Okay…

So in keeping with my promise to have a separate list for my T-drama and J-drama OST picks and in response to an anon follower who reminded me of that promise, I am now releasing part 2 of my top Asian Drama OST listing by itemizing my top choices for T-dramas.

Since i have mentioned far too many times on my blog already that I am really picky with my Taiwanese dramas and that i have only truly adored a couple of them, i think it is understandable dear followers that most of my OST picks for this genre would only come from those dramas that have really made an impact on me whether for purely sentimental reasons or because they were the only ones that tapped into my emotions.

That being said, i only feel it right that i do this listing differently from how i did my Kdrama OST listing (check it out HERE) by doing it according to drama and then ranking it accordingly rather than by ranking it on a per song basis.

So, let me start with the countdown:

FROM DRUNKEN TO LOVE YOU

Starring: Joseph Chang and Rainie Yang

AT NUMBER 10:

Song Title: Wo Men Dou Sha (We are all Fools)

Singer: Rainie Yang

What scene I remember it most for: Jie Xiu and Xiao Ru may have been the OTP extraordinaire that i shipped so hard in this series but undoubtedly, i will always remember this song for the break up scene between Xiao Ru and Yi Xiang.

It was emotional and gut wrenchingly painful and it was a good enough hook for me to stay tuned in for the rest of the series because of the vulnerability that Rainie has displayed so well in that scene that makes me want to just see the character that she plays to triumph over that heartache and win it at the end.

There was something so raw about how the whole scene was played out from the way that she grovelled and begged KingOne not to leave her and the way that you can see how he’s struggling with his feelings for her and yet he had to be the bad guy just because he wants her to go on with her life without him.

I have never cried as hard in the first episode of a series than how i did in this drama and this song is partly to blame.

It was the perfect accompaniment to all the emotions that are present in that scene and it was almost like an ode that best described the pain that the characters feel as they say their goodbye and move on to a life without each other.

“We are all fools
Fools who are putting everything in a love that has no future
We’re still hoping for a miracle”

FROM METEOR GARDEN 2

Starring: Jerry Yan and Barbie Xu

AT NUMBER 9:

Song Title: Can’t Lose You

Singer: F4

What scene I remember it most for: Those moments in Spain when the instrumental guitar and piano version of this song was constantly played on the background during those idyllic, love filled days that Dao Ming Si and San Cai spent before Ye Sha came into the picture and before everything went to hell for this sequel.

I would forever remember this song for bringing me the most spazzworthy feelings, for the satisfaction that i feel at seeing Ah Sz and San Cai’s love story continue and of course for the fanservice that this show has brought me during those saccharine sweet moments which i lapped up like crazy as i watch the first OTP that i have ever shipped  make googly eyes at each other in a foreign country like a pair of overly in love honeymooners.

But then that effin’ car accident had to happen but i guess that’s a whole different story.

“Oh Baby, Baby, Baby
My Baby, Baby
I definitely can’t lose you.
Your hand, your voice is still taking up my heart
How can I forget thinking about you it’s like breathing? ”

AT NUMBER 8:

Song Title: Broken Vow

Singer: Lara Fabian

What scene I remember it most for: For those who have been able to watch this series, who could ever forget the way that San Cai shouted for Dao Ming Sz’s name brokenly as she reminded him of his true identity or the way that she ran after that bus as if her life depended on it when she saw him riding it or how both her and Ah Si waited for that goddamn meteor all night to show up just to give them a friggin’ sign if they should still fight for their love and if they were still meant to be together?

Definitely not me.

This song can trigger a whole range of emotions in me whenever it was played in this series. 

It could range from crying heavily and sobbing brokenly as i curse the bad luck that fate has thrown this star crossed lovers just when they thought that everything is going to work out for them or it could go to that extreme when i wanted to cut someone up badly for breaking my heart so much and that someone is probably the writer or Ye Sha.

One things for sure though, all karaoke shops in the Philippines during the time Meteor Garden 2 was airing was like a madhouse as wannabe singer after singer belted out the throat busting high notes of this song before finishing it off with the teary catch phrase “DAO MING SZ, WO AI NI!” as if they could ever be Barbie Xu to Jerry Yan’s Dao Ming Sz.

“I’ll let you go, I’ll let you fly
Why Do i keep on asking why
I’ll let you go now that i’ve found a way to keep somehow
More than a broken vow…”

FROM MAGICIANS OF LOVE

Starring: Ming Dao and Joanne Zeng

AT NUMBER 7:

Song Title: Affective Line

Singer: 183 Club

What scene I remember it most for: Second Male lead love represent!

I think i have never been as disappointed that a shows main OTP ended up together than when i watched this series.

In all aspects and ways Xiao Bei and Er Qi were perfect for each other. 

I had the biggest crush on Sam Wang while watching this drama and somehow it doesn’t help that his voice was so distinctive in this whole song that it magnified the feels that he has as a man who sacrificed his one true love for the sake of her happiness and that of his best friend whenever it’s played in the background.

But among all the scenes which i’d remember this song primarily for, it would be the way that it made me hurt so much when it was played during their break up scene.

There was something so selfish and yet selfless in the way that Er Qi hurt Xiao Bei when he broke up with her by kissing another girl in front of her and yet you can also tell that he was dying of heartache as he cried his heart out as he did it most especially when she walked away.

I felt that scene like a punch to the gut and what makes it hurt the most was not just this song but also the fact that he was a second male lead that was not really into the friend zone but one who had a real relationship with the female lead and whom i felt had a fighting chance if he only didn’t take the normal asian drama self sacrificing BS route.

Still, a bad boy who reformed for the love of his life?

Sam Wang aced it to perfection and i would forever remember this song for giving me a love story that may have been doomed but one which i felt with all my heart.

“Seeing you want to leave
yet i still pretend to smile
How much longer must i endure hiding my frailness?
If i speak now, how can i persuade you to stay?”

FROM METEOR GARDEN

Starring: Jerry Yan and Barbie Xu

AT NUMBER 6:

Song Title: Qing Fei De Yi

Singer: Harlem Yu

What scene I remember it most for: Ahhhh… the memories that this song can bring forth unto me just by hearing the first strains of its melody.

There is no distinctive scene that i remember this song for in the drama but i put it here on my list as just hearing it during the opening of the said series is enough to send me into a frenzy.

Being my first foray into Asian Dramas, i remember how i anticipated what the new episodes of the show would unfold as i sit there in front of my TV screen watching the F4 frolic at the beach or Vic Zhou playing his violin or the way that i ogled Jerry Yan and thought to myself how he can still be so effin’ gorgeous even with that ridiculous pineapple hair cut.

Meteor Garden was HUGE in the Philippines during the time it was airing.

Everyone could sing this song and by everyone i mean even kindergarten kids.  We might have the lyrics wrong but we can still belt this tune out like singers on a quest to join American Idol.

This show opened a whole new world of obsession for me.

Harlem Yu’s ditty was the perfect accompaniment for it.

It’s fun and youthful and vibrant and it makes you want to fall in love and this is just what this show did, not just for me, but to a million other fangirls of this cult sensation who loved it and followed it and up to now i still remember that feeling whenever i hear this melody.

“Just afraid I will fall in love with you
Dare not let myself be too close to you
Afraid I’ve got nothing to offer you
To love you may require a lot of courage too ”

AT NUMBER 5:

Song Title: Ni Yao De Ai

Singer: Penny Tai

What scene I remember it most for: If Harlem Yu’s Qing Fei Di Yi was the perfect song for all the fun filled, light moments of Meteor Garden, Penny Tai’s Ni Yao De Ai is perfect for all those pensive, quiet moments and the heartrbreaking ones as well.

It seems to translate across its melody the depth of the love that Dao Ming Sz has for San Cai and how he would make a fool of himself over and over for her and how he would defy everything just to prove his sincerity and the genuineness of his feelings for her.

I always feel overwhelmed by my emotions whenever i hear this song played in the series. But more so during the scene where Sz took care of San Cai after believing that she cheated on him because at that exact very moment i felt that he will throw away everything that’s important to him, even his pride because that’s how much he loves her. 

“The love you want
Is not just reliance
Must be like a man
even in bad weather
It leads a carefree life”

FROM THE PRINCE WHO TURNED INTO A FROG

Starring: Ming Dao and Joe Chen Qiao En

AT NUMBER 4:

Song Title: Call My Name

Singer: 183 Club and 7 Flowers

What scene I remember it most for:  I was literally obsessed with this song for months after watching The Prince who Turned into a Frog and i was surprised at how there’s still a twinge of pain in my heart whenever i hear it despite the fact that it’s been months since i watched the drama. Probably the song has made quite that big of an impact on me since it seems to remind me of the hurt of falling in love with someone with all your heart, making memories with them and then having it all forgotten in a flash just like what happened with Jun Hao and Tian Yu.

I will forever remember this song for that moment when with all heartbreak Tian Yu tearfully reminded Jun Hao of the love that they shared before he regained his old memories and forgotten theirs and how with firm belief she jumped into that pool trusting only in her heart and her gut that he will save her because she knows that a love like theirs will always be remembered because it only comes once in a lifetime. 

“Close your eyes, count to three and i’ll be there.
Sometimes it’s hard to hide the loneliness
Like a dream i can’t wake up from
I closed my eyes, count to three, you should appear
But you’ve gone back on your word, you’re not by my side.”

FROM IT STARTED WITH A KISS

Starring: Joe Cheng and Ariel Lin

AT NUMBER 3:

Song Title: Come a Little Closer

Singer: Lara

What scene I remember it most for: I listened to this song while i was drafting this list and i can’t believe how it can still bring me such feel good, giddy, warm feelings similar perhaps to how Xiang Qin probably felt whenever she’s around Zhi Shu while she revels in all those fuzzy, spazzworthy feelings that he elicits in her.

This song is a perfect foil for all the scenes in the series where Zhi Shu secretly hides a smile whenever Xiang Qin does something that warms his usually cold heart or those times when he does something extra nice for her. But moreso, i think this song highlights the bright, happy and open face of Xiang Qin as she visibly wears her heart out on her sleeve while hoping and waiting for the day when Zhi Shu finally turns her way.

I think i will forever connect this song to that pivotal moment in the series when Zhi Shu and Xiang Qin go on a pseudo date after running away from thugs as everything seem to stand still as they alight that bus because isn’t that really the case when you are with the one you love?

That nothing else matters but you and him and the love you feel for each other that everything else just fades into the background because you only have eyes for one another. 

“Me who silently waits behind you
Really wants to see your accidental smile
Maybe you do not understand my heart
I will work hard to make you feel touched.”

FROM IN TIME WITH YOU

Starring: Bolin Chen and Ariel Lin

AT NUMBER 2:

Song Title: Tip Toe Love

Singer: Hong Pei Yu

What scene I remember it most for: Seldom does a song speak to me and in this drama this song did in many ways. It was symbolic of the quietness and the calm that was everything You Qing and Da Ren. I love how it was such a good song to play during scenes where they’re just baring their heart out to each other or mulling the intricacies of their relationship whether individually or separately but moreso during the time after the night that they spent together in Tai Chung and how individually they felt the shift in their relationship from friendship to something more as they begin to cross that great divide between being just best friends to the possibility that they are in love.

“I’d like to tiptoe to find loves far away existence
Really wants to see your accidental smile
Maybe you do not understand my heart
I will work hard to make you feel touched.”

AND AT THE TOP OF THE LIST IS:

Song Title: I Will Not Love You

Singer: Bolin Chen

What scene I remember it most for: Because never had a song played such a pivotal and central role in a drama until this series and until this song. The fact that it was also not sang by a professional singer but by Bolin himself only magnified the depth and emotions expressed in this song a thousandfold.

Is it any wonder then that i’d forever remember it for that moment when Xiang Qin listens to it as she cries her heart out as she finally understood and accept how much Da Ren has loved her with all his heart from the very beginning up to that very second?

The song contains all the words that they both could not say, the emotions they can not express, the love they have for each other which consumes their whole being and their acceptance of one another no matter how flawed the other may be.

It was heartbreaking and heartwrenching but also liberating as i bawl my eyes out for these two characters who have been so foolish for such a long time but who have finally opened their eyes to the reality that nobody is more perfect for both of them but only each other.

“I think i probably, probably won’t love you.
I tried, tried hard not to fall for you.
That’s why i let myself like you so
That way you won’t have the heart to stay away from me.”

Number 19:

How many dramas have you watched? Which was your favorite? Least favorite? Any drama ideas that you’d like to see made?

I’m not really keeping tabs of the number of dramas i’ve watched but i’m also not exaggerating when i say that more or less it’s about 500.  That already includes all J/K and T dramas that i’ve completed and also the dramas that i’ve dropped midway which only accounts roughly for about 10% of that number.

I have not really been keeping it a secret that MY NAME IS KIM SAM SOON is my favorite drama of all time.

EVER.

As in EVER.

Though i know that there are new dramas that have far more awesome storylines than this one in this day and age, i will forever hold MNIKSS fondly in the number one spot in my heart because i will forever associate it with the feelings of warmth, tenderness, laughter, poignancy and all the spazzing that i’ve never ever felt and done as strongly than when i was watching this series.

It’s more of the emotions that this drama has brought out in me and the happy memories that i have of it than the drama per se.

(Although i think, it’s storyline is still the best and most original during it’s time).

My least favorite drama of all time might just be MARMALADE BOY. 

Seriously. It’s a waste of film and i can’t even make it past 30 minutes of that drama without wanting to throw something at the screen.

As for a drama storyline that i’d want to see made, i think it is slowly shaping into reality in I Do, I Do.

I really want to see a drama of a younger man-older woman pairing where the female takes on the alpha role and though there are genuine feelings of love blossoming between them, the differences in their role and status would be the main source of conflict where viewers can get to see that sometimes love really is not the answer to all.

That sometimes, there are other REAL issues that you have to work on as a couple to make a relationship work like family and friends and career and personally, your differences in values and opinions that you have to work on together as EQUALS if you would really want to have your love have a bright future.

I just hope I DO, I DO would deliver and wouldn’t disappoint.

Number 23:

How did you get hooked on Asian Dramas?

Like every other Filipino.

Why, with Meteor Garden circa 2003, of course.

At first i was like, what the heck are all those guys wearing?

Who said that they’re good looking?

They all look as if they are all high on acid.

But then as they say curiosity killed the cat and since it was the talk of the town at that time, i decided to check in on what the hype was all about.

The moment i did, i was not only killed but the drama goddamn SLAYED me.

It was like crack.

I was hooked from the first moment that Dao Ming Sz played the pathetic stalker to San Cai trailing after her like a lost puppy while she was all strong female dissing him at every chance she gets.

It opened a whole new world for me.

A world that i never even knew existed and ever since then, i have never looked back.

I REGRET NOTHING.