Chen Sheng Plans Final New Bao Dao Kang Le Dui Album as Taipei New Year's Eve Concert Nears

A farewell album, with more performances still to come

Chen Sheng plans to give New Bao Dao Kang Le Dui a farewell while its members can still take part in it: one final physical album and a planned event next year to mark the close of a musical chapter that began in 1992. The 68-year-old singer announced the plans as he prepared for his 32nd New Year's Eve concert, scheduled for December 31, 2026, at Taipei International Convention Center.

The proposed album is expected next year. Chen said it would gather the band's work and experiences into a lasting record, fulfilling an agreement with fellow members A-Van and Huang Lien-yu to bring this stage of their musical lives to a close once their children had grown up and begun independent lives.

Fans will still have opportunities to see the group perform. Chen said concerts would continue after the final physical release. The farewell he described concerns a phase of the band's recording work, with the members taking responsibility for how that chapter is remembered.

Chen, the singer and songwriter who helped form the group, described the idea with characteristic humor:

It would be pretty cool to be able to see my own farewell ceremony.

The announcement also came with a candid account of his health. Chen has undergone surgery for oral cancer, and a recent examination found blood vessel calcification, narrowing in a coronary artery and a herniated disc. He spoke about those findings alongside plans to keep performing, improve his fitness and finish the creative work in front of him.

What the band's final record is meant to preserve

New Bao Dao Kang Le Dui has released 14 albums since Chen, Huang and A-Van formed the group in 1992. The band has twice won the Golden Melody Award for best vocal group, giving its planned final physical release a place in a recording history stretching across more than three decades.

Chen explained that the three members had long shared an understanding about when to pause and take stock. After their children grew up and established lives of their own, the musicians would organize the feelings, experiences and songs accumulated over their years together.

A physical album gives that process a definite shape. For Chen, the object itself matters: the recordings, visual design and packaging belong to the same piece of work. His description suggests a record intended to be held and revisited, with the musicians themselves deciding how to present this stage of their history.

The proposed farewell event is planned for next year, as is the final physical album, with no date, venue, track list or album release day announced. Chen's remarks leave room for future performances while setting a boundary around the band's physical recording output. Listeners therefore have two developments to follow: the preparation of the final album and any arrangements for the event he hopes will accompany it.

A Taipei concert built around direct contact

Chen's immediate commitment is his December 31, 2026, concert, titled Silence But Shout, at Taipei International Convention Center, also known as TICC. The performance is scheduled to begin at 8:30 p.m. and will be his 32nd New Year's Eve show.

The annual meeting with fans matters to him in its own right. Asked about continuing the tradition, Chen said the chance to return and see the audience again was already something worth valuing.

Chen described that feeling at the concert announcement:

Seeing you again next year, and seeing you again the year after, is already pretty cool.

This year's concert will have no online version. Chen said streaming began as an experiment during the pandemic and helped people who lived far away or could not travel to Taiwan. Producing it, however, involved considerable work, and he prefers the exchange that happens when musicians and listeners share a room. He also said online performances made him more restrained in what he said, leaving him less at ease than at an in-person show.

For fans outside Taiwan, the practical change is straightforward: there is no announced remote viewing option for this performance. Attendance at TICC is the way to take part.

The dates and ticket details

Tickets are scheduled to go on sale through KKTIX at 10 a.m. on November 7. Prices are NT$1,500, NT$2,000, NT$2,800 and NT$3,800, with assigned seating throughout the venue.

The schedule places the Taipei performance before the band's planned final album next year. Chen also described a climb in Japan during August or September that helped focus his attention on his physical condition. The main dates and milestones are:

• 1992: Chen Sheng, Huang Lien-yu and A-Van formed New Bao Dao Kang Le Dui.
• August or September this year: Chen climbed Mount Fuji to about 2,700 meters before stopping because of breathlessness and fatigue.
• November 7, 10 a.m.: Tickets for Silence But Shout are scheduled to go on sale through KKTIX.
• December 31, 2026, 8:30 p.m.: Chen's 32nd New Year's Eve concert is scheduled at Taipei International Convention Center.
• Next year: Chen plans the band's final physical album and a farewell event.

Health concerns bring a more cautious outlook

Chen previously underwent surgery to remove an oral cancer tumor and has recovered from the illness. His recent health examination identified other concerns: a herniated disc, calcification in his blood vessels and narrowing in a coronary artery. He said doctors advised him to be careful about some foods and activities.

Coronary arteries carry blood to the heart muscle. Narrowing reduces the space through which blood can flow, while calcification refers to calcium deposits in the vessel walls. Chen discussed these findings as part of his current health situation without giving a detailed treatment plan.

Mount Fuji provided a more immediate reminder of his limits. During his visit to Japan in August or September, he reached roughly 2,700 meters above sea level, then stopped as he became short of breath and struggled to continue. He now hopes to improve his heart and lung fitness.

His experience of serious illness has also changed the way he speaks about endings. Chen said he had been more casual about such subjects when he was younger. He now puts greater weight on completing the work and living the life immediately before him.

Chen explained his present priority this way:

Some illnesses can be fatal. Don't speak carelessly. Doing what is in front of you as well and as fully as possible is the most important thing.

Why Chen still wants an album people can hold

Chen has not released a solo album this year, but he said he has not given up making records. His preference remains a physical release, with close personal involvement from the first recording sessions through to the finished package.

He described wanting to oversee recording, vocal sessions, production samples, design and packaging. Those steps turn an album into more than a set of songs: they determine how the music is presented and what listeners receive when they buy it.

Chen, explaining his approach to recording, said:

I don't really like putting songs online one by one. If I'm making a physical album, I have to oversee it from beginning to end.

His interest continues after production. Chen said he visits record shops to see how the completed albums look on the shelves, talks with shop managers and takes photographs. Seeing the finished object in a store is part of the pleasure of making it.

That attention to the whole process helps explain his plans for New Bao Dao Kang Le Dui. A final physical album would let the members collect and present their work in a form they have personally shaped, while they are still able to enjoy the result and continue meeting audiences.

Painting joins the music on stage

Silence But Shout will bring together music, writing and painting, with a theme built around a conversation between youth and an older soul. Chen has pursued painting alongside songwriting and performing, and he designed the concert's main visual using his own artwork.

The paintings give the show a visual identity before audiences enter the hall. They also connect the concert to his preference for taking part in the presentation of his work, whether that means an album package or the image attached to a live performance.

Chen's plans now combine continuity with a deliberate ending: another New Year's Eve with fans, more performances by the band, and a final physical record intended to gather one long period of creative life. His stated priority is to complete those tasks while he can participate fully in them.

At a Glance

• Chen Sheng plans a final physical album for New Bao Dao Kang Le Dui and a farewell event next year.
• Chen said the band's concerts would continue after the release.
• The group formed in 1992, has released 14 albums and has won two Golden Melody Awards for best vocal group.
• Silence But Shout is scheduled for December 31, 2026, at 8:30 p.m. at Taipei International Convention Center.
• Tickets go on sale November 7 at 10 a.m. through KKTIX, priced from NT$1,500 to NT$3,800.
• No online version of this year's New Year's Eve concert is planned.
• Chen discussed recent health findings and hopes to improve his fitness after stopping his Mount Fuji climb at about 2,700 meters.