The Wall Street Journal:You have fans across most Chinese-speaking countries in Asia. Do they respond differently to your music?
你的粉丝来自亚洲所有使用中文的国家,他们对你的音乐有什么不同的反应吗?
Ms. Sun: Mainland fans are more direct. Some may even cry if they like you. In Singapore, they just look at you from a distance, but maybe they like you as much. In general, music travels well and can transcend geographical borders.
孙燕姿:大陆的歌迷更奔放。有时候他们激动得会哭出来。新加坡的歌迷虽然同样喜欢你,但只会远远地看着你。总的来说,音乐能够跨越地理的界限。
How has Mandopop (Mandarin-language pop music) changed since you entered it?
自你进入国语歌坛后,你觉得它有什么变化吗?
The Chinese have quickly learned a lot about album making from looking at the Taiwanese. I think the aesthetics have improved a lot, although it’s very subjective.
大陆已经迅速地向台湾学到了制作专辑的技巧,我觉得从审美的角度进步是很大的,虽然这样说可能有些主观。
The taste for entertainment has widened in China. Many years ago, it was more classic-based. They now have a more voracious appetite for new things. The scale on which China operates is staggering.
大陆娱乐界的口味更加多元了。许多年前,它还是以经典为主。现在在积极地吸取新事物。大陆娱乐可操作的范围非常大。
What Mandopop artists are you keeping an eye on?
你比较关注哪些国语歌手呢?
The next big artist will be from China. Among the popular ones are Li Yuchun and Zhang Liangying. They work quite hard, are young and have a strong fan base. I also quite like stuff from Lin You Jia [also known as Yoga Lin] in Taiwan.
下一个歌坛的国际巨星将会在中国诞生,比如流行歌手李宇春、张靓颖。她们工作勤奋,年轻而且有强大的歌迷队伍。我也很喜欢台湾林宥嘉的作品。
Why did you sing in Mandarin instead of English?
你为什么选择用国语而不用英语唱歌呢?
Singing in English is even less of an option. For Mandopop, there were [previous Singaporean successes like] Kit Chan and Tanya Chua. As for English pop, I don’t really know anyone [from Asia who’s succeeded]. I knew from a very young age that an Asian face is not going to make a [successful] English album. The support and structure was not there during my time and is still not there.
用英语唱歌其实都算不上一个选择。对于国语流行歌坛来说,之前比较成功的新加坡歌手有陈洁仪、蔡健雅。但是在英语方面做成功的亚洲歌手据我所知基本没有。我很小就知道亚洲面孔去做英文专辑是很难成功的。在我出道的时候,来自各方的支持以及运作的框架还没有具备,而且现在也没有。
I appreciate Mandarin as a language, but music is music. I took a lot of influences from ’80s and ’90s music like Alanis Morissette. I listen to everything.
我觉得普通话就是一种语言,而音乐还是音乐。我从八九十年代的音乐,比如艾拉妮丝·莫莉塞特那里汲取了很多营养,我乐于去学习所有的东西。