Teresa Teng, famed in Asia for Love Songs, passed away 20 years ago in Chiang Mai, Thailand when she was only 42 years old. She recorded songs not only in her native Mandarin but also in Taiwanese Hokkien, Cantonese, Japanese, Indonesian and English. Teng’s singing style conveyed simplicity and sincerity. Yeh Yueh-Yu, a professor of Cultural Theory at the University of Southern California said, “It was the sweetness in her voice that made her famous. She had a perfect voice for folk songs and ballads, and she added traditional folk song style into Western-style compositions.” Her voice was also described as being “like weeping and pleading, but with strength, capable of drawing in and hypnotizing listeners.” Songwriter Tsuo Hung-yun said Teng’s voice was “70% sweetness and 30% tears.”
Vanatsaya Viseskul 朗嘎拉姆, a 16 years old girl from Thailand appeared in a famous reality talent show – “The Voice of China” in Beijing wowed four judges and the audiences for her similar voice and appearance to Teng. Vanatsaya Viseskul, not knowing any Mandarin, started to sing Teng’s songs when she was seven. She told the judges at the “Voice of China” that she could sing after listening Teng’s songs only two to three times. She learned 25 Teng’s songs in one disc just in three months. In one of her interviews, she said she had a special feeling toward Teng whom she never met when she first listened to her song. She told her parents that she wanted to learn Mandarin and visit Taiwan where Teng was born one day. After the show, close to half a million fans is following her at Weibo (Twitter in China) and she is now preparing the final contest stage at “The Voice of China” Season 4. No matter whether you believe in reincarnation or not, one thing you cannot deny is that she sings pretty well. Besides, her determination of achieving her dream to become a singer in a foreign country is praiseworthy.
