by Winnie Chung 23 Mar 2001
Wang Lee-hom winces when he is told that a Web site has been touting him first as Alexander Lee, and then as Alexander Wang. Where did they learn about the name from? I never use that name. Can you get them to change it please? he pleads.
In a world full of Andys, Leons and Sams, it is refreshing to meet a young man who would much rather stick to his heritage. But, then again, Lee-hom is a more unusual name and certainly more recognisable than Alex or Alexander.
However, his name isn't the only thing that stands out about this intense 24-year-old.
He is one of the new breed of singers and actors who seem to be invading the entertainment industry: the overseas Chinese or the returning immigrants whose influences - both in film and music - lie more in the West than their homelands, but who have adapted surprisingly well to the constraints of the industry here.
It's very demanding being an entertainer in Asia, says New York-born and raised Wang.
It's a very multimedia pop culture. Your fans need to hear you and see you in films and commercials. My philosophy is that I have to try to be a good entertainer. And for that you need fresh performances all the time.
In December, Wang was named best singer-songwriter for Taiwan at the Channel V Chinese Music Awards held in Beijing. He is currently starring in Stanley Tong's action film, China Strike Force, the young singer's acting debut. It has won him a nomination for best new performance at the Hong Kong Film Awards, the results of which will be announced on April 29.
I have to have an interesting life to be able to write and compose songs, and being asked to be in movies helps enrich my life, says Wang.
When I watch Stanley at work, I think it is great experience for me as a record producer, because it involves getting people to see your vision.
There is more to Wang than looks. Growing up in Rochester, New York, he came out tops in an inter-school mathematics championship at 11 and, in high school, was runner-up for a thesis on religion and life run by Cornell University.
But his true calling was not in religion - much to the relief of his female fans now - nor in mathematics. He went on to graduate as a music major from Williams College in Massachusetts. It was while he was in his second year that he put together a video of solos from college performances for recording companies in Taiwan.
It seemed a long shot, especially since the then 17-year-old could not even speak Mandarin. But it did not stop him from winning a recording contract and releasing his debut Mandarin album, If Ever You Heard My Song, several months later.
Since then, he has released six albums, almost all best-sellers. Wang's rhythm-and-blues-tinged influences were like a breath of fresh air to the Taiwanese music industry which, like Hong Kong's, had settled into a comfortable staple of sweet love ballads.
On his latest album, Forever's First Day, he had the cheek to deliver a pumped-up dance take on the Chinese patriotic classic Descendant Of The Dragon.
Being a Chinese-American, I felt it was very important for me to sing that song because I do feel like a 'descendant of the dragon'. There are several million overseas Chinese today, but all of us are still Chinese. It doesn't matter where you're from, he says.
Although he tried balancing books with a career when he enrolled in a Master's degree course in professional music at Berklee College of Music in Boston, he didn't graduate.
Music degrees are so abstract; it's not like an MBA. I was faced with either listening to these lecturers who were talking about these dead classical musicians or actually going out and working with some of the best musicians in the world today, he says.
It was a move made all the more worthwhile when he was named best male artist and best producer at last year's Golden Melody Awards, Taiwan's version of the Grammys. Forever's First Day, released last June, has sold more than 300,000 copies around Asia.
Technically speaking, China Strike Force, is not Wang's first attempt at acting. Several months back, he appeared in an anti-smoking short film directed by singer-actor Leslie Cheung Kwok-wing.
That was different, because it was more of a drama and it wasn't on general release, Wang explains.
The brevity of his acting CV (his next film is In The Name Of Heroes starring opposite Sammo Hung) is not for lack of offers.
I turned down some offers because I didn't think they were the right projects, he says.
But, with China Strike Force, it was the combination of action and working with top talents such as Tong (Rumble In The Bronx, Supercop ) and Japanese bombshell Norika Fujiwara that convinced him to chart a new course.
I've always been a Jackie Chan fan. This was like a childhood fantasy come true for me. I've always wanted to be a hero in an action movie, and now I have the chance.
Tong describes his new star as excellent. He's going to go far, the director predicts. Wang says much of the credit goes to Tong, who showed him all the right moves. Stanley's the director, the credit should go to him. I didn't know what I was doing because I had had no experience and you really couldn't see the bigger picture when you're stuck doing your scenes for four months. There was a lot of trust in Stanley, Wang says.
But his acting aspirations will always come second to his singing, Wang insists. He intends to pick and choose his roles carefully, which would be a far cry from some of Hong Kong's singers who greedily grab any film offer that comes their way - good or bad.
My theory is to take things slowly, Wang says. Maybe if I were 20 years older, I'd look at things differently. I'm in this for the long run. I know people say you should take the chance to earn more while you are still young, but I'd rather do quality work for a long time than make quick money.
from South China Morning Post(2001-3-23)
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