Ever since joining Ride on Waves 3, Cyndi Wang’s career has been experiencing a second wind like no other. The Mandopop princess dominated the Chinese music charts, most especially her song Love You (Ai Ni) 愛你 which became a viral dance challenge attempted by celebs and Netizens alike. However, did you know that Love You is actually a Mandarin cover of Listen to My Word by the now defunct South Korean girl group Papaya? It’s amazing how some Netizens were able to remember this little nugget of fact, especially since Papaya disbanded just a year after their debut!
While the idol group itself did not stand the test of time, it appears the song proved to more enduring. So much so that the uber popular idol group TWICE even performed the song’s re-released version entitled A-ing on some of their stages. After Papaya disbanded in 2001, “Listen to My Word (A-ing)” was actually re-released in 2016 by Oh My Girl, a pop group created by Papaya’s manager.
Meanwhile, Cyndi’s performance of the hit song was such a huge throwback for viewers that it also resulted in a renewed interest in many of her works. The popstar’s popularity even trickled over to her Smiling Pasta co-star Nicholas Teo whose songs such as Little Turtle and Tears from Polaris for the drama’s soundtrack also received an uptick in searches online.
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laila
I actually knew of Papaya’s version, since I was into Kpop in 1999/2000 as a little kid. I didn’t even know Cyndi made a Mandarin version of the song until a few years ago. I think both versions are cute, but I think my ears need a break from the song. After hearing it so much on douyin because every keeps doing the same challenge, i’m lowkey annoyed of the song. lol
mini
Hi the oh my girl song was in 2017 not 2007. Oh My Girl debuted in 2015.
Mini
*2016 not 2017.
Chase Shê
Hi Mini! Thanks for catching this! I’ve updated the article.