Compiled by C. ARUNO, ZULKIFLI ABD RAHMAN and R. ARAVINTHAN
RUMOURS of a collaboration between Malaysian singer Gin Lee and veteran Hong Kong singer Jacky Cheung turned out to be true after she released a new song this month, reports Sin Chew Daily.
The 34-year-old Lee released the Cantonese song Let Street Lamps Go To Sleep When The Sun Rises on YouTube on Aug 4, which features Cheung as the second singer.
Teamwork: Lee (left) and Cheung feature in new song.
Cheung, who is known in Hong Kong as the God of Songs, spoke of the four challenges he had to overcome before collaborating with Lee, which included his rule of collaborating only with artistes under the Universal Music Group, as well as being away from Hong Kong most of the time while on tour.
“But due to the pandemic, I’ve remained in Hong Kong. Thirdly, I felt this was a very moving song. Ruo Ning Lin (the songwriter) had excellent lyrics and I had initially asked Eric (the composer and producer) to give it to me.
“(I) did not expect him to give the song to Gin, hence the idea of a collaboration.
“Fourth, Gin herself is a good singer,” Cheung added.
According to Lee, the songs tells of a person taking a break from pursuing his goal to reflect on the beautiful things around him that he has missed.
“I feel this song is suited for people of all ages. It is because when everyone reaches the different stages in life, they will want to stop for a while and examine the path they are taking,” she said.
The song garnered more than 70,000 views on YouTube in the two weeks since its release.
Lee, whose real name is Jeanie Lee, hails from Johor Baru, but is currently based in Hong Kong.
She launched her career in music after gaining popularity in the reality singing competition The Voice 2 in 2010.
She later participated in another popular singing show, The Voice of China Season 4, serving as one of the music coaches on TVB’s Stars Academy.
In 2017, Lee’s live recording concept album Live in the Moment topped the HKRMA sales chart for four consecutive weeks and was certified gold within two months.
> Families holding funerals in the Klang Valley may have difficulty procuring a coffin due to a shortage and many dying from Covid-19, reports Sin Chew Daily.
According to Fairy Park Funeral Services Sdn Bhd director Deng Fu Xing, the shortage started two months ago and forced operators in the industry to “borrow” coffins from those who had extra stock.
“It’s difficult to buy coffins now. Everyone is trying to use (the stock they have in hand) sparingly. It is still OK if someone asks for a simple coffin.
“But if someone wants a better quality one, it will be hard to find,” he added.
Deng explained that due to the Covid-19 standard operating procedure, coffin makers have to limit the number of workers at factories and therefore cannot meet demand.
According to Malaysia Funeral Public Association president Kong Thian Hau, operators in the Klang Valley relied on five major coffin makers from other states, out of which one had to close for an entire month following the announcement of the movement control order in June.
The above articles are compiled from the vernacular newspapers (Bahasa Malaysia, Chinese and Tamil dailies). As such, stories are grouped according to the respective language/medium. Where a paragraph begins with a >, it denotes a separate news item.