Tainan World K-pop Online Concert

South Korean boy band The Boyz and girl group fromis_9 recently joined hands for an online concert in Tainan City in southern Taiwan. The show aimed to introduce places in the city related to the themes of water, wind, fire, earth and love.

For example, for the theme of water, the 11-member The Boyz, clad in all-black outfits, performed Thrill Ride, a song off their EP Thrill-ing (2021), complete with a cool dance routine.

The nine-member fromis_9 followed up with the lively We Go - which was also released last year - accompanied by animated backdrops of coconut trees and cute dolphins.

Braving Life music performances

Following the success of the first season of Chinese reality television show Call Me By Fire last year, which featured male celebrities past the peak of their careers vying to be part of a 17-member group - several contestants have joined a spin-off variety show where they try out different occupations.

Those who have appeared on the new show, Braving Life, include Hong Kong actor-musicians Jordan Chan and Julian Cheung, Chinese stars Max Zhang and Zhang Qi, as well as Korean-American singer Lee Seung-hyun - who all take a stab at being firefighters in one episode.

The celebrities also sing on the show, and a compilation of 20 songs performed on it was released this month. For instance, Chinese actor Kido Gao raps in Party 7, while he, Max Zhang and Chinese singer Pax Congo collaborate in New Boy.

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A-Lin

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Shortly after announcing her large-scale May 28 concert at the Singapore Indoor Stadium, Taiwanese diva A-Lin dropped the album Link on April 8 - her first in more than four years.

The 15-track work aims to show that music is the best link between people and the theme is fleshed out in several numbers.

For example, the stirring Romadiw is about uniting people through singing and dancing, while also paying homage to A-lin's Amis descent by collaborating with aboriginal performers in the music video.

In the ballad Conversation, the singer explores the sense of alienation felt by people in a world dominated by online interactions.

And Turn focuses on how music can help people come to terms with painful emotions and embrace a future where their fortunes might turn.