| Jam Hsiao | |||||||||
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Jam@ the movie "The Killer Who Never Kills" |
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| Chinese name | 蕭敬騰 (Traditional) | ||||||||
| Chinese name | 萧敬腾 (Simplified) | ||||||||
| Pinyin | Xiāo Jìngténg (Mandarin) | ||||||||
| Origin | Republic of China (Taiwan) | ||||||||
| Born | March 30, 1987 Taipei, Taiwan |
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| Occupation | Singer, Student | ||||||||
| Genre(s) | Mandopop, Rock & Roll, Jazz, R&B | ||||||||
| Instrument(s) | Singing, Keyboard, Piano, Drums, Guitar, Saxophone, Flute | ||||||||
| Label(s) | Warner Music Taiwan (2008–present) | ||||||||
| Years active | 2007–present | ||||||||
| Official Website | Jam's Club Official Website | ||||||||
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Awards
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Jam Hsiao (traditional Chinese: 蕭敬騰; simplified Chinese: 萧敬腾; pinyin: Xiāo Jìngténg; Wade–Giles: Hsiao Ching-teng) was born on 30 March 1987 at Taipei, Taiwan). He is a Taiwanese Mandopop singer. In summer 2007, Hsiao rose to fame after only three brief appearances in the first season of China Television (CTV)'s (中視) star search show, One Million Star (超級星光大道), which is a singing competition reality show similar to American Idol. A self-taught player of numerous music instruments, Hsiao is known for his wide vocal ranges, unique singing style, diverse music genres, and astounding charisma in his live performance.
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Born to father of Chinese descent and native Amis aboriginal 阿美族 mother, Hsiao inherited beautiful singing voice known for Taiwanese aborigines 原住民. Other family members include two older brothers and one older sister. Hsiao took a drum lesson at age 15 after being inspired by a song in a rock CD that Hsiao incidentally found at home – Bon Jovi’s first single "It’s My Life" from the album Crush released in 2000. Hsiao’s drum lessons only lasted for three months due to financial reasons. After that, Hsiao continued his journey in music by sharpening his drum-playing techniques without any further formal instruction in music.[1]
At age of 16, Hsiao become an instructor for drum classes in a local music learning center. He also volunteered to teach drum classes in his community as a way to counsel local troubled teens, which made him a recipient of the Good Samaritan Award 善心獎 for two consecutive years. Hsiao was a hyper-energetic kid and a troubled early-teen himself; fortunately, music saved him. As Hsiao often joked about himself, “without music, I might have turned into a ruffian on the street”.
Hsiao also formed a rock band called “Diapason” with his friends and older brother, which Hsiao was the lead vocals and drummer. With his passion for music, Hsiao started teaching himself how to play a keyboard. At age 17, with only three-month experience of keyboard, Hsiao became a pub singer, and played his own chord while singing. As Hsiao recalled, “I didn’t have much thought...but I knew I love music, so I just kept on singing, playing [music], kept on practicing [instruments]…often for more than ten hours a day...and often could not stop ‘til I broke my last pair of drumsticks.”
Hsiao has always appreciated music of Bon Jovi, Mr. Big, Skid Row, Yoshiki of X Japan, Jeff Chang 張信哲, A-Mei 張惠妹, Jacky Cheung 張學友, and Na Ying 那英. Music of these artists has significant influence on Hsiao in his early life. As Hsiao matured, he was also inspired by Italian opera tenor, Luciano Pavarotti.
In 2007, Hsiao applied to compete in the second season of One Million Star. However, the show’s production unit pulled him to appear in the first season as a tyrant challenger (踢館魔王) in order to “player kill (PK)” the show’s remaining contestants. The show introduced Hsiao as the “Strongest Challenger in the History” (史上最強挑戰者). In his first PK attempt, Hsiao challenged Stanly Hsu 許仁杰 by singing the song "The Only One In The World" (世界唯一的妳), and won. In his second PK attempt, Hsiao challenged the show’s most popular contestant, Aska Yang 楊宗緯 by singing the song "Betrayal" (背叛), and won again. The viewership rating for this show reached 4.06 since Hsiao’s presence in May 2007. Encouraged by the high viewership rating, the show’s production unit had Hsiao and Yang compete one more time, head-to-head, by performing the same song, "New Endless Love" (新不了情). After witnessed Hsiao's last two PK performances, the hostess of the show, Momoko Tao 陶晶瑩, nicknamed Hsiao as the "King of Black Spiders” (黑蜘蛛) who imposed real threat to regular contestants. Although Yang got higher score than Hsiao in this round, Hsiao’s extraordinary showmanship immediately won him immense popularity. His fans became organized and founded "Hsiao Band 蕭幫" to support this talented boy. Although Hsiao is not a regular contestant for the show, he rose to fame so quickly that he was selected by Yahoo! Taiwan 雅虎奇摩 as the third most searched celebrity in 2007.[2]
After merely three brief TV appearances, Hsiao’s fans rushed to the pubs and restaurants, where Hsiao worked, to hear his live performance. Whenever there was Hsiao’s scheduled performance, the pubs and restaurants were over-flooded with people – it was even extremely difficult to reserve a standing spot. Meanwhile, Hsiao’s personal blog got over 400,000 visits within two weeks since its launch.
Although Hsiao did not have any record company contract for almost a year since he became famous, many TV variety programs invited him to their shows because whenever Hsiao was the feature guest, viewing rate hiked. Media reported that Shin Band 信樂團 had invited Hsiao to join their band as the lead vocals. In addition, Hsiao’s powerful vocal and sudden popularity got A-Mei 張惠妹's attention. A-mei is known as Taiwan’s Queen of Pop. A-Mei asked Hsiao to be the feature male vocals for the duet “Moment of the First Sight” (一眼瞬間) in her 2007 music album Star. In December 2007, Hsiao performed a medley of four nominated original themes in the Golden Horse Award 金馬獎, which is the most significant event for film industry in Taiwan. At this time, Hsiao was still an ordinary 20-year-old student with no record company contract. Needless to say, many record companies fought to recruit this young and fresh talent.
In March 2008, Warner Music Taiwan and Hsiao entered a four-year contract. Rumor said the initial contract bonus from Warner Music reached NT$30,000,000.[3]
On 16 June 2008, Hsiao’s debut album, Jam Hsiao Self Titled Album (蕭敬騰同名專輯), was released. It included two songs composed by Hsiao, as well as the works of fellow Mandoppp artists such as A-Shin of Mayday, A-Chin of F.I.R., Gary Chaw, Ching-Feng of Sodagreen. Hsiao's debut album ranked number one on the G-Music 玫瑰 and Five Music 五大 billboards at the same time for seven weeks. This album also claimed the number one place in Mandarin album charts in several Asian countries.[4] Hsiao’s New-Song Premiere Concert (新歌發表會) took place on July 6, 2008 at Tamshui Fisherman's Wharf 淡水漁人碼頭 in Taiwan. In addition to performing the new songs from his debut album, Hsiao also sang a duet with each of his three guest singers, Vivian Hsu 徐若瑄, Khalil Fong 方大同, and Daniel Powter. Both Hsiao’s debut album and first solo concert enjoyed huge success.[5]
On August 1, 2008, the revised version of his debut album, “First Live”, was released. This revised album not only includes the original debut album CD, but also an audio CD and a DVD of his live performance at Tamshui Fisherman's Wharf. The Limited- Edition, “Ultimate Version" (終極收藏版), of this album was released on September 26, 2008. In addition to what were included in the First Live version, the Ultimate Version also offer music videos, bonus music "Thank You" for fans, behind-the-scene videos, and Hsiao’s own photography and sketching works.
Currently, Hsiao is very popular not only in his native Taiwan, but also in mainland China, Hong Kong, and other Asian countries such as Malaysia and Singapore. His fanbase is large, diverse, and growing. Fans of Hsiao often call themselves members of “Hsiao Band 蕭幫”, and nickname Hsiao as their Chief 幫主. In the era of internet and global networking, members of Hsiao Band also exist in North America, South America, Australia, and Europe.
Hsiao’s solid and manly vocal carries an explosive force, yet it is also sensational and often touches the deepest heart of his audience, especially through his live performance. His deep, clear and penetrating voice stands him out from most Chinese singers. Hsiao is a soul of rock; nevertheless, his performance for songs of other genres is just as impressive — including love song, pop, jazz, R&B, oldies, and even Taiwanese country, to name a few. One of the judges in One Million Star, Kay Huang 黃韻玲, once said when she heard Hsiao’s voice for the first time, "I was so carried away… I felt intoxicated…it’s sentimental”. "This voice makes me want to marry him".
Contrary to his powerful performance and breath-taking charisma on stage, Hsiao is soft-spoken, quiet and shy off stage. Many journalists stumbled or faced hurdle while interviewing him; therefore, the media named him the “Number-One Guy With Least Words (省話一哥)". Hsiao admitted he is slow to warm up to people; however, he explained, once he is better acquainted to people and the environment, he can be very fun-loving and become more open to conversation, just like any boy at his same age.
Hsiao plays drums, keyboard, piano, guitar, flute, and saxophone. His other hobbies include sports (e.g. table tennis, billiards, badminton, basketball, golf, ice skating, biking, and skateboarding), magic, sketching, photography, and Rubik's Cube. He also enjoys entertaining his friends and fans with anti-humor jokes.
| # | Name | Released | Label | Format |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Jam Hsiao Self Titled Album (蕭敬騰同名專輯) | 16 June 2008 | Warner Music Taiwan | Studio album |
| 2nd | Princess (王妃) | 17 July 2009 | Warner Music Taiwan | Studio album |
| 3rd | Love Moments: Self Selection (愛的時刻 自選輯) | 13 November 2009 | Warner Music Taiwan | Tribute album |
| 4th | Wild Dreams (狂想曲) | 30 June 2011 | Warner Music Taiwan | Studio album |
Love Guam-Jam Hsiao《萧敬腾 爱在关岛》 Hunan Literature and Art Publishing House湖南文艺出版社 September 01,2011， ISBN978-7-5404-5040-3
| Year | Award | Category | Nomination | Result | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | 20th Golden Melody Awards | Best New Artist | Jam Hsiao for Jam Hsiao Self Titled Album | Nominated | [7] |
| HITO Radio Music Awards HITO流行音樂獎 |
Top 10 Songs of the Year | "收藏" (Collection) from Jam Hsiao Self Titled Album | Won | [8] | |
| Best New Artist | Jam Hsiao | Won | |||
| 2010 | Metro Radio Mandarin Music Awards | Songs of the Year | "Say a lil Something" | Won | [9] |
| Songs of the Year | "新不了情" (New Endless Love) | Won | |||
| Male Singer (男歌手) | Jam Hsiao | Won | |||
| Asia Popular Idol (亞洲人氣偶像) | Jam Hsiao | Won |