Pop singer Wang Lee Hom was heading for a career as a classical musician but lack of confidence cut short his pursuit four years ago. Having picked up the violin when he was six, the Chinese-American gave it up because he didn't think he would excel as a violinist.
"I realised that even if i spent a lifetime practising, i would not be better than the best violinists of this century. And when i see the 14-year-olds playing the violin so well, i questioned the contribution i would make as a violinist," he said.
"I asked my violin teacher if i had the quality to be a good violinist. He said that if i had to ask that question, it means that i'm just not good enough." So he chucked the instrument aside and went on to be a singer-composer.
Born in Rochestor, New York state, Lee Hom, 22, recently graduated from Willaims College in Massachusetts --taking a momnet to point out that Prime Minister, Goh Chok Tong is an alumnus. But even before he finished his studies, he had released four Mandarin albums. He was in town to promote his fifth ablum, Revolution, which ahs sold 200.000 copies in Taiwan since August.
Thinking that the Mandarin music industry was too steeped in ballads, he wanted to transpose his own brand of music to Taiwan. "The first Mandarin song i heard was Andy Lau's Water of Forgetfulness when i was 17. The songs then such as (Jacky Cheung's) Farewell Kiss and (Eric Moo's) Too Silly were so boring. The tunes were all so similar," he said. "I felt that there's room for improvement in Chinese music and decided to try for Taiwan."
He writes many of his own songs, in both English and Mandarin, even though he still speaks Mandarin with a an American accent. Besides love ballads, he has experimented with jazz, R&B, soft rock, and even gospel-style music arrangements.
However, Lee Hom doesn't what to shove his music down listener's throats. "For my first album, i was unfamiliar with the scene and didn't want to appear culturally arrogant and make people listen to my music," he said. "Three years since my debut, i think my music style has broadened and people now can accept a variety of music. Music companies are also more daring in releasing alternatives albums."
What would he do for a living otherwise?
He simply said: "I cannot fathom not doing music."