP your hands". It's CLAP--not CRAP!!! AHHHHHH!! Although I think that Show is actually saying it correctly, she definitely isnt!!! And the other is the song off his Speshow album that starts out. "Nyaaa, nyaa, nyaa, nyaa, nyaa...you can't catch me!!" That part makes it really hard for me to like this song, even though the tune itself isnt horrible...!!

In general, I adore Show. I even like his attempts at English...so cute!! But I draw the line at CRAPPING my hands, y'a know???

[simple_girl]

Ooooo...Just thought of two more times with bad English in Mandarin songs (both crimes committed in songs by one of my faves Luo Zhi Xiang). There is that horrible duet with Koda Kumi(sp?)..."twinkle, why don't you CRAP your hands". It's CLAP--not CRAP!!! AHHHHHH!! Although I think that Show is actually saying it correctly, she definitely isnt!!! And the other is the song off his Speshow album that starts out. "Nyaaa, nyaa, nyaa, nyaa, nyaa...you can't catch me!!" That part makes it really hard for me to like this song, even though the tune itself isnt horrible...!!
In general, I adore Show. I even like his attempts at English...so cute!! But I draw the line at CRAPPING my hands, y'a know???
his attempts at english when saying 'shake it mama shake it'...makes it a a bit hard dont you think..
lol ill see if i can find crapping my hands on youtube..

[hobielover]

Please read the rules for the ANTI-X sub-forum (http://jay-chou.net/forums/showthread.php?t=20481). I guess this is your time posting in here, so don't get too embarrassed. :wink2: We're not trying to stereotype, as this has come up in a lot of songs, and more than just Mandarin songs. This 5566 song (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VnOGu4aXHQo) is my worst offender. :oops: "Messagee"?

I was just thinking about it, and if I really wanted to listen to songs with English in them, I would simply turn on the public radio. That way, I'd hear plenty of English songs from people who can actually speak the language well. I think singing in a language you don't know very well is just plain embarrassing. I mean, I'd never try to sing in French (theoretically, if I could sing), because I know it wouldn't come out very well. There's no difference with English. People who have learned it as a second language know that the pronunciation is very difficult, as the words aren't actually spelled as they are pronounced. Anyone who tries to stick English in Chinese, Korean, or Japanese songs is relying heavily on phonetics that aren't really there. English is not phonetic, people! Some singers realize that, and kind of slurallofthewordstogetherlikethis, and then you can't understand what they are trying to say, and it's like, "Huh? What language is that?" :crazy:

[*meow]

Ooooo...Just thought of two more times with bad English in Mandarin songs (both crimes committed in songs by one of my faves Luo Zhi Xiang). There is that horrible duet with Koda Kumi(sp?)..."twinkle, why don't you CRAP your hands". It's CLAP--not CRAP!!! AHHHHHH!! Although I think that Show is actually saying it correctly, she definitely isnt!!!
UM. actually i don't think that's considered a CHINESE/KOREAN/JAP song because it's all in english. so, technically it is an English song sung by a Chinese and a Japanese.

but anyhow, it's not even TWINKLE why don't you crap your hands. it's TRINKLE why don't you crap your hands. :roll:

[HangPHAMee]

mmm yeah totally not cool. It's like, "don't you have that word in your language?" why must it be integrated? It sounds awkward and dumb, especially when it's not pronounced very well -_-

[Peach_happo]

lol, sum r alrite..but others..are..lyk...gangsta wannabes, lol
1/2 da time, cant even understand wat they r trying to sing...
why cant they just stick to their own lang. songs or learn beta english..o well..pplz these days think it makes them look cool..

[Akira]

Yea I'll say. In chinese songs it spoils the song. I mean some of the songs in the Olympic album have english in them and it absolutely kills the song! Lee hom is alright (can you feel my world) but I still don't like english in chinese songs.

[alisadorsey@yahoo.co]

I am somewhat anti. I guess it depends on the singer. If they are saying the word correctly. Leehom is great because English is his first language. Maybe in time with practice, some the singers will get a little better with their English. It is considered a bit hard to some.

[simplyjennifer]

adding english in the song just makes it sound corny. most of the time what they're singing isn't even grammatically correct. i have jolin's mr.q in mind right now. check out the english portion of the lyrics:

I can see in your eyes Baby Give it up and come here for me
Don't be so cool shout out sweetie Make your dreams come true
Your love gonna stop my heartbeat Come kill me with your hot kiss
Life would be so cute Honey Be my Mr.Q

p.s. this was copied word for word out out the lyric booklet.

[judes]

i also despise english in any sort of chinese / korean / jap songs. i just can't take any artist seriously when they do that. i mean if you're going to do a song, then do it completely in english (like FIR's blue doors ahead, even though the lyrics don't make sense). don't suddenly insert a "baby it's true you're sexy" or whatever, especially if you can't pronounce it.

but you know what impressed me - the 5566 song "boyfriend". their english is actually not bad. they finish their words properly and there's just a little bit of an accent. and the whole song is in english!