Wowkie Zhang or Da Zhang Wei, is a Chinese singer-songwriter.
Early life and career
1983–1998
Zhang Wei was born into a working-class family in Beijing in 1983. Despite family financial struggles, his parents worked two jobs to support his musical talent. He studied in primary school in Chongwen District in Beijing. He went to Children's Cultural Palace to practice singing. At the age of 10, he won the first prize in the Chongwen District singing competition, and the Beijing Middle School and Primary School Students Singing Competition. In Fourth Grade, Zhang Wei and his fellow singers in the Children’ Cultural Palace attended the Children's Choir competition in Russia and won the Second Prize. In the Fifth Grade, Zhang Wei passed the audition and became a member of Central China TV station Yinhe Teenage Art Troupe, where many in the contemporary Chinese pop world, including Faye Wong, Cai Guoqing, WANG Xuechun and Liu Chunyan, originated from.
1998–2009
In February 1998, Zhang Wei and his friends performed in a pub, met artist agent Hong Feng, and formed the band The Flowers. In June, he was chosen as one of the Six Most Talented Teenagers of China. As Zhang Wei was a common name in the Chinese language, he became known by his stage name, Da Zhang Wei. The Flowers was China's first teenage band. In January 1999, The Flowers were signed to a small Beijing-based Chinese independent label, New Bees Music, and released their first album, On the Other Side of Happiness. The album turned out to be a success with many hit songs like "Stillness", "Disillusion" and "School's Out". In December 2001, they released their second album, Strawberry Statement. In 2002, they won the Media Award in the 2nd Chinese Pop Music. In 2004, they won the Most Popular Band in the 4th Global Mandarin Pop Chart and the Chinese Music Pioneer Chart. The same year, the band was signed with EMI. In June, they released You Are My Romeo. From 2004 to 2005, the band experimented with various musical styles including hip hop and techno. In 2005, the band released "Xi Shua Shua". This is a milestone in Zhang Wei's career as the song make him a household name. Xi Shua Shua became an instant hit in the mainland China and it is still a must-have in parties, square dancing and karaoke up till today. The song made Zhang Wei a permanent place in Mandarin Pop history. This popular song is even used in parties in other countries, such as Malaysia. Xi Shua Shua was included on the band's fourth studio album, Hua Ji Wang Chao, or Blooming Dynasty, released in July 2005. The album won numerous awards around China and sold some 200,000 copies in the forty days after its release. The Flowers disbanded in 2009 and Da Zhang Wei embarked on his solo career. Since 2009, he has released 5 albums and over 13 singles, achieving a record sales of over 5 million copies.
2009-present
He became known to younger audience as a host and TV personality. In 2016, Da Zhang Wei became a co-host for China's top talk showDay Day Up. In 2014, he released "Beier Shuang", meaning Super Euphoric. He performed the song in China Central TV's Spring Festival Gala, a show viewed by Chinese audiences at home and abroad. The song became an instant national sensation. Psy used "Beier Shuang" when he performed with Chinese girl band SNH48 in China. In 2016, he created a theme song for the advertisement of AliPay's new function, combining Beijing Opera with EDM. His 2018 song Am a Popping Candy combines EDM with traditional Yunan ethnic style and Shangdong clapper talk, an ancient storytelling music performance. In 2016, he performed in Heroes of Remix as a guest performer, remixing Beijing Opera, Beijing folk song the Beijing Chick and a 1980s rock classic—the Long March. The final result was New Beijing Chick. In the same show, he also remixed the theme song of 80s cartoon Hulu Brothers. In this show he brought forward the concept of CDM—China Dance Music. He gave a short speech, appealing for all musicians to create music with their own ethnic style, rather than forgetting their own cultural identity by following the international trend. In 2018 Da Zhang Wei appeared as a judge in Rave Now. In the show, Da Zhang Wei scouted the winning performer—JIANG Liang. He also scouted a team of EDM musicians who were mainly performing in underground pubs and bars in China. He and his team created many songs that remix ethnic music with EDM. For example, he created Nezha, which tells the story of a hero from traditional Chinese myth.
Artistry
Influences
Da Zhang Wei's early influence came from Green Day and Sex Pistols. After he went solo, he turned his interest to EDM. He also tries to incorporate elements of traditional Chinese art forms into his music.
Song writing
Unlike many other singers in mandarin pop, Da Zhang Wei writes his own songs. As of January 2019, he has written 190 songs. In the Flowers period, he was the writer of all songs in the band's albums.
