A-mei

A-mei

A-mei performing during her Amit First World Tour in Taipei, March 2010
Background information
Chinese name 張惠妹 (traditional)
Chinese name 张惠妹 (simplified)
Pinyin Zhāng Huìmèi (Mandarin)
Birth name Kulilay Amit
Ethnicity Puyuma
Born (1972-08-09) 9 August 1972
Beinan, Taitung, Taiwan
Nationality Republic of China (Taiwan)
Other name(s) Chang Hui-mei
Occupation Singer, songwriter
Genre(s) Pop, rock
Instrument(s) Vocals, guitar, drums
Voice type(s) Soprano
Label(s) EMI
Manager(s) Mei
Years active 1996–present
Alma mater National Taitung Junior College
Website starmei.com

Kulilay Amit (simplified Chinese: 张惠妹; traditional Chinese: 張惠妹; pinyin: Zhāng Huìmèi, born 9 August 1972[1][2]), better known by her stage name A-mei, is a Taiwanese Puyuma singer-songwriter. In 1996, she made her singing debut and released her album, Sisters. Her albums, Truth (2001), Amit (2009), and Faces of Paranoia (2014), each won her a Golden Melody Award for Best Mandarin Female Singer, and made her one of the singers who won the category most times. Having sold more than 50 million records, she has achieved success and popularity in Chinese-speaking world.

Life and career

1972–1996: Early years and career beginnings

A-mei was born in a Puyuma family in Beinan, Taitung, Taiwan.[3][4] In 1992, A-mei moved to Taipei, and took part in the Five Lights Star Singing Contest presented by the Taiwanese TV program Five Lights Awards; She made it all the way through to the finals but lost in the final round.[5] In 1993, she attended the singing contest again, and eventually won the champion. After she won the champion in the singing contest, A-mei joined her cousin's band in 1995, and started to perform in pubs in Taipei.[5] Her pub performance impressed Taiwanese music producer Chang Yu-sheng and Chang Hsiao-yen, the head of Taiwanese record label Forward Music of the time. In March 1996, she signed a recording deal with Forward Music.

1996–2000: Forward Music

After she signed a recording deal with Forward Music, A-mei's voice appears on Chang Yu-sheng's album, Red Passion, which released in July 1996, and she sang a duet song titled "Love Most Hurt Most". In December 1996, she released her debut album, Sisters. The title song featured A-mei's mother and sisters as background vocals. In June 1997, A-mei released her second studio album, Bad Boy. The album earned her two Golden Melody Award nominations for Best Pop Vocal Album and Best Mandarin Female Singer. In January 1998, A-mei embarked her first solo concert tour, which visited Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Singapore, and she released a cover album in April 1998, which includes many classic songs she planned to perform during the tour. In October 1998, she released her third studio album, Holding Hands, which she collaborated with Taiwanese singer-songwriter David Tao. The album earned her a Golden Melody Award nomination for Best Mandarin Female Singer.

In June 1999, A-mei release her fourth studio album, Can I Hug You, Lover?. The album earned her a Golden Melody Award nomination for Best Mandarin Female Singer. In July 1999, A-mei embarked her second concert tour, which visited Taiwan, mainland China, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Malaysia. In April 2000, she released a live album titled Time to Say Goodbye, A-mei Hong Kong Live. In May 2000, she sang the National Anthem of the Republic of China at the presidential inauguration ceremony of Chen Shui-bian; It angered the government of the People's Republic of China, which subsequently banned her from visiting mainland China for a few years.[6] In December 2000, she released her fifth studio album, Regardless, which is the last studio album released by Forward Music. The album earned her a Golden Melody Award nomination for Best Mandarin Female Singer.

2001–2006: Warner Music

After she signed a recording deal with Warner Music Taiwan in June 2001, A-mei released her sixth studio album, Truth, in October. The album earned her two Golden Melody Award nominations for Best Pop Vocal Album and Best Mandarin Female Singer, and eventually won Best Mandarin Female Singer. In September 2001, Forward Music released a compilation album, Journey, which includes all unreleased songs A-mei recorded during the Forward Music period. In August 2002, she released her seventh studio album, Fever. The album earned her two Golden Melody Award nominations for Best Pop Vocal Album and Best Mandarin Female Singer. In the same month, she embarked her third concert tour, A-Class Entertainment World Tour, which visited Taiwan, mainland China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, Australia, and United States. In the same year, she won a MTV Asia Award for Favorite Artist Taiwan.

In June 2003, she released her eighth studio album, Brave. In September 2004, A-mei released her ninth studio album, Maybe Tomorrow. The album earned her a Golden Melody Award nomination for Best Mandarin Female Singer. The music video of "Love Is the Only Way" was nominated Best Music Video. In 2005, she deiced to take a short break, and headed to Boston for a three-month language study through Boston University's Center for English Language & Orientation Programs. In late 2005, she backed to the stage, and performed a medley at the Golden Horse Awards Ceremony. In February 2006, she released her tenth studio album, I Want Happiness?. The album earned her a Golden Melody Award nomination for Best Mandarin Female Singer. In December 2006, she produced a musicals, In Love with Carmen, which performed twice at Taipei Arena.

2007–2014: EMI / Gold Typhoon

In April 2007, A-mei signed a three-year recording deal with EMI Taiwan.[7] In August 2007, she released her eleventh studio album, Star. The album earned her three Golden Melody Award nominations for Best Mandarin Album, Best Mandarin Female Singer, and Song of the Year for "A Moment", which is a duet song with Taiwanese signer Jam Hsiao. In November 2007, she embarked her fourth solo concert tour, Star Tour, which visited Taiwan, mainland China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, Japan, Canada, and United States. In March 2008, she embarked a opera tour, Turandot, in Japan.

In June 2009, A-mei released her twelfth studio album, Amit. The album won four Golden Melody Awards for Best Mandarin Album, Best Mandarin Female Singer, Best Album Producer, and Song of the Year for "Bold for My Love". The music video of "Bold for My Love" was nominated Best Music Video. In November 2009, she embarked her fifth concert tour, Amit First Tour, which visited Taiwan, mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, Japan, Singapore, and Malaysia. In April 2011, she released her thirteenth studio album, R U Watching?. The album earned her a Golden Melody Award nomination for Best Mandarin Female Singer. In September 2011, she embarked her fifth concert tour, which visited Taiwan, mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, Singapore, Malaysia, Australia, Untied Kingdom, and United States. In July 2013, A-mei became one of the judges of Chinese talent show, The Voice of China (season 2), along with Wang Feng, Na Ying, and Harlem Yu.

2014–present: EMI

After Universal Music Group acquired EMI, EMI became one of Universal's record label. In June 2014, A-mei signed a recoding deal with EMI Taiwan, and was selected as the Chief Brand Officer of the record label. In July 2014, she released her fourteenth studio album, Faces of Paranoia. The album earned her two Golden Melody Award nominations for Best Mandarin Female Singer and Song of the Year for "Faces of Paranoia", and eventually won Best Mandarin Female Singer. In April 2015, she embarked her sixth concert tour, Utopia World Tour, which visited Taiwan, mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, Singapore, Malaysia, Japan, Thailand, New Zealand, Australia, Canada, and United States. In April 2015, she released her fifteenth studio album, Amit 2. The album earned her five Golden Melody Award nominations for Best Mandarin Album, Best Vocal Recoding Album, Best Mandarin Female Singer, Best Album Producer, and Song of the Year for "Matriarchy". In August 2015, she became one of the judges of the Chinese talent show, The Voice of China (season 4). In October 2016, she appeared on the Chinese variety show, Sound of My Dream. In December 2016, she embarked her seventh concert tour, Utopia 2.0 World Tour, which visited Taiwan, mainland China, Macau, Singapore, Malaysia, Spain, Italy, United Kingdom, Canada, and United States.

Discography

References

  1. ↑ ":: Xinhuanet - English ::". news.xinhuanet.com. Retrieved 2017-05-29.
  2. ↑ "張惠妹A-mei 8月9號生日". VOGUE時尚網 (in Chinese). Retrieved 2017-05-29.
  3. ↑ "2010 : A-MEI". Ministry of Culture, Republic of China. Archived from the original on 29 November 2014. Retrieved 29 December 2014.
  4. ↑ Chen, Christie (29 December 2014). "A-mei concert tickets sell out in 12 minutes". Central News Agency. Retrieved 29 December 2014.
  5. 1 2 Xinhua News (originally from Askmen.com). Always A-mei, xinhuanet.com, 11 December 2003; retrieved 23 July 2007.
  6. ↑ "China bans Taiwan's Madonna". BBC News. 24 May 2000. Retrieved 2007-05-03.
  7. ↑ "A-Mei Signs with EMI". English.cri.cn. Retrieved 2012-04-11.
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