Alan (pronounced ah-lahn), a Tibetan, Chinese-born Buddhist, has only two Japanese albums under her belt, and neither are masterpieces. She appears on this list because she's unlike any other mainstream pop starlet currently working, and has an abundance of only periodically realised potential. Sound strange? I'll try to explain.

Her musical stylings, on the surface, are nothing especially remarkable – largely sugary, innocuous piano ballads that you could expect to hear in an unassuming Chinatown gift shop because the 70-year- old shopowner finds it soothing. But every few tracks (including her Nipponese debut single, the gorgeous Ashita e No Sanka), Alan employs one or both of her secret weapons: her chillingly ancient-sounding "Tibetan wail", and her ability to play the erhu. Those would be, respectively, a singing technique wherein the vocals are extensively held at a high-pitched waver, and the mournful Chinese string instrument you've probably heard on the soundtrack to any martial arts movie ever made. Even the briefest appearances of either transforms Alan's music into genuinely beautiful, ethereal mood pieces that are more moving and substantial than the vast majority of mass-marketed pop ballads.

As well as Ashita e No Sanka, she's worth hearing for Red Cliff, the theme song to the Chinese drama of the same name – available in both a Chinese and a Japanese version – and the subtly pretty Together, which is the first song for which she composed the music. She still has a way to go before perfecting her signature style, but she's more than worth watching along the way.

Source

Neither are masterpiece ?
And I always think Voice of Earth is perfect omg

I didn't know alan is pronounced ah-lahn xP and yea I can't get it how people consider Voice of EARTH as non-masterpiece album..

pommy48 wrote:

Her musical stylings, on the surface, are nothing especially remarkable – largely sugary, innocuous piano ballads that you could expect to hear in an unassuming Chinatown gift shop because the 70-year- old shopowner finds it soothing.

:whynot:
From which point they commenting to alan?
I don't agree with this statement, neither are masterpiece, LOL, Voice of Earth is excellence and beauty in the flesh.

This article is very rude...

The writer just had to say something rude about every artist...

I feel like she contradicts herself?


But it's only one person's opinion......I feel we all agree Voice of EARTH is a masterpiece!

At least they mentioned alan. Yay more publicity! LOL

as everyone else here i think Voice of EARTH = masterpice,.
the writter of this must be lame or deaf.

The only correct thing he wrote about in that article was Ringo. He really must be just a casual listener. LOL

I doubt he only listened to the previews of the songs :laughs:

But other than the biased review, I'm glad that alan got mentioned~ I mean along Ayu and Shiina~

And it helps that her name starts with an A.....so she's at the very top of the list!

Yeah I'm happy that they mentioned alan I hope if they write something again it won't be so rude...

im just glad alan is mentioned. thanks for promotion honey

At least, by appearing on articles like that, there's a confirmation she's someone in the industry

*dislikes article* good publicity for alan though *O*

the writter of this must be lame or deaf------you got