For many years, Wakin Chau—otherwise known to fans as Emil Chau—worked behind the scenes, producing highly marketable pop songs for other artists. That changed when his boss at the record company recognised his vocal talents. The discovery led to the release of his first Mandarin album in 1987. A succession of chart-topping records followed, while the Platinum-certified You Make Me Happy and Sad and Music Brings Us Together swept the awards circuit in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore. Our handpicked playlist fills out the picture of the Mandarin ballad maestro.