Canadian singer Celine Dion sang in mandarin in CCTV Lunar New Year television galas

Celine 席琳 xí lín has always been one of my favorite singers of all time. I love the passion she infused into each song she delivers. It’s tremendous and profound. At the beginning of a new Snake Year, she surprised me once again with her performance in mandarin in CCTV Lunar New Year television galas (春晚 chūn wǎn), which was viewed by the whole nation of China.

Her performance was stunningly well. She first sang a famous Chinese folk song 茉莉花 mòlihuā (Jasmine Flower) in a duet with Chinese soprano 宋祖英 Sòng zǔ yīng. I was a little nervous for her when she first appeared. However, the minute she finished the first line, I was relieved. She did it very well! Honestly, for beginners, even if just to learn by phonetics, it takes time to get the nuances right when you need to sing each syllable out loud in front of a big audience. Kudos to Celine!

Song Zuying did an excellent job too in the duet. I do think she could use a better fashion designer for her dress though. :-)

Now please go ahead and enjoy the show. I’ve posted the lyrics below to help you understand the song.

Happy New Year!



For readers in China, please view here:


 

[Simplified Chinese]

茉莉花

 

好一朵美丽的茉莉花

好一朵美丽的茉莉花

芬芳美丽满枝桠

又香又白人人夸

让我来将你摘下

送给别人家

茉莉花呀茉莉花

[Traditional Chinese]

茉莉花

 

好一朵美麗的茉莉花

好一朵美麗的茉莉花

芬芳美麗滿枝椏

又香又白人人誇

讓我來將你摘下

送給別人家

茉莉花呀茉莉花

[pinyin]

mòlihuā
hǎo yī duǒ měilì de mòlihuā

hǎo yī duǒ měilì de mòlihuā

fēnfāng měilì mǎn zhīyā

yòu xiāng yòu bái rénrén kuā

ràng wǒ lái jiāng nǐ zhāixià

sònggěi biéren jiā

mòlihuā ya mòlihuā

 

[English translation]

JASMINE FLOWER

What a beautiful jasmine flower
What a beautiful jasmine flower
This beauty in full bloom scents the air
and deserves lots of praise for its sweet and white
Let me pick some flowers
and send to others
Oh, jasmine flowers, jasmine flowers

 

Celine’s second song was my long time favorite: My Heart will Go On (我心永恒 wǒ xīn yǒnghéng). Her performance touched my heart once again: