Xinyao

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Xinyao (simplified Chinese: 新谣; pinyin: Xīnyáo) is a Chinese noun comprising two words: Xin (新) which literally means new and Yao (谣) for song. The extended form is actually "Xin jia po ge yao" (新加坡歌谣), which simply means Singapore songs. It is a genre of songs that is unique to Singapore, where the songs are composed and sung by Singaporeans and are usually about life in this small island country. Xinyao can be clearly identified by its distinctive style of clean acoustics, with a group of people singing and harmonizing together, usually accompanied solely by the guitar.

[edit] History

In the Chinese music scene, the local xinyao movement started in mid-1980s and was the source of a number of success stories in today's regional Chinese pop music industry. This genre also had its roots in the 1990s within local schools. Early pioneers of this style of music include Liang Wern Fook (Liang Wenfu), who has since become a prolific local songwriter, and Eric Moo (Wu Qixian).