Purpose of this Blog + My History with Terry Lin's Songs

I have been a long-time Terry Lin 林志炫 fan, although not as long as some people, as I am still relatively young. Recently, I've been obsessed with his voice again and have spent a good chunk of time researching and listening to songs.

I noticed that some non-Asian fans need help appreciating the lyrics or knowing more about him.

Although I cannot read Chinese - being a Taiwanese who moved to New Zealand at a young age, I can still understand spoken Mandarin. Coupled with ChatGPT's quite fluid translation, I strive to make Terry Lin's songs and information more accessible to fans who cannot understand Chinese. 

As for my history and why I'm a big fan of his: 

Terry Lin is the only 'idol' singer I love, and I'm not one to dote on celebrities. I would love you to listen to and appreciate his music because it holds a very, very special place in my heart. 

My parents introduced me to him when I was very young; I even remember singing his songs when I walked home from primary school - when I was around 7-8. My favourite lyrics to sing were from his song 散了吧; the line translated roughly as "streetlamps all light up, one after another". It's very poetic. 

We listened to his album "OneTAKE (2010)" on every road trip. My most vivid memory was being in Dunedin (when I was in year 4 - we went to the South Island in New Zealand) and going to the bathroom at the University of Otago - my mother claimed she listened to 如果不是因為妳. That song is now known as the "Dunedin poop song" in my family, but in reality, it's just an inside joke, and I love that song to death. It was the only song I could "sing" (although I got the lyrics all wrong). 

 For example, when I listen to 浮誇, I am constantly reminded of arriving in Rotorua, maybe to the Luge place - and now I have a new appreciation for the lyrics as they reflect Terry's singing career and mindset. 散了吧 is the last song on OneTAKE (2010) and is another song that often plays when we arrive at the destination. 蒙娜麗莎的眼淚 is also so romantic, but in OneTAKE (2010), he made the arrangement Spanish and upbeat. It's still a super famous song, and the album version is so dreamy and silky.

 Personally, I love the songs 浮誇, 你的樣子, 殘缺 (which you can only find on YouTube) and Miss Mama for the lyrics and melody, and of course, his most famous 單身情歌. However, I didn't realise that one was his most famous until I looked it up myself. It was surreal seeing the video for 殘缺 after only listening to his voice and seeing him on the album cover for years. I couldn't even believe he was si nging. I can go into every song in detail, but that's the purpose of this blog going forward. 

Only recently did I discover that some of the songs in OneTAKE (2010) were from the 2004 Shanghai concert - before I was even born. Watching the video teared me up - associating a familiar sound with a video was so special. I cannot even be jealous since I didn't exist back then...!

When I was young, my mother told me, "You cannot hear Terry Lin's breath when he sings", and that "although he looks ordinary, he sings very well". It was a passing comment in my youth, but now that I appreciate his music myself, I understand what she means. When you listen to him sing, you rarely hear him breathe (he still does in some of them). He has excellent breath control. Teresa Teng was another singer who could achieve the cessation of breath sounds. In addition, although he initially appears quite average, he becomes very handsome when he sings due to his voice - but personally, I love his bookish looks. Funny enough, my mother's favourite singer is actually Jacky Cheung, not Terry Lin. 

Now that I can use translation and my knowledge of Chinese to understand the lyrics of the songs he sings, I realised I misheard many songs as a kid, but no matter. I also discovered that a lot of songs were covers, including a very obscure Albanian song: Sjam ai lypes sjam ai mbret, which was the melodic basis to Terry's hit piece 單身情歌, and also Comme Toi, which was for 散了吧. I've recently discovered many others he covered, which I will also detail in my posts. But he is called "the original song killer" because he makes covers that surpass the quality of the original. 

 His voice is honestly the best voice I'll ever hear in my life. I don't know how to describe how clear and pure it is. It's soothing but powerful, and he clearly has a lot of control over his voice, using it deliberately and is capable of mixing his falsetto tone so you cannot distinguish his "real voice" from his "fake voice" when he transitions. His vocal range is also impressive; although he can sing high, his voice is still distinctively manly - unlike many male singers who can sing high. However, I do not claim to be an expert in singing or techniques - if you want to read more - many Chinese blogs go in-depth about techniques. 

I have also noticed that his vocal quality has not deteriorated with age, unlike some other singers, and he is 57 years old now. Recently, he has been making his voice thicker and utilising his lower range more. However, he is still very capable of singing in his angelic high range; in fact, he is perfecting his singing quality by widening his vocals. I believe that in 2008, he had surgery to clear his sinuses (done without anaesthetics because if the doctor did something wrong, he would lose his ability to sing) and that helped him achieve more resonance, which can be heard in his album 擦聲而過Ⅱ. 

Before that, he had a slight nasal sound to his singing, although I only noticed now after careful listening and had always thought his voice was quite fine. If you watch some interviews, you will hear he has nasal congestion in most of them, but it all seems to melt away once he sings. His enunciation of words is also very pronounced and accurate, and in recent years I think his pronunciation has become less "Taiwanese" and more mainland Chinese in flavour, but that may be me overthinking it. It may also be him trying to pronounce words even more properly and with rhythm. I prefer his old gentle tone, but his singing is still incredible. 

Terry Lin truly is a top professional singer; in addition, he favours recording everything in one go (OneTAKE concept) and using analogue methods of recording (not midi). Not only is his vocal technique impeccable, but he also can convey so much emotion through only his voice. However, some have complained about how accurate he is and think he lacks emotion - calling him a "singing machine", but I think otherwise. Some may disagree, but that is fine. If you watch some of his performances, he doesn't move around too much but relies on his voice - although he sometimes moves to create a stage presence. Some people have called his voice "old school" due to his use of vibrato, but that is the singing style back when he debuted - this is something that he can utilise well and in certain situations. It is also highly controlled, and I can hear how evenly it modulates when I slow down the songs.

His personality is also humble and gentle, and when I watched his interviews, I was blown away by his dedication to looking after himself and persistence in perfecting his art. He is nearing 60 years old now but still looks remarkably young, and his vocal quality has remained strong like many other aging singers - this is because he values sleep to look after his voice and lives an ascetic lifestyle. A music teacher discovered his talent in university, and visiting the doctor made him realise he could resonate his voice in his other sinus cavities. 

In addition, he talked about having to give up on music back when he was young and in a duo called "Ukelele", because of family issues. He thinks that family and health are like balls that will never rebound if you give up on them and instead will shatter. Not only that, he also worked for his family business (printing company) when he was young while having a singing career on the side (Terry says this is why he weirdly holds his microphone with his right hand - to hide the ink stain on his fingers). His father didn't think singing would be a stable option, but one day, his father's printing place burnt down in a fire. After rebuilding, his father allowed him to spend more time singing because his father realised that even a job as stable as printing wasn't so durable after all. I also saw he has a great love for his mother and was filled with emotion when discussing her passing, so overall, his character is attractive and filial as well. 

His normal talking voice is also soft and mellow, which is quite surprising in contrast to his singing voice. Also, his speech pattern is very comforting to me, and his voice is like a familiar friend. I'm not sure why, but perhaps it stems from my listening to his voice since childhood. He also uses very cute embolisms and pauses such as "eh", "nih", "yah", and "lou", which all sound very distinctively Taiwanese - and it makes me glad to hear them. 

An interesting, fun fact I discovered was that he didn't need glasses but wore them to modify the contours of his face. Overall, I think of him as a very respectable singer that needs more recognition. 

Terry Lin is the only person I want to see in a live concert, but I doubt I will have a chance in my lifetime to see him on the stage. That is the tragedy of liking a singer who is far older than you - as said by my mother. I will never stop being a fan in the future and will be very distressed when he eventually retires or passes away. Hopefully, he keeps singing until he is old. I am delighted that he is also Taiwanese, and I could understand the lyrics of his songs.