A Transformed Angie Lee Has G Music's First No 1 Album for 2011

The weekly G Music charts, which measure album sales in Taiwan, show that the first number one album of 2011 goes to the relatively obscure Angie Lee (李爱绮, pinyin: Lǐ Aiqǐ). Her album, No.100 Love Road (恋爱路100号) had 17.84 percent of album sales for the week 31 December to 6 January.

The album is actually her 18th CD (she released her first album way back in 1988 when she was just 12 years old). But up until now the pint-sized singer has had a low profile and is little known outside Taiwan. The new album marks a transformation for the singer. She has changed her name, from her stage name of 李嘉 (Lǐ Jiā) to her birth name, 李爱绮. As part of her makeover she has engaged Jolin's hairstylist, and reportedly had some plastic surgery done. She then displayed the new, improved Angie Lee for all to see in a raunchy music video and bared all in a provocative photoshoot. No doubt that, plus all the promotional weight of a major record label (Warner) behind her, played a part in the strong sales for the album, released on Christmas Eve.

Several big name Taiwanese producers and song-writers have helped out on No.100 Love Road's production. The album, with 10 tracks in all, showcases a variety of musical styles ranging from rock and pop to folk, funk and a bit of hip hop. Several of the songs are sung in the native Taiwanese language, and the rest in Mandarin.

No.100 Love Road just edged out the new release of hip hop bad boy, Edison Chen (陈冠希, pinyin: Chén Guānxī). Chen's album, CONFUSION, his first since the scandal that interrupted his career in 2008 (this post provides some background), retains its position at number 2 on the G Music chart with 15.13 percent of sales.