希莉娜依 [Xerinay Malik]

It’s not particularly unheard of for celebrities to make attempts at having a music career. In the Western world, there are countless examples that range from very successful (Ariana Grande, Drake, Olivia Rodrigo) to total flops (Tyra Banks, Eddie Murphy, Kobe Bryant). The innate musical talent of the artist is an obvious factor that determines the success of the endeavor, but there’s an overlooked element that’s likely even more relevant: the producer they choose to work with. It’s even more common for East Asian television idols to make brief forays into music, resulting in a sea of forgettable one-offs that become footnotes in their careers. One that deserves to be remembered, though, is Chinese TV presenter Xerinay Malik’s sole self-titled album. It was produced and primarily written by Zhang Yadong, who in 1996 was still making a name for himself but would eventually earn the moniker of China’s “golden producer.” He would become best known for his work with the inimitable Faye Wong, orchestrating her pivot from straight-laced pop to alternative music with a heavy infusion of dream pop. Malik likely doesn’t think much of the album these days, but her delicate voice was a perfect fit for the hazy composition style that Yadong was experimenting with. It remains an interesting marker of Yadong’s developing voice, which would eventually culminate in Faye Wong’s singular masterpiece Fuzao.