Screaming and crying androids: voice and presence in Chinese popular music

Abstract

The voice is, next to the face, a defining aspect of the persona of popular music stars. This article seeks to understand the voice prior to lyrical content and genre convention. How does the voice relate to a singer and his or her body? Is the singing voice a sign of an individual? Does it rather embody a tradition, a nation or a generation? Or are the voices of Chinese popular music radically disembodied and phony?