name	Jane Zhang
tradchinesename	張靚穎
simpchinesename	张靓颖
pinyinchinesename	Zhāng Liàngyǐng
birth date	October 11, 1984
birth place	Chengdu, Sichuan, China
occupation	Singer, Songwriter
genre	MandopopR&B;Hip-Hop
instrument	Harmonica
voicetype	Spinto soprano
label	Record Label(s):Huayi Brothers Music(2005-2009)Universal Music China(2009–present)Manage Label(s):Huayi Brothers Music(2005-2009)Show City Times(2009–present)
yearsactive	2005–present
influences	Mariah Carey
website	Official site (English)
hongkongfilmwards	Best Original Film Song2009 ''Painted Skin''
awards	Super Girl2005 Third place }}

Jane Zhang also known as Zhang Liangying (; born October 11, 1984 in Chengdu, Sichuan) is a Mainland Chinese pop singer. She rose to prominence after her third-place performance in the 2005 season of the ''Super Girl'' contest, a national all-female singing competition in the People's Republic of China. Throughout the competition, she sang in English, Spanish and Cantonese in addition to Mandarin Chinese. She is particularly known for her signature whistle register.

Zhang's debut album was titled ''The One'' and was produced by Craig Williams. Her next album, ''Update'', broke away from the Chinese pop scene by combining elements of R&B; and jazz. After the release of ''Update'', Zhang participated in a World Peace One concert that was designed to increase awareness and activism for world peace, and to raise funds for humanitarian relief. Other participating artists included U2, Madonna, Pink Floyd and Green Day.

Biography

Early years

Her father was an engine attendant for a transportation company in Chengdu, and her mother was a shop assistant. During her childhood, she performed at her parents' workplace on several occasions. However, her parents divorced when she was 13; two years later, Zhang's father died. This forced her to work outside of school; she started to sing at a local public house, where her uncle played the accompaniments.

While performing at the pub, Zhang was exposed to a wide variety of music genres, and developed a taste for American country singers in addition to Western pop singers, such as Mariah Carey and Christina Aguilera. Because she was unable to afford her own music players, Zhang frequently borrowed walkmans and headphones from her classmates, and skipped lunches to save enough money for cassettes. After graduating from college, she studied at Sichuan University's Foreign Language Department where she was majoring in English; she dropped out soon after to compete in the 2005 ''Super Girl'' competition.

Since early time, Jane Zhang has maintained close relation with Michael Feng, or Feng Ke(冯科),a middle-age businessman in Chengdu and this relation later caused the divorce of Michael Feng and his ex-wife. During 2005 Super Girl competition, Michael Feng has played an active role not only in assisting Jane Zhang's success, but also in Jane Zhang's separation from Tianyu Company, the organizer of the competition, shortly after she won the third place title. After the competition, Michael Feng has been serving as Jane Zhang's business agent and kept a very close relation with her, but they haven't married till now.

2005: Super Girl competition

Zhang auditioned for the ''Super Girl'' contest in 2005. ''Super Girl'' () is the Chinese equivalent to the popular ''Idol'' franchise where only female contestants were allowed to participate. She auditioned in Chengdu, and after progressing through the preliminary rounds, she entered the national competition with Li Yuchun and He Jie ().

Throughout the series, she had established a fan base whose members called themselves "Liang Fen" (), a phrase that combined the Chinese pronunciation of her name and the English word "fan." The term "Liang Fen" originated from Hong Kong years ago, but is now used to define a particular type of bean jelly snack in central China.

Zhang demonstrated her ability to sing in foreign languages, with performances of "I Still Believe," "What's Up," "Beautiful," and "Don't Cry for Me Argentina." As such, she was recognized by judges, critics and musicians to be the most talented singer in this competition. Some critics even regarded her as one of China's best artists. Nevertheless, she was not the most popular contestant among young supporters. Her final number of votes by text messaging was 1.3 million. Consequently, she placed third behind Li Yuchun and Zhou Bichang. Her loss did not come as a shock because Li and Zhou had garnered more popularity during the competition. Their creative eccentricity and tomboyish appearances triumphed over Zhang's "old, introverted, [and] pretty-girl" image.

Performances in Super Girl competition

Date	Round	Song	Original Artist
		Contigo En La Distancia	Christina Aguilera
Each Time When I Miss You (每一次想你)	Coco Lee
			Christina Aguilera
	Round IITop 20	Any Man of Mine	Shania Twain
			Tina Turner
		Country Love (乡恋)	Guyi Li (李谷一)
Passionate Desert (热情的沙漠)	Feifei Auyeung (欧阳菲菲)
			Brenda K. Starr
Writing A Song (写一首歌)	Shunza
		Long Live Journey (漫步人生路)	Teresa Teng
	Christina Aguilera
You're the Most Precious (with Li Yuchun) (你最珍贵)	Jacky Cheung and Francesca Gao (张学友、高慧君)
		Remember Me	Beverley Knight
How Can You Let Me Be Upset (你怎么舍得我难过)	Victor Wong
		Vision of Love	Mariah Carey
Jambalaya (On the Bayou)	Hank Williams
Liu Yanghe (浏阳河)	Hunan Folk Song
		Don't Cry for Me, Argentina	Andrew Lloyd Webber & Tim Rice
Your Appearance (你的样子)	Lo Ta-yu
Bella ciao (啊朋友再见)	Unknown
Storm (风暴)	Unknown
		Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now
Such a Big Tree (好大一棵树)	Tian Zhen
Sincere Heroes (真心英雄)	Jackie Chan
		The Fisherman's Song of Ussuri River (乌苏里船歌)
Lovin' You	Minnie Riperton
Old Straw Hat (; )	Joe Yamanaka (; )
Make the World Full of Love (让世界充满爱)	Wei Wei etc.
Story about a Small City (小城故事)
		Gathering Areca (采槟榔)
	4 Non Blondes
My Beloved Country and I (我和我的祖国)	Guyi Li

2006: ''The One''

After the competition ended, Zhang was invited to visit Sichuan University, her alma mater, during its orientation week celebration in early September. She performed her own rendition of Shania Twain's "Any Man of Mine" there. On September 26, 2005, she became the first Super Girl contestant to hold a personal music show for her fans. Numerous celebrities attended the show, including Huang Jianxiang, a host on CCTV's football shows, Phoenix TV host Zeng Zimo, and Taiwanese singer Sky Wu. Zhang also signed a contract with CCTV to play the supporting role in ''The Song of the Movie'', a stage music show produced by Taiwan pop musician Jonathan Lee. Harlem Yu and Yuan Quan also starred in the musical, which opened in Beijing in December 2005 and later in Hong Kong.

On January 9, 2006, her first EP, ''Jane·Love'' () was released. The EP, which cost 2 million yuan to produce, contains six tracks in total: 3 songs and 3 instrumentals. In China alone, over 210,000 copies of the EP have been sold. On Forbes' China Celebrity 100 list, Zhang was placed 55th.

Her debut album, ''The One'', was released on October 11, 2006, her 22nd birthday. During the production of the album, Zhang visited the United States to collaborate with music producers Craig Williams and Peter Hyams, the latter of whom had worked with Celine Dion and R. Kelly. ''The One'' contains ten songs, three of which are in English; the three English songs were produced by Williams.

She has also sung many popular theme songs for various films and series, including "Only for Love" () for the film ''The Banquet'' and "Unparalled in the World" () for the TV series ''The Return of the Condor Heroes''. The popularity of both songs was reflected on numerous Chinese music charts. "Only for Love", which was a collaboration with Chinese pianist Lang Lang, was nominated for Best Original Film Song at the 2007 Hong Kong Film Awards.

2007: ''Update''

In February 2007, she was invited by World Peace One (WP1) to join a hundred world-renowned singers and bands to record a song called "Give Your Love". This was aimed to bring attention to all cultures of the globe. This project aims to promote awareness of the poverty of third-world countries. Zhang was the only Asian female singer who received an invitation to participate and it was reported that Craig Williams recommended Zhang to the organiser of the event.

Zhang performed her first North American concert on March 31, 2007 in Pasadena, California. Famous Japanese musician Kitarō and Gavin Christopher also attended the concert, in which Gavin Christopher and Zhang sang ''I'll Be There'' together. On April 8, 2007, she was awarded the ''Best Singer Award'' in the 2007 Music Chart Awards ceremony was held in Beijing Exhibition Centre Theater.

Her July 28, 2007 concert in Beijing also set a record for the most expensive VIP seating for a mainland Chinese artist. She performed live versions of hit songs from ''The One'', new songs from her second album ''Update'', which was released in August 2007, as well as Richard Marx's signature ballad "Right Here Waiting" and Beyoncé Knowles's "Listen" from the award-winning Broadway musical ''Dreamgirls''.

On August 2, 2007, her second album, ''Update'' was released. When asked about the album's name, Zhang explained that the album is an upgraded step from ''The One''. The songs broke away from the Chinese pop scene by combining elements of R&B; and jazz. One of her tracks, "We Are Together" (), was produced for a project by the United Nations Children's Fund.

Zhang was invited, along with 130 other renowned Chinese performers such as Elva Hsiao, Joey Yung, Alan Tam, Wang Feng, Eason Chan, Hacken Lee and Jackie Chan to record "We Are Ready" in July 2007 for the countdown to the 2008 Summer Olympics. It was released on August 2. "We Are Ready" was composed by Peter Kam and Keith Chan, at the request of the Beijing Organizing Committee for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad (BOCOG), for the celebration of the one-year countdown to the start of the 2008 Olympics. On August 8, the artists who recorded the song gathered at Tiananmen Square, and performed the song live for the first time. In addition, Zhang, along with Wang Leehom, Stefanie Sun, and Wang Feng, recorded the theme song of the 2008 Beijing Olympics torch relay, "Light the Passion, Share the Dream" ().

Jane also performed the theme song, Huà Xīn (畫心; Painted Heart), for the movie Painted Skin (畫皮).

On December 8, 2007, Zhang performed a live concert in her hometown, Chengdu. She performed most hit songs from her two albums, ''The One'' and ''Update'', together with songs from her newly released EP, ''Dear Jane''.

Additionally, she also sang a promotional tourism song for Chengdu , titled "I Love This City".

2009: ''Jane@Music''

''Jane@Music'', Zhang's third album, was released in January 2009. She also accompanied Taiwan-based artist Leehom Wang in a duet in Wang's album ''Heart Beat''.

Zhang made her American television singing debut on ''The Oprah Winfrey Show'' on May 11, 2009.

2010: ''Believe in Jane''

''Believe in Jane'', Zhang's fourth album, was released in February 2010. She also performed at the first annual New York China Film Festival, where she was awarded most popular Chinese singer. She further represented China in the 7th Asia Song Festival held in Korea and hosted her first fanmeet in Singapore in September 2010. In August, she begun her Believe in Jane tour with concerts in Beijing, Shanghai, Chengdu and Tianjin. Jane further performed "I Believe" and "The Only" at ice-skating couple Shen Xue and Zhao Hongbo's wedding. The latter was accompanied by a ice skating performance by the couple.

As a brand ambassador of Coca-Cola in China, she also collaborates with K'naan and Jacky Cheung in the Chinese version of Wavin' Flag for Coca-Cola's 2010 World Cup promotional tour at the 2010 Shanghai Expo on May 8, 2010.

A passionate vegetarian, Jane Zhang won the title of Asia’s Sexiest Vegetarian woman in 2010 in a poll by PETA-Asia Pacific.

Vocal ability

Zhang, a spinto soprano, has been compared with other whistle register masters such as Mariah Carey, Christina Aguilera and Sarah Brightman. Her vocal ability ranges from the D below middle C to the G# above soprano C that was demonstrated in a duet song called "Another Heaven" () in Leehom Wang's album ''Heart Beat''. She has been famous for singing in whistle register since her rendition of Minnie Riperton's "Lovin' You" when she was performing on ''Super Girl''. As such, she has been given the nickname "The Dolphin Princess" as Chinese musicians refer to the whistle register as the ''dolphin vocal sound'' ().

Discography

Albums

2006: ''The One''

2007: ''Update''

2009: ''Jane@Music''

2010: ''Believe in Jane'' 2011: ''Reform''

EP's

2006: ''Jane.Love EP''

2007: ''Dear Jane EP''

Charted songs

Year	Single	Peak positions ( Weeks on chart )
		Chinese Music Chart	Global Chinese Music Chart	9+2 Music Pioneer Chart	98.8 FM Malaysia Chart

Awards and nominations

rowspan=2

Year !! Award !! width="250"	Category !! width="280"|Nomination !! Result !! Ref
rowspan=3	2007	Hong Kong TVB8 Awards	Top 10 Gold Songs ||	Update (album)>Update''
"這該死的愛" (This Damned Thing Called Love) from ''The One (Jane Zhang album)	The One''		>
Most Popular Female Artist (China)	Jane Zhang

References

External links

Jane Zhang's Official website (Chinese)

Jane Zhang's Official website (English)

Jane Zhang: I am a singer, not an artiste

Jane Zhang's Blog on Sina Jane Zhang's Official Myspace page Jane Zhang's 9911 Miniblog Jane Zhang's Sina WEIBO Jane Zhang's Kaixin001 Page

Category:1984 births Category:Chinese sopranos Category:Living people Category:People from Chengdu Category:People's Republic of China Mandopop singers Category:Singers from Super Girl Category:Universal Music Group artists

ko:장정영 ja:ジェーン・チャン pl:Jane Zhang vi:Trương Lương Dĩnh zh:张靓颖

name	Jay Chou
tradchinesename	周杰倫
simpchinesename	周杰伦
pinyinchinesename	Zhōu Jiélún
origin	Republic of China (Taiwan)
birth date	January 18, 1979
birth place	Linkou, Taipei County, Taiwan
othername	Director Chou (周董)
occupation	Musician, singer-songwriter, composer, record producer, rapper, DJ, music video director, film director, music arranger, model, screenwriter, actor
genre	Mandopop, Taiwanese pop, Chinese rock, R&B;, Hip pop
instrument	Piano, violin, cello, guitar, drum, guzheng, bass guitar, keyboard, pipa, erhu, harmonica
label	Sony Music Taiwan (2008–present)JVR Music (2007–present)Alfa Music (1999–2007)
yearsactive	2000–present
parents	Father: Zhou Yaozhong (周耀中)Mother: Ye Huimei (葉惠美)
influenced	Nan Quan Mama
religion	Buddhist
website	Jay Chou@JVR Music
hongkongfilmwards	Best New Performer2006 ''Initial D''Best Original Film Song2007 "Chrysanthemum Terrace" (''Curse of the Golden Flower'')
goldenhorseawards	Best Newcomer2005 ''Initial D''Outstanding Taiwanese Film of the Year2007 ''Secret''Best Original Song2007 "The Secret That Cannot Be Told" (''Secret'')
mtvasiaawards	Favorite Artist, Taiwan2002, 2005
goldenmelodyawards	Best Mandarin Album2001 ''Jay''2002 ''Fantasy''2004 ''Ye Hui Mei''2011 ''The Era''Best Music Video2009 ''"Mr. Magic"'' (''Capricorn'')Best Song of the Year2008 ''"Blue and White Porcelain"'' (''On the Run'')2009 ''"Fragrant Rice"'' (''Capricorn'')Best Composer2002 ''"Love Before A.D."'' (''Fantasy'')2008 ''"Blue and White Porcelain"'' (''On the Run'')Best Producer2002 ''Fantasy'' Best Single Producer2007 ''Fearless EP''Best Male Mandarin Artist2009 ''Capricorn''2011 ''The Era''Best Composer (Instrumental Category)2008 ''"Piano Room"'' (''Secret'')Best Producer (Instrumental Category)2008 ''Secret Original Movie Soundtrack'' (''Secret'')
awards	World Music AwardsBest-Selling Chinese Artist2004, 2006, 2007, 2008Shanghai Film Critics Awards2007 Best Actor (''Curse of the Golden Flower'') }}

Jay Chou (; born 18 January 1979) is a Taiwanese musician, singer-songwriter, music and film producer, actor and director who has won the World Music Award four times. He is well-known for composing all his own songs and songs for other singers. In 1998 he was discovered in a talent contest where he displayed his piano and song-writing skills. Over the next two years, he was hired to compose for popular Mandarin singers. Although he was trained in classical music, Chou combines Chinese and Western music styles to produce songs that fuse R&B;, rock and pop genres.

In 2000, Chou released his first album, titled ''Jay'', under the record company Alfa Music. Since then he has released one album per year except in 2009, selling several million copies each. His music has gained recognition throughout Asia, most notably in regions such as Taiwan, China, Hong Kong, Japan, Malaysia, Indonesia, India, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam and in overseas Asian communities, winning more than 20 awards each year. He has sold more than 28 million albums worldwide up to 2010. He debuted his acting career in ''Initial D'' (2005), for which he won Best Newcomer Actor in both the Hong Kong Film Awards and the Golden Horse Awards, and was nominated for Best Supporting Actor by Hong Kong Film Awards for his role in ''Curse of the Golden Flower'' (2006). He produced the theme song for the film Ocean Heaven starring Jet Li. His career now extends into directing and running his own record company JVR Music.

Life and career

Jay Chou grew up in Linkou, Taipei County, Taiwan. Both his parents were secondary school teachers: his mother, Ye Hui Mei (), taught fine arts, while his father, Zhou Yao Zhong (), was a biomedical researcher. His mother noticed his sensitivity to music and took him to piano lessons at the age of three. During his childhood, he was fascinated with capturing sounds and songs with his tape recorder, which he carried everywhere with him. In the third grade, he became interested in music theory and also started cello lessons. He is an only child and loved to play piano, imitate TV actors, and perform magic tricks. His favorite composer was, and still is to this day, Chopin. His parents divorced when he was 13, which caused him to become reclusive and introverted. Although he had friends, he often preferred to be alone, listening to music, contemplating and daydreaming. At Tamkang Senior High School, he majored in piano and minored in cello. He showed talent for improvisation, became fond of pop music and began to write songs.

Chou graduated from high school with inadequate grades for university, so he prepared for military service, which was compulsory for all Taiwanese men at the age of 18. However, a sports injury triggered by an unexplainable and severe back pain eventually led to the diagnosis of ankylosing spondylitis, a hereditary spine inflammation disease; as a result, he was exempted from conscription. Meanwhile, he found himself a job as a waiter. Without his knowing, his friend had entered both their names in a talent show called ''Super New Talent King''. Chou played the piano accompaniment for his friend, whose singing was described as "lousy". Although they did not win, the show's host Jacky Wu—an influential character in Taiwan's entertainment business—happened to glance at Chou's music score and was impressed with its complexity. Wu hired him as a contract composer and paired him with the novice lyricist Vincent Fang.

Over the next two years he wrote songs for Mandarin pop artists, and also learned recording and sound mixing; his dedication was apparent as he even slept in the music studio. Wu's music studio was later sold to Alfa Music, and the new manager Yang Jun Rong asked him to release his own album. Chou already had an arsenal of songs he wrote for others but had been rejected, so among those he chose 10 for his debut CD ''Jay'' that was released in 2000. The album established his reputation as a musically gifted singer-songwriter whose style is a fusion of R&B;, rap, classical music, and yet distinctly Chinese. His fame spread quickly in Chinese-speaking regions including countries throughout Southeast Asia. Since 2000, Chou has released one album per year, except the year 2009, each selling several million copies, and has been recognized with hundreds of awards. In 2003, he was the cover story of ''Time'' magazine (Asia version), acknowledging his influence on popular culture. He has held four world tours, "The One" (2002), "Incomparable" (2004), "Jay Chou The World Tours" (2007–2008) and "The Era" (2010–2011) performing in cities such as Taipei, Tokyo, Hong Kong, Beijing, Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, Las Vegas, Toronto and Vancouver. Unlike most singers, Chou has an enormous amount of creative control over his music. He is not only the songwriter but also the producer on all of his albums; since 2005 he is also the music director and also directs his own music videos.

Music

Musical style

Chou's compositions are loosely categorized as pop music. While many of his works fall into contemporary R&B;, rap, and rock genres, the term "Chou Style" () has been popularized to describe his trademark cross-cultural music and his insistence on singing with slurred enunciation. ''Taipei Times'' once described the meaning of "Chou Style": "In what has become the archetypal Chou style, Taiwan's favorite son blends pop, rap, blues and a smorgasbord of esthetic elements of world music to create his dream-like never-never land ..."

He regularly fuses traditional Chinese instruments and styles with R&B; or rock to form a new genre called "Zhongguo feng" (), which literally means "Chinese Style Music", some of which are written in the Pentatonic Scale as opposed to the more common seven-note scale (Diatonic Scale) to accentuate an oriental style. Besides his own culture, he also incorporated Spanish guitar in "Red Imitation" (), American techno/electronica in "Herbalist's Manual" (), rap with subtle classical music undertones in "Reverse Scales" (), Blues style in "Free Tutorial Video" () and Bossanova style in "Rosemary" (), to name a few. Sound effects from everyday life are frequently woven into his music, such as bouncing ping pong balls, touch tone phone dialing, helicopter blades, dripping rain, and radio static noise (concrete music).

His formal musical training is evident by the use of classical textures in his compositions. For example, counterpoint was used in "Perfection" () and "Sorry" (), while polyphony can be found in "The Wound That Ends War" () and "Twilight's Chapter Seven" ().

Chou's albums have been noted for the lack of change compared to his earlier works, yet he firmly stated that he will not alter his style: "They say I've been standing still ... but this is the music I want, and I don't see what I want by moving ahead." To demonstrate his point, he named his 2006 album ''Still Fantasy'' after his 2001 album ''Fantasy''. His use of relaxed enunciation has been criticized as "mumbling" which he also insisted will not change; however, recently he has adopted clearer pronunciation for certain songs, particularly more traditional Chinese style songs, such as "Faraway" () which features Fei Yu-ching and "Chrysanthemum Terrace" ().

Lyrics

Chou is more often a singer-composer than a lyricist. Several "regulars" write the lyrics for most of his music, but the content and style is unified with his own personality and image, covering a diverse range of topics and ideas. Vincent Fang accounts for more than half of the lyrics in his albums, helping to establish an important element in Chou's music: the use of meaningful, imagery- and emotionally-rich lyrics, sometimes written in the form of ancient Chinese poetry with reference to Chinese history or folklore. In addition to writing romantic hits, he also touches on war, the Bible, sports, and martial arts. Vivian Hsu is a singer herself and has helped with Chou's earlier hits, while Huang Jun Lang () is noted for his work surrounding unusual themes (such as a detective story and chess game).

Chou himself has written lyrics for many ballads, but has also discussed societal ills such as drug addiction in "Coward" () and loss of the rural countryside to urbanization in "Terrace fields" (). Domestic violence discussed in "Dad, I am back" () received a great deal of commotion since he was the first to bring up this taboo subject in Sanscript music, which helped solidify his status as a pioneer and a unique pop singer capable of approaching serious issues. In the songs "Maternal grandmother" () and "Listen to Mother" (), he voiced his high regard for family values. He addressed personal issues about his failure to enter university in "Split" (), his resentment towards the paparazzi in "Besieged From All Sides" (), "Rice Fragrance" (), a song from his 9th album Capricorn encourages people not to give up their dreams even when facing difficulties in life, the sadness of becoming a clown in "Uncle Joker"() and highlighted the importance of individuality in "Popular Imitation" ().

Collaborations

Chou began as a songwriter for other singers and continued this area of work even after he debuted his own career in singing. He has composed frequently for Jolin Tsai, Landy Wen, and occasionally for other Taiwanese singers such as Coco Lee, S.H.E, Vivian Hsu, Leehom Wang, Will Liu, Valen Hsu, and Hong Kong pop stars Edmond Leung, Gigi Leung, Jordan Chan, Edison Chen, Karen Mok, Leo Ku, Eason Chan, and Joey Yung, as well as a one-time collaboration with Howard Su. He has also written for singers outside of his generation—over one dozen songs for his mentor Jacky Wu, later also for Taiwanese singer Jody Chiang, and Hong Kong singers Jacky Cheung, Andy Lau, Aaron Kwok, and Kenny Bee.

He initiated the band Nan Quan Mama in 2004, selecting band members and overseeing their album production. The group has been noted for sounding too similar to their mentor; as a result, Chou has reduced his involvement in the band, but continues to help increase their exposure to mass audiences by inviting them as guests performers for his own concerts and music videos.

He has performed live duets with Landy Wen, Jolin Tsai, and former girlfriend news anchor Patty Hou, but only two studio recordings of duets have been formally placed in his own albums: "Coral Sea" () in 2005 with Lara Veronin (of Nan Quan Mama) and "Faraway" () in 2006 features Fei Yu-Ching, who began his career in the 1970s. Besides working with singers, Chou's longest-running collaboration is with lyricist Vincent Fang, as they both started their careers in the music field in 1998. The compilation album ''Partners'' () featured 12 songs, each consisting of Chou's musical and Fang's lyrical compositions. Fang has written the words to more than 40 of Chou's songs, was the chief editor of Chou's book ''Grandeur de D Major'' (), and is now Chou's business partner (together with Chou's manager JR Yang) for the record company JVR Music. Jay Chou was also featured in Cindy Yen's (袁詠琳) song "Sand Painting" (畫沙) released in October 2009. Jay Chou collaborates with Kobe Bryant on "The Heaven and Earth Challenge"(天地一鬥) in order to "promote youth creativity, as well as an upcoming slam-dunk competition in China." The song was released at a press conference before the NBA All-Star Game on 20 February 2011.

World tours

Jay held his first series of five solo concerts, titled ''Fantasy Concert'' (范特西演唱會), with the first stop on 11 January 2001 at Taoyuan Arena, Taiwan. Followed by two shows at the Hong Kong Coliseum, one in Malaysia and ended in Singapore on 10 February 2002. His second concert tour, ''The One Concert'' (The One 演唱會) commenced on 28 September 2002 at Taipei Municipal Stadium, followed by 11 stops and ended at Shenzhen Stadium, China on 3 January 2004.

Two more series of world tours followed: ''Incomparable Concert'' (無與倫比演唱會) in 2004 and ''Jay Chou 2007 World Tours'' (2007世界巡迴演唱會), with stops in cities such as Taipei, Tokyo, Hong Kong, Beijing, Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, Las Vegas, Toronto and Vancouver. In 2010, to celebrate Jay's 10 year career in the entertainment industry, he embarked on his fifth series of concert tour titled, ''New Era World Tour'' (超時代演唱會), with the first stop of three concerts from 11 to 13 June 2010 at Taipei Arena, followed by 24 stops ending in Malaysia on 5 March 2011.

;World tours/Live (DVD) album releases

2001 – ''Fantasy Concert'' (范特西演唱會)

2002 – ''The One Concert'' (The One 演唱會) – ''Jay Chou The One Concert Live''

2004 – ''Incomparable Concert'' (無與倫比演唱會) – ''Incomparable Jay Concert Live''

2007 – ''Jay Chou World Tours'' (世界巡迴演唱會) – ''Jay Chou 2007 the World Tours Concert Live''

2010 – ''New Era World Tour'' (超時代演唱會) – ''Jay Chou 2010 The Era World Tours Concert Live''

Other works

Movie career

Chou formally entered the film industry in 2005 with the release of the movie ''Initial D'' (頭文字Ｄ). He has since acted in three other movies, directed one film and more than a dozen music videos. Chou, who once said "I live because of music", ventured into movies because he felt the need for a new challenge. As fans have grown concerned that movies will compromise his music career, Chou has repeatedly reassured that movies are a source of inspiration and not a distraction; at the same time, he realizes the need to balance both careers and maintain his place in the music field to garner the continued support of fans.

Acting

Entry into acting was an unexpected move for Chou. His high school English teacher thought he was capable of very few facial expressions, and the director of ''Hidden Track'' (2003, a movie in which Chou had a cameo role) said that his strong individualistic personality will not make him a good actor. In 2005, Chou's first role as the lead actor in ''Initial D'' served two purposes: to launch his acting debut, and to increase his exposure to Japanese audiences. This film is based on the Japanese comic ''Initial D'', where Chou played Takumi Fujiwara, a gifted touge racer who is quiet and rarely shows expression. Some reviewers criticized his bland acting while others felt he performed naturally, but only because the character’s personality closely mirrored his own. His performance in ''Initial D'' won him Best Newcomer Actor in Golden Horse Awards and Hong Kong Film Awards. Chou’s second film was ''Curse of the Golden Flower'' (2006). As a supporting character, he drew much of the attention of Chinese reporters; Chou’s involvement in this movie was announced in its own press conference, separate from the meeting held for Chow Yun-fat, Gong Li, and the other actors. Chou portrayed Prince Jai, the ambitious second eldest prince and general of the Imperial army whose personality epitomizes Xiao (孝), the Chinese virtue of filial piety. In this internationally-released film, North American audiences saw Chou for the first time. According to Chinese movie critics, comments about his acting ranged from "lacks complexity" to "acceptable," but was critically praised by Western reviewers. His performance in ''Curse of the Golden Flower'' was nominated Best Supporting Actor in the Hong Kong Film Awards. In the 2008 film ''Kung Fu Dunk'', Chou portrayed a kung fu student and dunking prodigy, and the film earned over ¥100 million (US$14.7 million). Chou portrayed Kato in ''The Green Hornet'', directed by Michel Gondry and released in January 2011, after Hong Kong actor Stephen Chow withdrew from the project, the film grossed over $228 million worldwide. MTV Networks' NextMovie.com named him one of the 'Breakout Stars to Watch for in 2011'. In May 2011, Chou started filming for a new movie, "The Viral Factor" directed by Dante Lam and starred various well known artistes such as Nicholas Tse, Bai Bing and Lin Peng. The movie is slated to be released in theatres over Asia in spring 2012. With most of the scenes shot in the Middle Eastern and Southeast Asian countries, earlier filming process has been slightly disrupted due to political conflicts in the Middle East.

Directing

Chou's acquired his first directing experience in 2004 through music videos. He initially experimented with a song by the group Nan Quan Mama titled "Home" () where he was involved throughout the entire process from research to editing. After learning the difficulties of being a director, he refused to direct again even at the request of his record company. However, his interest resurfaced again as he directed music videos for 4 of the 12 songs in own album ''November's Chopin'' in 2005, and later television advertisements. By 2006, he had taken responsibility for the storyboard, directing, and editing of music videos for all his songs. It is unclear how the public appraises his work, since music videos are rarely the subject of critical review; however, director Zhang Yimou said that Chou's directing abilities may surpass his own in the future, after viewing several of Chou's music videos.

In February 2007, Chou finally directed his first movie ''Secret''. The story he wrote is based loosely on his relationship with a high school girlfriend, with a plot focused on music, love, and family. He stars as the lead actor of the film with Kwai Lun-Mei‎ as the female lead, and Hong Kong veteran actor Anthony Wong as Chou’s father. Despite previous experience in filming music videos, Chou admits that movies are more challenging due to storyline and time constraints. This movie was released in July 2007.

In 2005, Jay Chou played the male lead in ''Initial D'', but according to reports, he will be back to direct the sequel, while Andrew Lau, who was a co-director of the first Initial D, will take on the role of the producer.

Book: ''Grandeur de D Major''

Chou published his first book titled ''Grandeur de D Major'' () on November 25, 2004. This 200-page book features a prologue written by his family, friends, and co-workers; the main section is a compilation of his personal attitudes, philosophies, and recollections of childhood experiences along with pictures from his music videos, many of which have never been released; and lastly, a list of the artist's major awards, musical and lyrical compositions, and discography. For the usually low-profile singer, this book revealed his personality and convictions that has served as the basis of his musical and public image. He demonstrated a strong appreciation of family values with an especially deep connection with his mother and maternal grandmother. His confidence and dedication towards music is evident as he dedicated 2 out of 7 chapters to music: the current state of the industry, his composition methodology, and the importance of individualism to his success in music. This pride is contrasted against his modesty and self-assessed naivety about many aspects in life, particularly regarding relationships and marriage.

Endorsements

Chou has been a spokesperson for popular brands such as Pepsi (2002–2007), Panasonic (2001–2005), Motorola (since 2006), M-Zone/China Mobile (since 2003), Levi's (2004–2005), Deerhui (sporting goods, since 2003), and Metersbonwe Group (casual wear, since 2003), Colgate (2004–2005), popular computer game ''Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos'' (2002), science and nature magazine ''National Geographic'' (2005). To maximize the celebrity branding effect, advertisements are nearly always linked to his music and TV commercials are occasionally directed by him. He acted as the tourism ambassador for Malaysia in 2003. In April 2008, Jay signed with Sprite and collaborated with artistes such as Angela Chang and JJ Lin in commercials. He also did a Sprite commercial with Kobe Bryant and specially wrote a song named "天地一斗 (Battle of the Incomparable)" featuring Kobe Bryant for the commercial. In June 2011, Jay expanded his area of endorsement into the field of technology, becoming the designer and spokesperson of the "N43SL Jay Chou Edition" laptop of ASUS Computers. The laptop is most notable for its lid design, sound system, start-up and shut-down tones, and a unique 'J' font for its key. All of which, except for the sound system, are designed and composed by Jay himself.

Accolades

From the launch of his music career in 2000, Jay Chou has won more than 350 singer, singer-songwriter, and producer awards in Asia. The highly coveted Golden Melody Awards in Taiwan awarded "Best Album" for his debut CD ''Jay'' (2000) in 2001, and five awards (including "Best Album", "Best Composer", and "Best Producer") in the following year for the album ''Fantasy'' (2001). However, failure to win "Best Album" for three consecutive years has left him disheartened with award ceremonies. Although he continues to win more than 20 awards per year from various organizations in Asia, Chou has stated he will rely more on album sales as an indicator of his music's quality and popularity. In 2004, 2006, 2007 and 2008, he was awarded Best-Selling Artist in China by World Music Awards for the albums ''Common Jasmin Orange'', ''Still Fantasy'' and ''On the Run.

Media and public relations

Public image

Despite living under continual media scrutiny, Chou's public image has changed little over the years as he emphasizes individuality as his "personal philosophy". In his music, this is also evident as he fuses Chinese and Western styles and explores topics unconventional for a pop singer, which have been described as "authentic" and "revolutionary". The media describes a hard-working perfectionist with clear self-direction who is occasionally regarded as competitive and a "control freak". There is a misunderstanding about his nickname "Chairman Chou" (), used by both the press and fans to underscore his domineering personality and impact on Asian music, but also points at his musical talent. Yet the origin of this nickname emerges from his fever of collecting antiques as the word "董" comes from "antique" in Chinese (古董). Outside of music, Chou is reported as shy, quiet, modest, and views filial piety as "''the most important thing''". In-line with his aim to present a positive image, he is a non-smoker, non-drinker, and does not go to nightclubs. Government officials and educators in Asia have awarded him for his exemplary behaviour, designated him a spokesperson in the youth-empowerment project "Young Voice" in 2005 and an anti-depression campaign in 2007, His lyrics for two songs has been incorporated into the school syllabus to inspire motivational and filial attitudes. In November 2007, Chou was criticized for attending the funeral of Taiwanese gang leader Chen Chi-li to console Chen's son Baron Chen, whom Chou met while filming ''Kung Fu Dunk''. In 2011 Chou performed on the New Year's Gala program on China's Central Television.

Response to the news media and paparazzi

As with other stars, Chou has expressed a strong dislike of the paparazzi. In the early years of his career, unwanted attention by the media was usually dealt with by avoidance. In-line with his quiet nature, he frequently wore baseball caps and hoods while lowering his head and evading eye contact during interviews. In recent years however, he has been less passive about the invasion of his privacy. To discourage the paparazzi from taking unsolicited pictures, Chou is known to photograph the paparazzi that follow him. He openly calls the paparazzi "dogs" and tabloids "dog magazines", as shown in his lyrics for "Besieged From All Sides" (). The media have also accused Chou of evading compulsory military service by feigning to suffer from ankylosing spondylitis. Later that year he was acquitted after providing the relevant medical records and letters from the army confirming a lawful exemption from draft dated before the start of his music career.

Despite constant harassment and stalking by the media, he does acknowledge that not all media attention is unwelcome. Coverage by international journals and news agencies such as ''Time'', ''The Guardian'', and Reuters help ascertain his influence on mainstream culture. An editorial written by Kerry Brown of Chatham House named Chou as one of the 50 most influential figures in China, one of only three singers on a list dominated by politicians and corporate owners. At the end of 2009, he was included on JWT's annual list of 100 Things to Watch in 2010.

Fanbase

It is difficult to estimate the size and global spread of Chou's fanbase. Jay's fanbase originated and grew extensively in China. The Chinese-speaking populations of Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia and Mainland China make up a significant percentage of Chou's fans. Despite rampant piracy issues in this region of Asia, particularly in China, every album Chou has released so far has surpassed 2 million sales. According to Baidu, the most popular internet search engine in China, Chou is the number one searched male artist in 2002, 05, 06 and 07.

In Hong Kong, he has been the best-selling Mandarin artist for the past 4 years. According to a 2004 survey in five Chinese urban centers for children ages 9 to 14, 1 in 6 named Chou as their favorite idol; he was also reported as the favorite singer of youths aged 8 to 25 in a study conducted in seven Asian countries (2006). He has a solid fanbase throughout Southeast Asia, including Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Vietnam. In Singapore, Chou was the second most searched celebrity behind Britney Spears in the music category.

Currently, Chou remains largely unknown outside of Asia, except in cities with large Chinese immigrant populations such as Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, Seattle, Vancouver, Toronto, Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide and Brisbane. He has held concerts in major venues such as the Acer Arena (Sydney – 3 July 2009), HP Pavilion at San Jose (San Jose – 31 December 2010), Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena (Los Angeles – 8 January 2011), MGM Grand (Las Vegas—25 December 2002), Rogers Arena (Vancouver – 23 December 2010), Shrine Auditorium (Los Angeles—18 December 2004), Galen Center (Los Angeles—24 December 2007) and the Air Canada Centre (Toronto – 18 December 2008). His intention to increase his prominence in the Western world beyond Chinese audiences is clear. In 2006, Chou composed and sang the theme song for ''Fearless'', a movie released in major theatres in most English-speaking countries, though the impact to his fame has been minimal. His role in ''Curse of the Golden Flower'' (limited release) marks his acting debut in North America. Despite having a supporting but important role in the story's plot, the North American version of the official posters only featured a view of his back, greatly contrasting the Asian versions where his face and name were clear and placed between the leading actor and actress. Although Chou is still far from being well-known to English audiences, this movie has brought him international exposure. Chou gained further exposure to western audiences in his starring role as crimefighter Kato in January 2011's ''The Green Hornet''.

Chou has won the Favorite Male Artist of the 20th Golden Melody Awards in Taiwan. He did not attend the event to collect the award because he was on tour in China at the time.

Filmography

Films

''Initial D (film) ''Curse of the Golden Flower'' ''Secret (2007 film) ''Kung Fu Dunk'' ''The Treasure Hunter'' ''True Legend'' ''The Green Hornet (2011 film) ''Initial D 2''

style="width:5%;"	Year	Title	Chinese Title	Role
2003 in film	2003	Hidden Track (film)>Hidden Track''	尋找周杰倫
2005 in film	2005	Initial D'' ||	頭文字D	"Takumi Fujiwara"
2006 in film	2006	|	滿城盡帶黃金甲	"Prince Jai – Yuan Jie"
2007 in film	2007	Secret'' ||	不能說的秘密	"Jay – Ye Xiang Lun – 葉湘倫"DirectorProducerOriginal story author
2008 in film	2008	|	功夫灌籃	"Fang Shi Jie – Fong Sai Kit – 方世杰"
2009 in film	2009	|	刺陵	"Lead actor – Qiao Fei"
2010 in film	2010	|	蘇乞兒	"God of Wushu" / "Drunken God"
rowspan="3"	2011	The Green Hornet'' ||	青蜂俠	Kato (The Green Hornet)>Kato" (First Hollywood Film)
''Secret 2 (2011 film)	Secret 2''	不能說的秘密2
''The Viral Factor''	逆戰
2012 in film	2012	|	頭文字D2	"Takumi Fujiwara"Director

Television series

style="width:5%;"	Year	Title	Chinese Title	Role
rowspan="2"	2010	''Pandamen''	熊貓人
''Mr.J Channel''	MR.J頻道

Notes

a. Examples of Chou's Chinese style R&B;: "East Wind Breaks" (東風破), "Hair Like Snow" (髮如雪), "Faraway" (千里之外). Examples of Chinese style rock: "Nunchucks" (雙截棍), "Dragon Fist" (龍拳), "Golden Armor" (黃金甲). b. Examples of sound effects used in Chou's music: ping pong balls in "Class2 Grade3" (三年二班), touch-tone phone dialing in "Blue Storm" (藍色風暴), helicopter blades in "My Territory" (我的地盤), dripping rain in "You Can Hear" (妳聽得到), and radio static noise in "Nocturne" (夜曲). c. Examples of Oriental-style lyrics by Vincent Fang: "Shanghai 1943" (上海一九四三), "Wife" (娘子), and "Chrysanthemum Flower Platform" (菊花台). d. Examples of romantic lyrics by Vincent Fang: "Love Before ''Anno Domini''" (愛在西元前), "Nocturne" (夜曲), "Common Jasmin Orange" (七里香), and "Perfectionist" (完美主義) . e. Vincent Fang's lyrics discuss war in "The Last Campaign" (最後的戰役) and "Wounds That End War" (止戰之殤), the Bible in "Blue Storm" (藍色風暴), sports in "Bullfight" (鬥牛) and "Class2 Grade3" (三年二班), and martial arts in "Nunchucks" (雙截棍) and "Ninja" (忍者). f. Examples of Vivian Hsu's work: "Adorable Woman" (可愛女人), "Tornado" (龍捲風), and "Simple Love" (簡單愛). g. Unusual themes of Huan Jun Lang's lyrics: detective story in "Twilight's Chapter Seven" (夜的第七章), a chess game in "Checkmate" (將軍). h. Examples of romantic lyrics by Jay Chou: "Black Humor" (黑色幽默), "Silence" (安靜), "Iron Box Of An Island" (半島鐵盒), "Fine Day" (晴天), "Excuse" (藉口), "Black Sweater" (黑色毛衣), and "White Windmills" (白色風車). i. "Snail" (蝸牛) and "Listen To Mother's Words" (聽媽媽的話) j. Golden Melody Awards: "…the Chinese pop music industry's equivalent of the Grammy Awards in the US are held annually to award professionals making music in Mandarin, Taiwanese, Hakka and any of Taiwan's Aboriginal languages." k. A similar book was published in Japanese, titled ''Grandeur de D major—Jay Chou Photo Essay'' (ISBN 4-901873-50-4).

References

External links

Jay Chou@JVR Music Jay Chou International Fan Club

Category:1979 births Category:Best New Performer HKFA Category:Living people Category:People from New Taipei Category:Taiwanese film actors Category:Taiwanese film directors Category:Taiwanese male singers Category:Taiwanese Mandopop singer-songwriters Category:World Music Awards winners

zh-min-nan:Chiu Kia̍t-lûn ca:Jay Chou de:Jay Chou es:Jay Chou eo:Jay Chou fr:Jay Chou ko:저우제룬 id:Jay Chou it:Jay Chou jv:Jay Chou lv:Džejs Čou hu:Jay Chou ms:Jay Chou my:ဂျေးကျိုး nl:Jay Chou ja:周杰倫 pl:Jay Chou pt:Jay Chou ro:Jay Chou ru:Чоу, Джей sv:Jay Chou th:โจว เจี๋ยหลุน tr:Jay Chou vi:Châu Kiệt Luân zh-yue:周杰倫 zh:周杰倫

name	Leehom Wang
chinesename	王力宏
pinyinchinesename	Wáng Lìhóng
jyutpingchinesename	Wong4 Lik6 Wang4
birth name	Alexander Leehom Wang
ancestry	Yiwu, Zhejiang, China
origin	Republic of China (Taiwan)
birth date	May 17, 1976
birth place	Rochester, New York, USA
occupation	Singer-songwriter, musician, film director, actor, record producer, music arranger, composer
genre	Pop, R&B;, rap, hip hop, rock, jazz, Broadway
instrument	Violin, piano, drums, guitar, bass/electric guitar, erhu, vibraphone, harmonica, chinese flutes, guzheng, zhongruan, etc.
voicetype	Tenor
label	Sony MusicDecca (1996–1997)BMG (1995–1996)
yearsactive	1995–present
influences	Stevie Wonder, Prince, Alicia Keys, Outkast, Missy Elliott, R. Kelly, The Neptunes
website	www.wangleehom.com
mtvasiaawards	Favorite Artist, Taiwan2006
goldenmelodyawards	Best Mandarin Male Singer1999 ''Revolution''2006 ''Heroes of Earth''Best Album Producer1999 ''Revolution''2004 ''Unbelievable''
awards	}}

Leehom Wang (born May 17, 1976) is an American-born singer-songwriter, record producer, actor and film director of Chinese descent based in Taiwan. Formally trained at the Eastman School of Music, Williams College and Berklee College of Music, his musical style is known for fusing Chinese elements (such as Beijing opera, traditional styles of ethnic minorities, Chinese classical orchestra) with hip-hop and R&B.; Wang has been active since 1995 and contributed in 25 albums. He is also a four-time winner of Taiwan's Golden Melody Awards, the "Grammys" of Taiwanese music.

In addition to his music, Wang also acted in several films, including Ang Lee's ''Lust, Caution'' and Jackie Chan's film ''Little Big Soldier''. He is an environmental activist, and his album ''Change Me'' was dedicated to raising eco-awareness among Chinese youth. Wang was one of the first torchbearers for the Beijing 2008 Summer Olympics, and performed in the Olympics' closing ceremony in Beijing. He was listed as one of Goldsea's "The 100 Most Inspiring Asian Americans of All Time".

Life and music career

Childhood and early beginnings

Born in Rochester, New York, Wang is the second of three sons of immigrants from Taiwan of waishengren heritage. His father, a pediatrician, and his mother moved to the United States to further their college studies in the early 1960s. Influenced by his older brother, Leo Wang, who had been taking violin lessons since he was seven, Wang began to develop a curious interest towards the violin and its musical counterparts when he was three. He begged his mother to put him in violin lessons with his brother but his mother was against it, reasoning that he was too young. When Wang turned six, his mother enrolled him in violin classes, performing along with his brother. As he became a teenager, he began taking piano lessons, also teaching himself the guitar. He also worked several jobs to earn money to buy a second hand drum kit.

He attended Jefferson Road Elementary School, Pittsford Middle School, and Pittsford Sutherland High School in Pittsford, New York. He graduated from Pittsford Sutherland. Passionate for a career in music, he chose to attend Williams College double majoring in music and Asian studies. He joined an all-male a cappella group, The Springstreeters, and the group recorded several demo tracks.

In the summer of 1995, while Wang was visiting his grandparents in Taiwan, he was offered a professional recording contract by Bertelsmann Music Group (BMG) after he participated in a talent competition hosted by the label. Not wanting to lose the opportunity, he immediately began preparing for his debut, and released his debut album ''Love Rival, Beethoven'' that December. The record received little limelight, forcing him to leave the label. He signed with Decca Records the following year, a label then famous for producing "powerful singers" (實力派歌手) in Taiwan. Wanting to also have control in the idol market, the label initially planned to market Wang as the mainstream "romantic idol", like with their previous artist Mavis Fan. However, after discovering Wang's talent in music-making, Decca began promoting him as Taiwan's "quality idol" (優質偶像) instead. Wang released his second album ''If You Heard My Song'' in 1996, which included some of his own compositions. He co-wrote the album's eponymous title song, which earned positive responses from the audience. The album drew moderately successful sales, and he became a rising star in the idol market, also finding similar successes with his third and fourth albums. During this time, Wang was asked to leave his college studies to pursue a full time singing career, but he insisted on finishing school first.

Rise to prominence (1998–2000)

Wang's contract with Decca records was terminated after the release of his fourth album ''White Paper'' in the summer of 1997. After graduating with honors at Williams College, He released his first award-winning album ''Revolution'' under Sony Music Entertainment in August 1998. The album became his breakthrough album, immediately selling over 10,000 domestic units in the first week of release. Critics rated the album highly, and it won Wang two Golden Melody Awards—Best Producer and Best Mandarin Male Singer. He was the youngest artist to win in either of the two categories. Wang has been nominated the Best Mandarin Male Singer at the awards every year since the success of ''Revolution''. The singles of ''Revolution'' also achieved similar success–"Revolution" became Wang Leehom's first #1 single, becoming one of the top 20 songs of the year on Channel V Taiwan.

He continued his studies by attending Berklee College of Music's Professional Music program, with voice as his principal instrument. In 1999, Wang released his sixth album ''Impossible to Miss You'', which combined the catchy pop melodies of ''Revolution'' with a quirky style of new-found dance pop. It became his then best-selling album, selling over 1 million copies. All of the album's promotional singles topped KTV charts and yearly music charts, notably the upbeat "Julia" and the ballad "Crying Palm".His album also attracted international attention–Wang won three Best Male Vocalist awards at three different award ceremonies and was also awarded for his musical merit in the album at the 1st annual Asia Chinese Music Awards.

At the beginning of the millennium, Wang began filming for several Cantonese-language Hong Kong blockbusters, which inspired him to study the Cantonese language. He included a Cantonese track, "Love My Song," in the Hong Kong release of ''Forever's First Day'' (2000), his seventh album. Unlike his previous two albums, ''Forever's First Day'' consisted mainly of melodic R&B; tunes. The album's eponymous single is a tragic romantic ballad, speaking of a separation of two individuals. Although raised in New York for most of his life, living in Taiwan made Wang realize the deep roots of his Chinese heritage. ''Forever's First Day'' yielded a cover of his uncle's signature song "Descendants of the Dragon"; Wang re-arranged the song with heavier rock and dance elements. The song also included a rap bridge that summarized experiences of his parents living as a Chinese American in New York.

International success (2001–03)

Wang's next album, ''The One and Only'' (2001) received phenomenal international success. Selling over 1 million units in Asia, the rock-inspired album won him over seven different prestigious awards throughout 2001 and 2002. The album's title single "The One and Only" peaked #1 in almost all available music charts of Taiwan and was on the Ringback Tone #1 Download Charts for over a year, becoming his signature song. ''The One and Only'' also found success in Japan, opting him to release his first full-length Japanese album ''The Only One'' on May 9, 2003. The album only promoted one single, a Japanese version of "The One and Only", but it did not meet success on Japan's Oricon Charts. Wang also began filming several Japanese films, establishing his rising star status in Japan.

Eager to experience and perform different musical genres, Wang embarked on his first Asia-wide concert tour ''The Unbelievable Tour'' a few months before the release of his ninth album ''Unbelievable'' (2003). His concert tour received great reviews from both fans and music critics; they were impressed and shocked with his new-found hip hop image. His R&B;/hip hop-inspired album ''Unbelievable'' involved new urban pop numbers, drawing hip hop influences from different styles of popular music, such as Indipop and urban pop. The album marked a milestone in his musical career; his new image received international critical acclaim and the album a chart-topping success, selling over 1.5 million units by 2004. A celebratory version of the album was released three months later, also becoming a chart-topping album. The album's singles, notably the ballad number "You're Not Here" also experienced international success, ranking #1 on several music charts for over 10 weeks. ''Unbelievable'' yielded his second win for Best Producer of the Year at the Golden Melody Awards in 2004.

Chinked-out (2004–06)

Having established himself as one of the most important, influential, and prolific artists in Chinese music, Wang continued to invent and experiment with new sounds and voices. For most of 2004, he traveled to remote villages in China, collecting often unheard tribal sounds of aboriginal Chinese music, Tibetan music, and Mongolian music. With his younger brother Leekai as his assistant, they carried 15 kg of music equipment as he recorded these sounds, recording and producing his album on the way. He incorporated these sounds into R&B; and hip hop music, coining the style as "chinked-out." Despite the derogatory nature of the term "chink," Wang had wanted to repossess the term and "make it cool." ''Shangri-La'' was released on the last day of 2004, selling an 40,000 copies within the first ten days of release. ''Shangri-La'' became an international music sensation, especially catching the attention of many youths in Asia. Within a month, the album sold over 300,000 copies, ultimately selling over 1.5 million units.

Wang continued to infuse chinked-out elements into his next album ''Heroes of Earth'' (2005). Unlike the aboriginal tribal music heard in ''Shangri-La'', ''Heroes of Earth'' contained mixes of Beijing opera and Kunqu. Following the concept of "heroes," he collaborated with Ashin of Mayday ("Beside the Plum Blossoms"), Chinese American rapper Jin and opera master Li Yan ("Heroes of Earth"), and also K-pop artists Rain and Lim Jeong-hee ("Perfect Interaction"). ''Heroes of Earth'' was the fastest-selling album of both 2005 and 2006, selling over 1 million copies ten days after its release. Subsequently, the album stayed as #1 in the charts for six weeks, and remained in the charts for 23 weeks, ultimately becoming 2006's third best-selling album. By 2007, about 3 million units were sold, and has since been Wang's most commercially and critically successful album. The album earned Wang a Golden Melody Award for Best Mandarin Male Singer for the second time.

Three months after the release of ''Heroes of Earth'', he began the ''Heroes of Earth Tour'', his first major world tour. The concert commenced with two shows per night in the Taipei Dome in March 2006, breaking Taiwan's concert attendance records.

Professional breakthrough (2007–present)

Wang took a break in working on his music to film ''Lust, Caution'' (2007), an espionage thriller film directed by Ang Lee. He released a promotional single "Falling Leaves Return to Roots" on June 20, 2007 through Hito Radio, a month before the release of his twelfth studio album, ''Change Me''. "Falling Leaves Return to Roots" incorporated Broadway-influenced musical elements, with classical instrumental accompaniments, such as the violin and piano. When asked about the sudden change of music style, Wang explained that the inspiration behind the song was due to the influence of his portrayal of Kuang Yumin in ''Lust, Caution''. "In the past, I have only been releasing mainstream pop and chinked-out related hip hop. ''Lust, Caution'' made me return to 1930's Shanghai, re-living the moment."

''Change Me'' was released on Friday, July 13, despite the superstition generally attached to Friday the 13th. Unlike his previous albums, ''Change Me'' mainly concentrates on pop rock, including influences of Broadway ("Falling Leaves Return to Roots") and old-school Taiwanese pop ("You Are a Song in My Heart"). Through this album, he promoted the issue of global warming and raised environmental awareness. The packaging of the album used only recycled paper and contained no plastic. He believed that small changes by each person can change the world. "To change the world, you start with changing yourself." Reviews of the album were generally positive, defining the album as "mature." An online album poll organized by China's Sohu, however, suggested that Wang's album did not meet expectations. Netizens remarked that his chinked-out productions were more impressive, although that genre itself has also been criticized. Nonetheless, over 1 million units were shipped on the first day of release. The album broke past 2 million sales, becoming one of Wang's best-selling albums.

In August 2008, Wang sought US$320,000 in damages for plagiarism by Pritam, an Indian composer. The lead song for the movie ''Race'' (2008), composed by Pritam, was allegedly copied from "In the Depths of the Bamboo Forest," a single taken off from Wang Leehom's ''Shangri-La'' album. In November 2008, Wang was selected to conduct the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra for their 2008 annual grand finale, being the first Asian pop musician to conduct the orchestra. The concert ''Hong Kong Music, Leehom Wang'' (港樂‧王力宏) was held in the Hong Kong Cultural Centre for three nights, with four shows, receiving CNN International coverage throughout.

Wang embarked on his second world tour, the ''Music-Man Tour'', in the latter months of 2008. The tour commenced with two shows per night in the Taipei Dome in September 2008, three months before the release of Wang's thirteenth studio album, ''Heart Beat''. ''Heart Beat'' was released on December 26, debuting at #3 on the weekly G-Music charts. The album peaked at #1 on its seventh week of release, ultimately staying on the charts for 17 weeks. Like Wang's previous album, ''Heart Beat'' showed a similar emphasis of rock influences. The album largely focused on guitar and electric guitar solos, which Wang also used for performances in most of the album's music videos. Wanting to continue a similar "chinked-out" element, the album's first single, "What's Up with Rock?!" incorporated rock influences with Chinese flavor. For the track, he worked with pipa artist Liu Fang, and the two concentrated on mixing both electric guitar elements and pipa strings into the song.

On April 15, 2011, Wang Lee Hom took home the Best Male Singer (Hong Kong and Taiwan region), Best Album for ''The 18 Martial Arts'', and Best Newcomer Director Award for his directorial debut, Love in Disguise at the Global Chinese Music Awards.

Musical style

Wang's music ranges greatly from album to album. Although he is classified as an R&B; artist, Wang Leehom demonstrates competence with many styles of music ranging from traditional Mandopop, Broadway, jazz, rock, R&B;, gospel, acoustic, Indipop, hip-hop, to rap. Many of the styles are infused with a Chinese flavor.

When he first debuted, he sang old school pop and acoustic R&B; ballads. Starting from ''Revolution'' (公轉自轉), Wang began to test out R&B; pop music, but quickly jumped to a quirky style of dance pop for ''Impossible to Miss You'' (不可能錯過你). Starting from ''Forever's First Day'' (永遠的第一天), he began composing rock songs with heavy electric guitar melodies and less emphasis on dance pop. Nonetheless, he still concentrated in light R&B; music. ''The One and Only'' (唯一) became his only fully produced rock album.

''Unbelievable'' began a new road of music for Wang. Aside from the usual R&B; grove, he contributed hip hop and rap that was not clearly emphasized in his past albums. "Not Your Average Thug" was a newly composed R&B; style with a huge amount of American influence. "Can You Feel My World" was a different style of R&B;, and the song contained great uses of the piano and violin as the accompaniment. Fast dance songs like "Ya Birthday" and "Girlfriend" () incorporated rapid rap and heavy drum rhythms. "Girlfriend" included a heavily emphasised chinese flute and a music style that is influenced by Indipop.

''Shangri-La'' was the first chapter of Wang's new style, chinked-out. Chinked-out is a new kind of musical style developed by Wang that involves modern "west" music of R&B;, Hip Hop, rap, and Dance, along with "east" music of heavy Chinese instrument influences, more notably the koudi, tuhu, and ijac. "Deep Within the Bamboo Grove" () which emphasized samples of Tibetan Opera, and different minority tribes in Yunnan and other remote areas of China.

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''Heroes of Earth'' displayed a different side to chinked out. Instead of ethnic minority music, Wang focused on Beijing opera and Kunqu. He used instruments such as the erhu, guqin, and guzheng to infuse his new album with another side of traditional Chinese sound. "Beside the Plum Blossoms" () dealt with fast kunqu melodies. In the last 50 seconds of the song, Wang rapped over 250 words, increasing in speed towards the middle and then slowed down. This was to emphasize the accelerating and descending beats of traditional Chinese opera.

In addition to his chinked-out style of music, he is also noted for writing modern love ballads like "Forever Love", "Kiss Goodbye", "The One and Only" and most recently, "All the Things You Never Knew" (你不知道的事） which are sung with piano and string instrument accompaniments.

Acting career

Wang had displayed interest in acting when he starred in several musical plays when he was in high school and college. In 2000, he made his feature film debut in the Hong Kong action crime thriller, ''China Strike Force'', starring alongside Aaron Kwok, Norika Fujiwara, and Ruby Lin. Hong Kong critics had remarked Wang for giving a well-toned performance as his first film. His next starring role was the 2001 Hong Kong science fiction film ''The Avenging Fist'' as the main character Nova. He then starred in two Japanese films ''Moon Child'' (2003) and ''Starlit High Noon'' (2005).

The major breakthrough in his film career was in ''Lust, Caution'', directed and produced by Academy Award winner Ang Lee. The film is based on a novella written by Eileen Chang and revolves around a plot to assassinate a high-ranking Chinese official in the Wang Jingwei Government using a beautiful young woman as bait. Wang plays Kuang Yumin, a patriotic college student who persuades Wong Chia-chi (Tang Wei) to seduce Mr. Yee (Tony Leung). The film was released in the U.S. cinemas on 28 September 2007. ''Lust, Caution'' was produced on a budget of approximately $15 million and grossed $64,574,876 worldwide.

In 2009, Wang was selected to star with Jackie Chan in ''Little Big Soldier''.

In 2010, Wang stepped behind the camera to direct and star in, ''Love in Disguise'' (), also starring Liu Yifei and Joan Chen. ''Love in Disguise'' went on to become the highest grossing film for a first-time director in Chinese history grossing over 60,000,000 RMB domestically.

Endorsements

Wang is one of the most highly visible celebrities in Asia due in no small part to his many product endorsements including: Coca-Cola, McDonald's, Sony Ericsson, Bausch & Lomb, Bosideng MAN, Garnier, Lay's Chips, Nikon, Brand's, Hyundai and also Wahaha purified drinking water, which he has endorsed since 1999.

Wang's Bausch & Lomb print advertisements and TV commercials featured prominently in the popular 2008-2010 TV series ''Chou Nu Wu Di''. The series, which took place at an advertising agency, was an adaptation of the 1999 Colombian telenovela ''Yo soy Betty, la fea''.

Charitable events

Wang is also recognized for his effort and financial contributions to charity. He is active with Worldvision and has visited Laos and Sierra Leone in the last couple of years to raise awareness about the state of poverty in those countries. He personally sponsors over 20 underprivileged children throughout the world with NGO World Vision and frequently participates in the much needed fund-raising campaigns for disaster relief such as the massive earthquake at Sichuan (2008) and Typhoon Marakot in Taiwan (2009). In 2003, he and David Tao composed a song titled Hand in Hand (sung by over 80 celebrities in Taiwan) to promote support and courage to those affected by SARS.

Participation in 2008 Beijing Olympic Games

Wang was chosen as one of the torchbearers to run in Greece. He was torchbearer number 17 on March 24, the first day of the torch relay. He also attended the torch lighting ceremony before his run. Wang took the torch from Liu Hongliang, son of the first Chinese to attend the Olympic games, Liu Changchun. He represented the newest generation of singers from Taiwan and China. He was chosen mainly because he is devoted to helping save the environment, as shown in his latest album ''Change Me''.

Another reason he was chosen is due to Wang's enthusiasm in the 2008 Olympic Games Theme Songs Competition. His single One World One Dream was chosen as a Olympic Games participation song. The single was written, sung, produced, and scored entirely by himself. He sang along with Jackie Chan, Stephanie Sun, and Han Hong in the song for "The One Man Olympics" which was about the first Chinese to be in the Olympics. He also sang in the 100 days countdown theme song Beijing Welcomes You. He also sang alongside Stefanie Sun, Wang Feng, and Jane Zhang in the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games Torch Relay Theme Song, Light The Passion, Share The Dream. He is also one of the candidates on vote for performer of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games Theme Song. In the closing ceremony, he sang "Beijing Beijing, I Love Beijing" alongside Hong Kong singer Kelly Chen and Korean singer Rain.

Discography

Filmography

+ Film and television
! Year	! Title	! Role	! Notes
1999	''''	Dean McCoppin
2000	''China Strike Force''	Alex Cheung
2000	''Ashes to Ashes: Against Smoking''	Dave
2001	''''	Nova
2003		Son
2005	''Starlit High Noon''	Lian Song
2007		Kuang Yumin
2010	''Little Big Soldier''	Big General
2010	''Love In Disguise''	Du Minghan	also director
2011	''''	Luo Jialun

Awards

Bibliography

December 18, 2001: ''The One and Only - The Official Piano and Vocal Score'' (唯一樂譜書) (Piano and Vocal Score)

March 20, 2003: ''Accidental Biography'' (純屬意外) (Biography; Piano and Vocal Score)

October 15, 2003: ''Portrait of a Love Song'' (Photobook; Prose and Biography) [Japan Release]

November 15, 2005: ''Shangri-La - The Official Piano and Vocal Score'' (心中的日月樂譜書) (Piano and Vocal Score)

June 9, 2006: "Heroes Of TOKYO" (Photobook) [Japan Release]

July 21, 2010: "Love In Disguise: photo collection" (Photobook)

July 21, 2010: "Wang Leehom, the practice of first-time director"

References

Further reading

External links

Leehom Wang official website

Sony Music: Taiwan Japan

Category:1976 births Category:American people of Chinese descent Category:American people of Taiwanese descent Category:Berklee College of Music alumni Category:English-language singers Category:Japanese-language singers Category:Living people Category:Musicians from New York Category:People from Rochester, New York Category:Taiwanese film actors Category:American musicians of Chinese descent Category:American musicians of Taiwanese descent Category:Taiwanese Mandopop singer-songwriters Category:Taiwanese male singers Category:Williams College alumni

bg:Уан Лийхом ca:Lee-Hom Wang de:Lee-Hom Wang es:Lee-Hom Wang fr:Wang Lee-hom ko:왕력굉 it:Leehom Wang jv:Wang Lee Hom kk:Уаң Ли Хоң hu:Wang Lee-hom nl:Wang Lee-Hom ja:ワン・リーホン th:หวัง ลี่หง vi:Vương Lực Hoành wuu:王力宏 zh:王力宏

Name	Sasha Cohen
Fullname	Alexandra Pauline Cohen
Country
Birth date	October 26, 1984
Birth place	Westwood, Los Angeles, California
Hometown	Newport Beach, California
Height
Coach	John Nicks
Formercoach	Rafael Arutunian, John Nicks, Tatiana Tarasova, Robin Wagner
Choreographer	Lori Nichol, Nikolai Morozov
Formerchoreographer	David Wilson, Tatiana Tarasova, Marina Zoueva, Igor Shpilband, Robin Wagner, Ekaterina Gordeeva
Skating club	Orange County FSC
Combined total	197.60
Combined date	2003 Skate Canada
Sp score	71.12
Sp date	2003 Skate Canada
Fs score	130.89
Fs date	2003 Skate America
Medaltemplates	}}

}}

Alexandra Pauline "Sasha" Cohen (born October 26, 1984) is a U.S. figure skater. She is the 2006 Olympic silver medalist, a three-time World Championship medalist, the 2003 Grand Prix Final Champion, and the 2006 U.S. Champion.

Personal life

Cohen was born in Westwood, California, a neighborhood in Los Angeles. Her nickname "Sasha" is a Russian short name from "Alexandra". Her mother, Galina (née Feldman), is a Jewish immigrant from Ukraine and a former ballet dancer; her father, Roger Cohen, is a business consultant who is an attorney with Dorsey & Whitney LLP. Sasha graduated from Futures High School in Mission Viejo, California in 2002. Her sister, Natalia ("Natasha"), began college at Barnard College in August 2006.

In 2005, she published her autobiography, ''Fire on Ice''. The autobiography was republished in 2006 adding a new chapter on the 2006 season.

Cohen understands Russian.

Skating career

Early career

A gymnast from an early age, Cohen switched to figure skating when she was seven years old, but it wasn't until she was eleven that she began to take the sport seriously. One of her early skating coaches was the father of actor Anton Yelchin.

Cohen rose to prominence in the skating community during the 2000 U.S. Championships. Just up from juniors, Cohen dropped from first place after the short program to second after the free skating and qualified for the world team. Too young for the 2000 World Championships, a loophole at the time would have allowed her to compete in senior worlds if she medaled at the World Junior Championships. Cohen did not medal at world juniors and so did not go to senior worlds.

Senior development and success

Cohen did not compete at the 2001 Nationals due to a stress fracture in her back, but took back her silver medal at the 2002 U.S. championships, earning her a trip to the Olympics. Cohen competed at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, Utah, finishing 4th. She also finished 4th at the 2002 World Championships, held in Nagano.

Cohen switched coaches from John Nicks to Tatiana Tarasova in the 2002–03 season. She won her first ISU Grand Prix event in the 2002 Skate Canada and repeating as gold medalist in the 2002 Trophée Lalique. She finished second in the 2002 Cup of Russia. These three placements earned her a spot to the 2002–2003 Grand Prix Final, where she became the champion. At the 2003 U.S. championships she won the bronze medal, and at the 2003 World Championships, held in Washington, D.C., Cohen placed 4th, repeating her placement in the previous season.

Her best season was 2003–04, when she took gold at the 2003 Skate America, at the 2003 Skate Canada (setting a world record in the short program) and at the 2003 Trophée Lalique and won silver at the 2003–2004 Grand Prix Final. She changed her coach in the middle of the season, moving from Tatiana Tarasova to Robin Wagner, and placed second at both the 2004 U.S. Championships and the 2004 World Championships, getting a medal at Worlds for the first time in her career.

Cohen decided to go back to her first coach John Nicks in the 2004–05 season. She withdrew from the 2005 ISU Grand Prix events due to a recurring back injury. She placed 2nd at the 2005 U.S. championships in Portland and the 2005 World Championships in Moscow, Russia.

2006 Olympic season

Sasha Cohen started her Olympic season by placing 1st at the Campbell's International Figure Skating Challenge. Soon after she withdrew from Skate America due to a hip injury. She took 2nd place at Trophée Eric Bompard, where she fell on a triple salchow during her free skate. In 2006, Cohen overcame the flu to capture her first U.S. championship. With this victory Cohen automatically secured her place on the U.S. Olympic team for the 2006 Winter Olympics, a spot made official on January 14 of that year by the United States Figure Skating Association.

At the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Cohen was in 1st after the short program, leading Russia's Irina Slutskaya by a mere .03 points. In the final free skate, Cohen fell on her first jump, a triple lutz, and had her hands down on her second jump, the triple flip. She completed the rest of her elements, including five triples. Cohen finished with an Olympic silver medal, her first Olympic medal. The Olympic gold medalist, Shizuka Arakawa of Japan, won by 7.98 points over Cohen.

A month later at the 2006 World Championships in Calgary, Canada, Cohen was in 1st place after the short program. Completing only one jump combination and falling on the triple triple salchow, she placed fourth in the free skate and won the bronze medal, finishing almost ten points behind her teammate, gold medalist Kimmie Meissner. Cohen displayed strong presentation in her free skate and picked up level fours on all her spins and her spiral sequence. Her program component score of 61.35 was the highest of the night.

Post 2006 Olympics

In April 2006, Cohen started the Champions on Ice tour, participated in the second annual "Skating with the Stars, Under the Stars" gala in Central Park and performed in the Marshalls U.S. Figure Skating International Showcase. On April 15, 2006, Cohen announced that she intended to compete in the 2010 season and the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver. She said via her official website, "I will decide after the COI Tour how much skating and what events I will do next season."

In December 2006, Cohen announced that she needed "a little downtime from competing" and that she would not defend her US Figure Skating Championship title in 2007. She again stressed that her "major goals" were the 2009 World Championships and the 2010 Olympics; "I know I want to be in Vancouver for the 2010 Olympics."

Cohen did not compete in 2007, 2008, or 2009, although she did not give up her Olympic eligibility. She performed in exhibitions, including the Rockefeller Christmas Tree lighting and USFSA-approved events. She was a headliner in the 2007–08 and 2008–09 Stars on Ice tour.

Return to competition

Cohen announced on May 6, 2009 that she planned to make a comeback for the 2010 Winter Olympics. She received invitations to compete in the 2009 Trophée Eric Bompard and in the 2009 Skate America in the 2009–2010 Grand Prix Series. Cohen was forced to withdraw from both of her planned Grand Prix events due to an injury to her calf.

On January 21, 2010 Cohen finally took to the competitive ice for the first time in four years at the 2010 U.S. Championships in Spokane, Washington. She debuted her program to España Cañí, and skated a strong performance landing a triple lutz-double toe, a triple flip, a double axel, along with her signature spiral sequence and spins earning 69.63 points putting her in second place, just 0.43 from first place finisher Mirai Nagasu. However, her free skate, set to Moonlight Sonata, was filled with errors; she fell on a triple flip and had two-footed landings on a number of other jumps. Cohen finished fourth in the championships, behind Rachael Flatt, Mirai Nagasu and Ashley Wagner, and was not selected for the Olympic team, however was appointed as second alternate to the 2010 U.S. Olympic team and the 2010 World Championship team.

Coaching changes

Sasha Cohen was coached by John Nicks until the summer of 2002, when she relocated to Simsbury, Connecticut to train with Russian coach Tatiana Tarasova, who choreographed Cohen's ''Swan Lake'' program and upgraded her footwork. Under Tarasova's coaching, Cohen landed her first triple-triple combination in competition, a triple lutz-triple toe. Also, Cohen completed her first clean free skate in the qualifying round at the 2003 World Championships.

She changed coaches again in January 2004 to Robin Wagner (who coached Sarah Hughes to Olympic gold) in Hackensack, New Jersey. In December 2004, Cohen returned to California to work with her original coach, John Nicks, who trained her to compete in the 2006 Winter Olympics. Nicks, who is very knowledgeable on the Code of Points system, helped Cohen increase the difficulty of her spins and spirals, as well as her jumps, to maximize her performances under the new system.

With her announcement of a comeback on May 6, 2009, she also announced that she would train with Rafael Arutunian, instead of her former coach John Nicks.

On November 2009, she returned to train with John Nicks.

Skating trademarks

Cohen is known for being a talented skater, though her critics say she has never skated two clean programs in a row.

Cohen is the first skater to have received +3s for spirals in the new judging system for 'Grade of Execution'. She is also known for difficult and creative positions in her spins, such as the "I" spin position which she popularized, and is also sometimes informally referred to as the "Sasha spin."

Public life and endorsements

Cohen has participated in the ice show Stars On Ice for several years, as well as starring in the 2010 Art On Ice alongside Stéphane Lambiel.

She joined 2010 Olympic ladies champion Kim Yu-Na in the All That Skate ice show, scheduled for July 23–25, 2010 in Goyang, South Korea, alongside other skaters including Michelle Kwan, Stéphane Lambiel and Brian Joubert.

Acting career

Television

Cohen has done commercials for Citizen Watch, Simply Saline, and Got Milk?. She appeared in Episode 7 of the second season of ''Project Runway'' wherein designers were challenged to design a skating dress for her. The winning dress (by Zulema Griffin) did not fit and the dress had to be resized. Cohen made a brief appearance guest starring as herself on the May 5, 2006 episode of the NBC drama, ''Las Vegas''. In April 2008, she appeared as a contortionist on the premiere episode of ''Secret Talents of the Stars'' and advanced to the semifinals, although the show was cancelled before she could perform again. She made a guest appearance as an ice skater in ''CSI: NY'' season 3 episode 12 "Silent Night".

Film

Cohen played Fiona Hughes in the Don Johnson movie ''Moondance Alexander''. At the 2006 Academy Awards, Cohen served as a guest correspondent for ''Inside Edition''. This experience led to an encounter with Ben Stiller and a discussion about having a part in a future comedy about figure skating, which Cohen said she would enjoy. In 2007, she appeared as herself in ''Blades of Glory''. Later that year, she also had a role in ''Bratz: The Movie''.

Programs

! Season	! Short Program	! Long Program	! Exhibition.
! 2009–10	España Cañíby Pascual Marquina Narrochoreographed by Lori Nichol		Sick and Tired by Anastacia choreographed by Sasha Cohen Hallelujahby Leonard Cohenperformed by Jeff Buckleychoreographed by Sasha Cohen Mein Herr Soundtrack from Cabaret by Kander and Ebbchoreographed by Sasha Cohen
! 2008–09	Did not compete this season	Did not compete this season	Moonlight Sonataby Ludwig Van Beethovenchoreographed by Nikolai Morozov Don't Stop The Music by Rihannachoreographed by Sasha Cohen I Could Not Ask For More by Sara Evanschoreographed by Sasha Cohen Hard To Say I'm Sorryby ''Chicago''performed by Peter Ceterachoreographed by Sasha Cohen Blue Christmasby Elvis Presleyperformed by Peter Ceterachoreographed by Sasha Cohen
! 2007–08	Did not compete this season	Did not compete this season	What's Left of Me (song)
! 2006–07	Did not compete this season	Did not compete this season
! 2005–06	[[Dark Eyes (song)	[[Romeo and Juliet (1968 film)	[[God Bless America by Celine Dionchoreographed by Sasha Cohen Don't Rain on My Parade by Barbra Streisandchoreographed by John Nicks and Sasha Cohen
! 2004–05	Dark Eyes (song)	[[Pas de deux from The Nutcrackerby Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovskychoreographed by Marina Zoueva and Igor Shpilband	Don't Rain on My Parade by Barbra Streisandchoreographed by John Nicks and Sasha Cohen
! 2003–04		Swan Lake by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovskychoreographed by Tatiana Tarasova	My Fair LadySoundtrack from the 1964 movie by Frederick Loewechoreographed by Robin Wagner (figure skater)
! 2002–03	[[Malagueña (song)	[[Piano Concerto No. 2 (Rachmaninoff)
! 2001–02	My Sweet and Tender Beastby Evgeni Dogachoreographed by [[John Nicks and Sasha Cohen	Carmenby Georges Bizetchoreographed by John Nicks and Sasha Cohen	Hernando's Hideawayby Ella Fitzgeraldchoreographed by John Nicks and Sasha Cohen Ariaby Heitor Villa-Loboschoreographed by John Nicks, Ekaterina Gordeeva and Sasha Cohen
! 2000–01	My Sweet and Tender Beastby Evgeni Dogachoreographed by John Nicks and Sasha Cohen		Anytime, Anywhereby Sarah Brightmanchoreographed by John Nicks, Ekaterina Gordeeva and Sasha Cohen To Love You Moreby Celine Dionchoreographed by John Nicks and Sasha Cohen
! 1999–2000	Baroque Selections by Antonio Vivaldi and Tomaso Albinonichoreographed by John Nicks and Sasha Cohen
! 1998-1999

Competitive highlights

align="center">6th N. align="center" bgcolor="silver" align="center" bgcolor="silver"

Event			! 1998–99	! 1999–00	! 2000–01	! 2001–02	! 2002–03	! 2003–04	! 2004–05	! 2005–06	! 2009–10
Winter Olympic Games		|			4th				2nd
World Figure Skating Championships	World Championships	|				4th	4th	2nd	2nd	3rd
World Junior Figure Skating Championships	World Junior Championships	|		6th
United States Figure Skating Championships	U.S. Championships	|	2nd J.	2nd	WD	2nd	3rd	2nd	2nd	1st	4th
Grand Prix Final	|					1st	2nd
Skate America	|				5th		1st			WD
Skate Canada International	|					1st	1st
Trophée Eric Bompard	|				3rd	1st	1st		2nd	WD
Cup of Russia	|			4th		2nd
Bofrost Cup on Ice	Nations Cup	|			5th
Finlandia Trophy	|				1st
1999-2000 ISU Junior Grand Prix	Junior Grand Prix, Sweden	|		1st
Gardena Spring Trophy	|	1st J.
Pacific Coast Sectionals	2nd N. ||	1st J.	1st
Southwest Pacific Regionals	2nd N. ||	1st J.

Cohen did not compete 2006–2007, 2007–2008 and 2008–2009 season.

N = Novice level; J = Junior level; WD = Withdrew

Detailed results

Post-2001

! Date	! Event	! QR	! SP	! FS	! Result
January 14 – 24, 2010	2010 United States Figure Skating Championships
! Date	! Event	! QR	! SP	! FS	! Result
March 21 – 23, 2006
February 21 – 23, 2006
January 7 – 15, 2006	2006 United States Figure Skating Championships
November 17 – 20, 2005
! Date	! Event	! QR	! SP	! FS	! Result
March 21 – 23, 2005
January 9 – 16, 2005	2005 United States Figure Skating Championships
! Date	! Event	! QR	! SP	! FS	! Result
March 21 – 23, 2004
January 9 – 16, 2004	2004 United States Figure Skating Championships
December 11 – 14, 2003
November 13 – 16, 2003
October 28 – 31, 2003
October 23 – 26, 2003
! Date	! Event	! QR	! SP	! FS	! Result
March 24 – 30, 2003
February 28 – March 2 , 2003
January 12 – 19, 2003	2003 United States Figure Skating Championships
November 22 – 24, 2002
November 14 – 17, 2002
October 31 – November 3, 2002
! Date	! Event	! QR	! SP	! FS	! Result
March 16 – 24, 2002
February 21 – 23, 2002
January 6 – 13, 2002	2002 United States Figure Skating Championships
November 15 – 18, 2001
October 24 – 28, 2001

2001 and earlier

2001: Goodwill Games – 4th; Finlandia Trophy – 1st

2000: U.S. Championships – 2nd; World Junior Championships – 6th; Cup of Russia – 4th

1999: U.S. Championships, Junior – 2nd

See also

List of select Jewish figure skaters

Further reading

Cohen, Sasha. (2006). ''Fire on Ice (Revised Edition): Autobiography of a Champion Figure Skater''. Collins. ISBN 0-06-115385-0

References

Winter Olympics scores

* 2006 Winter Olympics, 2002 Winter Olympics

World Championships scores

* 2006 Worlds, 2005 Worlds, 2004 Worlds, 2003 Worlds, 2002 Worlds

ISU Grand Prix Finals

* 2003–04 GPF, 2002–03 GPF

United States Nationals scores

* 2006 Nationals, 2005 Nationals, 2004 Nationals, 2003 Nationals, 2002 Nationals, 2000 Nationals

External links

Official website

Sasha Cohen

Category:American female single skaters Category:Olympic figure skaters of the United States Category:Olympic silver medalists for the United States Category:Figure skaters at the 2002 Winter Olympics Category:Figure skaters at the 2006 Winter Olympics Category:Figure skating commentators Category:People from Newport Beach, California Category:People from Orange County, California Category:Sportspeople from Los Angeles, California Category:Aliso Niguel High School alumni Category:Jewish American sportspeople Category:American people of Ukrainian-Jewish descent Category:American Jews Category:1984 births Category:Living people Category:Olympic medalists in figure skating

ang:Sasha Cohen cs:Sasha Cohenová de:Sasha Cohen es:Sasha Cohen fr:Sasha Cohen ko:사샤 코언 it:Sasha Cohen he:סשה כהן hu:Sasha Cohen nl:Sasha Cohen ja:サーシャ・コーエン no:Sasha Cohen nn:Sasha Cohen nds:Sasha Cohen pl:Sasha Cohen pt:Sasha Cohen ru:Коэн, Саша simple:Sasha Cohen sr:Саша Коен (уметничко клизање) fi:Sasha Cohen sv:Sasha Cohen tr:Sasha Cohen uk:Саша Коен zh:萨莎·科恩