MUSIC: HUA CHEN YU'S MY SKATEBOARD SHOES 2016

If you go on any one of Hua Chen Yu's songs on YouTube you will find comments saying they went from a passerby to a fan after Hua Chen Yu performed My Skateboard Shoes 2016. I am one such person who went from a passerby to a fan after Hua Chen Yu performed My Skateboard Shoes 2016.

The first version I heard of My Skateboard Shoes 2016 was the version in the video above. 

The first time I heard it I fell in love. I know I said that in my previous music feature haha. I guess for a song to score a feature post I must fall in love with it at first listen. Anyway, I digress. 

Although I watched Hua Chen Yu rise to fame as he participated in Super Boy 2010, eventually winning the competition I was never his fan. But all that changed when I heard My Skateboard Shoes 2016 and learnt the context of how that song came to be. 

The video above shows the first time Hua Chen Yu performed My Skateboard Shoes 2016. It was on the television program Tian Lai Zhi Zhan (unofficial translation Sounds of War) where Hua Chen Yu was a set cast member alongside Karen Mok, Yang Kun and Fei Yu Qing. The concept of the program PK-ing celebrity singer-songwriters against non-famous singer-songwriters. The twist was the celebrities would be given 24 hours to remake a song selected by the non-famous singer-songwriter. In Episode 3, Hua Chen's Yu non-famous singer-songwriter opponent was Lu Mo Yi, a backing vocalist at his concerts and his good friend. The song she selected was My Skateboard Shoes.

This song was the viral hit of 2014/2015 for reasons I believe are clear after listening to the song.
The video above is actually the official music video which was released after the song went viral. The only aspect of the song that Hua Chen Yu did not changed was the lyrics.

My Skateboard Shoes 2016 was arguably one of the most talked about songs in the program being mentioned every so often. Hua Chen Yu even performed part of it in Yang Kun's performance in Episode 8.

Due to the popularity My Skateboard Shoes 2016 received, Hua Chen Yu released an official studio version later that year.