Joanna Wang - Ingenue

Time to talk about music. Made a new discovery when I came across this Joanna Wang. Joanna Wang (王若琳) is a Taiwanese singer/songwriter, daughter of famous Taiwanese music producer Ji-ping "Bing" Wang (王治平). Her debut album, Start From Here, was released in January 2008 as a double-disc set, one in English and the other in Chinese. She is 19 now and was brought up in the U.S.A. She moved back to Taipei when she was 15. She performs regularly in the Taipe Riverside Cafe. Fans have likened her voice to Sarah Vaughn, Norah Jones, Diane Schuur and Teena Marie.

I love her voice, smoky, earthy, and she is a composer as well, contributing 3 songs on the album. However she has been giving interviews saying the debut album was a "product" and not a true reflection of her vision for her music. I think there were some heavy handed production decisions, especially in doing the covers of True and New York State Of Mind - she is much better than that.

Joanna: " I don't really admit that the "debut" was my work because a lot of it was from purposes that were non-musical. also the songs i was forced to sing, in my opinion, are pretty horrible. call me ungrateful, but i'm a jerk. thus concludes my angsty teenage babble..."

I look forward to her second album, which is due out in December, which should showcase more her talents. Still, the debut album is pretty impressive already. I have listed 5 of her songs on the imeem jukebox on the left.

Get her album, and I am sure her subsequent albums will be even better.