Wowkie Zhang
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Wowkie Zhang | |||||||||||
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 Zhang Wei in September 2017 | |||||||||||
| Background information | |||||||||||
| Birth name | Zhang Wei | ||||||||||
| Also known as | Wowkie Da | ||||||||||
| Born | 31 August 1983 Beijing, China | ||||||||||
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| Instrument(s) | Vocals, guitar | ||||||||||
| Years active | 1998–present | ||||||||||
| Chinese name | |||||||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 張偉 | ||||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 张伟 | ||||||||||
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Wowkie Zhang or Da Zhang Wei (Chinese: 大张伟; pinyin: Dà Zhāng Wěi), is a Chinese singer, songwriter, and musician. He is best known as the lead singer, guitarist, and primary songwriter of the rock band the Flowers.
Early life and career
1983–1998
He studied in primary school in Chongwen District in Beijing. He went to Children's Cultural Palace to practice singing. At the age of 10, he won the first prize in the Chongwen District singing competition, and the Beijing Middle School and Primary School Students Singing Competition.[citation needed]
In fourth grade, Zhang Wei and his fellow singers in the Children’ Cultural Palace attended the Children's Choir competition in Russia and won the Second Prize. In the Fifth Grade, Zhang Wei passed the audition and became a member of Central China TV station (CCTV) Yinhe Teenage Art Troupe, where many in the contemporary Chinese pop world, including Faye Wong, Cai Guoqing, WANG Xuechun and Liu Chunyan, originated from.[citation needed]
1998–2009
In February 1998, Zhang Wei and his friends performed in a pub, met artist agent Hong Feng, and formed the band the Flowers. In June, he was chosen as one of the Six Most Talented Teenagers of China. As Zhang Wei was a common name in the Chinese language, he became known by his stage name, Da Zhang Wei (the big Zhang Wei, 大张伟).[citation needed]
The Flowers was China's first teenage band.[citation needed]
In January 1999, the Flowers were signed to a small Beijing-based Chinese independent label, New Bees Music, and released their first album, On the Other Side of Happiness.[1] The album turned out to be a success with many hit songs like "Stillness", "Disillusion" and "School's Out".[citation needed]
In December 2001, they released their second album, Strawberry Statement.[citation needed]
In 2002, they won the Media Award in the 2nd Chinese Pop Music.[citation needed][ambiguous]
In 2004, they won the Most Popular Band in the 4th Global Mandarin Pop Chart and the Chinese Music Pioneer Chart. The same year, the band was signed with EMI. In June, they released You Are My Romeo.[citation needed]
From 2004 to 2005, the band experimented with various musical styles including hip hop and techno. In 2005, the band released "Xi Shua Shua"(嘻唰唰).[2][better source needed][non-primary source needed] This is a milestone in Zhang Wei's career as the song make him a household name. Xi Shua Shua became an instant hit in the mainland China and it is still a must-have in parties, square dancing (广场舞) and karaoke up till today. The song made Zhang Wei a permanent place in Mandarin Pop history. This popular song is even used in parties in other countries, such as Malaysia.[3][better source needed][non-primary source needed]
Xi Shua Shua was included on the band's fourth studio album, Hua Ji Wang Chao, or Blooming Dynasty, released in July 2005. The album won numerous awards around China and sold some 200,000 copies in the forty days after its release.[citation needed]
The Flowers disbanded in 2009 and Da Zhang Wei embarked on his solo career. Since 2009, he has released five albums and over thirteen singles, achieving a record sales of over five million copies.[citation needed]
2009-present
He became known to younger audience as a host and TV personality. In 2016, Da Zhang Wei became a co-host for China's top talk show Day Day Up.[citation needed]
In 2014, he released "Beier Shuang", meaning Super Euphoric. He performed the song in China Central TV's Spring Festival Gala, a show viewed by Chinese audiences at home and abroad. The song became an instant national sensation. Psy used "Beier Shuang" when he performed with Chinese girl band SNH48 in China.[4][better source needed][non-primary source needed]
In 2016, he created a theme song for the advertisement of AliPay's new function, combining Beijing Opera with EDM.[citation needed] His 2018 song Am a Popping Candy combines EDM with traditional Yunan ethnic style and Shangdong clapper talk, an ancient storytelling music performance.[citation needed]
In 2016, he performed in Heroes of Remix as a guest performer, remixing Beijing Opera, Beijing folk song the Beijing Chick and a 1980s rock classic—the Long March. The final result was New Beijing Chick (《北京小妞》).[5] In the same show, he also remixed the theme song of 80s cartoon Hulu Brothers(《葫芦娃》).[6][better source needed][non-primary source needed]
In this show he brought forward the concept of CDM—China Dance Music. He gave a short speech, appealing for all musicians to create music with their own ethnic style, rather than forgetting their own cultural identity by following the international trend. In 2018 Da Zhang Wei appeared as a judge in Rave Now. In the show, Da Zhang Wei scouted the winning performer—JIANG Liang. He also scouted a team of EDM musicians who were mainly performing in underground pubs and bars in China.[citation needed]
He and his team created many songs that remix ethnic music with EDM. For example, he created Nezha, which tells the story of a hero from traditional Chinese myth.[citation needed]
Artistry
Influences
Da Zhang Wei's early influence came from Green Day and Sex Pistols.[5] After he went solo, he turned his interest to EDM. He also tries to incorporate elements of traditional Chinese art forms into his music.[citation needed]
Song writing
Unlike many other singers in Mandarin pop,[citation needed] Da Zhang Wei writes his own songs. As of January 2019, he has written over 190 songs.[5] During his time with the Flowers, he was the principal songwriter of all the songs on the band's albums.[citation needed]
References
- ^ Petra, Niemi (7 March 2008). "The Flowers - From punk pop to hip hop". gbtimes.com. Archived from the original on 8 October 2016. Retrieved 10 June 2020.
- ^ 嘻唰唰 by 花儿乐队, retrieved 31 January 2020
- ^ Tarian Xi Shua Shua UNIMAS, retrieved 31 January 2020
- ^ 鸟叔、SNH48《江南style+倍儿爽》（SNH48第三届年度总决选演唱会）, retrieved 31 January 2020
- ^ a b c 贵圈©. "大张伟：叛逆未遂". www.huxiu.com (in Chinese). Retrieved 31 January 2020.
- ^ wowkie zhang 大张伟-盖世音雄-葫芦娃 -未修音版, retrieved 31 January 2020
External links
- Wowkie Zhang at IMDb