A Song You Enjoy Tell me about a piece of music or a song you particularly enjoy. You should say:
what the music/song is and where you first heard it
who wrote it or sang it
if it is popular with other people
and explain your feelings when you hear this music/song.
• Title; when? famous ?
• Meaningful + well-written (lyrics)
• Melody (gentle, harmonious, smooth)
• Singer + voices
• Music video + KTV
Let me tell you about a very famous song that came out in China in 2008. The song is entitled
Beijing Huanying Ni in Chinese. It translates as Beijing Welcomes You. The song was aired
non-stop on TV and on the radio, and I am pretty sure that everyone in China downloaded it onto
their computers. It met with great success, and if you ask anyone in my country, they will be able
to sing it without hesitation.
As you can guess, the song was released a couple of months before the summer Olympic
Games were held in our capital city. You know, it was the first time that China has hosted such a
competition, and it was a big deal for the government and the population. The aim of the song was
to capture the spirit behind the Olympics, and also to inform everybody that Beijing was ready.
The lyrics are very meaningful and well-written. The chorus was extremely catchy, and I think that
everyone in China heard the song on a daily basis for like 2 months. We almost heard it too much.
In addition, the melody is very subtle, very smooth and gentle. It starts very slowly, but the
pace quickly picks up to give more energy to the song. At several points during the song, there is
an instrumental intermission, and that's a great time for people to hum the tune. There are trumpets
and drums in the background. It sounds great!
More than 50 celebrities sing the song. Each singer sings a verse or two, and they all join in
during the chorus. Some of them have stunning voices, and they can go very high. I especially like
the very first voice we hear. It's a little girl who has a very pure voice.
Finally, if you watch the music video, you can see the singers performing in front of all the
major monuments in Beijing. We get to peek at the Great Wall, at the Forbidden City, the Temple
of Heaven and the hutongs, you know, those ancient streets, very famous in Beijing. The city
looks dazzling. Of course the sky above is very blue, and it seems like a very attractive place to go
to. If I ever go to Beijing in the future, I am sure that I will have this song in mind. Whenever I go
to karaoke with my friends, we still always pick this song, because everyone can sing along, and
it's a great chance to bring everyone closer together.