Tired of textbooks?
Need some fun materials to get that Chinese input?
You are at the right place,
cuz my music taste is just as good as my teaching skills!
(Not really, my teaching is better.)
The best singer is the last one.
I save the best for last.
你笑起来真好看 You Look So Nice When You Smile (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KqT7EcRrZBY)
Difficult level: ★★☆☆☆
As cliche as it sounds, this is actually a children's song.
But the lyrics are very cute, simple, and pronounced clearly.
If you passed HSK 2,
If you listen to the song for more than twice,
I bet it will haunt you in your dreams.
夜空中最亮的星 The Brightest Star In The Sky (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GPnymcrXgX0)
Difficult level: ★★★☆☆
If you like this song,
你一定是个有故事的人。。。（you gotta have some stories to tell...)
This is a song that reminds me of my dad.
北京欢迎你 Beijing Welcomes You (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T6gsbI35SH4)
Difficult level: ★★★★☆
This is the theme song for Beijing 2018 Olympic Games,
so you can regard it as a 政府宣传歌（"propaganda song"）.
Don't leave yet!!!
The melody is dope though... and ...
100 singers from mainland China, Hongkong, and Taiwan sang it all together.
Your favorite Jacky Chen and HIS SON are in it too lol.
我的歌声里 You Exist In My Song（https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IfkUr16XKCs）
Difficult level: ★★★☆☆
“你存在，you exist,
我深深的脑海里，deeply in my brain,
我的梦里，my dreams,
我的心里，my heart,
我的歌声里。and my songs."
OK never mind,
after I translated the lyrics into English,
I realized it 完全变味了（completely lost all the flavors),
But it's a beautiful song,
you just have to feel it from her smoky voice.
无与伦比的美丽 Incomparable Beauty（https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PcRWnNNWSOk）
Difficult level: ★★★☆☆
I have to pick a song from the Chinese version of THE VOICE!!!
This girl, Curley, was only 18 when she sang this song.
Her voice left a deep impression on me.
大碗宽面 Big Bowl Thick Noodles（https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B-yHoIUGreY）
Difficult level: ★★★★☆
Hmmmm, ya, this song is literally talking about Chinese noodles...
so if you like Chinese noodles...
learn this song maybe?
Kris Wu, the rapper, is definitely one of the MOST popular singers in China.
However, I think this song got super popular also because of
a 2020 Chinese TV show: 乘风破浪的姐姐Sisters Who Make Waves.
It's such a pleasure to see a group of pretty ladies sing while dance to this song
(BTW they are all above 30 years old)
我的新衣 My New Swag (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aknkofx2bHg)
Difficult level: ★★★★☆
Oh yeah the list is getting intense.
This is a rap song,
very difficult rap song,
so difficult that a part of it was in Sichuan dialect(by the guy with those ugly glasses).
But even though you have no clue what they are singing,
it's still lit.
乘风破浪的姐姐Sisters Who Make Waves also performed this sing on the stage
with Sichuan, Cantonese, and Tianjin dialects.
The dialects made the rap song stands out immediately!
对不起，我的中文不好 Sorry, My Chinese Is Not Bad (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2XTBwvi0h2E)
Difficult level: ★★☆☆☆
Did you get the 水饺 v.s. 睡觉 joke in the beginning of the MTV?
The band is a group of British guys who live in Taiwan.
The lyrics are very basic and the melody is fun,
so EVERY, SINGLE, CHINESE teacher I know has taught this song in their K-12 classrooms,
including me when I was teaching K-12 kids ,
and the kids LOVED it!!!
童年 Childhood (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sn6jHGTvQAo)
Difficult level: ★★★☆☆
Alright! After all the songs from the 21 century,
I would like to introduce an old song from the 80's to you guys.
I bet if you can sing this song to a 中国大妈 (Chinese middle age woman),
like...your gf's mom?...
she will be really impressed.
But I picked a newer version,
because the youtuber, Feng Timo,
is too cute to be true.
You look at her,
and you think of middle school love.
This Taiwanese girl got famous by singing live stream.
突然好想你 Suddenly Really Miss you (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GtDRcXtDg-4)
Difficult level: ★★★☆☆
Why Chinese kids all love this song and this band (May Day)?
I will never get it.
But my friend Mia with Hit Chinese highly recommended it.
看在她的面子上(for her sake)，
I will share it with you guys :P
周杰伦 Jay Chou
Difficult level: ★★★★★
This guy is a genius.
Call me biased,
but us 90's kids grew up listening to his music.
I can't even give you his top 10 songs.
他是一整个时代（He is THE ERA）!
If you listen to Jay Chou,
you will understand China's 80's and 90's kids in a much deeper level.
Except for typical love songs,
he also sings about family members, the environment, God father, Sherlock Holmes, cowboys, animals,
basketball, pingpong, Chinese Kungfu, anti war movement, anti-drug movement, vampire,
and even Mojito!
You name it!
Man, his songs are HARD to understand.
If you want to know how Chinese people feel in a TOEFL listening test,
go ahead and listen to Jay Chou's rap.
He created the 中国风音乐Classic Chinese Style Song, for example: 青花瓷 Blue and White Porcelain https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bz4Wkyo-q4o
If you want R&B, he has 爱在西元前Love before BC https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5XK2C9w6oVk
If you want Soft Rock, he has 晴天 Sunny day https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DYptgVvkVLQ
If you want Folk, he has 稻香 Rice Field https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sHD_z90ZKV0
If you want Rap, he has 双节棍 Nunchucks https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OR-0wptI_u0
If you want Britpop, he has 七里香 Common Jasmin Orange https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bbp9ZaJD_eA
If you want Nu-Metal, he has 霍元甲 Huo Yuanjia https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wr-6wwt8RXk
If you want Country, he has 牛仔很忙 The Cowboy Is Busy https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9o20U91aJdg
Or, if you just want a normal love song, he has 简单爱 Simple Love https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=URz-wKttvWQ
If you already listen to Chinese music,
give me some suggestions.
This list can really help people learn Chinese through fun stuff :)