Na Ying's new concert, like her new album released after nine years, is appropriately titled, Na You Zen Yang, or So What. The mainland's queen of pop says that title captures her daring and optimistic outlook on life. The 44-year-old singer, who has sold more than 10 million albums, says she is in total control of her life and her astonishing 25-year career. For more than two decades, she has stayed in the spotlight by retreating every once in a while to recharge herself.
Na's influence on the mainland pop music scene is a continuous one, from the 1980s to the present. From the folk-pop music of northwest China, the inspiration for her wildly popular 1980 song Xibeifeng, to Cantonese pop and Western music, Na has constantly sought to reinvent herself.
In Beijing recently to promote her upcoming concert and new album, she is a picture of confidence and fitness and cuts a slim figure in a white silk dress.
"I spend at least three hours a day in the gym. My husband loves going to the gym, and this has influenced me," she smiles. "I used to hate the gym even though I had to battle my weight for years. But now I enjoy sweating."
When her fans call her a legend, she laughs loudly. "I always know you are there, no matter what I do, whether I sing or not," she says to her screaming fans. "Now I am ready for my comeback.
"I just follow my feelings to make decisions," she says explaining the reason for her long break from the pop music scene. For the decade that she's been away, she got married, gave birth to two children, and played full-time mother and wife.
"Now I feel like singing again," she says, smoothing her clean short hair.
Na and her record company started preparing for the new album in 2010. She cooperated with Golden Melody Award-winning Singaporean singer-songwriter Tanya Chua for its songs.
While the concert she held on the last day of 2009, to mark the 20th anniversary of her singing career, featured a number of her signature songs, the upcoming concert will represent a fresh start. However, she is confident her silky, sometimes haunting, voice will continue to tug at her fans' heartstrings.
No comments:
Post a Comment