William Chan Criticized for Slaughtering Mandarin Version of “Aladdin” Theme Song
Performing the Mandarin version of the Disney classic, William Chan is criticized for his “unique” singing style.
With the release of Disney classic Aladdin’s live action version, an all-new Mandarin version of “A Whole New World” <新的世界> by William Chan (陳偉霆) and Zhang Bichen (張碧晨) was released.
While Zhang Bichen’s singing has been largely praised, William on the other hand has been lambasted him for his “breathless singing style”. Some felt that he could not do justice to the song and questioned why the song was not delivered by other professional Mainland singers, commenting “Is he so popular that we can overlook his [lack of] singing abilities?”
Zhang Bichen, winner of The Voice of China <中國好聲音> season 3, has long been recognized for her singing abilities, while William Chan rose in popularity from his work in Mainland China in recent years.
William became a singer after joining 2003’s TVB8 International Chinese New Talent Singing Championship <全球華人新秀歌唱大賽>. Before focusing on the Mainland market, he had performed many Cantonese songs, though he failed to impress the local audience who mostly remained unaware of who he is.
Undeterred, William started taking on jobs in China in 2013. Although he played only a supporting role in Swords of Legends <古劍奇譚>, he managed to stand out with his handsome good looks. He also appeared in Legend of Zu Mountain <蜀山戰紀之劍俠傳奇>, The Mystic Nine Tetralogy <老九門> and other dramas which cemented his popularity.
William’s dancing talents and Korean styling kept his popularity rising, with his filming rates rumored to hit 90 million yuan. While his singing of “A Whole New World” faced rampant criticism, loyal fans have spoken up for him amidst the negative press, bringing up his professionalism and gentle delivery of the song.
“A Whole New World” Mandarin Version
Source: Hket
This article is written by JoyceK for JayneStars.com.
First time hearing it just watching the video… agree that William is unfortunately not at the same level as Bichen.
Have to agree that he sounds terrible and this guy is so popular?????
He ruined the song.
Yeah totally agree. He ruined the song. Wrong choice of vocal chord used or should say wrong “style” of singing this song. He should sound excited, happy, exuberant for this song. Instead, he sounded like half-dead tone of voice …. no energy, dull and boring.
Hahahaha…He sounded like a dead fish with weird accent!! Did no one listen to them during the recording? :/ The vocal power between them are vastly differently.
OMG, it really is not good. He did ruin the song. I don’t speak Chinese, but I can tell he has a kind of thick accent. It’s like when I read the pinyin of Chinese. Zhang Bichen did a good job. I don’t know why they don’t give this to a professional male singer. It’s not like China doesn’t have one.
He is Too soft and sounded like no “yang”.
Without a doubt he’s obviously NOT the same level as the girl. He’s probably a much better actor than a singing. His other songs wasn’t that bad thou and sometimes he has different tones but this song is just not fitting for this voice.
He sounds creepy. Maybe he thinks he is Jafar trying to woo Princess Jasmine by creeping her.
Were there not professionals in the music studios when the pair started singing? How could they even let him pass?
lmao how can they approve this track? he totally ruined it…
At the start, I felt it was passable, his singing voice. And then she started to sing and it eclipsed his singing so bad, that you wish you can just kick him off the song. She’s like an angel and he is like a normal commoner try to sing at a karaoke.
I have to agree that his singing emote no joy, no wonder, that feeling the song gives. China has many famous singers, should have grab them instead, Disney!
Lol, the guy sounds like he just finished a grueling marathon run and gasping for air. Dude is not a good singer at the best of times. Him trying to cover for his weak voice makes it worse. And then you add the girl, who is clearly way stronger, and it just exacerbates the guy’s terrible delivery of the song overall.
William Chan is a terrible singer with no voice compared to the female singer with a strong and beautiful voice.
He’s a better dancer than singer
Personally I don’t find William Chan handsome. He looks very feminine to me. I have never seen his movies, so I cannot comment on his acting or dancing. He may be another “siu sin yuk” to some people. However, based on the video above, he is no good in singing.