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| Joanna Wang Ruo-lin will sing in Beijing for the annual Strawberry Music Festival. (China Daily) |
Joanna Wang Ruo-lin released her debut bilingual album, Start From Here, in 2008, when she was 20. It was a huge success, selling more than 200,000 copies across Taiwan, Hong Kong and the mainland.
It seemed Wang was on a fast track to musical fame, but despite her success, she says: "I hated my first album".
"I really did, there was so much I wanted to do creatively and the album was the antithesis of everything I ever wanted to do, it was sappy, empty, and most of all, completely lacking in all things wonderful and imaginative," says the 24-year-old husky-voiced musician. "Sadly, there was really not much freedom. Working with a parent and a major label can be very tough and emotionally turbulent."
Wang's debut album was produced by her father, Mando-pop producer Bing Wang Zhi-ping, who has also produced albums for pop singers Jay Chou and Yoga Lin.
Her image back then was of a sentimental lady, who sang about happiness and lost love.
Since then, she has gained more creative control over her work. Wang produced her latest album, Galaxy Crisis: The Strangest Midnight Broadcast, herself.
"It was wonderful, deeply satisfying and I've never been so proud of anything I had ever done," she says about her first time being a producer.
Now, with her new role as a producer and newly dyed blonde hair, she will perform in Beijing on the first day of the annual Strawberry Music Festival, which will be held April 29 through May 1 simultaneously in Beijing and Shanghai.
Having performed at outdoor music festivals since 2009, Wang says she likes taking the time to make exciting arrangements, and she loves hearing music come together.
This year's Strawberry Music Festival is headlined by Scottish alternative rock band Travis, Australian singer-songwriter Lenka, local rocker Xie Tianxiao and pop singer-songwriter Shang Wenjie.
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