CHINA/TAIWAN: OLYMPICS - Controversial Taiwanese pop star A-Mei hopes to sing Olympic tune

Record ID: 329738

  • Title: CHINA/TAIWAN: OLYMPICS - Controversial Taiwanese pop star A-Mei hopes to sing Olympic tune
  • Date: 2nd February 2008
  • Summary: BEIJING, CHINA (RECENT) (REUTERS) SINGER A-MEI IN RECORDING ROOM VARIOUS RECORDING ENGINEER IN STUDIO A-MEI SINGING
  • Embargoed: 17th February 2008 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Topics: Arts / Culture / Entertainment / Showbiz,Sports
  • Reuters ID: LVAEMNE6PPZFCBKTMSJK1AQB7GF8
  • Story Text: Taiwanese pop star A-mei, once banned from performing in China after she sang the Taiwan national anthem, is one of the artists competing to sing the Olympic theme song.
    Singers and musicians from China and abroad are competing to get their work chosen as the theme song for the 2008 Beijing Olympics which will be performed in public for the first time when the games open on August 8.
    Among the hundreds of thousands of artists competing to get the honour of performing is Taiwanese superstar Chang Hui-mei, also known as "A-mei,".
    A-mei, a Taiwan ethnic native who grew up singing for fun in her native Puyuma village, stands out because of her strong voice on light rock tracks covering matters such as love and race relations.
    This is the singer's latest "comeback" trip to China, after she was banned six years ago in the country for singing the national anthem for Taiwan, a self-ruled island China claims to be its own.
    Taiwan split from Mao Zedong's Communist-ruled mainland after the defeated Nationalists fled there in 1949. Beijing officials have threatened to take the island back, by force if necessary, but over the past few years have sought favour with Taiwanese people by promoting cultural exchanges.

    "I cannot say that my ten-year career path has been very smooth, but at least in the past ten years, I have been through highs and lows. I am glad to have come out safely through it all," A-mei said in an interview with Reuters last year.
    The singer's top priorities are to rehearse and record the Olympic song "Forever Friends", which is composed by Chinese musician Kong Xiangdong and Italian Giorgio Moroder, who composed the Seoul Olympic theme song "Hand in Hand".
    Reuters was not allowed to interview her as her comeback is quite a sensitive issue in the country.
    The song has won recognition from Beijing's Olympic organiser, who praised it as one of the top five candidates for the Olympic theme song.

    "This is a good song. My job is to discover good Olympic songs and provide them to the key decision-making parties. Personally, I like this song very much, but as for its future -- whether it is able to make it as the Olympic theme song or not, I can't say," said Wang Pingjiu, the official in charge of selecting the Olympic theme song.
    Previous Olympics have seen performances by artists such as Celine Dion, Bjork and Kylie Minogue.
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