HOMEGROWN star JJ Lin will do Singapore proud on National Day eve.
He is reportedly the only Singaporean selected to carry the Olympic torch during the final Beijing leg of the ongoing torch relay. This will kick off the opening ceremony of the Games in China's capital city on 8 Aug. Five other representatives from Singapore, including SingTel CEO Allen Lew, are expected to be involved in earlier legs around China.
JJ, 27, was picked to do the Beijing relay by Olympics sponsor Samsung Electronics. He is a Samsung spokesman here. When asked, the singer-songwriter told The New Paper over the phone yesterday that he feels the pressure to perform during his 400m-run along Chang An Road.
'Of course I feel it (the pressure). It's the first time I'm involved in the Olympics and it's such a mega event, so I must really do my best.
'But whatever happens on the day itself is not something within my own control. I just hope I won't kick any stones.
'And I can't faint halfway through the run. It would be so embarrassing, especially when I'm representing Singapore.'
Earlier, talk had it that JJ turned down singing this year's National Day Song because of the Olympics commitment. But he feels he is now flying the Singapore flag at a higher level.
'This is even more meaningful to me because I'm representing Singapore on the international arena - that's my mission this year. And I'll be telling people (on 8 Aug) that we would be celebrating Singapore's birthday the day after.'
JJ's involvement in the Olympics is not limited to the relay. He said he has also composed a new torch-relay song for Samsung, and his mentor Billy Koh is in the midst of writing the lyrics. The song will be released next month, together with Samsung's new advertising campaign.
JJ said: 'It's a very grand song, but it has a simple melody and is easy to remember. There are already so many Olympic songs being churned out, and I decided to focus on torch-bearing because it's more personal.'
There are hundreds of songs that claim to be written specially for the Olympics, and so many singers vying to get their voices heard, be it for glory or honour.
WHICH SONG?
As of now, it remains a secret which singers will get to perform during the Games' opening ceremony, or which is the official theme song. You could hedge your bets on one of the 24 songs featured in the official Beijing Olympics album, released by Sony BMG in China and Hong Kong.
Solo tunes include Andy Lau's self-penned Everyone Is No 1, Jay Chou's own Qian Shan Wan Shui (literally Thousand Mountains Million Waters) and Wang Lee Hom's One World One Dream. There are also duets and group efforts, such as the Olympics countdown song Welcome To Beijing, which is performed by 100 singers including JJ and fellow Singaporean Stefanie Sun.
Stefanie, 30, is also credited with singing two other songs in the album - Stand Up (with Lee Hom, Jackie Chan and Han Hong) and Light Up Passion, Pass On Dreams (with Lee Hom, Wang Feng and Zhang Liangyin). The petite singer recently performed alongside Jackie, Lee Hom, Wakin Chau and Karen Mok at an Olympics countdown concert held in Hainan island earlier this month.
Meanwhile, Singapore's other Sun - Sun Ho - reportedly recorded an Olympics song together with Chinese singer Sun Nan, entitled The Light. It is the brainchild of famed Hollywood songwriters David Foster and Carole Bayer Sager. Sun, 37, told The New Paper she had performed the Mandarin version of the original Greek-language Olympics anthem during a ceremony held in Beijing in February.
But not every singer is 'welcomed' by the Beijing Olympics council, and there have been several controversies surrounding who gets to sing what.
American-born Coco Lee, for one, was unveiled last November as the voice behind the Olympics song Forever Friends, together with Sun Nan. They recorded the English version, and shot a two-million-yuan ($392,000) music video showcasing the Great Wall of China. Coco was also supposed to do the Mandarin version, but Taiwan's A-mei has reportedly replaced her because she was deemed unco-operative.
The Taiwanese media reported that Coco's managers made several diva-esque demands, such as how she could not work more than 48 hours in Beijing and must be allowed to fly to Hong Kong to rest. In the end, the Olympics council decided to rope in A-mei to record the Mandarin version. A-mei's version is also the one included in the official Olympics album.
SNUBBED
Another snubbed singer is Hong Kong's Joey Yung, who had earlier recorded the Olympics song Together on the Blue Planet with Nicholas Tse. While this song is still included in the Olympics album and she took part in various Olympics-related events, Joey was not picked as a torch-bearer for the Hong Kong leg of the Olympic torch relay earlier this month. Instead, it was singers such as Andy Lau, Eason Chan and Jackie Cheung who did the honours.
Even in as far as South Korea, there was some controversy over K-popster Rain singing for the Olympics. When news first got out early this year, netizens in China questioned if it was appropriate for a South Korean singer to be involved. Later, it was clarified that Rain would only be crooning Samsung Electronics' own Olympic theme song.
Rain's fellow countryman Jang Nara's Olympic contribution was more well-received. Nara, who is mostly based in China, was selected as a flame-bearer during the South Korean leg of the Olympic torch relay last month. She also recorded her own dedication to the Olympics, entitled Our Dream, together with famed Chinese tenor Liao Changyong.
source: http://asianfanatics.net/forum/Carrying-a-torch-talk545358.html
