An iconic legend with timeless tracks that heal the heart and soul.
Wakin Chau (周华健) is a household name to anyone who dabbles in Chinese music. Beginning his career in 1985, his music resonates with everyone spanning from the 80s to present. This is the music I grew up with; the familiar songs that shaped my childhood. Flawlessly mastering different genres, as well as both Mandarin and Cantonese, Wakin caters for all, and I was extremely excited to catch his “THE YOUNGER ME CONCERT TOUR” at Melbourne’s Rod Laver Arena and experience his artistry firsthand.
Appearing through the mist, Wakin took to the stage with ‘Sleepless Night Alone (孤枕難眠)’, followed by one of my personal favourites ‘Any Song Reminds You Or Me? (有沒有一首歌會讓你想起我)’. To clearly show his diverse language ability, Wakin greeted fans in Mandarin Chinese, Cantonese, Hokkien and English; and humorously translated every sentence to cater to both the Mandarin and Cantonese audience.
Wakin explained his tour name in Chinese “少年的奇幻之旅” (translating to The Young Man’s Fantasy Journey) incorporates the word “young man” which he is no longer; but this comment gained lots of disagreements from the crowd. He thanked the audience for helping him shape his journey, as he was aware every patron had grown up listening to his music, with each song holding a significant time-capsule-like memory for fans.
‘Love Follows Us (愛相隨)’ came alongside a lot of fanservice as Wakin roamed the stage; waved, pointed and gave big thumbs up to those who sang along with him. Wakin explained he’d learnt to put ‘I Didn’t Intend to Go (其實不想走)’ towards the start of his setlist as his audience gets too worried about his departure when the song is placed at the end of the show.
The traditional Chinese segment was breathtaking, especially with aspects of calligraphy, swords and scripts shown on the big screen; perfectly accompanying ‘A Hard Scripture to Read (難念的經)’, ‘A Life of Fighting is But a Dream (刀劍如夢)’, and ‘People In Love (天下有情人)’. The flute from the live band really elevated every song performed during this section and transported patrons into an iconic period drama.
A very random story about his curiosity about which direction the toilet flushes in Australia after a reading a book when he was very young was his goal to fly ‘Across the Ocean to See You (漂洋過海來看你)’. I loved how down to earth and easy going Wakin is, despite his experience and popularity, there was absolutely no arrogance or wall between him. He is simply loveable, friendly and eager to have a chat.
Wakin challenged the arena to a sing off during ‘Infatuation (鬼迷心竅)’ which carried over to ‘The Bold and The Beautiful (愛江山更愛美人)’ as well. His acoustic guitar was brought up to him where he performed one of his more recent tracks ‘Bangkok (飛飛飛飛飛)’, while cleverly replacing the lyrics to contain Australia, kangaroos and koalas, before a beautiful starry ocean was formed by the lights in the Melbourne arena to ‘Nothing Will Stop Me From Loving You (風雨無阻)’.
As a Cantonese speaker at home, I hold Cantonese music really close to heart. I was glad many songs were sung throughout the night with a full section dedicated to his many Cantonese albums, one of the most memorable being ‘The Path With You (沿途有你)’, which was followed by the Mandarin version ‘If Not For You (若不是因為你)’. It was also great to hear familiar melodies of ‘Fire in the Snow (雪中火)’ and ‘Deep Love (濃情化不開)’ that were played often at home by my family when I was growing up.
Wakin performed a cover of Johnathan Lee is ‘Understanding (領悟)’ stating it was his favourite song amongst all the classics written. Chatting away, the singer revealed that after he turned 60, his vision was not the best and he had to get glasses for his farsighted vision. Assuming the crowd was similar in age, his thoughtfulness broke a Guinness World Record for the largest karaoke lyrics, as massive red characters ran across the screen for ‘The Flowery Heart (花心)‘.
When my one of my personal favourites ‘You Make Me Happy and Sad (讓我歡喜讓我憂)’ was played, I was inspired to sing happily and loudly. Wakin then perform ‘The Younger Me (少年)’ before briefly disappearing backstage.
Returning to stage for his encore with the legendary ‘I Am Gonna Marry You Tomorrow (明天我要嫁給你)’, one thing I never realised until Wakin explained it was the gender boundaries the song breaks. In Chinese, there are different words used to marry, depending on the gender. The word “嫁” is used by females when marrying the male. Wakin purposely chose to produce the song from a male voice singing words from the view of a woman. Since 1993, he knew he wanted to tell stories through his music, regardless of gender.
Wakin Chau also shared that he wrote ‘My Dearest Baby (親親我的寶貝)’ for his son, which he confessed isn’t appreciated by his children. Now that his son is married, he Wakin shared hope that he can target his future grandkids to love the song instead. Of course, the final song of the night was no other than ‘Friends (朋友)’. I’ve shamelessly sung this legendary song with my friends so many times at karaoke; it was a great feeling to sing it with the man himself, live with an arena filled with people of all ages.
Wakin Chau’s THE YOUNGER ME CONCERT TOUR Melbourne show was an incredible night filled with nostalgia and memories from such a fundamental figure of both Mandopop and Cantopop. Over two hours of back-to-back classics, with no video breaks in between Wakin Chau shared heartfelt stories with a personal touch that linked his music all together. To my surprise, I knew majority of the songs on his setlist, as did most of the audience, showcasing the enormous impact he has in the Asian music industry.
Wakin Chau is one of the best for a reason. His presence and relevance transcend ages and it’s impossible to not join in for a singalong, as every song of his is a masterpiece.
Wakin Chau performed in Melbourne at Rod Laver Arena on Tuesday June 10th as part of his “THE YOUNGER ME CONCERT TOUR”, proudly presented by Chinatown Cinema Corporation and Live Nation.
For more information, visit:
https://chinatowncinema.com.au
https://www.livenation.com.au/wakin-chau-%E5%91%A8%E8%8F%AF%E5%81%A5-tickets-adp1326495
Photography by VISPENN Photography.
