Chan shows Olympic singing chops

'We Are Ready' the official song for Games

By CLIFFORD COONAN

Jackie Chan has shown his vocal dexterity with his latest recording, “We Are Ready,” the official countdown song to the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

The star of the “Rush Hour” franchise spent three hours laying down the track during a recent trip to Beijing, according to his website. Chan is also well-known as a singer in Asia, and has recorded several albums.

The lyrics are as patriotic and stirring as you would expect for a song aimed at priming auds for the Olympics, which open at 8:08 p.m. on the eighth day of the eighth month of 2008 -- eight is after all a lucky number in China.

“Waiting year after year, we can see into the future, together with hard work and sweat, we’ve created the five different (Olympic) colors,” runs one stanza from the song, which is sung in Mandarin Chinese, even though Hong Kong resident Chan’s natural dialect is Cantonese.

Chan has been involved in many public events surrounding the launch of the Olympics and features in many TV ads and billboard posters, as well as commercials for Visa. He carried the Olympic torch for 100 meters (110 yards) in Greece in 2004.

The song was written by Peter Kam (“Isabella”).Chan’s version is not the only one -- organizers have also recorded a second version sung by more than 100 pop stars.

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