A-Mei

Today one of Taiwan’s best-known musical exports with over fifty million records sold, indigenous Puyama singer-songwriter A-Mei Chang (張惠妹) has long held the unofficial title of ‘Queen of Mandopop’ amongst her most adoring fans. Born Kulilay Amit on August 9th, 1972 in Beinan, she first emerged on the Mandarin-language music scene in 1992 as a finalist on the Taipei talent show Five Lights, which she re-entered and won the following year. After a brief spell touring with her cousin’s band, Relax Orchestra, as their lead vocalist, she was scouted by Forward Music, with whom she promptly signed a record deal. Her debut album, Sisters, landed in 1996, topping national charts for a record-breaking nine consecutive weeks and becoming one of her home country’s top ten best-selling albums of all time. Continuing to expand into wider Asian markets with her follow-up LPs, Bad Boy and Holding Hands, Amit picked up Billboard and MTV awards at the turn of the millennium. Her first greatest hits compilation, released in December 1999, soon became Taiwan’s best-selling album of the 21st century, a record which has stood the test of time. Inking a deal with Warner Music in 2001, she continued to enjoy strong sales and chart performances with her ensuing albums, released on a near-annual basis in the 2000s. Both within and outside of her music, Amit has shown herself to be an increasingly vocal feminist and advocate for LGBTQ+ rights, and has also participated in high-profile acts of philanthropy, donating millions of yuan to support earthquake and typhoon relief efforts as well as civil rights movements. Her more recent work has maintained critical acclaim, with the 2017 single “Lian Ming Dai Xing” receiving a Golden Melody Award nomination.

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