another update

To tell you the truth, I don't really worry about making it into each cut for this competition.  What I worry about is performing at my best.  One of the directors told me that it didn't matter if I was perfect or not.  He told me that if I'm too perfect now then there will be nowhere to improve...and they want to see the contestants improve....but, I don't agree.  I want each performance to be as perfect as possible.  I want to know what I'm doing on stage and to feel confident.  My plan is to be as perfect as I can be in each performance and by the end of the competition....I will improve as well....but, it doesn't mean that each time I get on that stage...it can't be perfect....ok..maybe I'm giving myself too much pressure (what's new).  what I really mean is....I will want each performance to be 100% effort...so that I feel satisfied. 

      Another thing that I worry about is if my friends get past each cut.  Most of my friends are not from Shanghai.  That means that once they are cut, they will go back to their hometown.  It makes me a bit sad to think that the friends that I have made so far will be leaving.  It takes me so long to make friends.  I've become close to many of them.  And I really think that there are a few who have so much talent.  Xiao Jing, of course, is one of them.  She is by far the diva of this entire competition.  The minute I heard her sing, I was her fan!  And the person she is...very sweet and caring.  She is pro man!  You know that she's a diva...when she can step on that stage...get really into her song.....as "Xiao Jing the diva" and then step off the stage laughing and smiling....becoming her real self.  A real artist can be in character on 'cue'...and remember who they really are off the stage.  "Dai Wei" is my other close friend.  She is only 18...yet....she is already so talented and focused on stage.  I can only imagine how incredible she will be in 5  years.  And...what a funny girl.  She has really made me laugh these past few weeks.  These 2 are definitely friends that are keepers.  And....because of them....this competition has become more fun for me.  The day they got into the top 20 was more exciting to me than when I got in! 

     I'm also very happy that my friend "Gao Yang" (I gave him the English name Gordan) made it in last night.  He is also only 19 yet...he has so much talent!  He is so modest when he talks about his piano skills.  But...I can tell that he has a lot of experience with performing.  He knows what he is singing...and the keyboard is a part of him.  He is definitely someone I want to see succeed and make it far.  Another contestant, "Yang Dan" (Danni) has been my breakfast buddy for the last few weeks.  Every morning I give her a wake up call so that we can both go down and have breakfast together.  She is also very talented. She is so flexible with her range of styles and such a beautiful person inside and out. I wasn't pleased when she didn't make it in last night.  Another girl named "Wong SiSi" (Dino) is also very talented.  Her style is more R&B.  When she performs, I can see that she really loves the music and the groove of it all. I can also see that she means each word that she sings even with all of the different variations of ad libing that she puts into her songs.  The phrasing and the way that you sing each word...is so important to expressing what you are singing.  And I can tell that she knows what she is singing. She is also very young and talented...AND she plays the sax!   The other "Xiao Jing" is another special contestant.  She has such a unique style that I rarely see in China.  She doesn't have to do much..but, when she sings...she can really grab your attention.  There are a lot more contestants that I can pick out from the bunch...but, these are the ones who really stand out to me.

   說真的，我並不很在乎在這一場比賽中能否晉級，但對自已每一場演出的水準卻是有要求的，雖然其中一位導演曾對我說，並不見得每一場演出都得十全十美，如果一開始就那麼完美了，那麼後面的演出就沒什麼看頭了，他們希望看到演員們通過比賽一次比一次進步…但是我不能贊同他這種說法，我認為上了台演出就一定得做到盡善盡美的，我需要很清楚知道自已在舞台上的一舉一動，所以我告訴自已，一定要堅持盡自已最大的努力去演出，直到最後一場比賽，我相信只有這樣我才能真正不斷進步…當然我並不是說每一次上台演出我一定會很成功，人是不可能十全十美…或許我給自已太多的壓力(這已經不是新聞了)，我的意思是…只要每一次演出我都盡了百分之一百的力…這樣我才會覺得對得起自已良心… prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /

  實際上我最擔心的是，我那些朋友有沒晉級，因為多數我的朋友都是外地來的，如果他們晉不了級，他們就得回他們的老家去了，每一次想到我好不容易交到幾個朋友就要分開我就會很難過，我在這一場比賽中還真交了好幾個朋友，而且每一個都是很有天才的….

  曉靖就是其中很有天才的一個，她真的很“牛”，當我第一次聽她唱歌時，我已經成為她的粉絲了，而且她的人心底很好，很關心別人，當她站在舞台上，她可以完全投入在她自已的歌聲中，成為另一個舞台上的曉靖，一但她下了台，她又可以回到她自已，大聲笑談，一個真正的藝術家，永遠很清楚那個是他本人，那個是台上的我…

  戴薇是我另一位比較談得來的朋友，她今年雖然只有十八歲，但已經可以看出她的天才，實在難以想像再過五年她會變成怎麼樣….她是一個非常幽默的女孩，這幾個星期裡，她已經多次把我逗笑了好幾次，就因為有這幾位好朋友，讓我覺得這場比賽越來越有意思了，所以當她們進入二十強，我幾乎都覺得比自已晉級更興奮了…

  我也很為我另一個朋友高陽晉級高興，昨天晚上我還給他取了個英文名字叫“Gordan”，他也只有十九歲，同時他也是非常有天才的一個，雖然當他被人贊美他的琴彈得多捧時，他總是很謙虛，但是當我看到他表演時，我仍然可以看得出他的演出經驗有多豐富，他很清楚他在唱什麼，琴鍵就像是他身體的一部份，他肯定是那個我願意見到走得最遠的一名選手….

   還有一名比賽者“Danni”，這幾個星期裡都是我共進早餐的伙伴，每天早起我會打電話叫她起床，然後一起去早餐，她也是一位非常有天才的女孩，她可以唱很多不同種類的歌曲，她也是一位美麗的好心腸女孩，我很難過她昨天晚上沒有晉級…

  一名叫王思思的女孩，她唱的歌比較屬於R&B型的，她是那麼年輕和有歌唱的天賦，當她在表演時，你可以看到她對音樂的狂熱，盡管是一些很深的意境的歌詞，她都能很明確表達出每一字一句的真諦，能做到這樣，已經是唱歌最高境界，這一點曉靖也是可以勝任，在中國是很看到像曉靖那樣，不須要任何裝飾，就可以吸住你全部注意力，在那麼多有天才的參選者裡，在我看來，她是最突出的一個…

photos with Hansen (hai sun)and Wu Bing