Taiwanese Music: Eve Ai

A series where I write on note about Taiwanese artists I've introduced on the radio.
Eve Ai

She is a female singer-songwriter.
I find her versatility, being able to sing both soulful vocals and delicate ballads, to be very charming. Since the first song I heard by her was a ballad, my first impression was that she had a delicate feel, but when I listened to her other songs, I found them to be very soulful and dramatic, making her an artist who has betrayed my expectations in a good way. She masters a wide range of genres, including pop, R&B, and jazz-style songs.

"Forever Young"
Included on the 2018 album "Vertical Alive, Horizontal Nostalgia".
The way her vocals ride over the flowing, beautiful piano melody makes me think of aerial performances, like the beautiful fabric hanging from above that you see in a circus or on stage, with performers doing trapeze-like acts. It's beautiful, supple, and feels like dancing in the air; it's incredibly lovely and comforting.
The music video is also romantic. Getting older, yet still being together, and loving someone... The lyrics are also wonderful, so I've taken the liberty of thinking, wouldn't it be great to play this at weddings in Japan too?

"One Whole Night"
A song also included on the album "Vertical Alive, Horizontal Nostalgia".
Compared to "Forever Young" mentioned earlier, the sound has more of an R&B feel and is cool. The music video also has a mature atmosphere, and every cut has a nighttime vibe, making the song even more appealing. Both the delicacy of the high notes and the resonance of the low notes are wonderful; I never get tired of listening to it, and I am repeatedly impressed by her vocal skill and sense of rhythm, which are just cool.

"Bad Check"
Included on the 2016 album "Talk".
It's bluesy, and the slight vocal inflections are nice. I think it's amazing how it manages to be passionate without ever feeling old-fashioned, settling into a cool sound. I like the contrast between the stillness and motion in the song, or the gap between the restrained feel of the verse and the way she belts it out in the chorus. But even the chorus isn't a "look how good I am" kind of belting; it fits the atmosphere of the song perfectly, which I think is wonderful.

Eve Ai got her start as a singer by winning the Taiwanese audition program "Super Idol 5". In 2017, she won the Best Mandarin Female Singer award at the 28th Golden Melody Awards. It seems that besides singing herself, she also provides lyrics for other artists.

And, she is starring in and performing the theme song for a movie being released this February, and that song has been released on her YouTube channel.

"The Person I Am" (Theme song for the movie "I Missed You")
It seems to be a movie about a woman who isn't very good at socializing, but from the feel of the song, I think it has a bit of a bittersweet quality. By the way, it seems a new album will also be released around the same time. I'm looking forward to it.

Eve Ai's music is also available on Spotify.
Please be sure to check it out.