Musician Hsiao Hung-jen describes transition from pop star to jazz crooner

Musician Hsiao Hung-jen describes transition from pop star to jazz crooner

2023-11-24

Today we take you to meet Taiwanese pop singer Hsiao Hung-jen. He is known for eclectically mixing Taiwanese, Mandarin, and English lyrics in his pop ballads. Now he is venturing into the world of jazz. Our very own FTV reporter Stephany Yang spoke to Hsiao to find out more about his career and how managed to persevere despite several hardships.

This is Hsiao Hung-jen. He has collaborated with many prominent Taiwanese music artists, such as Jay Chou and Ian Chen of F.I.R., a Taiwanese rock band. Besides being known for his romantic pop ballads, Hsiao’s lyrics often evoke his Taiwanese roots and social criticism. In September, he wrote a song with his wife.

Hsiao Hung-jen
Singer
I collaborated with my wife to write the lyrics. I’m very grateful to her. She helped me complete it. This song is completely different from my previous works. It has a lower-pitched vocal. I discovered that I quite like the melody and the direction of the music is different from before.

Hsiao first got his foot in the door in the music industry when he was 11 years old. He won first place at a Taiwanese singing competition called "Five Light Awards.” Hsiao was later nominated for "Best Newcomer" at Taiwan’s 20th Golden Melody Awards in 2009. Having been in the music industry for almost 20 years, Hsiao is now venturing into the world of jazz. He says it was not an easy feat to transition from pop to jazz and he had to train and make adjustments. He also recently underwent lung surgery, but that hasn’t hindered him from pursuing his passion for music.

Hsiao Hung-jen
Singer
My voice is now a bit softer. In the past, I sang at a higher pitch. This time the key will be adjusted. I underwent throat treatment earlier, and it seemed that my voice suddenly changed. I hope I can make a jazz album. That is the goal. I want to learn more jazz or blues in the future and add them to my own pop music in live performances.

Hsiao has been busy writing songs for his new jazz album. He says the songs are inspired by his daily life and also difficulties that he faced, such as being the victim of a car accident.

Hsiao Hung-jen
Singer
I have also been composing recently, and I will collaborate with Su Sheng-yu to produce a jazz album. This is my first jazz album. I think it is quite challenging because I am known for my pop music and he is known for his jazz music. When we collaborate together, it is a very unique experience. There are already several songs. The most special thing is that the jazz album is in Taiwanese. It was inspired by many things that I have experienced myself. I was in a car accident and I wrote a song about it. I think life is very precious, so I wrote a song about it. We must seize the moment.

Hsiao hopes that his music can inspire others and bring joy to all.

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轉型爵士音樂台灣歌手蕭閎仁專訪

2023-11-24

今天我們帶大家來認識台灣流行歌手蕭閎仁。他以混合台語、國語和英語歌詞創作歌曲，而被大眾熟識。目前他正在爵士音樂界開拓自己的新道路。

蕭閎仁曾與許多台灣著名音樂藝術家合作，例如周杰倫和台灣搖滾樂隊F.I.R.飛兒樂團的陳建寧。除了以浪漫情歌被大家熟識之外，他經常以身為台灣人的根源以及對社會的批評等靈感來創作歌詞。9月的時候，他與妻子一同創作出一首歌。

[[歌手蕭閎仁]]
"那首歌特別是我跟我老婆一起合作的詞，也非常謝謝她，她幫我完成了這首歌，跟我之前的作品都完全不一樣了，它是屬於低一點的vocal。我發現我滿喜歡這個音律的部分，音樂的走向也跟以前不一樣 "

蕭閎仁在11歲時首次踏入音樂界，13歲時參與"五燈獎"。2009年，蕭閎仁獲得台灣第20屆金曲獎「最佳新人」提名。入行近20年的蕭閎仁，如今進軍爵士樂世界，他表示，從流行音樂界轉型過來並不是一件容易的事，他必須多訓練和調整狀態。他最近剛進行肺部手術，但這並沒有妨礙他追求音樂的熱情。

[[歌手蕭閎仁]]
"我自己的唱腔會變比較溫柔一點，以前唱歌可能比較高，這次的key會調整，我之前喉嚨去治療過，我好像突然聲音的部分變了，我希望自己可以做好一張爵士專輯，這是目標。我之後想要多學習爵士或是藍調的部分，希望可以在現場live演出加在我自己的流行音樂上面 "

蕭閎仁最近忙著為他的新爵士專輯創作歌曲。他說這些歌曲的靈感來自於他的日常生活以及他所面臨的困難，例如之前發生的車禍。

[[歌手蕭閎仁]]
"最近也是在創作，之後會跟蘇聖育會合作製作一個爵士專輯，我第一張的爵士專輯，我覺得還滿挑戰的，因為我是比較多流行的部分，他是比較爵士的部分，我們兩個合作在一起的時候，有一個很特別的感覺。已經有幾首歌了，我從我自己生活中出發，最特別的是，這是一張台語的爵士專輯，還有很多我自己經歷過的，我發生過車禍，我寫了一首歌，我覺得生命很可貴，所以要把握當下"

蕭閎仁希望他的音樂能啟發他人並帶給大家歡樂。

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