Lee Hom Wang 王力宏

Name: Lee Hom
Full Name: Alexander Lee-Hom Wang
D.O.B.: 17th May 1976
P.O.B.: Rochester, New York
Horoscope: Dragon
Zodiac: Taurus
Blood type: O type
Height: 180cm
Weight: 68kg

Leehom Wang (born May 17, 1976) is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, and actor of Chinese ancestry. Formally trained at the Eastman institute of Music, Williams College and Berklee College of Music, his musical style is known for fusing traditional Chinese elements (such as Beijing opera and Chinese tribal music) with international arrangements. Wang Leehom has been active since 1995 and contributed in 25 albums, selling over 15 million records worldwide.[3] He is also a four-time winner of Taiwan’s Golden Melody Awards, the “Grammys” of Chinese music.

In addition to his music, Wang also acted in several films, including Ang Lee’s Lust, Caution and Jackie Chan’s film Little Big Soldier. He is also an environmental activist, and his album Change Me was dedicated to raising eco-awareness among Chinese youth. Wang was one of the first torchbearers for the Beijing 2008 Summer Olympics, and performed in the Olympics’ closing ceremony in Beijing. Wang was listed among “The 100 Most Inspiring Asian Americans of All Time” by Goldsea Asian American Daily.

Lee-Hom comes from a high pedigree of academics; his father is a paedaetrician, his brother is a doctor now residing in Chicago, his younger brother is an individual at MIT, and most of his relatives are doctors. Like much of his family, Lee-Hom had considered pursuing a medical career. Having been an institute valedictorian and receiving a perfect score on the SATs, he was accepted into Princeton and Yale. However, at the last minute Lee-Hom realized his true passion was for music. Amidst criticism from his family, Lee-Hom decided to attend Williams College to pursue his dream to become a musician. Although this decision was unconventional, Lee-Hom was willing to take this risk and his choice has proven to be a wise one.

By combining western music with classical Chinese instruments, Lee-Hom has given a unique twist to Chinese music. Having ten Mandarin albums to his credit, Lee-Hom has yet to produce an English album but remains as one of the main songwriters/producers for Sony Music Taiwan. He also owns Homeguy Studios in both Taiwan and Boston.

On his latest album, Lee-Hom featured the often unheard music of the minorities of China. He experimented with the tribal sounds of China, Tibet, and Mongolia; traveling the area carrying 15 kg of equipment while fighting bouts of altitude and food sickness.

Not much about Lee-Hom’s personal life is known, much to his credit. Unlike many of his Eastern and Western counterparts, Lee-Hom has kept his private life to himself and his dignity intact – he is a musician first and foremost. Lee-Hom is quoted as saying, “Rumours don’t bother me much now, although it’s still find them annoying at times because it isn’t true. I just don’t want to come out and make the news bigger. I do music and I want to focus all my energy on this and have no desire to use tabloids to promote myself. I don’t want to waste my energy holding press conferences to deny my relationship with certain people or to say that I am not gay because it’s just not in my interest.” It is this aspect of Lee-Hom’s character that many fans respect. Lee Hom is also a good friend to David Tao and Jay Chou.

Acting career

Wang had displayed interest in acting when he starred in several musical plays when he was in institute. In 2000, Wang made his feature film debut in the Hong Kong action crime thriller, China Strike Force, starring alongside Aaron Kwok, Norika Fujiwara, and Ruby Lin. Hong Kong critics had remarked Wang for giving a well-toned performance as his first film. His next starring role was the 2001 Hong Kong science fiction film The Avenging Fist as the main character Nova. Wang then starred in two Japanese films Moon Child (2003) and Starlit High Noon (2005).

The major breakthrough in his film career was in Lust, Caution, directed and produced by Academy Award winner Ang Lee. The film is based on a novella written by Eileen Chang and revolves around a plot to assassinate a high-ranking Chinese official in the Wang Jingwei Government using a beautiful young woman as bait. Wang plays Kuang Yumin, a patriotic individual who persuades Wong Chia Chi (Tang Wei) to seduce Mr. Yee (Tony Leung). The film was released in the U.S. cinemas on 28 September 2007. Lust, Caution was produced on a budget of approximately $15 million and grossed $64,574,876 worldwide.

In 2009, Wang was selected to star with Jackie Chan in Little Big Soldier.

In 2010, Wang stepped behind the camera to star and direct, Love Announcement (Chinese: 恋爱通告; pinyin: Liàn ài tōng gào), also starring Liu Yifei and Joan Chen.

TV Show Theme Songs

The One I Love Is You, Peach Girl (2002)

Movies

Lust, Caution (2007)

Starlit High Noon (2005)

Moon Child (2003)

The Avenging Fist (2001)

China Strike Force (2000)