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Tom Chang Yu-sheng (Chinese: 張雨生; June 7, 1966 – November 12, 1997) was a Taiwanese pop vocalist, songwriter and record producer. Born in 1966, Chang was the eldest among his other four siblings whose mother is Atayal and father a veteran of the ROC military. Being influenced deeply by Western rock music, he had participated in two metal bands at university before he gained publicity with a beverage tie-in ballad "My Future isn't a Pipe Dream" in 1988. In that year, Chang also released his debut album "Always Missing You" to a success, selling 350 thousand records within the regions, before singing the soundtrack of a popular movie Seven Wolves starring him as one of the leading roles. After his graduation in 1989, he was nominated "The Best New Artist" in th for his second album "Miss Me" with most songs co-written by himself. He developed his career as a singer-songwriter since then, endeavoring different genres of contemporary music and attempting to introduce them to the general public despite ups and downs. With moderate to low commercial successes of his subsequent albums, Chang focused more on backstage roles, including music production and songwriting for theater performances. He introduced A-Mei, a Puyuma and pub singer, to his record label whom he met during causal visits. Believing in her potential, Chang became A-Mei's vocal tutor, producer and supervisor. Soon after producing A-Mei's debut and second albums, which were released to a huge success in 1996 and 1997, he died at 31 years old. Renowned for his sopranist vocal range, significance to the development of the local music industry and versatility, Chang is widely referred to as "The Magician of Music in Chinese" and among the most prominent figures when it comes to Chinese language music with most of his commercial failure later considered to be masterpieces.
Tom Chang Yu-sheng | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Born | Chang Yu-sheng June 7, 1966 | ||||||
| Died | November 12, 1997 (aged 31) | ||||||
| Alma mater | National Chengchi University | ||||||
| Occupation(s) | Singer, songwriter (composer & lyricist), record producer | ||||||
| Years active | 1988－1997 | ||||||
| Parent(s) | Chang Kin-ming Chang Hui-mei | ||||||
| Chinese name | |||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 張雨生 | ||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 张雨生 | ||||||
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| Musical career | |||||||
| Genres | Mandopop | ||||||
| Instrument(s) | Guitar, keyboard | ||||||
| Website | www.yu-sheng.org | ||||||
Biography
editChang was born in Magong, Penghu, Taiwan on June 7, 1966. As the eldest child, he had two younger brothers and two younger sisters. His father was a soldier. He graduated from the National Chengchi University. In spare time, he was keen on music, basketball, swimming, and reading. One of his major accomplishment as a producer was to help the pop singer A-mei to achieve mainstream success.[1] He was known for his high vocals, capable of reaching notes up to D#6.[2] His voice has been compared by some to Russell Hitchcock of Air Supply.[3]
Chang died on November 12, 1997 at 31 years old, after being in a car accident on October 20, 1997.[4]
Discography
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| Year | Album | Track listing |
|---|---|---|
| 1 November 1988 | 天天想你 | Track listing
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| 17 July 1989 | 想念我 | Track listing
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| 24 February 1992 | 带我去月球 | Track listing
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| 30 November 1992 | 大海 | Track listing
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| 24 August 1993 | 一天到晚游泳的魚 | Track listing
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| 5 September 1994 | 卡拉ＯＫ‧台北‧我 | Track listing
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| 27 March 1995 | 還是朋友 | Track listing
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| 12 July 1996 | 兩伊戰爭﹣紅色熱情 (EP) | Track listing
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| 14 July 1996 | 兩伊戰爭-白色才情 (EP) | Track listing
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| 14 October 1997 | 口是心非 | Track listing
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Awards and nominations
edit| Year | Award | Category | Nominated work | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 1st Golden Melody Awards | Best New Artist | — | Nominated |
| 2nd Golden Melody Awards | Best Male Vocalist – Mandarin | Miss Me | Nominated | |
| 1992 | 4th Golden Melody Awards | Best Music Video | "Take Me to the Moon" | Nominated |
| 1993 | 5th Golden Melody Awards | Best Male Vocalist – Mandarin | — | Nominated |
| 1996 | 7th Golden Melody Awards | Song of the Year | "Still Friends" | Nominated |
| 1998 | 9th Golden Melody Awards | Album of the Year | Duplicity | Won |
| Best Lyricist | "River" | Nominated | ||
| 2017 | 28th Golden Melody Awards | Special Contribution Award | — | Honored |
References
edit- ^ Zhong, Qiu (25 November 2007). "Tom Chang". CRI English. Archived from the original on 8 July 2012. Retrieved 18 December 2007.
- ^ Zhang Yu Sheng's High Notes (C5 – D#6) on YouTube
- ^ Bilibili. (2020) Chang Yu-sheng sings Air Supply's "All Out Of Love" live - 1992-02-25. (in Taiwanese). [online] Available at: https://www.bilibili.com/video/BV1CZ4y137qE/ (Accessed: April 21st 2024).
- ^ Kwok Kar Peng (23 June 2021). "Late Taiwanese singer Chang Yu-sheng's 1996 unplugged performance in Singapore goes viral, Entertainment News". AsiaOne. Retrieved 8 December 2022.