Singing
I began singing since Kindergarten
I was known for singing and dancing in my Kindergarten, that’s before my bodyweight bloated up. Teachers and parents loved my singing so much, I was pretty well known in out kindergarten and other ones. I can always find the right pitch at the right beat, and that’s not something every kid can do.
PCC Global Club Retreat at a Karaoke place in Alhambra
In age 6, I got onto the programming of DLTV (Dalian Television) for singing and drums playing
Since I was so well known for my personality and my singing, the Kindergarten actually asked me to be on a local TV show, Dalian Television. Although it was the sub-channel for kids, still a big step for me. Video tapes of the thing has been buried inside my house. I was on there for a total of two seasons. Of course the music was pre-recorded so you know, kids don’t screw it up midway. Honestly I think if my parents wanted me to keep singing, I’d be at least a child star in China, but a steady income for the future meant more for my family.
Ever since I started elementary school, I gave up singing because, frankly, no one cared
Like what the title said, I was in Chinese public schools, schools that don’t care about individual talent. Chinese elementary schools only watch for grades. In the first semester of my first year of elementary school, I was still in the programming of a certain English show, but singing was less signified there. That’s when I stopped singing publicly. But I always go to karaoke places just to sing it out.
This is the only photo I could salvage of myself singing the solo, and it was from a school news YouTube channel. God I wish I have the video of that special day
In DAIS, I was selected to be a lead in Grade 6 and Grade 8, Tenor Leader and a lead in Grade 9
If there is a good thing I can find about that evil school, then the choir lecturers must be it. These are people who discover talents, and they discover student’s love for music. To be honest, the choir classes were the happiest I was at the school, because I get to let go of myself. Kids were mean, I still remember this girl named Mina Lin, who said my voice was “ugly”. At that moment I doubted my voice, but nah, she lies to bully, and I was used to being bullied. In Grade 6 and 8, I was chose to be a lead, but since it’s still technically middle school for me, the program had to leave space more for the high schoolers.
In Grade 9 though, that’s when I flourished in the school choir. I will forever remember Mr. Stephen Arrastia, who was the choir lecturer at the time. He loved how I could project my voice, and can always stay on note. Among the fact that he named me as the “Tenor Leader” to help the other tenors, he gave me the greatest gift of all: he gave me a proper lead role. I can freshly remember that the song I was supposed to sing in lead while the others sing behind me: Lean on Me. It was the greatest moment of my life. I stood on the stage, of course I couldn’t see anything in the audience area because the lights were all over my face. In the trial run, kids were amazed by my voice, I actually heard gasps. In the actual run, I went on stage, delivered my part. In the end, the clapping started. I am not lying, the clapping was louder for my solo than is of any other songs. I didn’t think this would happen before, so I turned back without bowing. Then the clapping poured in; I turned around and bowed in a hurry, because I was never prepared for this. I could see Mr. Arrastia smiling and pointing his hand towards me.
This lead to me receiving my first ever award. Most Outstanding Male Vocalist. Awarded to me by Mr. Arrastia. That day too, is one of the greatest day of my life. I have never received a trophy or an award of any kind until then, and it meant so much to me, because I felt that life finally turned around for me. That day was the best and the worst day of my life, for two different reasons. Of course, I didn’t know that life is going to change so dramatically, but I’ll get to that later.
The concert was the greatest moment of my life. It’s a shame that I didn’t have a record of it because I missed the opportunity to buy it because of the stupid school. But, I must personally thank Mr. Arrastia. He brought me back to the stage, and gave me confidence in life, for real. Without him, I’d probably be bullied nonstop. Love this man.
I will get into details of how DAIS changed my life to the worst here…
In DMLIS, I participated in school plays in both years I was there. Lead in the second year.
DMLIS was a turning point for me in case of confidence and self-validation, and it was another great platform for me to sing, to perform, to entertain.
This picture was promptly named “Best Picture in My Life.jpg”, because it made me look skinny while I was super fat, but not the fattest of my life
In my first year studying in DMLIS, I wanted to focus on studying first, so I didn’t go to the first School Play recruitment for “The Lion King”. I remember I told myself at the morning assembly: “why won’t you study first.” Then, apparently, the school play program didn’t secure the rights for “Lion King”, which only required a limited number of casts. Therefore, the program moved to “The Wizard of Oz”. The program still used the main casts of “Lion King” for “Wizard of Oz”, so they required background actors. When the school play directors made announcements in the morning assembly again, it came to me that universities might want someone who had extracurricular activities like this. That’s when I decided to sign up for this. This “Wizard of Oz” school play was okay, because no one really saw my face because I rarely delivered lines, and that one line I delivered as the mayor of “Manchmal” City, I wasn’t even hooked up with a mic, so I had to yell every time; and since my voice is loud enough, didn’t really need one. But this time, my performance left some good impressions on the school play lecturers, Ms. Kolppanen and Ms. Hooper.
In the second year, though, it was a major step up for me in case of actual performing on a stage. When the second year’s recruitment started, I immediately signed up and went to the audition. The showcase was named “Romy and Julian”, it is a modern adaptation of Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet” written by Ms. Kolppanen back when she was in Canada performing in productions. The audition required contestants to recite a poem, and choose a song to sing. I forgot which song I sang, which, come on, if I sang it, it must be amazingly done.
Now you can tell that i’m fat
The poem I recited was a verse in the original “Romeo and Juliet”, begins with: “He jests at scars and never felt a wound.” It was the speech Romeo made to himself when he first saw Juliet by the balcony. I memorized that long-ass verse back in DAIS, and actually got praised by my English teacher Ms. Otani. I was, of course, shooting for Julian, the Romeo of this showcase. But, I got Curtis, who I am not sure was even in the original Shakespeare. Not gonna sugar coat it, I was fat. See the picture on the top? That was the best picture of my life because the photographer took it from an angle that shadows hid half of my fat. It made me look skinny, that’s why I named the photograph as “Best Picture in My Life.jpg”. Me being fat was definitely one of the factors why I am not selected to play the handsome playa Julian, but I also think that, in Ms. K and Ms. Hooper’s minds, Curtis is more of a romantic type of guy, and me reciting the most romantic part whilst acting romantic probably landed me on that role.
We were in two showcases. One in our school’s auditorium, and one in Dalian’s very own theater, the People’s Theater. Of course it’s called a People’s Theater, if you don’t know why, you clearly don’t know about Communist China. I think that theater was by the Soviets back when Soviets and Communist China were good friends. Anyways, click here to see an unlisted video of our “School’s Showcase”, and click here to see an unlisted video of our “Dalian Showcase”. I am not going to publicly share this link, so if you didn’t read here, you will never find it~
Anyways, I was set to sing in a few songs:
Haven’t Met You Yet * — Michael Bublé
Fucking Perfect * — P!nk
Raise Your Glass — P!nk
She Will Be Loved — Maroon 5
Since I am still a supporting role, the number of songs that featured me singing a longer solo was limited. The ones marked with an asterisk are the ones that had me singing solo for a little bit. Even though I am only a minor supporting role, it still gave me a stage to sing, granted most of them are beyond my register to a point that I might ruin the whole song if I didn’t work hard enough. One big takeaway from this showcase, is that I am too good of an actor. Hear me out, I am not flattering myself. What I meant by that, is I am too invested into acting. Cindy, the girl in white T-shirt who I am supposed to be in love with, I actually got in love with. Granted it was a one way kind of thing, but that just meant I am too much invested into acting. Not a bad thing, but powerful enough to let me get out of acting for sure. I mean, I just can’t get in love with every girl who is supposed to play my girlfriend or wife in the skit, right?
Before I started in UCLA, I started my YouTube channel
Actually I posted my first video on my own account first. It’s called “The Brightest Star in the Skies”, click to read more.
I started my channel and posted the first video, 2 days before school started in UCLA. “Daybreak’s Bell”, click to read more.
Since the quarter system in UCLA was killing me, didn’t really get to produce a lot of videos.
In UCLA, I participated in UCLA Ensemble of China — Folk Song, and was the lead
Recently I never got onto any stage until I joined the UCLA Ensemble of China. i was first back to the stage in Ensemble I of Fall 2019, then in Winter, I joined the Folk Song class, and was chosen to be the lead in the a cappella. Scroll to the end to see the video.
It was the best feeling of all. I finally got back on a stage to sing. It is my passion. Albeit what I sang was not for the international market, but I was still super happy that I did that. You know, it’s because of that day, it made me determined, that I must sing. I must perform. My purpose of life is to express myself, to express myself to a variety of audiences. The light on stage gave me purpose, the music and singing from others gave me life.
To be born, for me, is to sing. I can’t really word, what my feeling was, when people clapped and yelled so damn hard after I was finished. There weren’t a lot of audiences that day, and I am not exaggerating, there were more clapping for our Folk Song group than is for any other performances. That feeling, oh man, is the best.
