Li Yuchun

Infobox Chinese-language singer and actor
name = Li Yuchun
李宇春

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caption = Li Yuchun at the 7th Beijing Radio Music Award, April 8, 2007
chinesename = 李宇春
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birthdate = birth date and age|1984|3|10
birthplace = Chengdu, Sichuan, China
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othername = Chris Lee
occupation = Singer
genre = Mandopop
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label = Taihe Rye Music
yearsactive = 2005–present
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website = [http://lyc.trmusic.com.cn/ lyc.trmusic.com.cn]
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awards = Super Girl; MTV Asia Awards
Winner; Favourite Artist of Mainland China
2005; 2008

Li Yuchun (zh-cp|李宇春|p=Lǐ Yǔchūn) is a Chinese pop singer, who achieved instant fame when she won the nation-wide singing contest Super Girl in 2005. She is now working with Taihe Rye Music and released her first album "The Queen and the Dreams" in September 2006. Her second album titled "Mine" was released in early November 2007, and her third album, "Youth of China" was released in May 2008.

Early years

Born into a middle-class family in Chengdu, Sichuan Province, Li Yuchun was not encouraged to pursue a career in entertainment. Her father, a railway police officer, and her mother, a retired housewife, wanted her to be a doctor. At the age of 18, just before the national university entrance exam, she told her parents that she wanted to get into a music conservatory. Although shocked by her ambition, her parents found a music tutor for her. They thought she would give up because her chance of getting in was very small. To their surprise, after one month of intensive training she passed the artistic exam. Ecstatic with the admission offer, Li carried out her first live concert, "The Last Battle", which was performed in front of her high school before the graduation ceremony. After graduation, she went to study at Sichuan Music Conservatory.

"Super Girl" competition

While still a 21-year old student at the Conservatory, Li participated in the "Super Girl" singing contest (similar to the Idol series of contests around the world) in 2005. She won the qualifying competition in Chengdu, then went on to win the nation-wide contest among 120,000 applicants. This competition drew the largest audiences in Chinese TV history. Her win came as a surprise to many people because she didn't fit the stereotype of female singers.

Although many regard her androgynous voice the weakest of the final 3, she was the most popular, based on vote counts. According to Chinese voters, it was her unorthodox style and aggressive singing that captivated the audience. [cite news | first = Benjamin | last = Joffe-Walt | title = Mad about the girl: a pop idol for China | url = http://www.guardian.co.uk/china/story/0,7369,1586968,00.html | publisher = The Guardian | date = 2005-10-07 | accessdate = 2007-07-30]

Music career

Her first single was Sweetheart, I Love You, recorded during the time when she was on Super Girl. She joined Taihe Rye Music in October 2005, and released the single, Happy Winter ( _zh. 冬天快乐), as a Christmas gift to her fans. In March 2006 she released Give Me Five, a Latin-flavored dancing song. And lately, another new release, Happy Wake Up, is the song used in her Crest toothpaste ad. All of these songs were released online by digital distribution, a new move in the Chinese music world. She also released an EP Give Me Five.

Li Yuchun has held two concerts to date. The first was in her hometown of Chengdu on March 10 2006 — her 22nd birthday. The second was in Shanghai on May 22 2006. Her debut album titled "The Queen and the Dreams" ( _zh. 皇后与梦想) was released on September 15, 2006. It presold 100,000 copies and more than 430,000 copies in the first month. She held a promotional concert in Beijing Exhibition Center on September 20, 2006 with songs from the album.

Her second album titled "Mine" ( _zh. 我的) was released in November 2007. In the meantime, her nationwide 2007 Live Tour began in October and had been held in Nanjing, Guangzhou, Chongqing, Chengdu and Hangzhou, attracting tens of thousand of music lovers.

Her third album titled "Youth of China" (Chinese:少年中国) was released in May 2008 as a gift blessing 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. This album was developed and designed by her and it includes one documentary DVD of her 2007 national live tour concert and one CD with 6 songs.

Charity work

Li Yuchun triggered a donation craze after she was chosen in March, 2005 as the ambassador for the "Yumi Love Fund" of the Chinese Red Cross Foundation (CRCF) to help children with leukemia. The CRCF has reported several website crashes after Li Yuchun spoke about the charity during recent public appearances. She gave her costumes worn in the Super Girl finale to charity auctions and donating the entire income of her second concert in Shanghai. So far the foundation has received more than 7,700 donations from Li Yuchun fans throughout the world, amounting to 1,000,000 RMB and helped 21 children. Recently, this fund has raised more than 5,000,000 RMB.

In her mission as Hewlett-Packard Ambassador from August to December 2006 to promote genuine printing supplies and accessories, HP will donate part of sale incomes to the "Yumi Love Fund" to help 30 children in poverty with leukemia.

From December, 2006, Li Yuchun becomes the ambassador for Viva Glam Lipstick M.A.C. Aids Fund in China. [http://www.macaidsfund.org]

Current life

Li Yuchun's success has drawn a lot of attention from the commercial world. She has signed deals with Amoi Electronics, Swatch, Coca-Cola, Crest, and Hewlett Packard to promote their products or activities

Despite her fame, Li Yuchun still leads the simple life she did before becoming a national icon. Non-brand-name T-shirts and jeans are her usual outfits, and unlike other celebrities, she doesn't mind wearing the same outfit many times in front of the media.

Trivia

* Li Yuchun made the cover of Time Magazine Asia special issue, October 2005, named as one of "Asia's Heroes".
* The China National Philatelic Corporation issued a postage stamp bearing her image in January 2006 -- a first for a mainland Chinese pop star.
*Li Yuchun's fans have an interesting name - "corns". The two Chinese characters that make up "corn" are "yu" and "mi". "Yu" stands for Yuchun while "mi" is a homophone for the Chinese words for "fan".

Discography

Albums

* 2006 The Queen and the Dreams ( _zh. 皇后与梦想) [http://mp3.baidu.com/m?f=ms&rn=&tn=baidump3&ct=134217728&word=%BB%CA%BA%F3%D3%EB%C3%CE%CF%EB&lm=-1]
* 2007 Mine

* 2008 Youth of China (Mini-Album)

ingles

* 2005 Sweetheart, I Love You ( _zh. 甜蜜的, 我爱你)
* 2005 Happy Winter ( _zh. 冬天快乐)
* 2006 Give Me Five
* 2006 唱得响亮 (Theme Song for 2006 Super Girl Singing Contest)
* 2007 N+1
* 2007 爱的太傻 (Theme Song for Popular Korean Show Princess Hours, Chinese version)
* 2007 和你一样 (Theme Song for Chinese Red Cross Foundation (CRCF), written by her fans)
* 2007 Green (A charitable song dedicated to Greenpeace 绿色和平公益歌曲)
* 2007 Come to dance (Theme song for the celebrity dancing show 'strictly come dancing' launched by HNWS and TVB)
* 2008 相信
* 2008 倾国倾城
* 2008 梨花香 (Theme Song for the Chinese film 十全九美)
* 2008 红遍全球 (Coca Cola Song for 2008 Beijing Olympics)
* 2008 用爱点亮希望

Awards

The 6th Global Chinese Music Awards - Singapore, 2006

* Top 5 most popular female artists
* Media Recommendation
* Top 20 Hits of the Year: "Happy Winter"(冬天快乐)

MTV Asia Awards 2008 - Malaysia

* Favourite Artist of Mainland China

References

External links

* [http://blog.sina.com.cn/m/liyuchun Official blog] (Chinese)
* [http://www.crcf.org.cn/ Chinese Red Cross Foundation] (Chinese)
* [http://yumi.crcf.org.cn/ Yumi Love Fund] (Chinese)