hmm ~.~ I just realized that I've never really listened to chinese music and I have no idea where to start

all of my friends who listen to chinese music listen to the type I hate - slow songs =X

so could someone recommend some chinese songs that aren't slow songs? dance, rap, rock, doesn't matter

no download links as they're banned - I have my sources anyway =D

I know this is a really broad topic, so I'd like to stick to the more well-known songs first

lyrics don't really matter - I don't understand chinese anyways ~.~

oh, and NO BOYBANDS NO BOYBANDS NO BOYBANDS NO BOYBANDS unless they're actually talented =X I listen to songs because of how they sound, not how the people who sing it look like(that's just a bonus)

AND PLEASE DON'T TELL ME if someone's hot or ugly, if they're mean or nice, etc. anything personal about them
I don't want to form any biases, I just want to listen to some good music =)

-edit-
I'm liking elva hsiao =D

Hmmm I'd say start with Jay Chou first. He's got a lot of ballads, but check out songs like Dragon Fist, Dad I'm Back, Huo Yuan Jia. I can't think of any more Jay songs at the moment.

I was going to recommend Xing Guang Bang to you but they sing a lot of slow songs. It's not a boyband, just 10 contestants from a competition that's kind of American Idol. I don't know, maybe you should give them a try, lol.

lol Jay Chou!!! He sings ballads but...they're good. And I hate slow songs too but I actually LOVE Jay Chou.

um....try MayDay, Sodagreen, Silver Ash (their older stuff is like VK rock), and Shin. Umm...that's all I can think of that's not ballady lol. I don't listen to much chinese music either. I should...

i'd recommend FIR
http://youtube.com/watch?v=smE2zEzZdP8&fmt=18
http://youtube.com/watch?v=tgLVxwpDjOE&fmt=18
http://youtube.com/watch?v=dzdjnQSy8c0&fmt=18

kary ng maybe.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=vh3khu1Oczk&fmt=18

jolin tsai is a popular one.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=X10UemyfE04&fmt=18
http://youtube.com/watch?v=HXgwfXE5MZA&fmt=18
http://youtube.com/watch?v=64BJ3DQRj6E&fmt=18

elvia xiao
http://youtube.com/watch?v=7F5jR5o6z6U&fmt=18

Try JJ Lin. His voice is really good but I think he sings a lot of ballots.
Or try Vanness Wu; some of his stuff is really catchy.

Khalil Fong - R&B/Soul singer, got good groove

Wang Lee Hom
SHIN
MayDay
Anson Hu
JJ LIN
Khalil Fong
Jay Chou
SodaGreen

FIR

kary ng

Jolin tsai

(all mentioned already)

I've given up on chinese music lately. There is really nothing I like for some reason.

o try kenji wu..
he just had a new album not long ago..

Jay Chou, obviously.
FIR
David Tao
Elvia
Khalil Fong

JAY CHOU
TANK
luo zhi xiang (羅志祥) (aka small pig for nickname)
FAHRENHEIT
S.H.E.
Da Mouth(大嘴巴)
RAINIE YANG
ASKA YANG
FISH/JASMINE LEONG
DAVID TAO
5566
NAN QUAN MAMA
COCO LEE
ANGELA ZHANG
JOLIN TSAI
CHERRY BOOM
VANESS WU
F4
SH!N
WANG LEE HOM
MA TIEN YUU

the super popular ones have been mentioned, i shall mention some that are not as highly rated but have amazing voices and music.

stephanie sun-孙燕姿
jane zhang-张靓颖
fish leung-粱静如
angela zhang-张韶涵

MUST LISTEN TO FAHRENHEIT!! Might I add they are also extremely gorgeous.
Others include...
S.H.E
Wang Lee Hom
Wilber Pan
TANK
Danson
JJ Lin
Kary Ng
Old school Jacky Cheung and Twins
Justin Lo
Nicolas Teo
Kelly Chan
LMF
Boys(Before they disbanded, none of that new band, single album stuff)
And Jin... even though he is more English then Chinese, but his rhymes are sick and deserve a listen. =]
Also try Se7en's chinese album. Talk about freakin' fantastic.
That is all I can think of for now. =]

Might I ask, what kind of music are you looking for? Quality, perhaps underated music or the commerical generic ones? If you want generic, then I suggest Fahrenheit, Twins, F4, Jolin, Rainie and Edison. If not, I suggest you stay away from them as they might leave a bad impression on you.

JJ LIN. Please do try him out; he's got an amazing voice and jsdkljfl I could listen to him sing all day. And he's got a really cute personality too - very sweet, down-to-earth, and modest. He's a VERY successful artist (although the English fandom for him is so small -- this needs to change...), selling almost 2 million copies of his last album, but he hasn't let fame go to his head at all. I admire him very much, as an artist and as a person. *gush gush gush* XD He's my favorite Chinese artist ever. He's not the most gorgeous artist out there, but he has the most gorgeous VOICE I've ever heard. (I think he's really cute too .)

I really love these songs by him; um some of these MVs are pretty weird (and 'Killer' is disturbing O__O) but they're really great songs!

Cao Cao (this is my favorite song EVER): http://youtube.com/watch?v=CuQfZCQdlWE
Killer: http://youtube.com/watch?v=gXzxuPnsduU
Mermaid: http://youtube.com/watch?v=IytVCg2XTxY
River South: http://youtube.com/watch?v=pKmovzMyHxI
Now That She's Gone (his English is soooo good): http://youtube.com/watch?v=JDadyTQ3EY4



Other Chinese artists I'd recommend: Mayday (awesome Taiwan rock band) and Khalil Fong (amazing R&B/soul singer ... his voice is so smoooooth).

Yes and I stresss this very much lol

yups, i agree...just stay away of those...

i'd say try some F.I.R., Khalil Fong (some ppl on the forum recommended him to me...i'm happy they did), Wang Lee Hom, Jay Chou
And maybe Raymond Lam, he's a actor turned singer. His songs are mostly ballads (and OST's). I like hi because of his nice deep voice, if you ask mem i think he can really sing better than those so called singers named in the qoute...

http://youtube.com/watch?v=QtySdIeYdrQ

WANG LEE HOM!!! =) i fell in love with chinese music with i first listened to his song "forever love"

fanfanfan aka fan wei qi
jay chou
jasmine leong
sodagreen

there's so many.....

even though jolin tsai, rainie yang and twins are "generic" they still have some really good songs. don't be afraid to check them out!

My dp says it all. Lee Hom Wang.

And Sodagreen, Mayday. I haven't listen to Chinese music since last year though, so don't know anyone new.

you guys don't read
she/he said no boybands

so from the above list, I suggest staying away from
fahrenheit (STAY AWAY FROM THEM, THEY'RE A BUNCH OF TALENTLESS PRETTYBOYS!)
F4 (same thing, they were the former talentless prettyboys that reigned taiwan )
5566 (they're not that great, but one of the members-wang ren fu is a great GREAT MC.
also boys (ew, they suck too)

and EW STAY AWAY FROM RAINIE (she can't sing, can't dance even after having MANY years of dance training. She also acts but sucks at that too....does the whole cutesy act. So fake)
stay away from cyndi wang in case sb recommends her.
Also, twins, edison, cookies, lollipop all suck....alot


anyway, having said all that I recommend
wang lee hom (iafjaifjafi he's AMAZING <3)
jay chou (not the greatest singer, but very talented composition wise, his songs have great lyrics and very chillax...it's pretty signature.)
cao ge
tank
jj lin (I heart him too)
anson hu
mayday (wu yue tian)
KENJI WU!! (he's awesome too, kinda underrated T-T)

for girls
even though angela zhang is mainstream, she's pretty good
jolin is ehhh at singing but she has alot of catchy songs
s.h.e is pretty good, some of their songs may be 'bubble gum pop' but they have really good songs too.
elva hsiao is good <3
evonne hsu

that's all I can think of atm. Some of the mainland singers are good so I suggest
zhang liang ying (jane) she has a FAB voice, and she's really pretty too
also he jie is good

actually I can recommend several 'super girls' but some sing more ballady songs, so yah.

If you want some Cantonese songs check out..

- SHERMAN CHUNG.
- VINCY
- Jason Chan
- Janice
- Pakho Chau

apart from the popular artists that people have already listed, I recommend Xiao Yu. He's rather new but he's got some catchy pop and R&B songs on his album.

Khalil Fong is amazing.
Fiona Sit (she appears a bit generic, but she knows what songs work for her and what don't. she's pretty good and Khalil likes to work with her so that's good)
TANK - Taiwanese

Jay Chou, Lee Hom those were mentioned of course.

Anson Hu
Aska Yang
Wang Leehom
Emil Chau
Jane Zhang
Dai Ai Ling
Claire Kuo
Milk@Coffee
JS
Han Hong
Fan Wei Qi
aLin Huang
Ah Du
Sam Li
Power Station
Sodagreen
Tank

you know what if you take away all the bubblegum, idol stuff there are so many decent singers and bands out there that deserve more recognition!!

of course i'm gonna recommend JAY CHOU. haha really great music, ballads and those noisy/hiphop kinda music! very chinese music! i <3 him!
wang lee hom is famous too but i think his songs are americanized...
pan wei bo (wilber pan)'s songs are quite catchy too, and a bit americanized
danson tang's songs are pretty good too
mayday is a must try!
kenji wu too!

oh and if you want the hiphop kind, try machi (but i dont know if they have new songs cos i havent listened to them for so long LOL)

i dont really like SHE but some of their songs are actually nice

Some indie stuff:
- Cao Fang has some pretty nice acoustic tunes.
- Cheer Chen is somewhat similar to Cao Fang. Personally I prefer Cao Fang.
- If you like cute indie pop, try My Little Airport. They're actually Cantonese.

F.I.R, Wang Leehom, and Jay Chou (at times for me); they either have good voice (F.I.R) or really great beat! My favorite chinese album is Wang Leehom's Heroes from Earth(?) something like that, but in that album he uses old-chinese-opera as his inspiration.. love it!

LEEHOM WANG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
KING OF CPOP!!
Yeah, and jay chou/david tao/FIR/alan kuo/kenji wu's pretty good too