孙燕姿 (2004)

Yan Zi (Chinese: 燕姿) is the debut album by Singaporean singer Stefanie Sun, released on 9 June 2000, by Warner Music Taiwan. Produced by Anthony Bao, Tino Bao, Peter Lee and Paul Lee, it incorporates genres such as pop, chamber pop and rock.

Yan Zi received positive reviews from music critics for its compositions and lyrics. The album swept all major music charts within just ten days of its release and ranked in the top three for eleven consecutive weeks on the charts of Taiwan's two major record stores, Tachung Records and Rose Records. By the end of the year, the cumulative sales in Taiwan for Yan Zi had exceeded 330,000, becoming one of the highest-selling records in Taiwan in 2000. As of September 2006, the album's sales across Asia have exceeded 2.7 million.

Sun won twelve new artist awards for this album, including the Golden Melody Award for Best New Artist at the 12th Golden Melody Awards.

Background and development

In 1998, the soon-to-be chairman of Warner Music Taiwan, Chou Chien-hui, visited Singapore to visit Sammi Cheng at the Lee Wei Song Music Academy, and it was at this time that he discovered Stefanie Sun, who had a unique voice and a solid background in music. The Warner producer immediately offered to sign her, however, Sun's father demanded that if she wanted to concentrate on singing, she had to finish college first. For this reason, Warner Music waited for her for two years. It was not until 2000 that Stefanie Sun successfully signed a contract with Warner Music and officially began her music career.

Sun's first album was co-produced by two pairs of twin brothers: Taiwan's Anthony Bao and Tino Bao, and Singapore's Peter Lee and Paul Lee, each of these two sets of producers had their own lyricist and songwriters who worked together to create the album. Sun recorded the album in the studio by the two groups of musicians double grinding, every time in the studio to record to exhaustion.

Writing and recording

"Turbo" expresses the new human, new power, and new view of love; musically, it is a dynamic and upbeat song she announces with a casual whistle. "Finally" was composed by Peter Lee and written by Kevin Yi; it is an ethereal picturesque love song of the new century. Sun's performance of "Love Certificate" and "Cloudy Day" honestly sings to the depths of simplicity, unlike the kind of gibberish that purposely pretends to be playful, which is a gesture of a singer's maturity. "Love Certificate” is a mellow song, with Paul Lee calmly writing a melodious melody, and Sun stretching out her "lightly made-up" vocals in a calm tone. The song "Cloudy Day" was inspired by Taiwanese folk songs. The undecorated voice whispers in the ear, and the yellowed fragments, the wrinkles of the grandmother, the pain of falling, all flow out with the song and piano accompaniment. "E-Lover" is a guitar-driven pop ballad. "Scultpted Eyebrow" is an upbeat chamber pop song. "Make Peace" is a slow tempo guitar-based song. "Natural" combines power pop and pop-punk elements. "Fine" is a pop ballad that relies heavily on the Spanish guitar. "Leave Me Alone" is a rock song.

Release and promotion

The album's original title track was "Love Certificate," but less than a month before its official release, Warner Music Taiwan's boss Zhou Jianhui made a last-minute decision to change the title track to "Cloudy Day." On 22 May 2000 "Cloudy Day" was officially released.