17. Alan- Mo Lan
Sometimes I feel Alan gets a bad wrap. She's often overlooked for Japanese artists on her label, Avex- and she's also overlooked in her own country because she started a Japanese career. It's a real shame because she brings out some of the most poignant pop songs from either country every time she has a release. This album is no different, infact, this album is one of her best- if not her best yet.
Sure, being a mainstream Cpop album there are going the couple of cliched ballads, but even those are really well written. However that's not why it makes it to my top 20 list- there are moments on this that totally break the mould, hell, there are bits on this that are downright exciting to behold. Certain tracks on here will stop you in your tracks- they reach theatrical levels with their instrumentation (which is often a flawless mix between traditional Chinese and modern pop/rock) and the production is second to none.
The majority of this is in her native tongue- which is great because I always find her to sound the best when singing her own language- she always gets really passionate and emotive.
It seems Alan wasn't afraid to get a little bit experimental on this record either- I've never been so
intrigued by an Alan album as much as this one- and this album managed to keep the listener totally
engaged for the entire thing too- something Alan has struggled with in the past.
Definitely a worthy listen and definitely something I will no doubt return to again and again in the future. A worthy and most likely to be overlooked contender on the top 20 list this year.