In July, 55-year-old Taiwan singer-songwriter Jonathan Lee released his first single, Hills, after a 10-year musical hiatus. The song was an instant online hit, listened to more than 20,000 times a day and acclaimed by critics as "a rare song that touches the deep corners of your heart".
Lee is now touring and will reach Beijing on Nov 16. Called As Youth Cannot Stay, the tour will cover Lee's music career from 1984, and he will perform songs from his own albums and songs he wrote for other singers.
Tickets for his Beijing concert sold out in less than 72 hours.
Maintaining a low profile, Lee declined all interview requests and did not give press conferences before the concerts.
However, in a media release from his record company, Lee speaks at length about his motivations and feelings on returning to the spotlight.
A 30-year veteran of the music industry and one of the most successful hit-maker producers behind many singers across Hong Kong, Taiwan and the mainland, including his ex-wife Sandy Lam, Lee had withdrawn from the limelight to focus on making stringed instruments, with his own guitar brand, Lee Guitars, he founded in 2002.
The music video to Hills shows his guitar making process and the handwritten draft of the song, it is simple yet touching.
He sings: "I still have much to say so I collect my words and write the song."
According to Lee, the melody of Hills was finished 10 years ago but the lyrics were written just two months before it was released.
"It's a song about my life experience. Some people feel it's sad but I don't think so. It's about a middle-aged man, looking back on his life with a little bit of humor and nostalgia," Lee says.
He says he did not expect so many fans, in their 20s or 30s, to like the song, because he wrote it for people his own age.
"In today's music industry, singers are considered entertainers, who are not supposed to be too serious. I am glad when I sing something serious, people are all ears," he says.
"It's worthwhile to wait such a long time," says Chen Yung-chi, chief executive officer of Taiwan music label B'in Music, which released the single on its website. "Lee has many life experiences to share and what matters to him is how far his song could go, rather how big it is at the moment."
Chen says when a singer releases a new song, the record company usually pulls out all the stops trying to promote it. It is unusual for a song only released online to achieve huge popularity.
Lee's longtime friend, Taiwan actress-director-singer Sylvia Chang, who rose to fame with the hit song Cost of Love, which was written by Lee, once said, "Lee has a song for everyone."
"In the music world, he is a star behind many stars," Chang says. "He is a son of a gas worker, who did not do very well in his studies and did not have a college degree. He got married twice, divorced twice and has three daughters. He is shy, humorous and always lets music do the talking."
Lee was once a producer at Taiwan's Rolling Stone Records, Asia's biggest independent record label and home to many popular singers such as Karen Mok, Jeff Chang and Sandy Lam. He helped the label discover many talents and made albums that were commercial and critical successes during his 17 years working there.
His decision to go back to the basics of music, making guitars, came from his desire to spot new talents. With 30 to 40 guitars made a year, Lee says he doesn't approach it as a business, but a way to keep him close to the most fundamental part of music.
"The music industry has changed from producer-dominated to market-dominated," Lee says.
"But now the record companies are facing a bad time. They have to cooperate with website companies and telecommunication companies to make money," Lee says.
"I strongly recommend to artists who sell big: Write and sing serious songs with serious lyrics. Because no matter what you sing, you sell. Why not sing something meaningful?"
IF YOU GO
7:30 pm, Nov 16. Capital Stadium, 56, Zhongguancun Nandajie Street, Haidian district, Beijing. 400-610-3721.
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