Highlight: 1994 Anniversary - Hot Coffee anyone?

First things first - HAPPY CHINESE NEW YEAR! And happy year of the snake! Okay, okay. You probably saw this coming but here's the rest of the performance clips from the rest of the '94 TVB Anniversary Gala! I thought I should start the Chinese New Year with something light-hearted and give y'all a short break from my ranting. And if you're interested in the refreshing your memories about the '94 Anniversary, you can watch them here, here and here. And this didn't count as an entry for the show because it was towards the end of the show and was used as a tribute-cum-wrapper-up. Anyway, enjoy! :D

Jacqueline Ng & Chilam & Max Mok - "The Celestial Peach"

Jacqueline actually has a decent singing voice here. It also helped that she was a native speaker of Mandarin, so her pronunciation was clear and pleasant sounding to the ears (as opposed to slurred and sloppy). But other than that, we get the usual green screen stuff with 90's special effects and wires here and there. Chilam and Max just get supporting roles here. BUT. Hahaha. I like how there was a crazy loud guy with no sense of timing (or maybe he just had a really good sense?) that shouted the line everyone was saying a little too late and too long.

James Wong & Roman Tam & Law Ka-Ying & Leon Lai - "Bed Time"

This one's all in good fun. And strangely enough, Leon doesn't sound half bad here (probably because this isn't actual singing). And yeah, so everyone's just trying to get some rest and relaxation, but no luck. And when that happens, you just gotta turn your complaints into a song. HAHAHAHA. Law Ka-Ying's crazy scream at the end of his part. I love that because it just kills me. Every time.

Teresa Lee & Leon Lai's - "Classic Acts"

Unlike the other clips from this blog post, this one isn't a musical and features no singing content (thank goodness - no Leon! No singing!). This little acting sequence shows us just how quickly they put together a set and get the artists changed! So they got a few extra special scenes from some of the most beloved dramas of  TVB history and somehow the couple turn it into a little parody scene. LOL at Leon's 'crying' scene and the "Did you brush your teeth today?!" question from Teresa in the Dodo/Chow Yun-Fat act. Teresa was actually pretty cute in this act. And the Stephen Chow/Cutie Mui scene was actually quite close to the original. LOLOL. You can even see Alex Man and Tanny Tien (from the original series 1989's The Justice Of Life) laughing.

Liza Wang - "Pink Lady x Hot Coffee"

This was the winning entry from Liza Wang and her 28 boys. In fact, they were introduced as something like 28 dashing men. Of course, the 28 was of significance because '94 was the 28th Anniversary and all. But still...introducing William So as a 'dashing' man?! LOL. Sure, he may be a talented singer but LOL. Anyway, she does a little rendition of Pink Lady which is all very catchy along with the OH-A-YEAH hook taken from that Jacky and Faye duet "Extraordinary Summer"/"Love Once Is Not Enough". Strangely, I was actually quite satisfied with her singing (yes, I know lip-syncing was and is still kind of acceptable during a fast number), unlike now because it's just kind of shrill and annoyingly high-pitched. That being said, it's probably due to old age and it's that dress and the tea coffee cup! And of course this song and performance is filled full of sexual innuendo. And LOLOL at Law Ka-Ying coming to cover up Liza at the end. Guess he doesn't want to share. LOL.

So guys and girls, what do you think? Do you really think that "Hot Coffee" was the best performance of the night? I personally really liked how all the artists put in a huge amount of effort to actually make it an enjoyable show for the audience. That, and they also looked like they were all having fun! Now that's what I call an entertaining anniversary gala. 

Playlist: Jacky's Mandopop Duets & Collaborations

First off - HAPPY NEW YEAR! And of course, I'm a week late, but it's still a new year, right? Anyway, this is like a very late second playlist to the first part, over here. Again, thanks to llwy12 for the suggestions and the translations for the song titles and retrotvb for pushing me to do something. Well, less with the chit chat and on with the listening and watching. Enjoy! :D

"You are Most Treasured" – Jacky & Samantha Ko

This is actually my favorite (and probably most well-known) track off this playlist. It's actually a very mushy kind of lovey-dovey love song, but because the two leads sing it so well, that is forgivable. It's actually because these two lines stick out for me, with their rough English translations:


Jacky: "I will give you red roses..."

Samantha: "...You know that I just really love to cry..."


Which is actually really sweet, but also kind of mushy. Samantha's actually talking about crying with tears of joy, of course; about being so touched and moved by a lover that would make her eyes all watery whenever he gave her a red rose. It's understandable why this is the default duet song when it comes to a male and female singing in a contest or a karaoke bar.

"Love and Promises" – Jacky & Priscilla Chan

In my opinion, this song lacks that special little charm that comes with Jacky and Priscilla duets in Cantonese. But it is a beautiful composition and Priscilla and Jacky do manage to squeeze the emotion out of the lyrics, with the electric guitar solo going on in the background. This song does really grow on you though, and the more you listen to it, I think the more you may begin to like it ("I love you more and more each day!" LOL). And just my two cents here, but Jacky and Priscilla do make a pretty cute couple on camera.

"Stranger" – Jacky & Andy Hui & Ronald Cheng

This song's literal translation is actually something like "1,2,3,4" or "A, B, C, D", but the true meaning behind  the song is "Stranger" or "Passer-by". Yes, that's right. Love can appear out of anywhere and cause strangers to  become acquaintances and eventually get along.

"Love, Once is Not Enough" – Jacky & Faye Wong
The catchy OH-A-E-YEAH hooks and the Mandarin flipside to "Extraordinary Summer", because obviously one song was not enough. I still always LOLFAYE when it comes to her dancing, but she's actually okay in this. The thing about this video though, is not so much about the dancing that gets me. It's the water. Yep. The whole needing to cool down with a fresh water bomb balloon over my head thing . But it's definitely a fun, kind of summer track, which reminds me of a nice cold, refreshing can of Coca-Cola.

"Every Day in My Life" – Jacky & A-Mei Zhang


A-mei is known as one of the vocal powerhouses in Taiwan, and she's got a little R&B groove going down in her voice. This was a live performance and it's really a kind of chilled, laid-back kind of tune, not the usual love song or ballad that we're so used to getting; which was actually a boring Jackie Chan duet. The two really breathed life into this song and really made it fresh and actually somewhat pleasant to the ears.     

"Déjà vu" – Jacky & He Ru-Hui
The original 1990 MV for the song, with He Ru-Hui as his duet partner. The song and video brings back a nostalgic feel, which is fitting with the title of the song "Déjà vu". The gist of the song is love being like a dream, and it's got a very melancholy feel to it. At the end of the video is actually a guy asking Jacky something like "What is a good friend?" in Mandarin and Jacky saying "What you say?" in Cantonese a couple of times before telling the guy he can speak in Mandarin. Haha. He goes on to say "A friend is someone that will comfort you when you are hurt. When they are happy, they will share it with you. When you need something, they will help you." I don't think it had anything to do with this song - must be part of a collection.

"Difficult from Both Sides" – Jacky & Ronald Cheng
Now this is actually a remake of a song in English, though I'm not entirely sure which one, to be honest. But anyway this song is about two guys having feelings for the same girl (is that Liz Kong in the video? Elvina Kong's younger sister?). Don't get me wrong though. It's not the kind of song where they fight over the girl. It's more like they both have an internal conflict with themselves and letting your pal have the girl because you don't want to ruin your friendship. Hence the trouble coming from the left and right. In the end though, no one gets the girl, but they've still got each other.      

"Light Up My Heart" – Jacky & Faye Wong

This version I've included has actually got a handful of other artists, other than Jacky and Faye. Yet their voices stand out the most in this track, not only because they were given more lines to sing as lead vocalists but Faye's renown crystal clear voice. I remember reading a comment for this video saying the other female vocalists were given like one line each as their solo part. I reiterate. That is not a coincidence. Nice track.    


"Love You More Than You Do" – Jacky & Jackie Chan

Yeah, that's Sally Yeh at the start, singing with the action star who likes to sing, Jackie Chan, "Understand My Heart". And then Jackie invites the other Jacky (who he refers to as a younger brother) to sing his song, "Love You More Than You Do", with Jackie singing the Mandarin lyrics from his Taiwanese record and Jacky singing the Cantonese version. Okay, so it wasn't completely in Mandarin, but to make up a nice round number for this playlist. 



"In Love with You" – Jacky & Regina Velasquez

Alright, alright. I know what everyone is thinking. This isn't in Mandarin! And you're right. It isn't. But I like that the playlist rounds off on an even number like 10. So here it is - an Easter egg surprise (though it's not really Easter), it's actually more like one of those strange chocolates that you get from those advent calendars for Christmas. Just like Forrest Gump said, "Life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you get." You might not have been expecting this, but it is a really good song. For someone who isn't a native speaker, Jacky's English is alright (still accented yes, but nothing too bad). Regina's clear voice blends in well with Jacky's rich tones. The feeling is all there, along with the vocal technique that only talented, veteran singers can pull off.