"Rouge" (ルージュ, Rūju) is a song performed by Japanese singer Naomi Chiaki. It was released as a single from the album of the same name on April 10, 1977 by Nippon Columbia. While the song did not chart as high as other singles, it managed to spawn successful covers in various languages.

"Rouge"
Single by Naomi Chiaki
from the album Rouge
B-side"Kaette-oide"
ReleasedApril 10, 1977 (1977-04-10)
GenreKayōkyoku
LabelNippon Columbia
Songwriter(s)Miyuki Nakajima
Producer(s)Kawachi Chito
Naomi Chiaki singles chronology
"Sakabagawa"
(1976)
"Rouge"
(1977)
"Yoru e Isogu Hito"
(1977)

Background

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The song was written by Japanese singer-songwriter Miyuki Nakajima,[1] who at the time had written successful singles like "Jidai" and "Wakareuta", and provided music for artists such as Naoko Ken and Junko Sakurada. The song revolves on the topic of loneliness, where a girl from the countryside moves to the city to earn a living, but loses her old self as she grows up.[2]

On the other hand, "Rouge" was the first written piece of the Japanese "new music" genre written for Chiaki, who afterwards released several singles of them, including "Yoru e Isogu Hito" written by Kazuki Tomokawa, and "Amagumo" written by Eigo Kawashima.

Track listing

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All tracks written by Miyuki Nakajima and Kawachi Chito.

  1. "Rouge" (ルージュ)
  2. "Kaette-oide" (帰っておいで; "Come Home")

Faye Wong version

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"Vulnerable Woman"
Song by Faye Wong
from the album Coming Home
Recorded1992
GenreCantopop
Length4:19
LabelCinepoly
Composer(s)
  • Miyuki Nakajima
Lyricist(s)Yuen-Leung Poon
Producer(s)Alvin Leong

Chinese singer Faye Wong recorded a Cantonese-language cover of the song titled "Vulnerable Woman" (Chinese: 容易受傷的女人; Jyutping: Jung4ji6 Sau6soeng1 dik1 Neoi5jan4), appearing on her 1992 album Coming Home.

Background

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Music arranged by Antonio "Tony" Arevalo Jr. It was featured as an interlude song for the Hong Kong television series The Greed of Man. Wong also recorded a Mandarin version titled "Róng Yì Shòu Shāng de Nǚ Rén", which appeared on her 1994 compilation album Faye Best. The cover tells the story of a woman begging her man not to leave.[2]

Reception

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"Vulnerable Woman" achieved success in Hong Kong after its appearance in The Greed of Man, and reportedly led to further covers of the song in various languages.[3]

The song won several awards, including Song of the Year at the 1992 Ultimate Song Chart Awards Presentation held by Commercial Radio Hong Kong.[4]

Accolades

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Như Quỳnh version

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"Người tình mùa đông"
Single by Như Quỳnh
from the album Chuyện hoa sim
Released1994 (1994)
Recorded1994
GenrePop
Length4:14
LabelAsia Entertainment
Composer(s)Miyuki Nakajima
Lyricist(s)Anh Bằng
Producer(s)Trúc Sinh
Như Quỳnh singles chronology
"Người tình mùa đông"
(1994)
"Chuyện hoa sim"
(1995)
Music video
Như Quỳnh "Người tình mùa đông" on YouTube

Vietnamese singer Như Quỳnh recorded a Vietnamese-language cover as her debut single "Người tình mùa đông" (English: "Winter lovers"), appearing on her 1995 debut album Chuyện hoa sim.

Background

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Lyrics were written by songwriter Anh Bằng, who founded Asia Entertainment in 1980,[8] and would proceed to compose music for her signature song "Chuyện hoa sim".[9][10] The lyrics talk about unrequited love that is generously compared to the coldness of winter.[2] Như Quỳnh first performed "Người tình mùa đông" at the concert Asia 6: Giáng sinh đặc biệt (English: "Asia 6: Christmas special") in 1994,[11] in favor of "Chuyện hoa sim" (which would be performed at the next rendition of the show). The song's performance would later be released on video in 1995.[12]

In September 2014, Như Quỳnh performed an alternate cover titled "Còn mãi mùa đông" (English: "Winter forever") on the 114th edition of the Thúy Nga production Paris by Night, with Vietnamese lyrics written by Thái Thịnh.[13]

Reception

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"Người tình mùa đông" has been considered the song that brought Như Quỳnh to success for overseas Vietnamese music, along with her signature song "Chuyện hoa sim".[14] A 2018 live performance of the song, where Như Quỳnh wore the same outfit from her first performance with Asia Entertainment, received a positive response, including surprise that the singer managed to retain her vocal ability after over twenty years.[15]

Her debut performance of the song was uploaded to YouTube on December 5, 2015, and has since attained over thirteen million views, becoming her most popular song under Asia Entertainment.[12]

Other cover versions

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  • Nakajima covered the song herself on her 1979 cover album Okaerinasai.
  • Naoko Ken covered the song on her 1984 cover album Again.
  • Singaporean band Tokyo Square covered the song in English as "That is Love".[2]
  • Jessica Jay covered the song in English as “Broken Hearted Woman”.
  • Yonca Evcimik covered this song in Turkish as “8:15 Vapuru” (8:15 Ferry).
  • Aye Chan May covered the song in Burmese as "Broken as A Piece".
  • Don Sonrabiab covered the song in Thai as "Jeb Gwa Thoe" (More sad than you). Later, this song was covered by Pornpimon Tummasarn and was renamed as "Kueab Ja Sai" (Almost too late).
  • A version called "ຊຽວ ຕະມອງ": the Khmu language performed by a Laos female singer is also influenced by Techno music, but the female singer inserts a rap part to the song.

References

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  1. ^ "【第26回】これを歌えば大人気!? ベトナム人が知ってる日本の曲". VIETJO Life(ベトジョーライフ) (in Japanese). 2016-07-01. Retrieved 2018-04-24.
  2. ^ a b c d VnExpress. "'Người tình mùa đông' - khắc khoải nỗi nhớ người cũ - VnExpress Giải Trí". VnExpress Giải Trí (in Vietnamese). Retrieved 2018-04-24.
  3. ^ "相隔25年 投資逾100萬 錄足120日 鄺美雲賣命推出發燒碟". 頭條日報 Headline Daily (in Chinese (Hong Kong)). 2018-01-11. Retrieved 2018-04-24.
  4. ^ a b 許栢倫 (2017-07-06). "【一首歌】王菲《容易受傷的女人》真經典 「讓我終於找到信任」". 香港01 (in Chinese (Hong Kong)). Retrieved 2018-04-24.
  5. ^ a b "商業電台官方網站". Archived from the original on 2007-12-31.
  6. ^ a b "歷屆得獎名單 - 2010十大勁歌金曲頒獎典禮 - tvb.com". jsg.tvb.com. Archived from the original on 2018-04-25. Retrieved 2018-04-25.
  7. ^ "歷年十大中文金曲頒獎音樂會". www.rthk.org.hk. Archived from the original on 2018-04-25. Retrieved 2018-04-25.
  8. ^ "Nhạc sĩ Anh Bằng, một người Việt thương quê mình". Nguoi Viet Online (in Vietnamese). 2017-11-21. Retrieved 2018-04-25.
  9. ^ Chuyện Hoa Sim (liner notes). Như Quỳnh. Asia Music Entertainment, Inc. 1995.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  10. ^ VCCorp.vn. "Như Quỳnh được cấp phép biểu diễn ở Việt Nam: Mỹ nhân nổi danh tài sắc một thời". giadinh.net.vn (in Vietnamese). Retrieved 2018-04-25.
  11. ^ Hà Thu (26 August 2017). "Những bản cover gây sốt của Hà Anh Tuấn - VnExpress Giải Trí". VNExpress (in Vietnamese). Retrieved 31 August 2017.
  12. ^ a b ""ASIA 6" Người Tình Mùa Đông - Như Quỳnh [asia REWIND] - YouTube". YouTube. Asia Entertainment Official. 8 December 2015. Retrieved 31 August 2017.
  13. ^ PLO.VN (2017-12-26). "Sài Gòn lạnh, nghe Người tình mùa Đông bản gốc". PLO (in Vietnamese). Retrieved 2018-04-24.
  14. ^ "Kiếp hồng nhan bạc phận của Người tình mùa đông - ca sĩ Như Quỳnh". Báo Dân Việt (in Vietnamese). Retrieved 2018-04-24.
  15. ^ VCCorp.vn (2 February 2018). "[Video] Về Việt Nam, Như Quỳnh làm được điều đáng kinh ngạc" (in Vietnamese). Retrieved 2018-04-24.
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