On the occasion of APA's Music Issue, we recount our favorite Asian cover versions of American pop songs.
1. Arnel Pineda's version of Journey's "Don't Stop Believing"
The ultimate cover singer, Arnel Pineda, had been performing Journey songs with his band The Zoo in the Philippines, and in 2007, their videos started getting attention on YouTube. The covers were so spot-on that when Journey decided to look for a new lead singer, they asked Pineda to fill the slot. While Pineda has had a successful music career in the Asia for a couple decades, he's been touring with the American rock band since February of 2008. Here's a clip of their performance of "Faithfully" on The Ellen DeGeneres Show.
2. Faye Wong's version of The Cranberries' "Dreams"
One of the most memorable scenes in Wong Kar-wai's Chungking Express is the montage where Faye Wong shuffles through Tony Leung's apartment, invading his privacy and messing around with his things. It's become such a classic moment that it seems impossible to imagine it without Faye Wong's version of "Dreams" playing in the background. Not a stranger to the art of covering songs, Faye Wong also performs a great rendition of "Bohemian Rhapsody."
3. Shah Rukh Khan and the cast of Kal Ho Naa Ho's version of Roy Orbison's "Pretty Woman"
This isn't even technically a cover, but if you haven't figured it out by now, we shamelessly take any opportunity to put Shah Rukh Khan on any list. This musical number is from 2003's Kal Ho Naa Ho, also starring the beautiful Preity Zinta. The chorus should sound pretty familiar. The rest of it, we can just chalk up as being a welcome addition to the original tune.
4. Anita Mui's version of Wham's "Careless Whisper"
We hate to generalize, so we apologize in advance for the question we're about to ask. Do all Asian Americans grow up having parents that karaoke to Wham's "Careless Whisper?" Here is Hong Kong legend Anita Mui's version of it.
5. Tarsy Su's version of Fool's Garden's "Lemon Tree"
Combine one of Taiwan's most famous pop singers and a single by a German pop band that's basically about boredom, and you've got Tarsy Su's "Lemon Tree." Singer Park Hye Kyung has also released her own cover of this song, which was released in South Korea.
6. Sung Si Kyung and Alex Chu's version of Eric Benet's "India"
K-pop singer Sung Si Kyung is known for his ballads, and he released an entire album revolving around his cover of the Tom Jones-penned "Try to Remember." He has also tackled Sting's "Shape of My Heart." Alex Chu is a vocalist in the band Clazziquai, who became famous in Korea for their work on the drama My Lovely Samsoon. Together, they harmonize to create a moving rendition of Eric Benet's "India."
7. Love Psychedelico's version of The Beatles' "Help!"
Japanese band Love Psychedelico, a duo comprised of singer Kumi and guitarrist Naoki Sato, recorded this Beatles cover, which was included as a track on their 2007 album, Golden Grapefruit.
8. Eason Chan's version of The Beatles' "Hey Jude"
Respected Cantopop singer Eason Chan has done many English-language cover songs over the years, including John Lennon's "Imagine," Green Day's Boulevard of Broken Dreams, and probably the most fun of all, singing Billy Joel's "Uptown Girl" with George Lam. Here's "Hey Jude."
9. 7 Flowers' version of Madonna's "Material Girl"
7 Flowers started out as a seven-person girl group, hence the name, but now their members have been whittled down to four: Joyce (Zhao Hong Qiao), Joe (Chen Qiao En), Ive (Lai Wei Ru), and Jade (Qu Min Jie). Their version of "Material Girl" was recorded in 2005.
9. Bao Han & H? L? Thu's version of The Weather Girls' "It's Raining Men"
In a dramatic dance performance involving clear-plastic umbrellas, Vietnamese singers Bao Han and H? L? Thu grace the audience with a Vietnamese version of the ultimate kitschy gay-clubbing song.
Honorable Mention
Weezer's version of BoA's "Meri Kuri."
An American band covering an Asian-language song is just as impressive, so, just for kicks, we've included Weezer's version of BoA's "Meri Kuri." For comparison, check out BoA's original version here.
Compiled by Kanara Ty, Ada Tseng, and William Hong