''DEPART'' is the twelfth

Mandarin Mandarin or The Mandarin may refer to: Language * Mandarin Chinese, branch of Chinese originally spoken in northern parts of the country ** Standard Chinese or Modern Standard Mandarin, the official language of China ** Taiwanese Mandarin, Stand ...

-language studio album by Singaporean singer and songwriter

Tanya Chua Tanya Chua (; born 28 January 1975) is a Singaporean singer-songwriter. She launched her singing career by releasing her debut studio album ''Bored'' in 1997. Her albums, ''Amphibian'' (2005), '' Goodbye & Hello'' (2007), ''Sing It Out of Love'' (2 ...

, released by Universal Music on 13 August 2021. She collaborated with

Carla Bruni Carla Bruni-Sarkozy

and

Ayanga Ayanga (, , born 23 October 1989) is a Chinese musical theater actor, singer and songwriter of Mongol ethnicity. Early life Ayanga was born in Ordos City, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. His parents were sheep herders and died before he t ...

, and also invited world-class composer Ricky Ho to produce and arrange the music. At the

33rd Golden Melody Awards The 33rd Golden Melody Awards (Chinese: 第33屆金曲獎) took place in Kaohsiung Arena, Kaohsiung, Taiwan in 2022, which marked its return at Kaohsiung City since the 16th edition. The award ceremony for the popular music categories was hosted ...

, Chua was awarded the Best Female Mandarin Singer, Best Mandarin Album,

Album of the Year Album of the Year, often abbreviated to AOTY, may refer to: Awards * ARIA Award for Album of the Year, Australia * Brit Award for British Album of the Year, UK * Grammy Award for Album of the Year, US * Juno Award for Album of the Year, CA * Lati ...

and Best Vocal Album Recording for ''Depart'', among eight other nominations.

Background and recording

On 30 January 2021, Chua sang a new song, "Ex-Love Song" during the encore of her "Kisses for the World" concert tour held in

Taipei Arena The Taipei Arena () is a multi-purpose stadium located in Songshan, Taipei, Taiwan, and it is operated by the Taipei Rapid Transit Corporation (TRTC). Built in 2005, the large multi-purpose stadium can accommodate major international sport ev ...

Taipei Taipei (), officially Taipei City, is the capital and a special municipality of the Republic of China (Taiwan). Located in Northern Taiwan, Taipei City is an enclave of the municipality of New Taipei City that sits about southwest of the n ...

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...

. The song appeared on Track 6 in the album. On 22 June 2021, Chua posted a photo of herself approaching an open door in a backdrop of a rocky mountain on her social media accounts, mentioning

Wu Qing-feng Wu Qing-feng (; born 1982) , also known as Greeny and credited as Wu Tsing-fong, is a Taiwanese singer-song writer, composer, arranger, and lyricist. Born in Taipei, he is a founding member and the lead vocalist of Oaeen (Sodagreen) and is the m ...

. It served as the first teaser to her lead single "Depart". According to Chua, she was "idling and feeling at a loss" during her isolation in Taipei when the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

broke out, so she took the time to write music about what was happening to the world. She drew inspiration from nature documentaries and classical music. The album was recorded at Chua's home recording studio, skipping the convenience of electronic arrangements and returning to "

unplugged Unplugged may refer to: *Acoustic music, music not produced through electronic means *Unplugged (B.A.P song), "Unplugged" (B.A.P song), 2014 *Unplugged (Modern Family), "Unplugged" (''Modern Family''), a 2010 episode of ''Modern Family'' Albums a ...

" music, focusing on the timbre and quality of instruments and vocals. Chua single-handedly composed, arranged, and played the acoustic guitar for the album which she did for the first time. She also invited Taiwanese lyricist (葛大為), Singaporean lyricist

Xiaohan The traditional Chinese calendar divides a year into 24 solar terms. ''Xiǎohán'', ''Shōkan'', ''Sohan'', or ''Tiểu hàn'' () is the 23rd solar term. It begins when the Sun reaches the celestial longitude of 285° and ends when it reaches t ...

, and Hong Kong lyricist (周耀輝) to help with the lyrics. Chua wrote over 30 songs for the album.

Release

On 8 July 2021, Chua released her single "Depart", three years after her eleventh studio album ''Kisses for the World'', and followed up with the music video a week after. The song employed minimalistic orchestration with only a guitar and a string quartet. She followed with the second single "Bluebirds" on 29 July 2021, in cooperation with Ricky Ho and the

Bulgarian National Radio Symphony Orchestra The Bulgarian National Radio Symphony Orchestra (Bulgarian: Симфоничен оркестър на Българското национално радио) is a Bulgarian radio orchestra based in Sofia, Bulgaria, affiliated with Bulgarian Natio ...

. On 6 August 2021, Chua released her third single "Photographs" in collaboration with

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

- French singer, model, and

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

's former first lady

Carla Bruni Carla Bruni-Sarkozy

. The song is in English and Mandarin with Bruni singing a few lines in Mandarin, with guidance from Chua. On 12 August 2021, Chua released her fourth single "Romanticism", followed by the release of her full album ''Depart'' the following day.

Background and recording

Release

Track listing

Awards and nominations

References