Wei Wei

b. 1964, Hohohot, Inner Mongolia

Pop singer

Wei Wei had a resonant mezzo-soprano voice when young. As girl of eight, she returned to her mother’s home town in Guangxi where she learned ballet and local opera, which cultivated her talent for the performing arts. At fifteen, she managed to enrol in Beijing’s Central Conservatory of Music, and did chores on the side until she became a household name with her debut, The Magic of Love (Ai de fengxian). Her subsequent success won her the name of ‘Queen of the Chinese Pop Singers’, being invited to sing the theme songs for the Asian Games in 1990, the East Asian Games in 1993, and the 7th National Games of China.

Wei Wei was also one of the first Chinese to compete in international popsinging contests, winning the Best-Focused Beauty Prize at the 24th Poland Nabot International Music Festival. She performed at Carnegie Hall in New York, at the Atlanta Olympic Games in 1996, and at Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas in 1999. In 1992, Wei Wei met Dr Michael Smith, a Swedish cultural emissary and later instructor at the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing. Ten years of marriage and three sons later, they have become an example among Chinese of the ideal international marriage: Wei Wei has managed the roles of good mother and wife while remaining a successful pop singer. Her latest albums include/Believe in China (Xiangxin Zhongguo) (composed by her husband) and Wei Wei’s Devotion (Wei Wei’s fengxian).

HU MINGRONG