Vivian Hsu - Listen to me first (CD)

Vivian Hsu / Listen to me first

Vivian Hsu / Listen to me first

An all-round talent in the Chinese music scene

VIVIAN HSU

2024 concept album

"Listen to me first."

Lyrics writing, music concept coordination

The first hit song quickly topped the digital charts

Golden song producers Chen Jianwei, Chen Junhao, hit song maker JerryC, and popular golden song producer You Zhenghao

Together we create a gentle yet explosive music world

1. Don’t love yourself the way you are now ////Negative energy bursts ////

2. The birthday wish I made has never come true ////Awakening of consciousness ////

3. Listen to me first /////Face the attack head-on ////

Since the outbreak began, I have had more time to think during quarantine.

What is "myself"? Not what? What do you want to say, what do you like, what do you dislike?

In the process of listening to your inner voice, reshape yourself into the one you love most

"Listen to me first" is a journey of dialogue with yourself

Physical album design concept:

The product is packaged in a hard hardcover box with the concept of "listen to me first", as if it is a box that collects one's inner thoughts, putting the process of talking to oneself into the box. There are many clever ideas hidden in it for fans to interact with. Each song is designed as a different abstract graphic symbol. Reading the lyrics through the mask will produce different visual experiences, corresponding to the various voices in the heart!

Album creation concept:

The passion of all-round talent Vivian Hsu for music comes from her feelings about life and her firm belief. She wants to create something worthy of herself and sing the most heartfelt tunes. No matter what the theme or style, she always hopes to bring positive energy, hope and warmth to everyone. Vivian has experienced 24, 14, and 7 days of quarantine during the epidemic. She has had many more conversations with herself. She forgot how long it has been since she asked herself "Are you okay?" Facing herself and firmly saying to herself "Listen to me first", listening to the voice of her heart, and slowly finding the most comfortable and relaxed way to get along with herself are all important abilities to rediscover herself. Before and after the epidemic, I felt that the world has been locked up for a long time. Many people and things have changed. When the world starts moving again, we may be full of uncertainty about ourselves and the future. Not everyone can maintain positive energy every day, and bad emotions also need an outlet. Vivian is used to expressing her feelings in words, so she came up with the idea of ​​making a new album during the epidemic. The accumulation of emotions bit by bit, "talking to yourself" and "accompanying yourself and the people you love" are the main themes of the album's development. The album "Hear Me Finish First" includes "I Don't Love My Current Appearance", "The Birthday Wish I Made Has Never Come True", "Hear Me Finish First", and "I'm the Least Deserving of You in the World". After the above four song titles that seem to be full of negative energy, it returns to "Hey, Are You Okay" to express concern for oneself and others; "Crow" is a song written for his brother-in-law who passed away in an accident. His nickname "Crow" is used as the song title, and a Hokkien catchphrase he often used to encourage people around him, "Wu Chong Na Hui Da Han", is written into the song to commemorate his love for his family and his fearless spirit towards life. The music styles of these 6 songs range from lyrical to punk rock, jazz rock, folk, British rock, etc. Each song is the most unique existence that protects each other.

Vivian has released five digital singles, including "VIVILAND", "You Who Count Stars", "Hi (feat. Shenghao)", "Wings", and "Wings (Japanese)", during the epidemic in the past two years, which are included in the album "Listen to Me First". The whole album contains 11 songs. In addition to the heartwarming theme song "You Who Count Stars" for the TV series "2049", Vivian has written a total of 10 lyrics. The album includes the theme song "VIVILAND" written to commemorate her first solo concert at the Taipei Arena, the long-lost male-female duet ballad "Hi" co-written with Mr. Mi's lead singer Shenghao, "Wings" dedicated to her fans as her first song, and "Wings" with Chinese and Japanese lyrics written by Shenghao and her Japanese friend Kiroro's lead singer Chiharu Tamashiro. The entire album is between darkness and light, showing the musical energy of Vivian, which can dramatically release negative energy, or gently soothe all fragility.

01. Listen to me first It's My Turn

Lyricist: Vivian Hsu Composer: Roger Yo/NESE/Ariel Lim

Producer｜Roger Yo

The style of the song is a fusion of rock and classical music, and the overall mood is full of darkness and catharsis. It is a song with great personality and attitude. In addition to the exhilarating rock feeling of the arrangement, there are many detailed sound effects made by strings, and some sections are designed for piano and guitar battles, making the whole song more rich and interesting. The album begins with a rock tune that resembles a Broadway musical, and it uses the most dramatic way to make people unconsciously show their existence. Please really open your ears and listen to what you have to say! The lyrics convey that people who face emotions like the plot of a melodrama movie may remain calm on the surface, but they are shouting in their minds thousands of times, whether our efforts are "should" or "deserve it", which is often an emotional tug and choice in a moment, so just say to yourself bravely and firmly: "Listen to me first", and listen carefully to your own feelings.

02. I am the least worthy of you in the whole world For You ＿with CHENYO

Lyricist｜Vivian Hsu／Volcano Yu Composer｜Volcano Yu／Hui Guanhao Hao Producer｜JerryC

With a refreshing EMO folk style, Vivian sang with the strongest vocal group Chenyou for the first time, using the method of "three people playing one role" (this role is the unrequited love personality) to show the plot and mood levels of unrequited love in a round-robin and chorus way; in the arrangement, the guitar is used as the main musical line to guide the hearing, making the listeners fall into an endless atmosphere of longing in the middle of the night, unable to extricate themselves, unable to say what they want to ask, and can only constantly deny themselves to prevent the urge to confess. Even if you hide your love for someone from them, you still guard them carefully by their side. This is the highest level of unrequited love!

03. I don’t like myself right now. Letting Go

Lyricist｜Vivian Hsu Composer｜Ray Jiang Producer｜Jacky Chen

The lyrical style of the song uses large-scale string music to present the depth of life's emotions. The lyrics are from Vivian's song "Other People's", the theme song of the billion-viewed movie "Little Big Women". She once again uses song to catch every heart that doesn't love itself. She wrote this song with unique words and observations, from the perspective of the characters in the TV series "Glamorous Taxi", and invited Chen Jianwei, the producer of the Golden Melody Award for Best Taiwanese Album, who is also from Chiayi, to produce it. When composing the lyrics of this song, Vivian listened to the melody and put herself into this state and mood. The words she wrote may be full of negative energy and feelings, but it also unexpectedly made music an outlet for emotions. The emotions of this song are richly layered, from a mature and restrained narrative to a heart-wrenching and deep regret. In order to maintain a somewhat classical temperament in the production, the speed between paragraphs is constantly changing, so Vivian also added more layers and flexibility when singing to express the song more deeply. Vivian wrote this "love song" for everyone's "inner self" to express that in this post-epidemic era, people are facing various negative energies that are gradually accumulating in their hearts. The most urgent thing they need to do is to ask themselves why they "don't love themselves the way they are now" and find release for their hearts so that they can breathe well and love themselves well.

04. Dear Mr. Crow

Lyricist｜Vivian Hsu／Shawn Shangrong／JerryC／Lance Lin Composer｜Vivian Hsu／Shawn Shangrong／JerryC／Lance Lin Producer｜JerryC／Shawn Shangrong

This song, which means a lot to Vivian, conveys the feeling of family love with its British rock style. The inspiration for the song came from the interaction between her and her son Du Teng in music creation, which gave her the idea of ​​organizing these fragments of inspiration into a song. She shared these with her music friend Shawn Shangrong, who took a blank chord score and asked Du Teng to draw circles for him, and then used the chords drawn by Du Teng as much as possible to complete the prototype of the song. During the process, Vivian encountered the accidental death of her beloved brother-in-law "Crow Sang". She incorporated the song into her thoughts about her brother-in-law, as well as the Taiwanese catchphrase "Wu Chong Na Hui Da Han" that he often used to encourage those around him when facing various setbacks or difficulties during his growth, in order to commemorate his love for his family and his fearless spirit in life. Crows represent different meanings in different places. The lyrics contain the imagery of crows in dreams. It means to move forward with your dreams in mind, and there is no need to be afraid! Regardless of whether you are a child, teenager, adult, or starting a family, we hope that this song can accompany you through the pain of growing up and can also be transformed into motivation for continuous growth and progress!

05. Birthday Wishes Never Come True

Lyricist｜Vivian Hsu Composer｜Andrew Chen Producer｜JerryC

This song is the most explosive EMO rock style in the whole album. When you think she can only express emotions, she gives you crazy rock and roll and sings with attitude! When everyone is stuck in the musical stratosphere with similar feelings, she uses music to stimulate the sensory extremities and fight off the numbness! This DEMO was composed by the famous musician Xiao An. During the song selection meeting, Vivian fell in love with the song at first sight. It completely aroused her inner rock soul, and her mind was quickly filled with the lyrics she wanted to sing. Producer JerryC specially designed the arrangement for Vivian's rock soul. Compared with the light and lyrical style that everyone is familiar with, everyone can feel Vivian's emo singing style, "singing" in a very dramatic tone in a very rock collision field. As a lyricist, she wrote about her observations and metaphors on human emotions, the internet world, AI impact, communication, manipulation, etc.; as an actor, she played a musical role, and as a singer, she sang out her attitude towards music. The emotion that this song wants to convey most is that "oneself" does not need to use other people's "double standards" to force oneself to become or do something. Even if the birthday wish made has never been fulfilled, as long as one likes it, one should continue to make wishes and face the world with a "proud ponytail".

06. Hey, how are you? Hey, u ok?

Lyricist｜Vivian Hsu／Oyster Mumu／Ludan Composer｜Ooi Teng Fong／Ludan／Vanz／Dolphin Liu Producer｜Roger Yo

The cheerful light rock style fits Vivian's optimistic and humorous personality very well. The relaxing tune makes people feel cheerful. After struggling with a series of negative and positive energies in their hearts, ask yourself, "Hey, are you okay?" Take care of your own mood, and ask more people around you, pass on the happy rhythm, and let this good mood spread like ripples, one by one, bringing hope to everyone!

When writing the lyrics, I specifically started each chorus with "I'm here" to emphasize that no matter whether you are in a good or bad mood, whether you want to be alone or be willful together, I am here to accompany you; the arrangement is based on electric guitar phrases, and the chorus is combined with bright synthesizers, which are simple and direct, and matched with the brisk drum rhythm, it neatly conveys the energy and positivity of the song. The vocal interpretation also perfectly matches the light and bright arrangement, and has a rock feel full of personality, perfectly presenting the original intention of making this song. I also hope that this song can accompany everyone when they are unlucky and make them feel better!

07. VIVILAND

Lyricist｜Vivian Hsu／Sheng Hao Wu Composer｜Diiton／A1J／JerryC Producer｜Howe Chen／JerryC

This is a light dance music in the style of PBR&B (alternative rhythm and blues), with lyrics written by Vivian herself. She also invited her good friend Wu Shenghao, the lead singer of the Golden Melody Band Mr. Mi, to co-write the lyrics. The song is named after the concert "VIVILAND". It is the Land that everyone yearns for most in their hearts. Crying faces and smiling faces are their current states. Here they can be themselves comfortably and always maintain a childlike mentality and appearance. When facing the issues and challenges of various stages of life, they use their acquired efforts, struggles, and steely character to convey full steel and perseverance energy to themselves, their fans, and the world. Golden Melody Award winner Chen Junhao was invited to produce the song, which is PBR&B (alternative rhythm and blues) and incorporates elements of Synthpop and Electro. The mysterious and romantic atmosphere is just in line with the party atmosphere of the concert. The singing style uses a variety of whispering tones, attitudes, cool and handsome voices... and more. This song condenses VIVIAN's musical journey, Vivian's secret code for fans' memories, and seems very Vivian, but it is a cool dance song that belongs to everyone!

08. Hi ＿with MIXER Sheng Hao

Lyricist｜Vivian Hsu／Sheng Hao Wu Composer｜Sheng Hao Wu Producer｜Howe Chen／Sheng Hao Wu

The birth of the song "Hi", a piano-based lyrical style, has been brewing for nearly a year. Vivian, who has always admired Mr. Mi's composition and singing of Shenghao, finally received the DEMO of this song a year later. After listening to it, Vivian had a deeper understanding and feeling of the various aspects of the impact of the epidemic while preparing for the Taipei Arena concert, and she wanted to write lyrics in this direction; because it is a chorus song, the two of them wrote the lyrics separately, and then selected the sentences they wanted together, and finally it became this "Hi" that dialogues and echoes each other, and the lyrics are profound.

If plans cannot be changed, how can we coexist with the great changes in the world in the post-epidemic era? Let’s return to the purest “Hi” when we meet. No matter we are chatting via video thousands of miles apart, or making eye contact through masks face to face, every meeting starts a connection and creates love with this short “Hi”. The various small details in life create a collective love

09. Counting Stars

Lyricist｜B2 Composer｜B2 Producer｜JerryC

The lyrical and heartwarming song "You Who Count Stars" is like a cup of fragrant coffee in the morning or a lullaby at night, conveying a simple sense of happiness that is timeless and profound. After kneading and internalizing all kinds of complex emotions, Vivian interprets this simple melody with a soft and calm voice, singing slowly and embracing every hesitant and hurt heart. The first part of the song is as soothing as the breeze in the morning, while the second part is like soothing you to sleep in the middle of the night, making you feel a simple yet profound sense of happiness. Love is the happiness accumulated in daily life. The "good morning", "good night" and "I love you" in the lyrics are the profound love hidden in ordinary life. Even if there are occasional quarrels and separations, when you look up at the sky full of stars, the restlessness in your heart will calm down, because the love between each other is the brightest star that lights up the heart and drives away loneliness. This song is very suitable for listening at night, add it to your "Goodnight Playlist" and accompany you to sleep!

10. Wings

Lyricist｜Vivian Hsu／Sheng Hao Wu Composer｜Vivian Hsu／Sheng Hao Wu Producer｜JerryC

The inspiration for "Wings" came from the stage of Vivian's first Taipei Arena concert "VIVILAND" on September 3, 2022. Special guest Mr. Mi, lead singer Shenghao, suggested writing a song for the fans, improvised a melody, and even named it "Wings"; this promise was like a small feather of inspiration. Late one night after the concert, Vivian was reading the messages from fans, and her emotions surged and she had a flash of inspiration. She sang with a guitar and recorded the most real feelings with her mobile phone. She composed for the fans for the first time and completed the DEMO of "Wings" by herself!

What Vivian wanted to describe in the lyrics of "Wings" is that perhaps at a certain period of time, one of her songs became the strength to accompany certain people, and the love they gave her supported her along the way and to stand on one stage after another; she and they may not know each other, but they can become each other's strength. This is a very special love. This pair of "wings" is the support from loyal Mi fans to Vivian, allowing her to fly high in her dream without any worries. This pair of "wings" is also Vivian's thanks and encouragement to everyone. If you have a dream, chase it and fly higher and farther with a spirit of steel!

11. Tsubasa

Lyricist｜Chiharu Tamashiro／Vivian Hsu／Sheng Hao Wu Composer｜Vivian Hsu／Sheng Hao Wu Producer｜JerryC

"Wings" is the Japanese version of "Wings". The origin of this version is that Vivian reproduced the classic "black biscuit" look at the Taipei Arena concert, which brought back memories for fans. After that, she reunited with Nan Nan Jian and Tian Shan in Japan after 20 years, which caused a warm response. After being reported by many media, she realized that she was remembered by so many Japanese fans. Because of this touch, Vivian Hsu decided to make more Japanese versions of "Wings" to give to Japanese fans who have not forgotten her, and invited her long-time friend, Chiharu Tamashiro, a member of the Japanese girl group Kiroro, who has composed the original songs of many well-known Chinese songs, and the classic love songs "Later" and "I Love You So Much" covered by Rene Liu, to help write the Japanese lyrics. Because Vivian hopes that the Japanese version of "Wings" can completely maintain the original meaning of the Chinese version, and her Japanese is not that good, so she wants to find a good friend who knows her well to complete this song together. Although the two hadn't seen each other for a long time, they still had a very good understanding of each other. Even though they were separated by Europe and Okinawa, they still overcame the time difference and distance, discussed and communicated through video and phone calls, and completed the work in just 4 days! The love conveyed by the song "Wings" represents all the love in life. Everyone who accompanies Vivian through every stage of her life is her wings. Just like she and Chiharu Tamashiro have had few opportunities to meet over the years because they each have their own family lives, but their concern and feelings for each other have never changed. This is the meaning of "Wings".