Sarah Chen the Therapist
Analysis of Dream Awakening 梦醒时分(陈淑桦/陳淑樺)
Dream Awakening (梦醒时分), 1989 Sarah Chen (陈淑桦/陳淑樺)
中文版:心理医生陈淑桦
Sarah Chen (陈淑桦;陳淑樺) is not just a singer or a magician, but also a therapist for the masses. This page delves into her top hit, "Dream To Awakening" (梦醒时分), to explain its impact and Sarah Chen's role.
Online view data are used to evaluate two competing hypotheses: the "Urban Woman Hypothesis" and a new "Sarah the Therapist" Hypothesis.
Rock Records YouTube: Dream Awakening
Background and Popularity
"Dream To Awakening" is the opening track from Sarah Chen (陈淑桦;陳淑樺)'s record-breaking 1989 album "Talk to You, Listen to You," the first album in Taiwan to surpass 1-million sales. Jonathan Lee composed the piece and was the producer of the album.
"Dream To Awakening" sent shockwaves through Taiwan's society and music scene upon its release in 1989, catapulting Sarah Chen to the status of "the diva of divas" and earning her the honorary title of "voice of urban women." It arrived at a time when women were increasingly moving to urban areas of Taiwan for white-collar jobs, often having to work harder than men and sacrifice their personal lives. Sarah Chen represented this demographic, serving as a friend and counselor for those in need of comfort amidst personal heartbreaks. But the song is not gendered; the message resonated with all genders and a wide age range.
As of April 2024, on YouTube, the Rock Records channel MV garnered 37M views, a Live Performance from TVMoron1 received 21M views, and four separate Sarah Chen channels received a total of 20M views. The Chinese music site bilibili had at least 5M views, with most uploads less than 3 years old. Spotify garnered about 12M replays.
A conservative estimate is that this song has received 100 million views. Had YouTube and Spotify not being banned in China, which comprised 98% of the Chinese-speaking population, the song would likely have been played 4-5 billion times.
Lyrics
The following is an interpreted translation.
You say you loved someone you should not have, your heart is full of scars; You say you made a mistake you shouldn't have made, your heart is filled with regret; You say you've tasted the bitterness of life, and cannot find anyone to trust; You say you feel hopeless, and have even begun to doubt life
(You) should have known that heartbreaks are inevitable, so why bother being so deeply in love? Because love is always hard to part from, why care about that little bit of tenderness?
(You) need to know that heartbreaks are inevitable, in every moment of waking from a dream. Some things you need not inquire now, some people you never need to wait for.
Why so popular?
The Urban Woman Hypothesis. The prevailing view of the song's popularity is the Urban Woman Hypothesis, which attributes the success of the song and album to the genius of Jonathan Lee, particularly his efforts to shape Sarah Chen into the image of an urban woman (including the short, gender-neutral haircut) to meet the societal needs of the 1980s-1990s Taiwan. Its success was built upon the two preceding albums, Heart of a Woman (1988) and Tomorrow, Will You Still Love me (1988). These three albums contained songs that, according to Lee, transformed Sarah Chen from a singer of melancholic tunes to a modern, urban woman, making her more relatable to her audience.
Lee summarized this view in "A Letter to Sarah" (2003). According to Lee, "Sarah fulfilled my dream," and "although not always willing, Sarah tried to fit the image." In addition, the two 1988 albums aimed to "completely wash away Sarah's past." In the same documentary, while other colleagues affirmed Lee's role, they gave more credit to Sarah Chen.
Sarah the Therapist Hypothesis. The online view data, most of which came from the last decade, however, suggests that the success of "Dream Awakening" is not tied to the societal needs of the 1980s-1990s Taiwan. The alternative hypothesis, Sarah the Therapist Hypothesis, attributes the song's success to Sarah Chen's ability to function as a mental health counselor on a massive scale. Specifically, the song's success stems from its delivery of a psychologically important message by the most competent therapist. The songwriting is credited to Lee, while Chen's performance is credited for its effectiveness as therapy. As the best and most effective therapist, Chen is crucial for the success of this song.
Screenshot of Sarah Chen singing Dream Awakening live, for the line "Love is hard to part and hard to break."
What makes the song therapeutic?
In the song, the singer assumes the role of a friend, counselor, and advisor, and draws from her life experiences. The first few lines convey her empathetic understanding, while the subsequent lines deliver a message of letting go and moving on from heartbreaks.
In essence, "Dream To Awakening" functions as psychological therapy, effective only when administered by the right therapist. She must possess life experience, wisdom without arrogance, and deeply felt empathy. Many singers attempted to perform this song in later years. Most successful were renditions by Sandy Lam (2.8M views) and Faye Wong (0.6M views), two singers with comparable diva status as Sarah Chen. But they fell far short of Chen's rendition.
Data from online views show that "Dream To Awakening" is popular because it's psychological therapy at its finest, delivered by the best therapist, and done on a massive scale.
Sarah the Therapist Hypothesis
Sarah Chen is Essential: The lack of competing versions of "Dream To Awakening," coupled with Sarah Chen's remarkably high play counts from the last decade, proves that Sarah Chen is the only artist who could have generated such a profound impact. Therefore, she deserves most of the credit for the song, perhaps 90%. The 10% attributed to the songwriter and other collaborators is still significant.
The Song Is Not Tied to the Image or Social Needs of Urban Women: Contrary to the predictions of the Urban Woman Hypothesis, historical evidence refutes its assertions. First, the video with the highest view-count on bilibili was Sarah Chen's 1993 live performance, featuring her with long hair, suggesting that her appearance as a short-haired urban woman is unimportant. Second, the high play counts came from the past decade (i.e., since 2011), demonstrating that the song's popularity is not tied to the societal needs of 1980s-1990s Taiwan. Third, contemporary audiences have limited knowledge of Sarah Chen's preceding albums or personal history, yet they still love her performance of this song, indicating that the popularity of "Dream To Awakening" lies in the song and its performance, rather than in any personal transformation. Thus, data from the last 3 decades refute the three key assertions of the Urban Woman Theory.
People want to see Sarah Chen
Importantly, the staggering number of views shows that people want to see Sarah Chen, not merely to listen to her. Because Chen did not generate this kind of viewership in her other live performances or MVs, her handsome features failed to explain the high view counts of "Dream To Awakening." The Sarah as Therapist account provides an explanation: the song is therapeutic and best done face-to-face. People want to see Sarah Chen performing this song because watching her is reassuring and comforting.
The 650 Years of Therapy by Sarah Chen
The 1989 album, "Talk to You, Listen to You," is Sarah Chen administering therapy to the masses. She had the experience, wisdom, purity of heart, and humility necessary to be an effective therapist. She was singing from her heart to her listeners'. She had perfected the magic of breathing life into every line, every word, and every syllable she sang. She will not solve her listeners' problems, but she has a comforting message for them to go on because she's been there, done that.
Thus, online view data strongly support "Sarah the Therapist Hypothesis," affirming that it is Sarah Chen's performance that made "Dream To Awakening" successful, rather than efforts to transform Sarah Chen's image into an urban woman.
How much impact did Sarah Chen generate? Over the last decade, viewers have collectively spent a staggering 380 million minutes, or 723 years, watching "Dream Awakening." Assuming a 90% share for Sarah Chen's part, she may claim credit for administering 650 years of therapy.
Open source image: A therapy session