Fairy Tale is the third solo album by Malaysian singer Michael Wong, released on 21 January 2005.

History

Wong's previous two albums, Michael's First Album and Ray of Light, stirred up a fan base but did not make much ground in terms of record sales. His fans had to wait another two years before Wong finally launched his third album, Fairy Tale. After rejecting the first few songs he listed himself for the album with his sense of perfection, Wong eventually re-selected some songs himself and finally rooted for his ten favourite songs to be cut into the album, of which six were co-written by himself. His two years of work paid off when this album immediately attained success, and became critically acclaimed as Wong's best-selling album.

Title song

The first single from this album, also called Fairy Tale, was composed by himself. Wong, who is more of a composer and hardly wrote lyrics, asked about 30 lyricists for suggestions for this particular song. After finally adding a finishing touch to the song with lyrics he wrote himself, he then left it to be arranged and produced by the experienced Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

ese producer Taichi Nakamura. Fairy Tale is considered by many fans as Wong's strongest single. It became number one at the Baidu 500

Baidu 500

The Baidu 500 is a list of rankings generated by Chinese search engine Baidu as part of their mp3 downloading service featuring the top 500 songs in the Chinese language...

 immediately after it was released in January 2005, making it to the top of the download counter for 15 weeks. The single is arguably the most successful Chinese language song in the 21st Century. As of 2007 it is still among the top in the karaoke

Karaoke

is a form of interactive entertainment or video game in which amateur singers sing along with recorded music using a microphone and public address system. The music is typically a well-known pop song minus the lead vocal. Lyrics are usually displayed on a video screen, along with a moving symbol,...

 charts. Wong became the first Malaysian to win four main awards in the Chinese music scene's biggest award show, the Hong Kong

Hong Kong

Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...

 TVB8 Golden Music Awards on December 3, 2005. He won Best Composition, Best Composer/Artist, Top Ten Songs of the Year, and Best of the Year's Top 10 Songs.

The music video

Music video

A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...

 accompanying Fairy Tale has been the subject of heated debate. It pictures Wong playing the song at a concert, transmitted to a girl in a hospital bed by phone. Intermittent flashbacks during the song reveal that she had a nosebleed, then collapsed. It is most likely she was suffering from lung cancer. At the conclusion of the video, she dies, and a voice-over

Voice-over

Voice-over is a production technique where a voice which is not part of the narrative is used in a radio, television production, filmmaking, theatre, or other presentations...

 says "When the whole world ignored me, only you never left me alone." There has been debate over whether or not Fairy Tale was based on a true story.

Track listing

1. "Intro"
2. "童話" (Tóng Huà; Fairy Tale)
3. "天堂" (Tiān Táng; Heaven)
4. "少年" (Shào Nián; Teenager)
5. "手機留言" (Shǒu Jī Liú Yan; Cellphone Voice Message)
6. "向左走向右走" (Xiàng Zuǒ Zǒu Xiàng Yoù Zǒu; Turn Left Turn Right)
7. "一點光一點亮" (Yī Diǎn Guāng Yī Diǎn Liàng; Little Light (Guang) Little Bright (Liang))
8. "期限" (Qī Xiàn; Deadline)
9. "海邊" (Hǎi Biān; Beside the Sea)
10. "妹妹" (Mèimèi; Little Sister)
11. "記得我愛你" (Jì de Wǒ Ài Nǐ; Remember I Love You)
12. "The End"

Bonus MV VCD

1. Fairy Tale 童話
2. The First Time 第一次
3. Sadness Subway 傷心地鐵
4. Christmas in 2999 2999年的聖誕節
5. As if nothing had happened 若無其事

Cover versions

• Singapore
  Singapore
  Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
  
  an pop singer, Aliff Aziz covers Tong Hua song. The cover's title song is Cinta Arjuna.

• Cambodia
  Cambodia
  Cambodia , officially known as the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia...
  
  n singer Sokun Nisa covers Tong hua song. the cover title is Srok Trik Pneak Pel kom Pong Nhor Nhim.