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(英文) Anita Mui

(英文) Anita Mui

Anita Mui (1963-2003)
Posted by SpyMonkey at 7:14 AM
Thursday, January 15, 2009
http://spymonkeyspov.blogspot.com/2009/01/anita-mui-1963-2003.html

Not too many entertainers from Hong Kong captured my attention like Anita did. When Anita won the singing contest that jump started her to stardom in 1982, I had already immigrated to Canada. I never got to follow her career locally. The only opportunity that I learnt about Anita was mainly from the songs she sang, from movies she participated in or occasional gossip columns in newspapers from Hong Kong. In the 80s, there was no internet. Movies, CDs and entertainment news from Hong Kong always arrived in Canada at least two, three weeks late. And yet, Anita still stood out as an unusual talent.

Throughout the 80s and 90s, I listened to Anita's songs off and on. I thought her voice was good, but I always reserved my loyalty to U.S. entertainers like Madonna, Whitney Houston who always grabbed my attention before Anita did. I was actually more impressed by a few screen performances that Anita made in a handful of Hong Kong movies. In "Rouge" (my audio clip is the title song Anita sings for the movie), she played a ghost looking for her lover, in "Kawashima Yoshiko" she played the legendary Japanese spy who allegedly infiltrated China in WWII. In comic book-like "Heroic Trio", she played a detective's wife during the day, and a super-hero at night. These three movies showcased Anita's acting dynamics. She can be strong, she can be fragile; she can be plain, she can be glamorous. She could play any character and still demanded the same attention from her audience.

When I heard of her untimely death in 2003, I was shocked at first, and then deeply saddened. The only thought that came across my mind was...."how many songs Anita hasn't sung, how many good movie roles Anita hasn't performed." The first thing I did... I went out to search for the many Anita's songs that I had missed. I looked all over CD shops in Toronto. Surprised to realized that only approximately twenty to thirty of her most popular songs were available. Quite a few of her other CDs were out of print. A few of her original CDs I found on eBay, the prices went up to as high as US$2,000! Fortunately also thanks to the internet, by now I have collected almost her entire repertoire, approximately 300 songs Anita sang in her career. Many of those I never heard and are now very hard to find.

Unlike any other pop singers from the Cantopop genre, Anita sings her love songs like she actually lived those stories in the lyrics. Her passion is contagious. Her technique is incomparable. Her voice is strong and sultry, and yet extremely feminine and fragile. How many times did I enjoyed the way she sang a word with that extra little "twist" in her voice that she made it her unique style? Or how many times was I surprised by the lightness that she ended a phrase or a note? That fragility is what made Anita more powerful than other singers of the same genre. Every love song Anita sings is like a mini movie. She interprets the music like an actress playing a role. Simply amazing!

I still spend many nights listening to Anita singing through my headsets at home. She has totally conquered a tough critic like me over and over again. I dare say the world wouldn't have been the same without Anita Mui. She set a new standard in performance in the entertainment industry in Hong Kong, but in a selfish protective way, I don't really wish to see another performer who can replace Anita. I doubt if I ever will.

Miss you Anita.

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有中文译文吗,劳驾谁能翻译一下。

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thank you very much !

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I like to read that kind of article. Tks!

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寫得好!!絕對同意~~
可惜我開始留意梅梅時已經太遲了

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