Last Updated on June 19, 2025 by stlplace
Or put it in another way, why some singers break out (to become superstars), while others don’t? I am just asking a legit question. Note I am not music major. But I watched quite a bit music videos recently, and sometimes I wonder this question in the title.
I think one important factor is famous lyricist/singer.
For example, this one, 當時的月亮 (KKBOX), personally I like Ayen何璟昕 當時的月亮 – 王菲 Acoustic cover a lot. I noticed the lyricist is Lin Xi 林夕。 But honestly I still don’t understand much about the song. This is even after reading the explanation at Baidu. Quote some:
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《当时的月亮》可说是一剂降温的凉茶，免得听者未完成半张唱片便兴奋得爆炸。词意上不但延续《开到荼蘼》的不外如此世界观，更回应邓丽君的《月亮代表我的心》。即使“当时的月亮，曾经代表谁的心，结果都一样”。《当时的月亮》那淡淡的清凉，跟《过眼云烟》的寒气迫人，是两种绝对不同的感受。前者是甚么都无所谓的姿态，“当时如果没有甚么，当时如果拥有甚么，又会怎样。”。后者着力营造出凄凉的感觉，带点决绝地谈到解释、权利和义务，结尾一句“都是眷恋才让爱情危险”，说明自己不再眷恋的立场。
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Other 小众歌 examples
at17 —- Lost In L.A. (Original) || (Ayen cover) 安利一首小众好听粤语歌#2《Lost In L.A》cover at17
Many other Ayen cover songs, e.g., Leslie Chueng’s songs
叨叨冯： 平庸的音乐，优秀的配乐：《周处除三害》插曲《新造的人》为啥洗脑？ (this reminds me almost the same thing in the US politics, and US consumers)
Also by 叨叨冯:【会员专享】第72期：如果音乐行业存在金字塔，塔底的人是如何生存的？(member only, membership starts at $2.99 a month)
A related question is why some singers got famous while other good singers didn’t get famous: assume their singing skills are comparable.
PS: actually, today I talked to my 15-year-old daughter about “why some pop music stars or singers” break out and become famous. And her comment is both interesting and to the point: basically, she mentioned luck. This seems to be the case for singer such as Sandy Lam.
PS:
伍珂玥父親身份曝光！家庭背景太驚人，難怪那么多導師力挺伍珂玥，也只有金星敢說出真相！網友：這樣我們有了答案了！娛樂名星 (since this is a somewhat critical video, I would caution and listen/watch it with a grain of salt).
Also – 周笔畅 (Wikipedia) – quoted below, please note I didn’t mean to pick on her.
1985年，周笔畅出生于湖南长沙的一个音乐世家，其曾外叔公是第一任中国音乐家协会主席吕骥，外公外婆和妈妈都从事音乐或音乐教育工作，而爸爸也是音乐爱好者。周笔畅的父母希望她长大后能成为作家或记者，所以给她取名“笔畅”，寓意“文笔流畅”。
她6岁跟随父母定居广东省深圳市。[19]她曾就读园岭小学、岗厦小学、福华小学及深圳福田中学。[20]
2003年，参加高考，由于深受粤语流行音乐及00年代活跃的陶喆，周杰伦等音乐人影响，有意往此行业发展，并以艺术生总分681分的成绩(广东卷900满分)考入广州星海音乐学院。
Why is that?
Unlike hard science or engineering, arts or music could be subjective sometimes. Pop music is even more subjected to consumer taste and social trend, both are more fickle. Or subject to some sort of manipulation. SingChina 中国好声音 is a good example of all this – go to 争议 – 李玟现场质疑赛制不公被羞辱事件 and you will know.