http://www.mi2n.com/press.php3?press_nb=179758
In 2014, MusicDish*China (独立小炒) featured over 150 songs from Western indie musicians to Chinese music platform Ximalaya since July as part of its Song Blast promotional service. Covering genres from pop, R&B, jazz, electronic and rock, many songs have generated thousands of plays on the Chinese platform, with the most listened surpassing 30,000. So what appeals to Chinese online listeners?
Pop and EDM Find Favor With Chinese Online Fans
We listed our top ten most played songs on Ximalaya below. Without a doubt, one thing they share in common is that all ten of them are enjoyable to the ears --- Chinese ears to be precise. One of the trends we have discovered is that Chinese indie listeners on Ximalaya buy more into pop and electronic music, with pop being most popular. Another pattern that drew our attention is that all of our top fours have frighteningly beautiful, melodic, yet powerful female vocals. We hope our top ten songs can give a glimpse into the style of Western acts appealing to online Chinese fans this year. So here we go:
1. "Close Your Eyes" by Roxanna
Plays: 31,427
Genre: pop, jazz
Canadian music sensation Roxanna was born in wartime Iran. Her music always has an amazing power to heal broken hearts and inspire lost souls. Resounding melody, emotional lyrics, powerful voice, and a strong accompaniment of string orchestration all together make it the most touching song. This is why Close Your Eyes managed to touch our hearts and became our top one in the list of most played songs in 2014.
2. "Run" by Marina V
Plays: 19,175
Genre: pop
Marina V has this "hauntingly beautiful voice" (LA Times) that could intoxicate us. Run is a melodic and emotional pop song that would catch your ears very easily, and probably would linger in your head for days to come. As the songwriter and producer for her own music, Marina V always integrates her childhood experiences in Russia and teenage life in America into her songs. This song won her LA Music Critic Award in 2013.
3. "Falling 4 U" by Devyn Rose
Plays: 12,673
Genre: R&B, electronic
Talented musician Devyn Rose has been producing R&B, hip-pop and remixing tapes with her unique style that combines different music genres together. This Falling 4 U is sexy, edgy, yet hits you with an attitude. Beautiful and clean melody with a strong beat-driven rhythm all together make this song a number three on our most played songs list in 2014.
4. "Tomorrow" by We Are Catalyst
Plays: 10,716
Genre: rock, electronic
Heavy metal, alternative rock and electronic, "Tomorrow" is like a standard millennial type of thing. Leading vocal has a pure and simple female voice, which adds a sense of innocence to this dark, hopeless world that was created in the song.
5. "Stuck in My Head" by Sam Ebako
Plays: 10,080
Genre: EDM
After four stunning, female voices taking over the top four spots in our chart, finally we are here with some strong, male vocal expression. Sam Ebako is a Cameroon-born singer and songwriter. Stuck in My Head actually came out after his horrible breakup with his ex-girlfriend. The sad and grieved lyrics make a sharp contrast with the strong beats and hasty rhythm; and the electronic effects added to the vocal make this song very trendy and clubby.
6. "Boom" by Lina Fouro(L4O)
Plays: 9,215
Genre: pop, electronic
L4o has always been popular among teenage girls. Her music is popping, chic and very straightforward. Catchy melodies with candid lyrics, Boom allows us to hear this simple, and maybe a little bit shy teenage girl expressing her love for her high school crush. The electronic effects and sexy vocal voice save this song from being plain, boring and too sweet.
7. "Somewhere" by Hashback Harnish
Plays: 7,343
Genre: electronic, experimental
Smoky, mysterious, and edgy. Hashback Harnish makes us enter this post-midnight world that only exists in our deep imaginations…
8. "Toxic Kisses" by SweetTooth
Plays: 6,603
Genre: rock/heavy metal
Heavy metal and electronic usually do not go along, yet Sweet Tooth surprises us by making these two comfortably compatible with each other. Toxic Kisses creates this dashingly frantic sense that would give you goose bumps from the first note.
9. "Sing Along, Sing Along" by Cookie Robinowitz
Plays: 5,803
Genre: pop
Cookie Robinowitz has successfully made this song pop-y and captivating that this song is simply enjoyable. The melody is so catchy that you would probably be singing along together right after verse one, just as the title has suggested.
10. "With You" by FM Pilots
Plays: 5,453
Genre: pop-alternative
FM Pilots is a pop-alternative band from Oklahoma. This song With You is frank, simple and clean-cut. The lead vocal has a very attractive voice, and the melody is well written and catchy. All of these make this song enjoyable and fun to listen.
MusicDish*China Song Blast
Since July 2014, MusicDish*China Song Blast service has been promoting Western acts on its branded channels on Chinese streaming platforms such as Ximalaya, Lizhi.fm and YuYin.fm as well as Chinese social sites such as Weibo, Douban, Huaban and Diandian
http://www.musicdish.com/china/music/singlepromo.php3
What Is Ximalaya?
As one of the major music platform in China, Ximalaya (ximalaya.com) is an online podcast platform and music player with mostly user-generated content. According to BaiduApp (a Chinese digital distribution platform for mobile apps, like GooglePlay and Android Market), more than 14 million people have downloaded Ximalaya app to their mobile devices since its launch in 2012.
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