YAM Loves: BiBi Zhou
All music snobs would balk at the idea of getting your music career jump started on a show like American Idol. After all, what do the general public know about talent, right? A handful of amazing artists go unnoticed by the masses every year everywhere in the world. Yet, this is what happened to Bibi. She made her first public appearance in Super Girl, an American Idol type of show only for girls.
I gotta admit, I fell for Bibi’s geeky, boyish charm. It didn’t help that after being signed up for Super Girl by her friends, she quickly went to the auditions all disheveled wearing her dad’s over-sized jacket and got mistaken for a boy. When she made it to the actual broadcast, she made herself a name singing popular songs like David Tao’s Love me or Him (爱我还是他) and Melody, Leehom Wang’s You Are my Love (爱的就是你) [1] [MV], and Jay Chou’s Black Humor (黑色幽默).
She even sang NSYNC’s Gone [1] and a bluesy vocal version of the ABC [1] — I really mean the ABC, not the Jackson 5 song. But no matter what she sings whatever the genre, you will never mistake Bibi’s style of singing with someone else’s, and she’ll never give you a performance where she sounds like anything but herself.
Back in her singing contest days, stripped of any fancy staging, costuming and just a very simple microphone, Bibi gathered enough votes to place a close second in a final that was voted by 400 million people. The rest is a list of albums, singles, music videos, stage performances, television appearances, interviews and awards.
This is a good starting point for anything Bibi, and guarantees no trolls in the comments saying negative things like wondering why she placed *cough* above a certain 3rd place.
Sorry, couldn’t help it.
@ghost, just shhh and check out the music.
@ghost, Not to knock your opinion, but I think she should have won overall. Chris Lee and Jane Zhang are great singers, no doubt, but Bibi’s voice just KILLS me. Every time.
@Mandy Jean, Bibi should have won… but I do understand the appeal of Chris Lee… as well as Jane Zhang’s voice. While I think Chris lacks the singing chops and Zhang lacks the personality spark, I think Bibi has a great balance of both.
Too bad Oprah didn’t pick her, huh?
After redirecting me from LiveJournal’s ~chinesesongs community to your article, it seems as if LiveJournal or perhaps the moderators of the community have flagged your comment as spam.
This is possibly the best written article I’ve ever read on Bibi Zhou. It not only tells the full story, it tells the truth and paves the way for other people to become fans as well. And to me, it looks like we’ve both been deeply touched by her artistry. I only wish it had happened sooner.
The truth about Bibi is that her music, once again, made me take an overall active interest in Chinese music and pop-culture in general. I’m just now figuring out the best places on the Web to find news on Chinese artists and so forth, so I’m still very much of a newbie. However, I also have to credit her with helping me to make a solid decision on the language I would like to learn sometime in the near future.
I always thought I would choose to learn Japanese in college, but as my interests have changed throughout the years – as well as my personal situation – I have come to the conclusion that it’s not only a smart idea to learn Mandarin (since so many people speak it) but it’s also the right decision for me. I may not be able to learn it through college since Full Sail University doesn’t offer any classes in it and I’m locked into their Creative Writing for Entertainment program for a while, but I’m looking into Rosetta Stone and other effective language-learning tools.
Thank you for writing this article! I must share it with all of my friends who have a penchant for foreign music, especially that of Asian origin.
@Mandy Jean, yeah. I noticed that on LJ – the pop-up said the comment was being held for moderation or screening or something.
Me too! Me too! I started out my Chinese interest after being reluctant for so many years where I told myself I wanted to learn Japanese (first), LOL! Then, after 2008 and the crazy summer Olympics (with the sports and media), I felt compelled to look into Chinese music more. Bibi’s been the final push to start Chinese classes haha.
You should read the post written by Reuben, who actually knows Bibi ;D
I’m a middle aged English guy. I was lucky a few years ago to have a Chinese friend introduce me to the bibi story via YouTube.
And now I feel I must be the only white male in England who is currently listening to a purloined version of UNLOCK. I’ll buy it when yesasia makes it available, but she’s the only artist I’d go to such lengths for
Little girl, big voice
@Stephen,, album review is out! xD
I know a white middle age guy who’s also a fan, so you’re not so alone. And I think we’re three non-Chinese speaking fans :)