Leehom Wang

He continued his regional ascent in 2003 with the platinum-selling Unbelievable, which he supported with his first Asian tour. Unbelievable began Wang's big shift toward hip-hop and won him his second award for Best Producer in 2004. Riding a wave of creative inspiration, Wang embarked on a trek through China to source sounds for his next album. Recording on the road, he combined R&B and hip-hop beats with folk music elements from Southwestern China, Taiwan, Tibet, Mongolia, India, and Turkey. The resulting LP, Shangri-La, was released on New Year's Eve. Another chart-topper for Wang, it produced a string of hit singles, including "Forever Love," "The Heart's Sun and Moon," "Release Your Heart," and "At That Faraway Place." Wang dubbed his evolution in sound "chinked-out," a misguided but well-intentioned attempt at reclaiming the racial slur. While he persisted with the use of the term, he received moderate criticism from fans and critics. In spite of the controversy, Wang forged ahead with his eleventh effort, Heroes of Earth. Furthering the sonic experiments of Shangri-La, Heroes of Earth fused hip-hop with Chinese opera and became Wang's biggest album to date, reaching platinum status in a little over a week. Heroes spawned the hit singles "Beside the Plum Blossoms" with Ashin of Taiwanese rock band Mayday; "Heroes of Earth" with American-Cantonese rapper Jin and Chinese opera master Li Yan; the er-hu slow jam "Mistake in the Flower Fields"; and "The Perfect Interaction" with K-pop singers Rain and J-Lim. For much of the following two years, Wang remained on the road with an expansive world tour, stopping in China, Taiwan, Japan, Singapore, Indonesia, and the United States. In between tour dates, Wang filmed scenes for his role in Ang Lee's award-winning international hit, 2007's Lust, Caution, and recorded his 12th LP, Change Me. Inspired by the 1930s setting of old Shanghai from the film, Wang incorporated Broadway and classical elements into the album's songs.

From 🇹🇼 Taiwan