Leehom Wang

Leehom Wang
Chinese name 王力宏
Pinyin Wáng Lìhóng (Mandarin)
Birth name Alexander Leehom Wang
Ancestry Yiwu, Zhejiang, China[1]
Origin Republic of China (Taiwan)
Born May 17, 1976 (1976-05-17) (age 34)
Rochester, New York, USA
Occupation Singer-songwriter, musician, film director, actor, record producer, music arranger, commercial model
Genre(s) Pop, R&B, rap, hip hop, rock, jazz, Broadway
Instrument(s) Violin, piano, drums, guitar, bass/electric guitar, erhu, vibraphone, harmonica, chinese flutes, guzheng, etc.
Voice type(s) Tenor
Label(s) Sony Music
Decca (1996–1997)
BMG (1995–1996)
Years active 1995–present
Influences Stevie Wonder, Prince, Alicia Keys, Outkast, Missy Elliott, R. Kelly, The Neptunes[2]
Official Website www.wangleehom.com

Leehom Wang (born May 17, 1976) is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, actor and film director of Chinese descent. Dubbed "Elvis of the East" by England's Word Magazine (July 2010 issue) after achieving status as China's top selling act of 2009. Formally trained at the Eastman School of Music, Williams College and Berklee College of Music, his musical style is known for fusing Chinese elements (such as Beijing opera, traditional styles of ethnic minorities, Chinese classical orchestra) with hip-hop and R&B. Wang Leehom has been active since 1995 and contributed in 25 albums. He is also a four-time winner of Taiwan's Golden Melody Awards, the "Grammys" of Chinese music.

In addition to his music, Wang Leehom also acted in several films, including Ang Lee's Lust, Caution and Jackie Chan's film Little Big Soldier. He is also an environmental activist, and his album Change Me was dedicated to raising eco-awareness among Chinese youth. Wang Leehom was one of the first torchbearers for the Beijing 2008 Summer Olympics, and performed in the Olympics' closing ceremony in Beijing. Wang Leehom was listed among "The 100 Most Inspiring Asian Americans of All Time" by Goldsea Asian American Daily.[3]

Contents

Life and music career

Childhood and early beginnings

Wang Leehom was born in Rochester, New York. He is the second of three sons of immigrants from Taiwan. His father, a pediatrician, and his mother, a vocal teacher, moved to America to further their college studies in the early 60's. Influenced by his older brother, Leo Wang, who had been taking violin lessons since he was seven, Wang began to develop a curious interest towards the violin and its musical counterparts when he was three. Wang Leehom begged his mother to put him in violin lessons with his brother but his mother was against it, reasoning that he was too young. When Wang Leehom turned six, his mother enrolled him in violin classes, performing along with his brother.[2] As he became a teenager, Wang Leehom began taking piano lessons, also self-teaching himself the guitar. Wang Leehom also worked several jobs to earn money to buy a second hand drum kit.

He attended Jefferson Road Elementary School, Pittsford Middle School, and Pittsford Sutherland High School in Pittsford, New York. Wang Leehom graduated from Pittsford Sutherland with a perfect 1600 SAT score. He was accepted to both Yale and Princeton.[3] Passionate for a career in music, he chose to attend Williams College double majoring in music and Asian studies.[3][4] He joined an all-male a cappella group, Springstreeters, and the group recorded several demo tracks.[4]

In the summer of 1995, while Wang Leehom was visiting his grandparents in Taiwan, he was offered a professional recording contract by Bertelsmann Music Group (BMG) after he participated in a talent competition hosted by the label.[5] Not wanting to lose the opportunity, Wang Leehom immediately began preparing for his debut, and released his debut album Love Rival, Beethoven that December. The record received little limelight, forcing him to leave the label. He signed with Decca Records the following year, a label then famous for producing "powerful singers" (實力派歌手) in Taiwan.[6] Wanting to also have control in the idol market, the label initially planned to market Wang Leehom as the mainstream "romantic idol", like with their previous artist Mavis Fan. However, after discovering Wang Leehom's talent in music-making, Decca began promoting Wang as Taiwan's "quality idol" (優質偶像) instead.[6] Wang Leehom released his second album If You Heard My Song in 1996, which included some of his own compositions. Wang Lee Hom co-wrote the album's eponymous title song, which earned positive responses from the audience. The album drew moderately successful sales, and Wang Leehom became a rising star in the idol market, also finding similar successes with his third and fourth albums. During this time, Wang Leehom was asked to leave his college studies to pursue a full time singing career, but he insisted on finishing school first.

Rise to prominence (1998–2000)

Wang Leehom's contract with Decca records was terminated after the release of his fourth album White Paper in the summer of 1997. After graduating with honors at Williams College,[3][4] Wang Leehom released his first award-winning album Revolution under Sony Music Entertainment in August 1998. The album became Wang Leehom's breakthrough album, immediately selling over 10,000 domestic units in the first week of release. Critics rated the album highly, and it won Wang Leehom two Golden Melody Awards—Best Producer and Best Mandarin Male Singer.[7] Wang was the youngest artist to win in either of the two categories.[8] Wang Leehom has been nominated the Best Mandarin Male Singer at the awards every year since the success of Revolution. The singles of Revolution also achieved similar success–"Revolution" became Wang Leehom's first #1 single, becoming one of the top 20 songs of the year on Channel V Taiwan.

Wang Leehom continued his studies by attending Berklee College of Music's Professional Music program, with voice as his principal instrument.[2] In 1999, Wang Leehom released his sixth album Impossible to Miss You, which combined the catchy pop melodies of Revolution with a quirky style of new-found dance pop. It became Wang Leehom's then best-selling album, selling over 1 million copies.[9] All of the album's promotional singles topped KTV charts and yearly music charts, notably the upbeat "Julia" and the ballad "Crying Palm". Wang Leehom's album also attracted international attention–Wang won three Best Male Vocalist awards at three different award ceremonies and was also awarded for his musical merit in the album at the 1st annual Asia Chinese Music Awards.

At the beginning of the millennium, Wang Leehom began filming for several Cantonese-language Hong Kong blockbusters, which inspired him to study the Cantonese language. He included a Cantonese track, "Love My Song," in the Hong Kong release of Forever's First Day (2000), his seventh album. Unlike his previous two albums, Forever's First Day consisted mainly of melodic R&B tunes. The album's eponymous single is a tragic romantic ballad, speaking of a separation of two individuals. Although raised in New York for most of his life, living in Taiwan made Wang Leehom realize the deep roots of his Chinese heritage. Forever's First Day yielded a cover of his uncle's signature song "Descendants of the Dragon"; Wang Leehom re-arranged the song with heavier rock and dance elements. The song also included a rap bridge that summarized experiences of Wang Leehom's parents living as a Chinese American in New York.[10]

International success (2001–03)

Wang Leehom's next album, The One and Only (2001) received phenomenal international success. Selling over 1 million units in Asia, the rock-inspired album won him over seven different prestigious awards throughout 2001 and 2002. The album's title single "The One and Only" peaked #1 in almost all available music charts of Taiwan and was on the Ringback Tone #1 Download Charts for over a year, becoming Wang Leehom's signature song. The One and Only also found success in Japan, opting Wang Leehom to release his first full-length Japanese album The Only One in May 9, 2003. The album only promoted one single, a Japanese version of "The One and Only", but it did not meet success on Japan's Oricon Charts. Wang Leehom also began filming several Japanese films, establishing his rising star status in Japan.

Eager to experience and perform different musical genres, Wang Leehom embarked on his first Asia-wide concert tour The Unbelievable Tour a few months before the release of his ninth album Unbelievable (2003). Wang Leehom's concert tour received great reviews from both fans and music critics; they were impressed and shocked with Wang's new-found hip hop image. His R&B/hip hop-inspired album Unbelievable involved new urban pop numbers, drawing hip hop influences from different styles of popular music, such as Indipop and urban pop. The album marked a milestone in his musical career; his new image received international critical acclaim and the album a chart-topping success, selling over 1.5 million units by 2004. A celebratory version of the album was released three months later, also becoming a chart-topping album. The album's singles, notably the ballad number "You're Not Here" also experienced international success, ranking #1 on several music charts for over 10 weeks. Unbelievable yielded Wang Leehom's second win for Best Producer of the Year at the Golden Melody Awards in 2004.

Chinked-out (2004–06)

Leehom Wang (right), named Best Mandarin Male Singer for his album Heroes of Earth, with Tanya Chua at the 17th Golden Melody Awards.

Having established himself as one of the most important, influential, and prolific artists in Chinese music, Wang Leehom continued to invent and experiment with new sounds and voices.[11] For most of 2004, Wang Leehom traveled to remote villages in China, collecting often unheard tribal sounds of aboriginal Chinese music, Tibetan music, and Mongolian music. With his younger brother as his assistant, they carried 15 kg of music equipment as he recorded these sounds, recording and producing his album on the way.[12] He incorporated these sounds into R&B and hip hop music, coining the style as "chinked-out." Despite the derogatory nature of the term "chink," Wang Leehom had wanted to repossess the term and "make it cool."[2] Shangri-La was released on the last day of 2004, selling an outstanding 40,000 copies within the first ten days of release, an excellent start as the first album to be sold in Taiwan of 2005.[13] Shangri-La became an international music sensation, especially catching the attention of many youths in Asia.[14] Within a month, the album sold over 300,000 copies,[15] ultimately selling over 1.5 million units.

Wang Leehom continued to infuse chinked-out elements into his next album Heroes of Earth (2005). Unlike the aboriginal tribal music heard in Shangri-La, Heroes of Earth contained mixes of Beijing opera and Kunqu.[16] Following the concept of "heroes," Wang Leehom collaborated with Ashin of Mayday ("Beside the Plum Blossoms"), Chinese American rapper Jin and opera master Li Yan ("Heroes of Earth"), and also K-pop artists Rain and Lim Jeong-hee ("Perfect Interaction"). Heroes of Earth was the fastest-selling album of both 2005 and 2006, selling over 1 million copies ten days after its release. Subsequently, the album stayed as #1 in the charts for six weeks,[17] and remained in the charts for 23 weeks, ultimately becoming 2006's third best-selling album.[18] By 2007, about 3 million units were sold,[19][20] and has since been Wang's most commercially and critically successful album.[21][22][23] The album earned Wang Leehom a Golden Melody Award for Best Mandarin Male Singer for the second time.

Three months after the release of Heroes of Earth, Wang Leehom began the Heroes of Earth Tour, his first major world tour. The concert commenced with two shows per night in the Taipei Dome in March 2006, breaking Taiwan's concert attendance records.

Professional breakthrough (2007–present)

Leehom Wang playing the piano at 2007 Heroes of Earth concert in Las Vegas.

Wang Leehom took a break in working on his music to film Lust, Caution (2007), an espionage thriller film directed by Ang Lee.[24] Wang Leehom released a promotional single "Falling Leaves Return to Roots" on June 20, 2007 through Hito Radio, a month before the release of his twelfth studio album, Change Me. "Falling Leaves Return to Roots" incorporated Broadway-influenced musical elements, with classical instrumental accompaniments, such as the violin and piano. When asked about the sudden change of music style, Wang Leehom explained that the inspiration behind the song was due to the influence of his portrayal of Kuang Yumin in Lust, Caution.[25] "In the past, I have only been releasing mainstream pop and chinked-out related hip hop. Lust, Caution made me return to 1930's Shanghai, re-living the moment."[24]

Change Me was released on Friday, July 13, despite the superstition generally attached to Friday the 13th.[26]. Unlike his previous albums, Change Me mainly concentrates on pop rock, including influences of Broadway ("Falling Leaves Return to Roots") and old-school Taiwanese pop ("You Are a Song in My Heart").[27] Through this album, Wang Leehom promoted the issue of global warming and raised environmental awareness.[28] The packaging of the album used only recycled paper and contained no plastic.[28] Wang Leehom believed that small changes by each person can change the world. "To change the world, you start with changing yourself."[29] Reviews of the album were generally positive, defining the album as "mature."[30] An online album poll organized by China's Sohu, however, suggested that Wang Leehom's album did not meet expectations.[30] Netizens remarked that his chinked-out productions were more impressive, although that genre itself has also been criticized.[31] Nonetheless, over 1 million units were shipped on the first day of release.[29] The album broke past 2 million sales, becoming one of Wang Leehom's best-selling albums.[29]

In August 2008, Wang Leehom sought US$320,000 in damages for plagiarism by Pritam, an Indian composer. The lead song for the movie Race (2008), composed by Pritam, was allegedly copied from "In the Depths of the Bamboo Forest," a single taken off from Wang Leehom's Shangri-La album.[32] In November 2008, Wang Leehom was selected to conduct the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra for their 2008 annual grand finale, being the first Asian pop musician to conduct the orchestra. The concert Hong Kong Music, Leehom Wang (港樂‧王力宏) was held in the Hong Kong Cultural Centre for three nights, with four shows,[33] receiving CNN International coverage throughout.[34]

Wang Leehom embarked on his second world tour, the Music-Man Tour, in the latter months of 2008. The tour commenced with two shows per night in the Taipei Dome in September 2008, three months before the release of Wang's thirteenth studio album, Heart Beat. Heart Beat was released on December 26,[35] debuting at #3 on the weekly G-Music charts.[36] The album peaked at #1 on its seventh week of release, ultimately staying on the charts for 17 weeks. Like Wang's previous album, Heart Beat showed a similar emphasis of rock influences. The album largely focused on guitar and electric guitar solos, which Wang also used for performances in most of the album's music videos. Wanting to continue a similar "chinked-out" element, the album's first single, "What's Up with Rock?!" incorporated rock influences with Chinese flavor. For the track, Wang worked with pipa artist Janet, and the two concentrated on mixing both electric guitar elements and pipa strings into the song.[37] Although Heart Beat was well-received by music critics, some criticized it for being "nothing new." Yuan Yongxing, a Golden Melody Awards judge, remarked "His music (in the album) maintained (his) standards, but it's nothing surprising."[38]

Musical style

Wang Leehom's music ranges greatly from album to album. Although he is classified as an R&B artist, Wang Leehom demonstrates competence with many styles of music ranging from traditional Mandopop, Broadway, jazz, rock, R&B, gospel, acoustic, Indipop, hip-hop, to rap. Many of the styles are infused with a Chinese flavor.

When he first debuted, he sang old school pop and acoustic R&B ballads. Starting from Revolution (公轉自轉), Wang began to test out R&B pop music, but quickly jumped to a quirky style of dance pop for Impossible to Miss You (不可能錯過你). Starting from Forever's First Day (永遠的第一天), Wang Leehom began composing rock songs with heavy electric guitar melodies and less emphasis on dance pop. Nonetheless, Wang Leehom still concentrated in light R&B music. The One and Only (唯一) became Wang Leehom's only fully produced rock album.

Unbelievable began a new road of music for Wang Leehom. Aside from the usual R&B grove, Wang Leehom contributed hip hop and rap that was not clearly emphasized in his past albums. "Not Your Average Thug" was a newly composed R&B style with a huge amount of American influence. "Can You Feel My World" was a different style of R&B, and the song contained great uses of the piano and violin as the accompaniment. Fast dance songs like "Ya Birthday" and "Girlfriend" (Chinese: 女朋友; pinyin: nǚ péngyǒu) incorporated rapid rap and heavy drum rhythms. "Girlfriend" included a heavily emphasised chinese flute and a music style that is influenced by Indipop.

Shangri-La was the first chapter of Wang Leehom's new style, chinked-out. Chinked-out is a new kind of musical style developed by Wang that involves modern "west" music of R&B, Hip Hop, rap, and Dance, along with "east" music of heavy Chinese instrument influences, more notably the koudi, tuhu, and ijac. "Deep Within the Bamboo Grove" (traditional Chinese: 竹林深處; pinyin: zhú lín shēnchù) emphasized the music of different minority tribes in Yunnan and other remote areas of China.

Then, I coined the term chinked-out. Derived from the historically derogatory racial slur chink, used to put-down Chinese people, chinked-out reclaims the word, turns its negative connotations upside-down, and uses them as material to fuel the new sound of this music. The term describes an effort to create a sound that is international, and at the same time, Chinese. In this album, I decided to implement some of China's most precious and untapped resources, the musics of its shaoshu minzu [少數民族], or ethnic minorities, concentrating on the regions of Yunnan, Shangri-La, Tibet, Xinjiang, and Mongolia. This is not one of those world music CDs. It's an R&B/hip hop album that creates a new vibe the whole world can identify as being Chinese.

– Leehom Wang on Shangri-La[39]

Heroes of Earth displayed a different side to chinked out. Instead of ethnic minority music, Wang Leehom focused on Beijing opera and Kunqu. Wang Leehom used instruments such as the erhu, guqin, and guzheng to infuse his new album with another side of traditional Chinese sound. "Beside the Plum Blossoms" (traditional Chinese: 在梅邊; pinyin: zài méi biān) dealt with fast kunqu melodies. In the last 50 seconds of the song, Wang rapped over 250 words, increasing in speed towards the middle and then slowed down. This was to emphasize the accelerating and descending beats of traditional Chinese opera.

Nonetheless, Wang Leehom is still very notable for his modern love ballads like "Forever Love" and "Kiss Goodbye", both which are sung with piano and string instrument accompaniments. A new song, "Dramas of the East" (traditional Chinese: 戲出東方; pinyin: xì chū dōngfāng), was released as the theme song for a TV program in mainland China, 非常有戲 (Fei Chang You Xi), on April 6, 2007. The song included Beijing opera with rap and pop rock, previewing Wang Leehom's new turn in his music.

Acting career

Wang Leehom had displayed interest in acting when he starred in several musical plays when he was in high school and college. In 2000, Wang Leehom made his feature film debut in the Hong Kong action crime thriller, China Strike Force, starring alongside Aaron Kwok, Norika Fujiwara, and Ruby Lin. Hong Kong critics had remarked Wang Leehom for giving a well-toned performance as his first film. His next starring role was the 2001 Hong Kong science fiction film The Avenging Fist as the main character Nova. Wang Leehom then starred in two Japanese films Moon Child (2003) and Starlit High Noon (2005).

The major breakthrough in his film career was in Lust, Caution, directed and produced by Academy Award winner Ang Lee. The film is based on a novella written by Eileen Chang and revolves around a plot to assassinate a high-ranking Chinese official in the Wang Jingwei Government using a beautiful young woman as bait. Wang Leehom plays Kuang Yumin, a patriotic college student who persuades Wong Chia Chi (Tang Wei) to seduce Mr. Yee (Tony Leung). The film was released in the U.S. cinemas on 28 September 2007. Lust, Caution was produced on a budget of approximately $15 million and grossed $64,574,876 worldwide.[40]

In 2009, Wang Leehom was selected to star with Jackie Chan in Little Big Soldier.[41]

In 2010, Wang Leehom stepped behind the camera to direct and star, Love in Disguise (Chinese: 恋爱通告; pinyin: Liàn ài tōng gào), also starring Liu Yifei and Joan Chen.[42]

Endorsements

In 2006, Wang Leehom became Yamaha spokesperson for Yes! Yamaha Motors. Wang Leehom is Sony Ericsson's main spokesperson; the songs "Mistake in the Flower Fields" (花田錯) and "Kiss Goodbye" were promotional singles for Sony Ericsson's various new mobile models. Wang Leehom has endorsed China's Wahaha water for 8 years. Wang Leehom began endorsing Coca-Cola alongside S.H.E, Wilber Pan, Liu Xiang, and Shawn Yue in 2007; McDonald's since 2003; and Bausch & Lomb since 2007.He also worked as a spokesperson for Shiatzy Chen.

Charitable events

Wang Leehom is also recognized for his effort and financial contributions to charity. He is active with Worldvision and has visited Laos and Sierra Leone in the last couple of years to raise awareness about the state of poverty in those countries. He is also a sponsor of many children through World Vision and frequently participates in the much needed fund-raising campaigns for disaster relief such as the massive earthquake at Sichuan (2008) and Typhoon Marakot in Taiwan (2009). In 2001, he and David Tao composed a song titled Hand in Hand (sung by over 80 celebrities in Taiwan) to promote support and courage to those affected by SARS.

Participation in 2008 Beijing Olympic Games

Wang Leehom was chosen as one of the few Chinese torchbearers to run in Greece [43]. Wang Leehom was torchbearer number 17 on March 24, the first day of the torch relay. He also attended the torch lighting ceremony before his run. Wang Leehom took the torch from Liu Hongliang, son of the first Chinese to attend the Olympic games, Liu Changchun. Wang Leehom represented the newest generation of singers from Taiwan and China. He was chosen mainly because he is devoted to helping save the environment, as shown in his latest album Change Me.[1]

Another reason he was chosen is due to Wang Leehom's enthusiasm in the 2008 Olympic Games Theme Songs Competition. His single One World One Dream was chosen as a Olympic Games participation song. The single was written, sung, produced, and scored entirely by himself. Wang Leehom sang along with Jackie Chan, Stephanie Sun, and Han Hong in the song for "The One Man Olympics" which was about the first Chinese to be in the Olympics. Wang Leehom also sang in the 100 days countdown theme song Beijing Welcomes You. He also sang along side Stefanie Sun, Wang Feng，and Jane Zhang in the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games Torch Relay Theme Song, Light The Passion Share The Dream. He is also one of the candidates on vote for performer of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games Theme Song. In the closing ceremony, he sang "Beijing Beijing, I Love Beijing" alongside Hong Kong singer Kelly Chen and Korean singer Rain.

Discography

Filmography

Year Film Role Notes
1999 The Iron Giant Dean McCoppin Mandarin voice role
2000 China Strike Force Alex Cheung
Ashes to Ashes: Against Smoking Dave
2001 The Avenging Fist Nova
2003 Moon Child Son
2005 Starlit High Noon Lian Song
2007 Lust, Caution Kuang Yumin
2010 Little Big Soldier Little General
Love In Disguise Du Minghan post-production
also director

Awards

Bibliography

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 (Chinese) ""义乌老乡"王力宏接力奥运火炬 [Yiwu native Leehom Wang receives Olympic torch]". Yahoo! China. 2008-03-24. http://xk.cn.yahoo.com/articles/080324/1/99wc.html. Retrieved 2008-12-06. 
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 "Wang Lee Hom TalkAsia Transcript". CNN. 2006-06-16. http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/asiapcf/06/16/talkasia.wang.script/index.html. Retrieved 2008-07-30. 
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 "Pop Star Leehom Wang". Goldsea Asian American Daily. http://www.goldsea.com/Personalities/Inspiring/leehom.html. Retrieved 2008-12-06. 
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Park, Andrea (2008-04-16). "Springstreeter turns Chinese superstar". The Williams Record. http://record.williams.edu/record/archives-articles/2008/04/16/seek/299/. Retrieved 2008-12-06. 
  5. ↑ Small, Mark (2009-10-19). "West Meets East". Berklee Today. http://www.berklee.edu/bt/212/coverstory.html. Retrieved 2009-10-20. 
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 ""If You Heard My Song" intro" (in Chinese). 1996-08. http://mojim.com/tw00151.htm. Retrieved 2009-09-21. 
  7. ↑ "Beijing evening report: Leehom Wang wants to have quality, not perfection" (in Chinese). Sina. 2009-08-17. 
  8. ↑ Ma, Yujun (2006-08-24). "Leehom Wang holds Japan concert on October 21". Lianhe Zaobao. http://stars.zaobao.com/pages3/wanglihong060824.html. Retrieved 2008-12-03. 
  9. ↑ "Leehom Wang Lee Hom's limited album collection" (in Chinese). Sina. 2008-09-26. http://tech.sina.com.cn/h/2008-09-26/1728819525.shtml. Retrieved 2009-09-23. 
  10. ↑ "Descendants of the Dragon" lyrics at absolutelyrics
  11. ↑ "Savior Leehom Wang: Music and tactics" (in Chinese). CRI Online. 2009-09-17. http://gb.cri.cn/27224/2009/09/17/1945s2624838.htm. Retrieved 2009-09-25. 
  12. ↑ "Leehom Wang brings younger brother to the Golden Melody Awards" (in Chinese). Sohu. 2006-06-09. http://music.yule.sohu.com/20060609/n243640602.shtml. Retrieved 2009-09-25. 
  13. ↑ (Chinese) [1] (Leehom's album becomes top seller) 2005-01-09, 2005. Retrieved 2007-06-07
  14. ↑ "Leehom Wang controls all of Asia, "Heroes of Earth" to "battle" Taipei first" (in Chinese). Sohu. 2006-02-07. 
  15. ↑ (Chinese) [2] (Shangri-La becomes a revolution) 2005-03-01. Retrieved 2007-06-07
  16. ↑ "Leehom Wang makes "Heroes of Earth," performs opera master to make Beijing opera" (in Chinese). Sohu. 2006-02-23. http://music.yule.sohu.com/20060223/n241967223.shtml. Retrieved 2009-09-25. 
  17. ↑ "G-Music Charts, week 5 of 2006" (in Chinese). G-music. http://www.zhsew.com/b/b2/b21/200602/9398.html. Retrieved 2009-09-25. 
  18. ↑ "Top 20 albums of 2006" (in Chinese). G-music. http://www.g-music.com.tw/event/2006_top20/top20_1.html. Retrieved 2009-09-25. 
  19. ↑ ""Heroes of Earth" surpasses 1 million copies"" (in Chinese). Ewen. 2006-01-09. http://www.ewen.cc/music/bkview.asp?bkid=101378&cid=283591. Retrieved 2007-06-01. 
  20. ↑ "Leehom Wang's album sales" (in Chinese). 163. http://tech.163.com/digi/08/0926/18/4MPNAPVI00162OUT.html. Retrieved 2009-09-27. 
  21. ↑ "Celebrity PK" (in Chinese). Sohu. 2008-09-28. http://sh.sohu.com/20080928/n259805581.shtml. Retrieved 2009-09-27. 
  22. ↑ ""Change Me" review" (in Chinese). Douban. http://www.douban.com/review/1292837. Retrieved 2009-09-27. 
  23. ↑ "Change Me's poorer sales" (in Chinese). G-music. http://forum.g-music.com.tw/yaf_postst18321p2_-.aspx. Retrieved 2009-09-27. 
  24. ↑ 24.0 24.1 "Leehom Wang returns to the music industry, composes a song for the Olympics" (in Chinese). Sohu. 2007-07-13. http://music.yule.sohu.com/20070713/n251041265.shtml. Retrieved 2009-09-26. 
  25. ↑ "Leehom's new single to premiere at HitFM" (in Chinese). Hito Radio. http://www.hitoradio.com/music/1e_1.php?topic_id=257. Retrieved 2009-09-26. 
  26. ↑ [3] (Top Upcoming Albums of 2007)
  27. ↑ "Leehom Wang changes his image: tattoos and piercings" (in Chinese). 2007-07-11. http://music.yule.sohu.com/20070711/n251004719.shtml. Retrieved 2009-09-26. 
  28. ↑ 28.0 28.1 "Change Me press con, Leehom Wang promotes environmental awareness" (in Chinese). 2007-07-13. http://music.yule.sohu.com/20070713/n251034653.shtml. Retrieved 2009-09-26. 
  29. ↑ 29.0 29.1 29.2 ""Change Me" breaks pass 1 million pre-orders" (in Chinese). 2007-07-13. http://music.yule.sohu.com/20070713/n251035833.shtml. Retrieved 2009-09-26. 
  30. ↑ 30.0 30.1 "Leehom Wang's new album review: more mature" (in Chinese). 2007-09-22. http://v.sohu.com/20070922/n252302481.shtml. Retrieved 2009-09-26. 
  31. ↑ ""What's Up with Rock?!", what's up with Leehom Wang?" (in Chinese). 2008-11-05. 
  32. ↑ "Race song in plagiarism row". NDTV. 2008-08-06. http://music.ndtv.com/story.asp?id=ENTEN20080060353. Retrieved 2008-08-11. 
  33. ↑ Dong, Wen (2008-11-10). "Leehom Wang to conduct the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra annual grand finale" (in Chinese). Sohu. 
  34. ↑ "Leehom Wang works with Hong Kong orchestra, receives a total of three CNN interviews" (in Chinese). Sohu. 2008-12-18. http://music.yule.sohu.com/20081218/n261287607.shtml. Retrieved 2009-09-29. 
  35. ↑ "Album: Leehom Wang "Heart Beat (Pre-order version)". Sina. 8 December 2008. http://ent.sina.com.cn/y/d/2008-12-08/14392285465.shtml. Retrieved 10 December 2008.  (Chinese)
  36. ↑ "G-Music Charts" (in Chinese). G-Music. http://www.g-music.com.tw/GMusicBillboard0.aspx. Retrieved 2009-09-29. 
  37. ↑ "Leehom Wang world tour countdown" (in Chinese). Sohu. 2008-09-16. http://music.yule.sohu.com/20080916/n259572537.shtml. Retrieved 2009-09-29. 
  38. ↑ "Eason Chan becomes likely candidate, Leehom Wang's album not favored by critics" (in Chinese). Sohu. 2009-05-12. 
  39. ↑ "寫給聽眾的話". WangLeeHom.com. 2004-12-21. http://www.wangleehom.com/news/archives/2004/12/cecce.htm. Retrieved 2007-05-31. 
  40. ↑ "Lust, Caution". Box Office Mojo. http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=lustcaution.htm. Retrieved 2008-08-16. 
  41. ↑ "成龙20年“小将”熬成“大兵” (Over 20 years, Jackie Chan goes from "small general" to "big soldier")". NetEase. 3 April 2009. http://news.163.com/09/0403/03/55UO4OBG000120GU.html. Retrieved 11 April 2009.  English translation.
  42. ↑ "王力宏自导自演 刘亦菲陈冲加盟《恋爱通告》" (in Chinese). Sina.com. 2010-03-04. http://ent.sina.com.cn/m/c/2010-03-04/15282888104.shtml. Retrieved 2010-03-07. 
  43. ↑ http://www.newsgd.com/news/picstories/content/2008-03/24/content_4359774.htm

Further reading

External links

Leehom Wang
Mandarin albums

Love Rival Beethoven (情敵貝多芬) • If You Heard My Song (如果你聽見我的歌) • Missing You (好想你) • White Paper (白紙) •

Revolution (公轉自轉) • Impossible to Miss You (不可能錯過你) • Forever's First Day (永遠的第一天) • The One and Only (唯一) • Unbelievable (不可思議) • Shangri-La (心中的日月) • Heroes of Earth (蓋世英雄) • Change Me (改變自己) • Heart · Beat (心 · 跳) • The 18 Martial Arts (十八般武藝)
Japanese albums
The Only One (ジ・オンリー・ワン) • Hear My Voice
Compilation albums
Good Leehom Compilation (好力宏精選) • Leehom Music Century (王力宏創世紀) • Evolution (王力宏的音樂進化論)
Related articles
Discography • Awards
Taiwanfilm.png Cinema of Taiwan
Actors • Directors • Films A–Z • Chronology of films • Cinematographers • Producers • Screenwriters