tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4689512953417335417.post2697453488140585796..comments2023-07-01T01:49:11.619+10:00Comments on Chinese Pop Culture 101: Lotus Wang Resumes the No. 1 Position on G Music ChartsNick Dhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01683433685354758705noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4689512953417335417.post-86892826371290792692011-02-01T23:43:26.607+11:002011-02-01T23:43:26.607+11:00Thanks Dan for all the background info - very info...Thanks Dan for all the background info - very informative. And that published book you predicted, it's already happened!Nick Dhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01683433685354758705noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4689512953417335417.post-55275174542285438982011-01-27T00:51:48.732+11:002011-01-27T00:51:48.732+11:00She's not a household name, she's not a pr...She's not a household name, she's not a pretty-as-a-model<br />chanteuse, her voice has seen better times, and she's over the hill,<br />as far as pop music divas go.<br />But 41-year-old ''Lotus'' Wang -- her Taiwanese-English nickname name<br />-- is headed for the stars, and the future is looking good.<br /><br />Yes, Chiai-hwa Wang was picked by CNN's 15-minutes-of-fame-maker Phil<br />Han to be the network's ''Best Viral Video of the Week'' pick, and her<br />music video, complete with<br />dancing Taoists gods and quirky choreography went viral. Over a<br />million hits so far and counting,<br /><br />Wang's techno hit, titled "Bobee" [保庇], is a catchy tune that asks the<br />local deities in Taiwan for protection, stock market success, health<br />and good luck, and it already has engendered a number of copycat<br />videos as well.<br /><br />In the video, shot in Taiwan, Wang is accompanied by three dancing<br />deities and there's no stopping it now. A star is born.<br /><br />But who is this self-described "B-grade entertainer"? It's been an<br />uphill climb in the real world of her real life, and most people here<br />never heard of her before CNN annointed her.<br /><br />Call it Cinderella comes to Taiwan: Lotus grew up poor, knew lots of<br />gloom and doom as a child, and as one pundit put, she had has nore<br />down than ups in her life -- until now that is.<br />Thanks to YouTube, social network sites such as Twitter and Facebook<br />and Plurk, not to mention CNN's global reach, Lotus is looking at<br />stardowm with a golden lining. SHe's already<br />making a few TV commericals endorsing all kinds of local products, and<br />no doubt she will publish a book soon, too.<br /><br />Her Cinderella life? Her mum died of cancer when she was still in<br />diapers, and her dad was businessman who never made any business deals<br />that caught fire.<br />Her teen years were spent waiting tables at a sidewalk noodle shop,<br />and through the help of some friends, "singing" in dance halls,<br />burlesque venues and other gangster-controlled joints.<br />It's not something she likes to talk about today, but the CNN<br />spotlight has turned this once-ungly duckling into a glittering queen,<br />and she is not about to let this inernet-fuled<br />opporunity get away from her.<br /><br />But Lotus Wang has a winning personality, it turns out, and internet<br />fame suits her fine. Her self-depreacting humor is for real, but at<br />the same time, she's been down so long,<br />it's looks like up to her now.<br /><br />She has already released her first CD and several of the tracks on it,<br />in addition to ''Bobee'' have been well-received. According to local<br />news reports, one of her tunes, titled "Mother", is about<br />saying sayonara to the dearly departed, and Taiwan's funeral parlor<br />industry has decided to use it as its theme song.<br /><br />Although some bloggers have compared her to Ayumi Hamasaki, the<br />Japanese pop singer (who recently married her Austrian boyfriend in<br />Hollywood) and America's dancing queen Beyonce, Lotus Wang will have<br />none of that.<br /><br />"I'm just a nice Taiwanese girl with a dream," she told reporters.<br /><br />Now it's a dream fueled by the ethersphere and social media, and watch<br />"Bobe" hit the 2 million mark soon. There's no stopping a girl named<br />Lotus.DANIELBLOOMhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05130493903696077379noreply@blogger.com