Jolin Tsai’s popularity is inversely proportional to the size of the mini-shorts she wears on the sleeve of Dancing Diva. At the tender age of 18, this Taipei-born singer broke into the entertainment industry, and after eight years of catchy chart toppers (and fine-looking photos), Tsai, the “Teenage Boy Killer”, has won a strong fan base throughout Asia – and the US. Dancing Diva, released in May, is her first album with EMI/Capitol Music, and at first listen something of a letdown. The album’s tagline – “Trend setting! 39 perfect mins!” – is a wild exaggeration. In fact, this CD offers ten, less than perfect tracks of hip hop, R&B, dance and saccharine pop that set no new trends, except, perhaps for pastel-blue pants. That said, all ten cuts are so easy on the ear that 39 minutes seems almost too brief. Take “Dancing Diva”; this slick dance number, with its Middle-Eastern influence, is only three minutes long, barely enough time to warm up the dance floor. Duration aside, other tracks offer rock fused with break beats, “Mr. Q”; funk, fun and rap, “Nice Guy”; or classic Mando-pop, with violin and emotional choruses, “The Finale”.
EMI Capitol Music

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Chief editor: Steven Crane
July 2006 issue