If Lee Hom ever put out a singles ad, it would probably go like this:"Single Chinese musician, looking for somebody who's willing to deal with late hours and messy hotel rooms and bad cooking, but promises undying love and affection and regualr trips to the opera."
Think you fit the bill? Well, get in line with rest of the adoring hordes of Lee Hom fans and cross your fingers really hard.
Award-winning talent
Lee Hom's already proven that he's got the talent to go with his
bronzed good looks, what with his previous album "Revolution"
sweeping both the Best Vocalist and Best Producer awards at the
last Golden Melody Awards in Taiwan. How did he feel about this
recognition?
"It was a great honour and a surprise. In the past, I'd always thought i wasn't eligible for the vocalist award 'cos my Mandarin (pronounciation) wasn't good enough," laughed the American-born Chinese. "But i'm not going to try to make it perfect 'cos that's not natural for me anyway."
True to his "Music man" label, Lee Hom was clearly more pleased with the Best Producer award, shared with producer Jim Lee.
Producing with Chen Wei
And making music is clearly what turns on the Williams College
graduate, who is currently scaling greater heights at Berklee, a
music conservatory where he's "doing mostly jazz".
In case you're wondering if the happy groovy cheeriness of his latest hit "Impossible To Miss You" (from his sixth album of the same name) is genuine--well it is. Lee Hom brings our imagination all the all into famous producer Chen Wei's multi-million dollar stuido in Taiwan to tell us why.
"It feels like Beverly Hills up there," says Lee Hom, smiling at the memory." Very beautiful and quiet and peaceful." "Then you get into the studio with Chen Wei and he's this happy-go-lucky guy who likes having a good time, like a kid..." he breathes contently.
So, you've got the two of us on the top of a mountain in the middle of nowhere and it's like 'yeah! party!' It's a great feeling," he gestures excitedly.
What makes him happy?
Okay, so there's the diligence, the talent and the good looks.
Plus there's all that emotion that comes through in his music,
especially that irrepressible cheekiness. I'm curious to know;
what does it takes to make Lee Hom happy?
"It doesn't take much really. when all's said and done, when i put the work down, i really just like to go out and have a good time and be relaxed."
"When i'm by myself--which is most of the itme 'cos i have my own apartment in Boston--i really like to go watch performance such as the Boston Symphony Orchestra. I see them at least once a week. That always makes me happy. Never fails," he reveals with a flash of passion for classical music.
What does he think of his future?
Maybe it's his own way of reflection, or maybe it's his greater
ambition that has truly set him apart from the rest of his flock.
And no one knows this better than Lee Hom himself. "There
are artistes and there are artistes," he shrugs."I don't
want to be copying trends. I don't want to be short-sighted and
commerical, like: will this album sell? I want to look at it in
terms of developing myself and my music."
"And i think i do have some unique qualities," he admits with some reluctance. With his eyes claaped firmly on the future, Lee Hom harbours great hope for the chinese music scene in the 21st century, and he's going to be right in the eye of this vibrant enviroment.
Is he looking for a lifetime partner?
But enough of the future. What about now? Where does romance fit
in the grand scheme of the things? Is there even a palce at all?
The unattached student-singer-composer-producer ponders the
question quite a while.
"Yeah, there's a big place for romance in my life. There's a spotlight and the set is all decorated, just waiting for that special person to step right into the spotlight, step into my life," he smilies mysteriously. Takers, anyone?
