100,000 Whys


100,000 Whys? is the sixth Cantonese studio album by Chinese recording artist Faye Wong. It was released though Cinepoly Records on 7 September 1993. It is named after a popular Chinese science book, One Hundred Thousand Whys by Ye Yonglie.

Background and release

The Japanese version of the album released in April 1994 included three bonus tracks: another version of "Like Wind", a Mandarin version of "Fragile Woman", and "Forgetting You Is Like Forgetting Me", the theme from The Bride with White Hair 2.

Songs

The album included several hit singles: "Flow Not Fly", "Summer of Love", "Like Wind", "Cold War", "Tempted Heart" and "Tempt Me". "Flow Not Fly", a lively pop number, became an unofficial anthem for Faye Wong, with the repeated chorus line "Fei Fei" being a pun on the singer's name. "Cold War" is a Cantonese cover of "Silent All These Years" by Tori Amos; a Mandarin version followed on Mystery. The song was a departure from mainstream C-pop, and Wong followed this markedly with further experiments in "alternative music" for her next Cantonese album, Random Thoughts.
The album included four more cover songs. "Summer of Love" is the Cantonese version of Helen Hoffner's 1993 hit. "Like Wind" is a cover of the Mandarin song 猜心 by One-Fang. "Rainy Days Without You" covers Love Unlimited's "Walking in the Rain ", and "Do Do Da Da" is The Police's "De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da". "Do We Really Care" was Faye Wong's second song recorded wholly in English, after "Kisses in the Wind" on Coming Home.

Commercial performance

100,000 Whys debuted at number one on the IFPI Hong Kong album chart during the week of 16 September 1993. It remained atop the chart for four weeks and left the top ten after fifteen weeks.

Usage in media

"Tempted Heart" was the theme for the TVB series Eternity, in which Wong also appeared. "Tempt Me" was the theme tune for Joan Chen's 1993 film Temptation of a Monk, and won a Best Movie Song award.

Live performances

Wong's 1994–95 series of concerts at the Hong Kong Coliseum included five songs from the album: the first four, and "Tempt Me" which was extended with a prelude.