… that Ding Dang is not overweight and should not be losing 11 pounds in preparation for releasing her new album? She did this last time, too, with a ridiculous crash diet to get superstar thin. This time, she lost the weight while traveling in the U.S. for the NFL filming (but apparently Cowboy Jay – also in the U.S. for the filming of the Green Hornet movie – gained the 5 kilo she lost, so in the grand scheme of things, the Mandopop world took home the same body mass that they brought over).
This time, she’s eating egg whites instead of whole eggs, picking the fruits that have the lowest sugar levels, etc. So instead of gaining weight in the US (which is apparently the norm), she actually lost quite a bit. Moreover, her stylist set her up with some sort of “golden rose corset” for her. This must be what she’s wearing in the picture accompanying this article, but in the picture she does not look like herself but instead like some generic starlet. Why not figure out what’s unique about her personality and life and play on that, instead of making her into another dime a dozen songstress? Meh, now I’m feeling all irritable.
Now speaking of B’in Music artists, Mayday was back on judging duties for the Pepsi band contest on the mainland. The band didn’t just judge, they also showed the crowd how the real bands perform. In the final stages, Ashin and Monster were the judges, but everyone watched and listened carefully. After crowning the winning band, Ashin grabbed the lead singer to chat, and the whole band recalled their own days of being a new group just starting out. They also made an offer: if the winning band heads to Taiwan to record an album, they can teach Mayday to dance (um, was the winning “band” doing a lot of dancing on the program?). They hoped that mainlanders who love music can make new music themselves, but just as Mayday had a lot of help along the way, they’ll also offer a lot of help to newcomers.
Meh, like signing them and then forcing them onto starvation diets?
Okay, not over that Ding Dang thing yet. At the show’s finale, the band performed “Unbridled” and “Love-ing” (when will that song be out of rotation?). It’s even harder to make it as a band than as an individual singer, but Mayday serves as a reminder to follow your dreams.
Update: by the way, I’d like to apologize for my overuse of the word “meh” in this post. Meh, it’s not even kinda good writing. 
Her legs are just so thin in that picture! Why lose weight when you have legs like those?!
I also agree that she looks too generic in that picture, with the big eyes, the shiny clothes, the high heels, etc. She could be anyone in that picture. She needs a favorite clothing style, color, animal, or something that says that she’s Ding Dang and not a member of some girl group who got a solo picture in a big photoshoot.
holy smokes, she looks SOOO skinny in that picture!!!!!
Actually the Mandopop world gained a kilo from its US adventures: In Masa’s hair.
additional info. on DNA concert, tour in Japan; Zep Tokyo Nov. 3rd @ 7:00pm.
Good lord. I saw her when Mayday was in town for the free open-air concert in Singapore earlier this year, and she still looked healthy then.
It’s a pity that B’in Music don’t seem to know what to do with her other than to try and squeeze her into the stereotype of a Mandarin female pop artiste. (If you’ve heard her albums, you’d know what I mean. They’re a mishmash of genres, as if they can’t quite decide what she should sing.)
She’s got a great voice. I feel bad for her…
You know, as I get more and more determined to defend and support her from the evil overlords at B’in Music making her diet, I begin to wonder if this actually is their marketing strategy. Make everyone feel very sorry for her, then they buy the albums out of pity….
Or maybe not. But someone is botching this, and it is definitely too bad. She’s got a lot more raw singing talent than the Rainie Yangs and Jolin Tsais of the world.
On a side note, I feel like Masa’s hair has become the denim suspenders of 2009.
I have to agree completely. I can’t understand why B’in would let Masa keep his hair but expect Ding Dang to be as blah as blah can be. I think she can sing but really, there isn’t a sense of who she is at all. Making her tag around with Mayday isn’t going to do anything much for her either. It’s just such a pity.
Why don’t they spend some quality time finding good songs for Ding Dang instead?
And how does Ashin manage to always churn out awful songs for her???? He rarely writes awful (ie BLAND) songs but when he does it will inevitably end up on Ding Dang’s album.
Someone get Fish Leong’s people on the case. They’ve been managing to snab great songs for her.