Singer Jeff Chang wants West to like C-pop as much as K-pop – Tim Rice helping him write songs for London gig in 2020
- Taiwanese ‘Prince of Love Ballads’ hopes pop music can do for China’s image what K-pop has achieved for South Korea through the likes of boy band BTS
- The 52-year-old believes the world is ready to learn more about Chinese culture through pop music, and is working with lyricist Rice, his ‘childhood idol’
Veteran Taiwanese singer Jeff Chang – known among fans as the “Prince of Love Ballads” – says he wants to “open the gate” between East and West with his pop music, as he prepares for a one-off UK show at London’s Royal Albert Hall next April.
Chang, 52, is one of the highest-selling artists in China, with 40 albums that have sold in their millions across South and East Asia during his three-decade musical career.
Chang’s new ambition is to make Chinese pop music more popular in the West, drawing inspiration from the success of Korean pop, or K-pop, which has taken the world by storm since the 1990s.
K-pop boy band BTS performed sold-out concerts to adoring British fans and scored a number one album in the UK charts earlier this year. Chang wants to follow their lead, doing for China’s image what K-pop has done for South Korea.
“The whole world knows the economic power of China,” Chang says. “But I think there are more parts that we can share with the world – Chinese culture, and also Chinese pop music. There are so many people interested in Chinese and they want to know more … so I think it’s a great time to open the gate.”