30 ‘All the Things You Never Knew’ about Leehom (interview)

Leehom’s boyish good looks may make your heart flip-flop and flutter, his melodic voice may render you a little helpless; but more resides behind that appealing exterior and extraordinary musical talent.

This 34-year-old Chinese pop-sensation goes beyond his call of duty as an artist and pushes everything to new levels. The interview gives you an insight to the inner workings and philosophical viewpoints of Leehom. You’ll be taking a peek into ‘All the Things You Never Knew’ about this multi-talented artist in order to appreciate his creative endeavours more than you have before.

Leehom sheds some light on his new album The 18 Martial Arts, directing Love In Disguise while starring in it, addressing the “gay” issue in the movie, collaborating with Usher, finding his soul-mate and having “arrived” in his career.


Q: How’s The 18 Martial Arts different from all your other albums?

A: The biggest difference is that I combined a movie with an album. I don’t think anybody has ever done that in Asia before. But it’s something that happens quite a bit in the careers of other international artists like Eminem‘s 8 Mile, or Hannah Montana with her album and movie. There are a lot of great examples of films with albums that really have a synergy...not so much in Asia, so that’s what I wanted to do.

Q: How do you think acting and directing has influenced your music?

A: It has changed my music a lot, especially the inspiration for each song. When I get into a character or a story, I start finding myself writing from their perspective. It’s very different from writing in my own perspective. That happened in Lust Caution, when I got into that character of Kuang Yu Min, I started writing these very weird lyrics and old, old styled melodies that are very different from what I’d typically do. So, there was no hip hop in that album at all. It was very retro music from the 30s, 40s and 50s.

For this album, because I was playing the part of a pop star, even the beginning of the opening song  was very hip hop and dance-not something that I do typically-but I was thinking to create that character, what kind of music would he do? Some of the songs in the album are definitely Du Ming Han’s songs.

Q: Which came first, the album or the movie?

A: They were both growing at the same time, these two halves of my brain.

Q: You played many roles in your new movie by acting and directing. What was your biggest challenge?

The biggest challenge was directing because it’s a very difficult job and something that I did not have much experience doing. Music is my neighbourhood; I drive around every corner I just know so well. But directing was a new area, so there were a lot of roads that I had to tread and trick. It took more time and I was less familiar with the territory. Now, that I have tread that path, I know how to accomplish a lot of things that I have never done before. In future projects I will definitely be more informed.

Q: Tell us some things about you that we never knew...

A: The movie reveals a lot of things that you never knew. Ah Duh the character is probably closer to the real me than the pop star Du Ming Han. You’ll see me being really goofy, silly, awkward...stupid [laughs]. I think that’s a lot more the guy that I am in real life. I didn’t mean to create some autobiographical parts of this movie but I think inevitably that happened.

Q: Would you fall for a school girl?

A: Well, [leans back to think about it for a second]...if she played the zheng like that, then, maybe...yeah.

Q: You addressed the “gay” issue in the movie and highlighted it in the trailer. Why did you do that?

A: I wanted to give people a taste of the kind of sarcasm and humour that might be in this film. I’ve been in the pop culture industry for so long and seen so many things that are really ridiculous. I deal with those things on a daily basis in a sarcastic and humorous way myself when these things happen to me. There is no other way to deal with that kind of thing than to make light of it and joke about it.

Q: What has happened in your life that has caused you to be so reflective and philosophical in this album at such a young age?

A: I started at such a young age. My first time to Malaysia was my first album... [ponders] that was in 1996. That was like 14 years ago. When you’re young and you have all these huge dreams and aspirations and dedicate your life, like I have, to accomplishing those things. After they’re done, then you realize: ‘that was great but there are actually other things that might be a bit more realistic, simpler and more meaningful.’

Starting out to do a movie was like this abstract and almost untouchable mountain. Then you do it and once it’s done you realize that you’ve actually climbed the mountain. Sure there’re other mountains even higher and more fantastic. But then you gain a deeper understanding about what you really want in life. So that’s why I wrote in this album a bunch of songs that were much simpler, realistic and meaningful.

Q: You act, direct and play so many musical instruments. Are you concerned that people will see you as a jack of all trades but a master of none?

A: This is a very cool term [lights up]. I love, in language, when people come up with these idioms. In English, Jack of all trades but master of none is a very pessimistic way of looking at it. In Chinese, we say 18 Martial Arts and each one you can master. It’s the same idiom but with an optimistic twist to it. I like this idiom that’s why I made it the title of my album.

In our day and age people change professions so often. It’s not like you’re just a blacksmith for your whole life like people used to be. Now, people have to be more renaissance-like, open minded to different styles, different skills and not be afraid to take on things they don’t know. Like being a director, I did not know how to do that in the beginning but I just jumped into it. Sure, there were setbacks but I survived, grew and learnt a lot from the experience.

Q: You said it’s difficult being the director, why did you play the main lead instead of commissioning an actor?

A: Because of the nature of the script. I wrote it so I kind of had myself in mind from the beginning. I just wanted to take advantage of the fact that I can have this actor, [points to himself] working for free [laughs].

Q: You talk about finding your soul mate in the movie, what is your soul mate like in real life?

A: I think it’s a very abstract concept and that’s what makes it beautiful and so appealing. In reality, it might not be so concrete. But in the movie you can give people the illusion and the feeling of what it might feel like. I think that’s enough.

Q: For someone who does not like to talk about his love life, why did you decide to do something like Love in Disguise?

A: I am a romantic and sentimental person and this is what I wanted to say when I wrote the story. I did it with complete disregard to any kind of qualms I might have about my own personal life. In the beginning, I kept on telling myself that this is the story of this other guy...I kept telling myself that it’s not Wang Leehom. I really believed that.

Q: How would you define having arrived in your career?

A: I think I arrived a long time ago. There are different kinds of arrivals that I continue to make. I guess I arrived as a director this year...I’ve arrived as an actor; I’ve arrived as a musician. I don’t want to put a past tense to it.

I learnt a lot this year...When am I really done? When am I done editing? I mean there are so many different things in this movie that I could have just gone crazy about it for another half a year maybe. But there’s always a point where you’ve got to say, this is done, let’s move on to the next thing. So that applies to your career as well.

When have I arrived? I won such and such an award so... haha ‘pat yourself on the back’ ...I would never do that. I am always thinking, this is an experience, it’s a process and the process is a lot more important to me than the result. 

Q: Do you plan to take your music West?

A: I think my music does go West and I think 10-years-ago we used to talk about like going into Hollywood or doing an English album. Now, you see things that happen in the world that change...like Usher came to Beijing and sung with me in Chinese. We did not see that coming. That shows how Western artists are paying more attention to Chinese music in the market and the changes in the global pop culture. You’ll see more of that definitely; Western artists following Usher’s lead. He’s like one of the biggest artists in the world.

The same as Hollywood, you see a lot of Hollywood productions coming to the East. Jackie Chan just worked with Will Smith on Karate Kid, so there is no more, in the future thinking, ‘Let’s go to Hollywood...it’s like... you be yourself and this is a global market.’ I am looking forward to doing more global collaborations in film and music.

Q: What about audiences? How do we get audiences from the West to look East in terms of music?

A: It’s harder than film and television because in film and TV you can have subtitles. I saw Love in Disguise yesterday and there were [subtitles] in Malay...I was like ‘Whoa!’ It’s much more accessible to somebody who’s not a native speaker to watch a foreign language film with subtitles than it is to listen to a foreign language song and get into it.

It happens very rarely and it’s always a particular type of song that can cross-over like -‘Sorry Sorry’ from Super Junior, ‘Nobody’ by the Wonder Girls or ‘Macarena’. It’s always a particular type of song that can go worldwide. Maybe the lyrics did not mean much anyway [laughs]. It’s like this whole specific vibe that everybody can just dig. I don’t really see myself doing that, but I see myself collaborating with international artists. Another way of attracting Western audiences to Chinese music is by working with Western artists.

Q: Do you have any names in mind?

A: Well, Usher. We had a great time together. I think he is very open-minded. So, that’ll be a great start. We’re good friends now. He sings in Chinese quite well actually. He had the whole song ‘Wi Yi’ memorized. It sounded pretty good to me; I was impressed.

*Interview by Felicia Chin



Click on more Leehom coverage on hotxpress below:

There is no disguise in Malaysia’s love for Leehom

Leehom’s ‘The 18 Martial Arts’ Press Conference

Homaniacs mania!

王力宏:当儿子,不够乖 当"优质偶像",全靠伪装

2010-08-29 10:36 南方都市报

●国籍：美国

　　●出生地：纽约罗切斯特

　　●出生日期：1976年5月17日

　　●学历：WilliamsCollege学士学位，BerkleeCollegeof Music双学位硕士

　　●专修：音乐（音乐剧、小提琴、爵士钢琴、爵士鼓、作曲、世界音乐史、音乐理论、音乐教育）

　　成龙曾说过这样一段话：“我真的妒忌他，为什么有人如此完美？高大、帅气，音乐上什么都懂，又有语言天分，会作曲作词，工作又勤奋……我真希望他是我的儿子。”

　　这个连大哥都心生“妒忌”的“他”，名叫王力宏。

　　你可能知道他优秀：出道以来，他以俊朗的外形和音乐才华成为乐坛的“优质偶像”，最近初执导筒的新片《恋爱通告》又收获了不俗的成绩，截至上周末，票房已近5000万元。但你或许不知道：他的才能不止是在演艺方面，他语言禀赋极高，精通英语、汉语、法语，还“略懂”日语、粤语、客家话和闽南语。绘画也不错，学生时代的画作曾获大奖……但十八般武艺傍身的他，在广州接受南都报记者独家专访时却透露，“因为不是出生在大城市，所以从没想过会成为大明星”，在“比你们想象的晚很多”的时候才得到家人的认可。至于如何成为几乎零绯闻的“优质偶像”，他坦率得令人吃惊：“伪装啊！”看着我诧异的眼神，他再次清晰地说：“就是伪装。”这点真实，在出道十多年的王力宏身上，显得尤其可贵。

　　1

　　电影

　　第一次当导演，把所有信用一次都刷完

　　“力宏你就是伯牙，我们所有的粉丝都是你的子期、你的知音！”8月12日晚，王力宏亲临广州UM E影城和观众见面，为自己的电影《恋爱通告》造势。首映结束后，现场粉丝的热烈程度让影院邀请来的二十多家香港媒体惊讶。毕竟这只是王力宏的第一部电影作品。

　　这部仍显稚嫩的电影作品，票房已近5000万元，相信王力宏的个人魅力在其中起了很大的助力。“我真的是卯起劲来做，拿我最大的诚意，想做一部‘很有国际水平’的喜剧。”第一次当导演的王力宏，连轴转地跑了10个城市做宣传，跑了二十多家影院，“每个戏院放映时，我都要听听音响有没有问题，有问题我就直接去找放映师傅。我很龟毛、很挑剔，对每个声音、频率、每只喇叭要求都很高”。

　　虽然音乐成绩有目共睹，但当电影导演对他而言等于“一切归零”了，“我有名气，可没有成绩。麦当娜也拍过电影，也一样（遇到困难）。但好处是，我在这个圈子这么多年，有很多朋友，所以谢娜、方大同、陈冲老师，还有很多主创都是友情客串的，都是友情价。”他毫不谦虚地说，“《恋爱通告》如果在好莱坞拍的话，同样的质感可能要十倍的预算。我就充分利用我的人脉，把所有信用一次刷完。”

　　初尝导演滋味后，王力宏上瘾了，声称下一部电影剧本已经准备好，至于拍什么暂时保密，但绝不会再拍喜剧，“我不喜欢重复，下一部还会颠覆自己过去的斯文和文艺形象，给大家一个惊喜”。聊起涉足电影的动机时，记者开玩笑问他：是不是音乐不好赚钱了，所以音乐人都开始转战电影圈了？他表情很认真地强调，自己表示当导演绝不是玩票，更不是因为音乐不好做才转向的，“我觉得做音乐赚的钱比拍电影的多。我拍电影没有拿片酬，也没有导演费”。

　　在他的工作计划中，“音乐牺牲不了，那个是我的‘母语’，学音乐是用听觉来了解世界。这次当导演，跟美术、摄影师合作，大开了眼界。我觉得我开始变成一个有视觉的人了，从我最近的M V就可以看出，我的视觉跟以前完全不一样”。

　　2

　　家庭

　　亲戚不是医生就是律师

　　他们一直觉得我在唱反调

　　相信很多父母都和成龙一样，希望有这么一个才貌双全的儿子。但王力宏却自言，花了很长时间才让父母以他为荣———谁让他生长于一个“显赫”的家庭呢！

　　说显赫，并非因为王力宏家里有钱有权，而是他们一家子令人咋舌的“高学历”背景：父亲王大中毕业于台湾大学医学系，母亲李明姝毕业于台湾名牌大学政治大学，奶奶毕业于台湾清华大学，哥哥王力德和嫂子均是耶鲁大学博士，小他十岁的弟弟王力凯则被保送进美国麻省理工学院，表哥表嫂也都是哈佛大学毕业生……完全是一个典型的“高学历之家”！

　　王力宏也不逊色，从威廉姆斯音乐学院（W illiam s College）毕业后，在过去SA T（相当于美国高考）满分1600分的体制下，王力宏考了整整1600分（现行体制满分为2400分）。此外他又是柏克利音乐学院的硕士———柏克利是美国公立大学中排名第一、世界排名前几名的超一流名牌大学。这样的成绩，换在其他的家庭，怎么说都值得骄傲了。但在王力宏家却是个“小Case”，“因为他们（哥哥和弟弟）都特别厉害嘛。他们考大学的时候，连美国总统都给他们写过（推荐信），我弟弟考研还考了满分。两个人都是进了哈佛但不去读。相对而言，我不像他们那么喜欢读书，跟他们比起来，我的成绩是比较差的”。在父母看来，他并不是个乖孩子，“我天天都在搞摇滚啊，打鼓啊，他们一直觉得我是在唱反调”。在这样的家庭中长大，王力宏坦言：“小时候特别有压力。”

　　按照家人的规划，王力宏毕业以后应该成为一名医生。“我爸爸是医生，我所有亲戚不是医生就是律师，我们（三兄弟）只能二选一。”医生和律师，这两项职业都是在美华裔心目中的首选职业，但王力宏却志不在此。

　　他很早就展露了音乐才华：10岁开始学爵士鼓，12岁就成为RochesterPilhaum onica Youth Orchestra最年轻小提琴手，13岁自己作曲、写歌。但家里人并不认可他这方面的才能。为了让家人不再反对自己玩音乐，他努力学习并争取拿到好成绩。“我只有做好功课，考完试之后才能弹吉他，如果成绩好，我的奖赏永远都是‘你可以回到你的音乐了’，功课就是我必须应付的东西。”

　　王力宏一边弹琴打鼓，一边努力学习，高中毕业时成为了MonroeCounty高中毕业模范生代表，荣获NATIONALMERITSCHOLAR（美国高中毕业生最高荣誉）。大学4年，他每年都利用暑假回台湾发行专辑，9月开学即返校念书，不但没有荒废学业，毕业时更以优良的成绩拿到荣誉学生证书。“但家人还是认为我玩音乐是暂时打工，不希望我全心投入。”

　　但其实，他自己小时候也没有想过长大以后要做什么，“我成长的地方比较偏僻，不是大城市，我从没想到自己会成为大明星，可能我父母也是吧”。看到王力宏的坚持，父母在他大学毕业之后，仅仅认可并接受了“这是一样正当的工作”。“也许是因为他们已经看到我把整个生命都投入进去了。”王力宏笑笑说。问及父母什么时候开始以他为荣时，他卖了个关子说：“比你们想象的要晚很多！”这个时间就是王力宏发行第四张专辑的时候（2002年《音乐进化论》）。当时的王力宏早已红遍两岸三地。

3

　　偶像

　　伪装躲避狗仔队

　　家里备有胡子假发

　　《恋爱通告》宣传期间，他曾在接受电视采访时，说电影上映后会公布自己的另一半。记者追问这个问题，他的答案是：另一半就是《恋爱通告》。这真是个令人无法再追问下去的“冷笑话”。

　　已过而立之年的王力宏至今单身，绯闻也只是凤毛麟角。宣传期间，网上爆出一组他和刘亦菲的偷拍图，却很自然被归入电影宣传一列，没有人相信这真是个“绯闻”……相比其他绯闻缠身的明星，他真是位“优质偶像”。说到保持“优质”的秘诀，他笑答：“靠伪装啊！”看着记者惊讶的表情，他说：“对，伪装。我很多好莱坞的朋友也都是伪装的，（你知道）狗仔队一般都很凶的……只要你心里过关了就好了。”

　　他有点得意地讲述自己如何通过乔装躲过狗仔队，“乔装其实从我很小的时候就开始玩的，有些艺人很幸运，戴个帽子就看不出他是谁，或者有些女生她不化妆就看不出她是谁（笑）……而我戴帽子和戴墨镜，从很远的地方过来，大家一下就知道我是王力宏……不知道是为什么，所以我必须得更用心乔装。我家里有胡子、假发、还有文身。”尽管如此，他还是无辜地说，自己其实很向往爱情，他曾在哥哥结婚后感慨：“看到他们在神父面前边宣誓边流泪，我真的很渴望自己的幸福快点到来！当一个人比当一个艺人更重要，我不否认我也很期待恋爱。”

　　瞧这显赫的一家子

　　外曾祖父：许凤藻，知名海军将领

　　祖父：王纯一

　　奶奶：许留芬台湾清华大学经济系毕业，经济学讲师

　　外婆：师范学院历史系毕业，曾为台湾著名主持人小燕姐（张小燕）的历史老师

　　舅公：许倬云台大历史系、美国芝加哥大学博士毕业，著名史学家

　　姑爷：李模西南联大法系毕业，美国哈佛大学法学硕士，著名法学家

　　表叔：李建复《龙的传人》原唱者，著名民歌手音乐人

　　父亲：王大中台湾大学医学系毕业医生

　　母亲：李明姝台湾政治大学毕业

　　哥哥：王力德美国耶鲁大学医学博士

　　弟弟：王力凯保送美国麻省理工学院，研究生毕业

　　表哥：哈佛大学毕业

　　表嫂：哈佛大学毕业

　　南都记者 方夷敏 实习生黄小华

http://nf.nfdaily.cn/nfdsb/content/2010-08/29/content_15323784.htm

「恋爱通告」，让我笑中有泪

「恋爱通告」，王导第一部亲自执导拍摄的电影，自2010年初就早已在歌迷间盛传许久。过了数个月的期待，这部电影终于在马上映了。身为力宏的粉丝，这部电影我们又怎能错过？！带着雀跃的心情，我们在第一时间购买了戏票，踏入戏院观赏这部爱情喜剧电影。

电影一开场，杜明汉演唱着「杜you love me」。那音效与有力劲的舞蹈给予观众十分震撼的视觉与听觉享受，仿佛置身在演唱会现场。演唱会中歌迷热请的呼唤与杜明汉魅力四射的演出，顿时让我感到热血沸腾，深入其竟。之后杜明汉以警卫与舞狮的伪装引发戏院里第一波笑弹。

戏中笑点很多。当阿得牵着一头羊，与手抱公鸡的魏志伯走在路上的时候，那一幕真的让我看得笑不可仰。当他们在演奏厅欣赏民乐演奏时，魏志伯随着那高潮迭起的音乐越睡越浓的时刻，让我不禁觉得一阵好笑。另一幕让观众捧腹大笑的片段就是当阿得与魏志伯在系主任面前面试的时候。两人夸张与有默契的演奏与系主任那滑稽的表情，让电影院里顿时笑声连连，十分有趣。还有一幕，当慕凡学长说他拿到杜明汉演唱会入门票的时候，阿得那随着音乐节奏扭曲的表情真叫人感到好笑。而方大同在戏中的戏分虽少，但那娱乐与搞笑性质十成十！

除了搞笑的成分，内心戏也是不遑多让的。宋晓青在戏里的内心戏比任何人还来得多。剧中她并没有很鲜明的个性，温温和和的，是个心地善良与温暖的女孩。 有一幕当她以剪断琴弦来发泄情绪时，那感觉还真是到味。另一幕让我热泪盈眶的剧情就是在接近尾声的时刻，当杜明汉说知音难寻的时侯--我能够体会到当中的无奈与渴望。。。现实生活中的大名星，在脱去了明星的光环之后，又有谁能够真正的了解及在乎你呢？又有谁能够明白你的感受？！心疼与心酸啊。。

另一个让我印象深刻的角色 （除了杜明汉与宋晓青之外），应该是那系主任。单看到他的脸在荧幕中出现，不需要任何语言，都会让我发笑。而慕凡学长那自命不凡的态度也让我印象深刻 --尤其是在看见阿得在他身后拿着很多书本的时刻，让人好想扁他噢＞.＜而Joan姐更是演活了经纪人的角色，用心良苦呀。。。而魏志伯的出现让戏中出现了许多笑料，是戏里重要的开心果。

在力宏的电影中，音乐当然是不可或缺的因素。真的很喜欢那些音乐在电影中的呈现，让观众的情绪能够更加融入于剧情。戏中音乐一直不断随着剧情的需要而转换，有快乐的，有悲伤的，有兴奋的，有失落的，有古典的，有流行的，等等。。。那澎湃与内敛的旋律让观众的情绪不自觉地随之起伏。

电影里头让我印象深刻的曲子有几首。像是阿得在教室里弹奏起「你不知道的事」时，顿时鸡皮疙瘩遍布全身，眼泪开始在眼眶打滚，不愿让它落下。而当「唯一」，在剧中响起的时候，我感觉到阿得那身不由己与害怕失去的呼唤。还有一首，「十八般武艺」，更是让人惊艳--中国民乐原来也可以很流行。我只能说，力宏的音乐造诣让整部戏曾色不少，也让更多观众同时体验到中国传统音乐与流行音乐的奥妙。

看完了这部电影，我只能说「恋爱通告」，超乎我想像中的好看。或许它没有好莱坞电影的大制作与特效，但它给人一股清新与放松的感觉，让人忘却压力与烦恼，和剧中人物一起享受校园中那单纯与甜蜜的恋爱。