Nokia Music Playground!

Tuesday night I headed over to the Hong Kong Exhibition Center to check out a special Nokia event. Titled, Nokia Music Playground, the line up for the night included Edison Chen, Rainie Yang from Taiwan, and FAMA, as well as D.J. Kulu’s Ultra Lounge crew.

Arriving just before the event started, the large open hall was very crowded.

Displays and installations featuring the new Nokia models were plentiful.

Though Hong Kong’s main party crowd was noticeably absent, there was an impressive turnout for a normal week night. The area inside the venue was divided into three sections, VIP, guest, and press. I opted for VIP, but all three areas had equally good views of the stage. The guest section appeared to be reserved for fans of the singers, who brought along lighted placards and occasionally swooned during moments on stage.

I hadn’t heard the first local band that included Terence Tsui perform before. It was interesting to see an actual band with singers, a drummer, a bass player and a guitar, as Hong Kong isn’t exactly a live band town anymore.

After a few songs they were joined on stage by the M.C.s for the night, the radio personalities I Luv U Boyz. Next up was Rainie Yang, Taiwan’s queen of cute.

Movie fans may know her from her role in Spider Lilies, as the girl who had a crush on actress Isabella Leong. Rainie did several song and dance numbers with a video backdrop that featured impressive visuals. She had dancers that performed in unison with her as well. It’s not my type of music, but it’s typical of Pop in Asia. In between sets, Rainie was presented with a special ‘Rainie’ Nokia phone.

The local group FAMA, came up afterwards. They joked around in Cantonese, and even performed a few Nokia freestyle raps in between their songs.

Actor, Pop star, and CLOT founder Edison Chen joined them on stage and then performed a few songs on his own with D.J. Tommy lending support. Edison’s routine included songs from both his Mandarin and Cantonese albums.

C-L-O-T!

The Nokia Music Playground promotional event was centered around the launch of three new products: the Nokia N81 multimedia computer; the Nokia 5610, and the 5310 XpressMusic models. These phones are branded as entertainment devices. Hong Kong is an excellent market for this type of product. Why? Because many people have long commutes and they desire entertainment while on the train or bus. These devices, which serve equally as communication tools, gaming platforms, and movie or music players, fulfill their needs. With big screens, good audio, and interactive controls, commuters can comfortably take their entertainment with them on the go. The next time you board a train or bus, take a glance at the other passengers – you will notice that a large percentage of them are engaged in some sort of activity utilizing their phones.

After the performances there was a lucky draw contest, where Edison and Rainie pulled names out of a box and awarded the winners the new Nokia models. Following the contest, D.J. Kulu’s Ultra Lounge began to play. The group consisted of several d.j.s, an M.C., and a saxophone player. Despite the rapidly thinning crowd, the music was excellent.