Job Q&A

by Peter Pan

April 13, 2000

Name: Wang Lee-hom
Birthplace: Rochester, New York, US
Occupation: Singer, composer and songwriter

The gifted musician Wang Lee-hom not only sings and composes. He also plays the guitar, piano and violin. This American-born-Chinese started his music career in Taiwan in 1995. With his gift of music, there is no doubt he is on the road to success.
才华洋溢的音乐家王力宏不仅能唱能写歌，他也精通吉他、钢琴以及小提琴。这位美裔华人１９９５年在台湾开始他的音乐事业，凭借着他的音乐天赋，力宏毫无疑问地正朝着成功之路迈进。

Following the success of the previous two albums "Revolution" and "Impossible to Miss You", undoubtedly, Wang's latest album, "Forever's First Day" has put plenty of pressure on him. He not only has written and composed most of the songs, but also the 24-year-old heart-throb has single-handedly produced, arranged and co-ordinated all of the songs on the album.
有鉴于前两张专辑《公转自转》、《不可能错过你》的成功，力宏的最新专辑《永远的第一天》不可避免对他造成不小的压力。力宏不仅谱写大部份歌曲的创作，这位现年２４岁的大众情人更一手包办了所有歌曲的制作、编曲以及后制。

What are your plans?
你的计划是什么？

I am still currently promoting my latest album "Forever's First Day". I tried to experiment with different genres, like rap, hip-hop, jazz, R&B and even classical music throughout some Cantonese/Mandarin songs, such as Descendant of Dragon, Forever's First Day, Don't Fear and The Songs That Love Me.
我现在还在为最新专辑《永远的第一天》做宣传，在一些广东歌和中文歌，比如〈龙的传人〉、〈永远的第一天〉、〈不要害怕〉和〈爱我的歌〉，实验性地融入不同的曲风，比如饶舌、嬉哈、爵士、R&B甚至是古典乐。

The song familiar with Chinese Descendant of Dragon is a new remix, infusing my own experiences of living in Western society. I am very happy, because I know it is becoming very popular in karaoke lounges.
这首大家熟知的中文歌〈龙的传人〉是新的混音版本，加入了我自己在西方社会里的生活经验。我很开心，因为我知道这首歌在卡拉ＯＫ店里很热门。

I have just finished two joint-concerts. One with Jeffrey Chang in late September and the other with Leon Lai, Cass Phang and Candy Lo in early October. I am satisfied with my performances, and I am very excited to know that there are many fans here to support me.
我刚结束两场拼盘演唱会，一场是九月和张信哲的，另一场是十月初和Leon Lai、彭羚、盧巧音 。我对自己的演出感到满意，非常开心知道这里有很多支持我的歌迷。

Producing and composing Cantonese compositions is really a great challenge for me. I enjoy it so much.
制作和谱写广东歌对我来说是很大的挑战，我还蛮乐在其中的。

Why and how did you get into music?
你为何、以及如何从事音乐相关工作？

I grew up with a musical background. My parents are musicians and they influenced me a lot from my childhood.
我出生于音乐世家，父母都是音乐家，而他们在我的童年时期就对我有很大的影响。

When I was three, I started to take an interest in music. At the age of six, I started learning the violin. When I was eight, I began to learn the piano, and when I was 15, I started to compose and write lyrics.
三岁的时候，我就对音乐很有兴趣了。六岁开始学习小提琴，八岁学钢琴，到了１５岁，就试着自己谱曲和写词。

I graduated from Williams College in the United States, majoring in music in 1998, and now I am studying at Berklee College of Music in Boston where I am majoring in professional music to widen my musical scope. I dare not claim that I am a music talent, I learn and grow every day.
１９９８年，我从美国的Williams College毕业，主修音乐。现在在波士顿的Berklee音乐学院念书，主修专业音乐来扩展音乐上的视野，我不敢说我是音乐天才，但我每天都在学习、成长。

How and when did you start your showbiz career?
你如何以及从何时开始你的演艺事业？

When I still was a student at Williams College, I often joined the school band to jam. I also sang, acted and even wrote scripts for my school musicals.
当我还在Williams College就读时，我就在学校玩band、参与歌唱、戏剧演出、甚至自己写学校音乐剧的剧本。

When I was on summer vacation in 1995, I went to Taiwan and took part in a singing contest. The songs I sang were Eric Moo's Too Silly and Andy Lau's Mong Ching Shui. I made it to the finals, but I didn't win.
１９９５年的暑假，我到台湾参加一个歌唱比赛，唱了巫启贤的〈太傻〉和刘德华的〈忘情水〉。虽然有进入决赛，但没有赢。

Fortunately, my performance won praise and afterwards I was given the chance to sign with Rio Music Production House in Taiwan. That was when I really started concentrating on my showbiz career. I stayed with the company until 1997 and released four Mandarin albums. Afterwards, I was free and signed a contract with Hong Kong's Sony Music.
很幸运地，我的表演获到肯定，之后得到和台湾Rio Music Production House签约的机会，这是我真正开始专注于演艺事业的缘起。我在这家公司待到１９９７年，发行了四张中文专辑。之后，回复自由身并和香港新力音乐签了约。

What is your dream?
你的梦想是什么？

My dream is to make my music, especially my Chinese music, as a contribution to society regardless of fame and money.
我的梦想是不在计较名利，我希望自己的音乐，特别是我的中文歌曲，能对这个社会有所贡献。

I really hope I can produce unique Chinese music in my own way. It is very challenging and important for me, as a composer and singer. Doing it in Chinese is much more rewarding than recording in English. I hope people from overseas will think Chinese music is wonderful. Its culture is full of emotion, soul and passion.
我真的希望可以用自己的方式创作出独特的华语音乐，对我来说，身为一名创作者兼歌手，这很重要也相当具挑战性。以中文做到这件事比用英文录制来得有成就。我希望海外人士会觉得华语音乐是很棒的，它的文化充满了情感、灵魂和热情。

I do hope I can hold my debut concerts in Hong Kong, but I don't know when or what format they will be. Anyway, I would like to give something refreshing to excite my Hong Kong fans.
真心希望可以在香港举办我的第一场演唱会，但我不知道会是在何时、以何种形式呈现。不管怎样，我愿意做些新鲜事让我的香港歌迷开心。


Do you like acting?
你喜欢演戏吗？

Yes, I like acting very much. I often acted in plays and musicals during my school days. My life experience and practice helps my acting which in turn may benefit my music career. Sometimes, I not only acted, but also composed and produced. For me, "acting" is really an exceptional opportunity to learn and express my thoughts and inner feelings.
是的，我非常喜欢演戏，以前在学校就常表演戏剧或音乐剧。我的生活经验和历练帮助我的演出，甚至是反过来有利于我的歌唱事业。对我而言，「演戏」是额外学习、表达想法和内在感觉的机会。

I am very lucky, because I was given a chance to act in a short-film, entitled "From Ashes to Ashes", directed by veteran singer Leslie Cheung Kwok-wing in co-operation with Radio Television Hong Kong and Hong Kong Council of Smoking and Health. It features Leslie himself, Anita Mui Yim-fong, Karen Mok Man-wai, Gigi Leung Wing-kei, Joey Yung Cho-yee, Sammul Chan Kin-fung and Rain Li Choi-wah.
我很幸运，因为我有幸参与短片《无烟草》的演出，这出戏是由资深歌手张国荣执导，香港有线电视和香港烟害健康委员会一起合作！并由张国荣自己亲身参与演出，其它演员有梅艳芳、莫文蔚、梁咏琪、容祖儿、陈键锋、李彩桦等人。

The 40-minute short-film aims to arouse the public awareness of the serious consequences of smoking. The anti-smoking short film will be produced in VCDs, and will be distributed to local primary and secondary schools as a teaching kit.
这部四十分钟短片的目的在提醒大家抽烟的严重后果，这部反烟短片会制作成VCD，并发送给当地初等及中等学校当作教学宣导影片。

What do you usually do for leisure?
你空闲时间都做些什么？

I am not lying, I really don't have much leisure time. But when I am free, I like running, playing baseball and doing my college work, as well as practicing piano and violin.
没骗你，我真的没有太多空闲时间，但是我有空的时候，我喜欢跑步打棒球和作大学作业，也会练练钢琴和小提琴。

Of course, practicing singing is a must. I take music lessons twice a week in New York. My music tutor is William Riley, who is really excellent. Besides myself, he also teaches Michael Bolton, Bryan Adams and Stevie Wonder. I am very fortunate to be studying with him.
当然，练习歌唱是必须的，在纽约我一周有两堂音乐课，我的老师是很有才华的William Riley，除了我以外，老师还教Michael Bolton, Bryan Adams以及Stevie Wonder，我很幸运能跟他学音乐。

What is your definition of a musician?
你对音乐家的定义是什么？

I think a musician does not care what music degree he or she has. "Music" is not like other academic subjects.
我认为一位音乐家不在乎他拥有的音乐学位，音乐不是一般的学科。

A real musician must completely honour and respect music, disregarding the commercial side. There are so many world-renowned musicians who do not have a doctorate, but they are excellent musicians.
真正的音乐家必须完全荣耀与尊重音乐，不计较商业的部份，有很多世界知名的音乐家没有博士学位，但他们是真正有天份的音乐人。

What is your daily routine?
你每天必做的事是什么？

I often stay in my studio to compose and do some music arrangements for almost the whole day. I try to get in the habit of writing music and I listen to a variety of music every day to get inspiration for my songwriting.
通常一整天我都待在录音间里谱曲或是编曲，我试着培养写音乐的习惯，所以每天听不同类型的音乐来得到创作的灵感。

During my school days, I was often asked to write pieces in different styles in composition class.Nowadays, I could easily create a song and give it to others, but I don't want to give people something of low quality.
在学校的时候，我经常被要求在作文课上写作不同风格的作品。现在,我可以很轻易地创作出一首歌给别人，但希望维持一定的品质。

What type of girls do you like?
你喜欢何种类型的女孩？

I like a girl with a strong character, emotionally stable, unique and intelligent. She would speak up and sometimes challenge me to show me her independence of mind and motivation to live for herself.
我喜欢有个性强烈、性情稳定、独特和聪明的女生，她可以和我聊得来，有的时候还会挑战我，以证明她心智的独立和为自己生活的动机。


What is the most unforgettable event in your life?
生活中，什么事情最令你难忘？

You might think the unforgettable event for most singers must be the first time he/she was awarded some prizes in recognition of their singing achievement in different sorts of awards presentation ceremonies. However, that is absolutely not for me. I don't care whether I win awards or not, but it is important for my own music to be recognized as a contribution to society regardless of fame and money.
大家可能以为大多数的歌手最难忘的是一定在各式各样颁奖礼上，他们第一次因为音乐方面的成就参与而上台领奖。然而，这绝对不是我的经验，我不在乎我是否得奖，也不计较名或利。自己的音乐能否能被认可是种贡献，这才是最重要的。

For me, the most unforgettable event in my life was the time I composed and wrote the script for my school's musical, "The Bite That Burns", which I directed at the age of 21. With tears and sweat, I devoted myself to work on it. It was great. I am proud of it.
对我而言，生命中最难忘的事是我自己谱写学校音乐剧＂The Bite That Burns＂的时光，这出戏是我在２１岁时执导的。有苦有乐，我全力投入，这出剧很棒，我感到很骄傲！

If there was a next life, what would you want to be?
假使有来生的话，你希望做什么？

I absolutely don't want to be a singer/songwriter again. I think the world is becoming more hi-tech, thus I would love to be an astronaut to explore outer space. It would be cool.
我绝对不希望再当个歌手兼词曲创作者，我认为这个世界已渐渐高科技化，因此我希望当个探索外层空间的航天员，一定很酷！


Source: http://content.monster.com.hk/jobqanda/7053/

http://bbs.leehom-cn.com/thread-77-1-1.html