Many male artists in the Mandopop music world try to sing RnB in a way that makes them look cool. Because RnB and Hip Hop is the cool to be into right now worldwide. These artists end up creating music that is like an outer shell of the American counterpart. And no, its not always less sexual than the original American style even though Asia can be a little more conservative than America. J.Sheon is one of the singers that recently showed up on my radar. He's doing his own production on Youtube and recently released a self titled album.
01. Deep Into Your Soul
02. 慢慢
03. 呼吸
04. 啵啦 - 呂士軒;J.Sheon
05. 天菜
06. You'll Never Know
07. 粗神經
08. 別問很可怕
09. 星際牛仔
10. 早上PAPAPA 陳星翰;J.Sheon
11. 平行宇宙
What I liked about J.Sheon right away was the genuine sound that he has when performing his music. His music is obviously pop influenced RnB but he doesn't come across as a singer who is putting on a show to look cool. He's just a guy that's doing music for the love. I say that his album is pop influenced RnB for the simple fact that the line between pop and RnB has been smeared together. RnB isn't like the old school RnB that was playing on the radio years ago in America. Also any RnB that sells a certain number of albums or turns mainstream is no longer RnB but Pop. Asia basically goes along with whatever America is doing when it comes to music of the country's origin so J.Sheon's music is a big reflection of that. The album's tracks are RnB with enough pop influence to be mainstream. The album uses digital edits to give a personal feel. For example the production of echo of J.Sheon's vocals or the sped up sound samples that get listeners excited in a tracks first opening minutes. Theres also baseline beats along with piano playing in some tracks. RnB wouldn't be RnB without that base beat drop. Pull everything in the song together. A lot of the songs are DJ mix board friendly with the different beats that are showcased. By the mid point of the album you will be all danced out just in time for the album's slow down period. Here, J.Sheon goes into Soulful mellow mode at a flip of a hat. This is the time for a singer to show their singing ability. I honestly feel that ballads are only good for this reason. Can't sing a ballad good enough to show your vocal range then I don't want to hear it. The guy even tries to give listeners a little variety besides the same old ballad with a sad sounding violin playing in the background and gets the aid of a guitar and drums to grove the slow songs up a little bit. I'm glad the album stays interesting enough that I actually didn't want to skip any songs much less not listen at all.
J.Sheon sounds like all the other Mandopop male artists that have sat down sometime during their life and listened to Black(African American) artist's music. His voice sounds more genuine than some of the other's I've heard. Its nothing like listening to a singer trying to sing a vocal run knowing good and well they don't have the voice for it. I won't be the one to stop you if you decide to attempt one but can't promise that I won't laugh. J.Sheon has the vocals to do it all as an RnB singer. As a black person, I'm happy to see people from other culture carrying on the movement of my people's music. Just make sure to respect the race you get it from. There is a difference between influence and straight up cultural appropriation. Let me stop before I start ranting… Anyway, I liked his rapping too. I'm a little tired of the rap lines that have not difference in flow though. Its just the same tone through out the whole rap. It sounds ok but also gets boring after you hear so many other singers do it. I listen to a lot of east asian pop music y'all….
J.Sheon's album was really lit for the most part. I personally wanted to hear him do more harmonization with the backup vocalists on the album. Didn't happen as much as I would have liked but he did well when he did sing with them. Highly recommend this album if your a fan of RnB and Pop music.
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