At backstage after receiving award at "13th Chinese Music Awards" on 25th January 2007.
Alexander Lee-Hom Wang (Chinese: 王力宏; pinyin: Wáng Lìhóng; born May 17, 1976; better known as Leehom Wang or Wang Leehom) is an American singer-songwriter of Taiwanese descent who has achieved success in Taiwan, Malaysia, China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Japan, Thailand and the rest of Southeast Asia.
Profile
Chinese Name: 王力宏
English Name: Lee Hom Wang
Christian Name: Alexander
Japanese Name: Ou Riki Hiroshi
Birthday: May 17, 1976
Ethnicity: Taiwanese
Nationality: American
Astrological Sign: Taurus
Zodiac: Dragon
Height: 6'2"
Weight: 150lb
Birthplace: Rochester, New York
Blood Type: O
Family: Parents, Older Brother Leo (+3 yrs), Younger Brother Lee Kai (-9 yrs)
Elementary School: Pittsford Elementary School – Pittsford, New York
High School: Sutherland High School – Pittsford, New York
Undergraduate: Williams College – Williamstown, Massachusetts (Graduated with Honors in Music, Minor in Asian Studies)
Graduate School: Berklee School of Music – Boston, Massachusetts
Biography
Lee-hom Wang was born in Rochester, New York on 17 May 1976. He studied music at Williams College and the Berklee College of Music(Jazz Piano & Composition).
Wang comes from a high pedigree of academics; his father is a pediatrician, his older brother, Leo (Lee-De) Wang was a student at Yale University, an MD/PhD student at The University of Chicago, and is presently a doctor residing in Chicago, his younger brother, Lee-Kai Wang is a student at MIT, and many of his relatives are doctors. Like much of his family, Wang had considered pursuing a medical career. However, at the last minute Wang realized his true passion was for music. Amidst criticism from his family, Wang decided to attend Williams College to pursue his dream to become a musician. Although this decision was unconventional, Wang was willing to take this risk and his choice has proven to be a wise one.
He has become one of the many new songwriters and musicians revolutionizing the Chinese music industry. He is active in all areas of musical production, from composing to producing, to arranging pieces, to writing lyrics (although he did not learn to speak fluent Chinese until he was 18), to playing instrumental accompaniments, to directing his own music videos.
By combining western music with classical Chinese instruments, Wang has given a unique twist to Chinese music. Having eleven Mandarin albums to his credit, Wang has yet to produce an English album but remains one of the main songwriters and producers for Sony BMG. He also owns two Homeboy Music Studios situated in Taiwan and New York. On his tenth album, Shangri-La, Wang incorporated the often unheard music of the minorities of China into a style he coined "chinked out". He experimented with the tribal sounds of China, Tibet, and Mongolia, traveling the area carrying 15 kg of equipment while fighting bouts of altitude and food sickness. His last album was released in 2006, and he has infused elements of Beijing opera into the songs, continuing the "chinked out" spirit.
Favorites
Boyband: N'Sync
Admired Singer: Stevie Wonder
Subject: Jazz Piano
Animal: Dog (Rotweiller)
Color: Blue
Sport: Baseball
Food: Japanese cuisine, Peking Duck, Pizza, Coconut, Zonghui Sandwich, Grapefruit Juice
Hobby: Baseball, Music, Drawing, Movie, Drama, Creating, Making
Movies: 8 1/2, 夜訪吸血鬼, 刺激1995, Little Women, Nuovo Cinema Paradiso, Farewell My Concubine, A Clockwork Orange
Type of Movie: Science Fiction
Country: Taiwan
Attire: T-shirt & Jeans
Quote: "It's all good."
Talents
* sings
* composes music
* writes lyrics
* acts in musicals
* plays violin, piano, acoustic guitar, vibraphone/xylophone, er-hu, drums, accordion, bass, harmonica, electric guitar
* draws
* speaks Mandarin, French, bits of Cantonese & Japanese
Secrets
* Leehom's father is a doctor (pediatrician)
* Leehom's mother business-manager and an amateur opera singer
* After Leehom's parents graduated from university in Taiwan, they went to the United States to further their studies.
* Leehom's elder brother Lee-De, Leo, is 3 years older than Leehom. He's also a doctor (currently residing in Chicago). Lee-De also plays the violin. He married on 5th June 1998, when he was 24. His wife Stacy, is also a doctor.
* Leo has finely tuned debating skills. His uncanny ability to win arguments won him many competitions in the past.
* Leehom's younger brother, Lee-Kai, is 9 years younger than Leehom. Lee-Kai can play the piano.
* Leehom's Grandma who lives in Taiwan is nearly 80 years old now. According to Leehom, she is a modern Granny who knows to go to concerts and is active in social activities. She was the History teacher of the host of "Super Sunday".
* Leehom is left-handed.
* His close friends are David Tao, Shunza, Coco Lee, Eason, Jeff Chang, Mavis Fan, William So, Peter Ho and Vivian Hsu.
* Why doesn't he use his Christian name 'Alexander'? When Leehom was about to go to Primary School, Wang Mama wanted Leehom to choose the name he wanted to use: Alexander or Leehom. He chose Leehom with the reason that it is more unique than Alexander.
* Leehom has perfect pitch! This means that he can sing out the accurate pitches of notes without the aid of any instruments. Pretty fantastic, eh? Not many people can do that!
* Leehom can do the splits!
* Leehom brushes his teeth before doing any recording.
* Leehom pastes the enlarged lyrics all over the wall.
* "The Bite That Burns" was a play written by Leehom when he was 21. It was a Broadway work which comprises of opera, Broadway and the films. The score of the electronic-symphony orchestra is more than 570 pages in length
* Leehom loves wearing shoes without wearing socks.
* The fastest way to bore Leehom: History books
* Together with his elder brother, Leehom worked as a paper boy for 7 years since he was 8. He said that this experience trained him to be honest, responsible and industrious.
* Leehom owns a studio in New York, named "Homeboy Studios".
* Leehom said he wrote his song "Julia" in 5 minutes when he got his hair cut
* Leehom's first girlfriend sang the background music over the monologue in 'wo yao' (Wei Yi Album - Track 10)
* One eye near-sighted, one eye far-sighted
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Discography
Mandarin
* 1995: Love Rival Beethoven (情敵貝多芬)
* 1996: If You Heard My Song (如果你聽見我的歌)
o Missing You (好想你)
* 1997: White Paper (白紙)
* 1998: Revolution (公轉自轉)
* 1999: Impossible to Miss You (不可能錯過你)
* 2000: Forever's First Day (永遠的第一天)
* 2001: The One and Only (唯一)
* 2003: Unbelievable (不可思議)
* 2004: Shangri-La (心中的日月)
* 2005: Heroes of Earth (蓋世英雄)
Japanese
* 2003: The Only One
* 2004: Hear My Voice
Singles
* 1998: Revolution (公轉自轉)
* 2000: Take Your Time (每天愛你廿四小時)
* 2001: The One and Only (唯一)
* 2002: Two People Do Not Equal Us (兩個人不等于我們)
* 2003: Last Night
* 2004: Miracle of Love (愛の奇跡)
* 2004: Dream Again
* 2004: Shangri-La (心中的日月)
* 2005: Mistakes in the Flower Field (花田错)
* 2006: As Time Goes By
Compilations
* 1998: Good Leehom Compilation (好力宏精选)
* 2001: Leehom Music Century (王力宏創世紀)
* 2002: Leehom's Music Evolution - New and Best Selection (王力宏的音樂進化論 - 新曲+精選)
Others
* 2000: China Strike Force Original Movie Soundtrack (雷霆戰警電影原聲帶)
o Track 3 - China White
o Track 11 - Light of My Life (Duet with Lara Fabian)
o Track 12 - Don't Be Afraid (不要害怕)
* 2002: Candy Lo - Shang Wei Ren Jian (賞味人間)
o (Disc 2) Track 1 - Better To be Apart (好心分手)
* 2002: Music from and Inspired by Spider-Man (Asian Edition)
o Track 20 - Like a Gunshot
* 2005: Kenny G - At Last...The Duets Album (Asian Edition)
o (Bonus CD) Track 1 - The One and Only (唯一)
* 2006: Sony Ericsson - Wei Ni Er Sheng (Limited Edition) 为你而声(限定盘)
o Track 1 - Mistakes in the Flower Field (花田错) (Remix)
o Track 2 - Kiss Goodbye (Instrumental)
* 2006: Sony Ericsson - Yin Yue Chuang Zuo Live CD) (音樂創作 Live CD)
o Track 1 - Heroes of Earth (蓋世英雄)
o Track 2 - Shangri-La (心中的日月)
o Track 3 - A Simple Song (一首簡單的歌)
o Track 4 - Julia
o Track 5 - Impossible to Miss You (不可能錯過你)
o Track 6 - The One and Only (唯一)
* 2006: Tony Bennett - Duets: An American Classic (Asian Edition)
o Track 20 - If I Ruled The World
