Idol Prejudice and How Hebe Surprised Us All

Instead of a popular dance pop album that might have been influenced by electropop or something commercial like R&B or even rock, Hebe came up with an album that most resembles the Taiwan indie folk scene. Instead of cashing in on the pop market (and her popularity in S.H.E) and following the footsteps of Taiwanese pop divas Jolin Tsai and Elva Hsiao, Hebe moved towards the Cheer Chens of the music world.

She “wrote a musical letter to herself,” addressing herself, making her album a lot more introspective and mature — with songs such as the above, It’s OK to Be Lonely (寂寞寂寞就好) — than anything else she had ever done previously with her best pals on S.H.E — because they are truly friends.

Despite the critical success of Hebe’s debut — To Hebe became one of the best releases of 2010 in Taiwan — she still found time to promote S.H.E’s 10th album, SHERO, and celebrate their 10th anniversary this year.

Fluffy pastel shoulders and all.

And as the girls celebrate ten years of being together, with Ella moving towards acting in television dramas [1] and Selina recuperating after the tragic on-set explosions [1], Hebe released her second album titled My Love, which continues her flirtation with Taiwanese indie folk. Fans (old and new) are already accustomed to her sound and image as a solo artist, but she still teaches us something:

To never judge a book by its cover.

Just check out her singles for My Love [MV], Give Me a Better Rival [MV], and her latest, Angel Devil (魔鬼中的天使).

Have you ever misjudged an artist that has ended up surprising you?

amy

YAM Magazine editor, photographer, blogger, translator and part-time web designer. Film junkie, music junkie… and lately series (a.k.a. TV) junkie.

7 Responses

  1. ghost says:

    You can be so judgmental sometimes.

    If Ella is the personality, Selina is the cute one, Hebe has to be obviously the talented one. jk jk jk

    • amy says:

      @ghost, internal rivalry rumors begin!!!

      Joking aside, I think part of the appeal of S.H.E is that they do seem to get along… sincerely. The fact that… was it Ella’s mom (?) that donated skin for Selina’s skin surgery after the accident.

      You know that when Asian families get involved, that things are serious. LOL

      Actions speak louder than words.

      In the topic of Hebe, it’s interesting to see that her thing is mellow and sad acoustic pop. Suits the scene fine. I think no one really expect her album to be that different.

  2. Love S.H.E says:

    I LOVE S.H.E, I follow them since forever and I can tell that these girls, or better said, woman have a true friendship.

  1. December 7, 2011

    […] I wasn’t/still not a big fan of S.H.E but I gotta admit I’ve warmed up to them, and I guess that comes from my liking of Hebe’s solo albums, which I gotta admit surprised me a lot more. […]

  2. November 14, 2013

    […] assimilated. This is why it’s taken me nearly two years to talk about Hebe’s debut and how she’s surprised us all. Springing from Taiwanese pop girl trio S.H.E., it was a little bit hard to think about what Hebe […]

  3. July 7, 2016

    […] Tien [the unlikely breakthrough] has a new album coming out, titled Day by Day (日常), that will be available on July […]

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