01. ～水晶莲～intro
02. 凤凰
03. 以爱相宜
04. Love Song
05. lan lan
06. 长大
07. 我回来了
08. 孤独的天份
09. 经过南青山
10. 窗外
11. BABY BABY
12. Love Song～きっともう一度～

alan ~ The Beginning of LOVE

alan, born in the pure holy ground of Beauty Valley, with a stunning appearance as if she had been kissed by God, and an angelic voice bestowed by Nature. She could have been guaranteed admission to the Sichuan Conservatory of Music with her excellent Erhu skills. Instead, owing to her innate stubbornness and a longing for the vast world, she entered the People's Liberation Army Academy of Arts in Beijing. Since then alan, who had just begun to show her talents, became a sight that attracted crowds of students from other schools whenever exam periods started. In 2006, this petite yet proud girl emerged from hundreds of candidates, and became the first Chinese singer under the Avex Japan. Despite her family's objections, the language barriers and the strangeness of a foreign land, she remained undeterred.

After a mere three months in Japan, alan released her debut single Ashita e no Sanka. In the four years that followed, she released 13 singles, two Japanese albums and a Chinese album, beating Faye Wang's record in the Oricon charts. alan also quickly gained popularity in China after singing the theme songs for both parts of the film Red Cliff. This is alan. A girl who never stopped singing about the nature, piece and love. A girl whose secret ambition is to surmount the divides of ethnicity, nationality, race and religion with her voice.

alan ~ In Search of LOVE

Starting a fresh page of her life and her career, alan chose the young but vibrant entertainment company Yue Hua as her companion. What kind of discoveries will this new burst of energy make in its explorations on the road of music? While the rest of the music industry is chasing waves of commercial interest and picking the seashells on the beach, alan is diving into the ocean of music in search of its original impetus - LOVE. Her longings for home, her concerns for family and friends, and her gratitude for fans across the sea during her 4 years in Japan all came together to form the theme for alan's first album since her return.

In accordance to alan's wishes, Yue Hua spent almost an entire year to prepare this comeback album. alan herself, gathering her 4 years of musical energy, oversaw the planning and production of the album. She invested painstaking efforts in each and every aspect of her work, and ensured that her love was incorporated till the end.

Initially, alan wasn't familiar with anyone in China's music industry, so Yue Hua invited many musicians and made extensive contacts. Apart from well-known names like Yuan Weiren, lyricist Vincent Fang, JJ Lin, Wang Yajun, Xu Peizhe, Qu Shicong etc, alan also values her cooperations with emerging talents in the music industry. Without any fixed preconceptions and prerequisites, with the quality of music as the only criterion, alan personally picked each and every song from hundreds of music samples. Hence the new album breaks the tradition of having a single producer, and instead attracted a myriad of thoughtful and talented musicians. At the same time, the musical soul in alan is experiencing a sense of passion and vibrancy like never before.

With LOVE as the motif that runs throughout the album, alan and her team gave a great deal of consideration and thought to the choice of style of each song. In order to sustain the natural and aesthetic style of alan's Japanese productions, and at the same time highlight her clean voice and mysterious ethnic characteristic, emerging music talents offered to take on the challenge and, after 3 months of deliberations and production, the buzz single "Phoenix" was released. The melodious Tibetan wail coupled with the rhythm of a modern pop song brings a fresh experience. The lyrics also brought to the team greater inspiration.

"The arrival of the phoenix" represents the force with with alan has returned, while "Rising from the ashes" demonstrates her growths, both as a person and in her music. In the current social circumstances, women are faced with increasingly stressful lives. More girls are aiming for higher education, while more women are choosing to build their own careers. Numerous internal and external factors mean that women usually have to work harder to achieve their goals, which explains the recent popularity of "having the air of an empress". Increasingly people are praising the beauty of women's strength and independence. In China, the phoenix traditionally symbolises the supreme female figure, while also representing feminist ideals. These characters precisely reflect the nature of alan, who possess a strong and determined soul underneath her soft beauty.

Another important aspect of this album is the "all-rounded release of the real alan". Apart from sustaining the magnificent style of her Japanese songs, alan has also, for the first time, attempted numerous songs with a light urban pop style. What really goes on in the minds of this "moon fairy", who has always been so beautiful as to appear surreal sometimes. Now she is back to being a fleshed-out normal girl, singing about the subtleties of her feelings and emotions. Displaying the simplicity, frankness, defiance and spunk of a Leo girl, this is the most genuine alan.

The main promo song "Love Song": The composition and arrangement are done in in the style of a Western band, conferring an inner force to the elegant melody, which is tinged with mild melancholy. Like every girl who had been hurt by love before, alan presents the strengths under fragile appearances in the song with her voice and emotions. "The morning dew have slipped from my chest. I won't stop to long for anyone anymore." No matter what kind of situation she's had to face, even if she had silently shed tear by herself, alan will always show her strong side to everyone. Maybe this is the best response to all love.

alan ~ The Blossoming of LOVE

Apart from filling the songs with feelings of LOVE, visually the album strives to display the sweetness of LOVE. Unlike the grand and splendid "princess" style of her past appearances, alan wore basic bare makeup for almost all the promo photos. Without excessive touch-up, her clear skin and delicate features bring tenderness to heart. The credit for displaying alan's crystalline beauty goes to Leslie Kee, one of Asia's top fashion photographers. This is not the first time Leslie Kee and alan worked together, and alan was also featured in Leslie Kee's COLORS OF HOPE photobook as representative of Chinese beauty.

In order to convey the messages of "love" and "authenticity" most effectively, Yue Hua had abandoned the traditional form of music videos, and instead made three musical micromovies, bringing the best out of alan. and were filmed in Tokyo and Yokohama, and will feature alan as an international student from China struggling in her love story. The story is that of ordinary people in an ordinary relationship, and while it may not be breathtaking or heart-wrenching, the smiles and frustrations will resonate with everyone who has been in love. The open ending reflects the uncertainty of real life, where there is never a clear beginning or end. So why not face the possibilities of what's to come, instead of being obsessed with what you have now. Like alan says at the end of the movie, "I may be empty-handed, but at least I dare to fly".

alan ~ The Portrayal of LOVE

～水晶莲～intro （~Crystal Lotus~ intro）
The chapter of LOVE unfolds.

凤凰（Phoenix）
Running. Chasing. Searching. Even if it's hard to let go of memories, hold on to the belief that light will always follow the rain.

以爱相宜（Bringing Harmony with Love）
When Heaven and Earth come together as one, the harmony in nature refreshes the soul. Like a sprite lavished with the purity of nature, alan sings the tune of love for the world.

Love Song
Perhaps you were once lost in unending darkness. Perhaps you have tried to chase after someone, forgetting your own exhaustion. Finally, at the end of time, you learnt to let go. When you finally spread your wings and take flight, you realised that the most beautiful thing in the world the smile you forgot.

lan lan
Once in a while, everyone feels nostalgia for that innocent and untainted paradise. Are they still in your heart? That clear blue sky of youth, those wonderful dreams and the sincere promises of love and future. Even though the future is unclear, even though we are empty-handed, but as long as we have courage we can take flight.

长大（Grow Up）
Time forces people to grow up, and to slowly get used to all the changes. Your fate and everything you have experienced, they aren't there for irony. Looking back, you will realise that the path of growth is bright, like this song

我回来了（I'm Back)
In the search for happiness, each new journey bring chances of breaking your heart, and not all past memories are filled with pain. Go back to the beginning, wait patiently for the love that belongs to you, and sing loudly "I'm Back"!

孤独的天份 (Talent for Loneliness）
On a bright and fresh morning, let the breeze dry your soaked sleeves. There is no right or wrong in love, so don't be afraid of being alone. Even singings from a corner will be treasured by someone. It's a talent to be able to embrace loneliness.

I LOVE the tracklist! And is the packing in this format? AMAZING!!! And omg a song in a British rock style I WANNA PRE ORDER IT NOOOOOW

The tracklist should be how the album will be!

I'm just constantly refreshing Yesasia lol

This album looks so lovely (Title says all! duh XD), the concept of each song and the names! I´m excited for listen alan in british rock style (maybe it could be similar to Kaze no Tegami or 落單的翅膀), for me 我回来了 must be after intro, sorry i think that 凤凰 is more slowly je je je. And i feel more excited for the bonus track... My hope is that song doesn´t cause any problem for her chinese fans.

Thank you, pom! <3

I'm getting really excited for this album!

Quote :

For the promo shots, alan is mainly without makeup or excess photoshopping.

Yay!

Cooooool! Thanks Pommy! I was wondering what that long article meant when I saw it before.

The last track is like a snippet or preview for future? She's going back to Japan? :o
Im already in love with 凤凰, after playing it so many times. cant wait for the other tracks.

What's the chinese title of the album called? Is it 爱歌? Ai Ge. Literal translation of Love Song?

Also she had hundreds of demos tracks to choose from? Does this mean more chinese albums?? I wanna her them all.!

Excited!!

This looks SO good, I could just burst with excitement!

'Crystal Lotus'... I like that title. :)

Can't waitttttt! Hurry, June!!

I love the track-list...really can't wait for Japanese version of all these songs.

Looking good and that photo is an improvement over the last promo shot. But there is the omission of the OST duet right? I think I will have to pick that up somehow. Anyways, so looking forward to it. Oh yes, I agree that I don't want a Japanese album of this; it should be original.

Updated with 3000smiles's full translation!

Thanks for the translations, guys! What a flattering article for alan!

Thanks for the full translation, 3000!

Quote :

Now she is back to being a fleshed-out normal girl, singing about the subtleties of her feelings and emotions. Displaying the simplicity, frankness, defiance and spunk of a Leo girl, this is the most genuine alan.

I'm happy to read this. She mentioned before that she wants to be more approachable. I'm glad she got her wish :D

after watching the Love Story MV... Who said the micromovie isn't heartbreaking?!

The Love Story MV is sad :( wahhhhhh

wow, I love the tracklist and descriptions

Oh my goodness, this sounds AMAZING ;_; <3 alaaaaaan, you never disappoint! "Talent For Loneliness" is the song that immediately captured my attention by the title alone, and the description sounds lovely :o

I think this is not full translation yet...
经过南青山 / 窗外 / BABY BABY ＆ Love Song～きっともう一度～ are missing though...

The article didn't mention those other songs

I meant to ask, does anyone know the romanization of the track titles yet? I've been curious to know how to read them (even though my skills are horrid x_x;).

01. ～Shui Jing Lian～intro
02. Feng Huang
03. Yi Ai Xiang Yi
04. Love Song
05. lan lan
06. Zhang Da
07. Wo Hui Lai Le
08. Gu Du De Tian Fen
09. Jing Guo Nan Qing Shan
10. Chuang Wai
11. BABY BABY
12. Love Song～Kitto Mou Ichido～

!! POMMY YOU ARE THE BEST *_*

thanks a lot pommy, now i can read the titles !

thanks so much for the translation, i always love reading these articles :)

pommy, thanks for the romanization. You should add it to the first post :)