Words of encouragement from her dying father spurred Taiwanese pop star Sherry Chang Wei-mei to take up singing as a career.
Chang, affectionately known as A-Mei, still remembers her father whispering to her: 'You can sing better than anyone else. Why don't you enter a singing contest and take a championship home?' Following his advice, A-Mei enrolled in the 'Five Lights Singing Contest' organised by a television station in Taiwan.
She carried away the first prize, but unfortunately her father was not there to join the celebrations.
'I thought I could win and then maybe my father would be cured from his illness. But he died before the contest,' A-Mei said.
In 1995, soon after that memorable victory, A-Mei's cousin asked her to be the lead singer of his Taipei-based rock band.
So her singing career started off in a pub, but fame was not far off.
Word spread around as A- Mei's performances became hugely popular and she was invited to sign a contract with Forward Music in early 1996.