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You Make Me Free Make Me Fly!

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You Make Me Free Make Me Fly!
Studio album by
ReleasedDecember 29, 1997 (1997-12-29)
Recorded1997
GenrePop
Length50:00 (Disc 1)
21:01 (Disc 2)
LabelForward Music
Producer
  • Ma Yu-fen
  • Yu Guangyan
  • Koji Sakurai
A-Mei chronology
Bad Boy
(1997)
You Make Me Free Make Me Fly!
(1997)
Holding Hands
(1998)

You Make Me Free Make Me Fly! (Chinese: 妹力四射; pinyin: Mèi lì sì shè) is the third studio album by Taiwanese singer A-Mei. It was released on December 29, 1997, by Forward Music.[1] The album was recorded as an in advance listen for A-Mei's 1998 live stadium concert. The record features cover versions of Chinese and English songs, except for the tracks "You Make Me Free" and "I Do Not Mind." You Make Me Free Make Me Fly! has sold 800,000 copies in Taiwan[2] and over 4 million copies throughout Asia to date.

Background and production

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On June 7, 1997, A-Mei released her highly anticipated sophomore album Bad Boy.[3] It became an immediate success and went on to become Taiwan's highest selling album of all time, with sales of approximately 1.38 million copies nationwide.[4][5] Additionally, Bad Boy went on to sell more than six million copies across Asia, establishing A-Mei as a dominant force on the music charts.[6] However, tragedy struck five months after its release date. Her manager and mentor Chang Yu-sheng died on November 12, 1997, at age 31, after falling into a coma for 24 days due to a car crash that occurred on October 20, 1997.[7] Without Chang to be there as her guide, the mainstream media speculated that A-Mei would lose her way and eventually fade into oblivion.[8]

Shortly after Chang's death, A-Mei decided to take a huge leap in her career by formally announcing a solo stadium concert. Thus breaking the record for the shortest time a large-scale concert has been held by a Taiwanese singer since their debut (there was only 1 year and 28 days between the release date of the first album and the date of the concert). However, her first two records didn't have enough songs for a three hour live show. To pan out the songbook, Forward Music hurriedly released You Make Me Free Make Me Fly! which contained covers of both English and Mandarin songs; with the exception of two original numbers ("You Make Me Free" and "I Do Not Mind").

Live performances

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On January 10, 1998, A-Mei held her first large-scale ticketed concert titled "A-Mei In Concert Live In Concert 1998." It became the fastest-selling concert in Taiwan in the past 10 years and had a very fanatic audience,[9] with both shows at the Taipei Municipal Stadium and Central Park Kaohsiung being full houses. On March 21 and 22, she held two ticketed concerts at Hong Kong Coliseum, which won the hearts of Hong Kongese fans.[10][11] The two Hong Kong concerts were sold out within 8 hours after tickets going on sale, breaking the fastest ticket selling record in Hong Kong at the time.[12][13] The 2 shows at the Singapore Indoor Stadium also set a number of records, including the record for the fastest sold-out concert: the first show was sold out within 10 hours while the second was sold out within 8 hours.[14][13] Along with her gobsmacking vocals, her charismatic and infectious stage performances became her trademark, and further cemented A-Mei's status as the top diva in Chinese pop music. In all, the concert tour drew in about 100,000 spectators.

Track listing

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CD1
No.TitleLyricsMusicOriginal artistLength
1."Sky Blue Every Day" (天天天藍)Zhuo YiyuChen LiouMichelle Pan4:16
2."Standing On A High Hill" (站在高崗上)Situ MingYao MinYao Lee5:24
3."Don't Say Goodbye" (不要告別)SanmaoLi Tai-hsiangLi Jinling4:50
4."Love Song 1990" (戀曲 1990)Lo Ta-yuLo Ta-yuLo Ta-yu5:01
5."You Make Me Free"Yang LideChen Chih-yuan 5:29
6."Days Without Smoking" (沒有煙抽的日子)Wang DanChang Yu-shengChang Yu-sheng5:16
7."Crying Sand" (哭砂)Eric LinXiong MeilingTracy Huang6:08
8."Follow Your Feelings" (跟著感覺走)Chia-Li ChenChen Chih-yuanSu Rui4:51
9."I Do Not Mind" (我無所謂)Eric LinMichael Tu 4:59
10."Hotline You And Me" (熱線你和我)Lee Shou-ChuanLee Shou-ChuanLiu Wen-cheng3:46
Total length:50:00
CD2
No.TitleLyricsMusicOriginal artistLength
1."I Don't Want to Talk About It"Danny WhittenDanny WhittenRod Stewart6:00
2."What's Up?"Linda PerryLinda Perry4 Non Blondes5:21
3."The Power Of Love"Gunther Mende, Candy DeRouge, Jennifer Rush, Mary Susan ApplegateGunther Mende, Candy DeRouge, Jennifer Rush, Mary Susan ApplegateJennifer Rush6:03
4."Walking By Myself"Jimmy RogersJimmy RogersGary Moore3:37
Total length:21:01

Charts

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Chart (1998) Peak
position
Taiwanese Albums (IFPI Taiwan)[15] 3

Sales

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Region Certification Certified units/sales
Taiwan 800,000[16]
Summaries
Asia 4,000,000[17]

References

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  1. ^ "《妹力四射–1998張惠妹演唱會》專輯" (in Chinese (Taiwan)).
  2. ^ "張惠妹贏王菲無感覺 成為亞洲樂壇一姐". mypaper.pchome.com (in Chinese (Taiwan)). April 8, 2019. Retrieved January 5, 2024.
  3. ^ "《BAD BOY》專輯" (in Chinese). Retrieved April 5, 2024.
  4. ^ "九零年代超強專輯歌手,第一名真的是天后中的天后!" (in Chinese (Taiwan)). May 19, 2017.
  5. ^ "台灣百萬唱片销量獲得認證專輯,張惠妹第一138萬張" (in Chinese (Taiwan)). January 2, 2020.
  6. ^ "阿妹《Bad Boy》賣破600萬張 經典黑膠重生" (in Chinese (Taiwan)). August 16, 2018.
  7. ^ Kwok Kar Peng (June 23, 2021). "Late Taiwanese singer Chang Yu-sheng's 1996 unplugged performance in Singapore goes viral, Entertainment News". AsiaOne. Retrieved December 31, 2023.
  8. ^ "BIO人物傳記頻道:張惠妹 (Biography®:A-Mei)". youtube.com (in Chinese (Taiwan)). June 21, 2016.
  9. ^ "她把歌曲唱進你我的心坎裡!華語天后張惠妹的「妹力」人生" (in Chinese (Taiwan)). May 9, 2018.
  10. ^ "A-mei dazzles in right royal style". South China Morning Post. March 26, 1998. Retrieved January 5, 2024.
  11. ^ "3-2-1 A-mei in Concert". South China Morning Post. March 25, 1998. Retrieved January 5, 2024.
  12. ^ "1998年張惠妹在香港紅館舉辦2場售票演唱會征服香港歌迷,新聞媒體更是用"過江龍"大篇幅報導妹力旋風" (in Chinese). Retrieved April 2, 2024.
  13. ^ a b "张惠妹出道不久即成天后歌星". yule.sohu.com. June 19, 2001. Retrieved April 2, 2024.
  14. ^ "张惠妹出道不久即成天后歌星" (in Chinese (Taiwan)). June 19, 2001.
  15. ^ "IFPI Taiwan Chart – Top 20 Albums" (in Chinese). IFPI Taiwan. Archived from the original on February 24, 1998. Retrieved April 10, 2024.
  16. ^ "五燈獎回顧系列報導(十四)-華人國語歌壇的傳奇—張惠妹" [Five Lantern Awards Review Series (14) - Legend of the Chinese Mandarin Music Circle—A-Mei]. Tanabe (in Traditional Chinese). September 2, 2006. Archived from the original on March 21, 2021. Retrieved April 1, 2024.
  17. ^ "張惠妹明年10月襲港開騷 細數銷量最高5張專輯". hk.on.cc (in Chinese (Hong Kong)). December 16, 2022. Retrieved April 1, 2024.