1. Kulilay Amit, better known by her stage name A-Mei, is a Taiwanese singer and record producer of Puyuma descent.
62 Facts About A-Mei
1. 2.
A-Mei is recognized as having the influence and cultural impact in the Sinophone world, equivalent to artists such as Madonna in Western music and popular culture.
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A-Mei was born on 9 August 1972 in the Tamalakaw tribe in Beinan, Taitung, Taiwan.
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A-Mei was the seventh child in a family of nine children.
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A-Mei's mother used to record herself singing, then play it back on tape for her daughters to hear.
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A-Mei had always been fascinated by music, saying that she was addicted to the radio and would rush to watch the late night music programs that introduced her to English songs when she was a child.
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In 1992 A-Mei left her hometown of Taitung for the first time to work in a restaurant and sell clothes at a roadside stand in Taipei.
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A-Mei first connected to the entertainment business by joining the televised "Five Lights Singing Contest" on TTV Main Channel in 1992 after encouragement from her father.
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A-Mei made it all the way through to the finals but lost in the final round.
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A-Mei was disappointed and was almost ready to give up interest in music competitions.
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A-Mei's performances enchanted the judges and she was crowned champion the following year.
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On 13 December 1996, A-Mei released her debut album Sisters, which she made under the tutelage of Chang.
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In spite of this, A-Mei still emphasized to the media that she was from an aboriginal background and was the very first Taiwanese mainstream pop star to proudly flaunt her aboriginal identity.
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A-Mei performed songs from the album on her A-Mei Live In Concert 1998 concert tour the following year.
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A-Mei embarked on her first solo concert tour which was in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore, in January 1998.
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On 10 January 1998, A-Mei held her first large-scale ticketed concert titled A-Mei Live in Concert 1998, breaking the record for the shortest time a large-scale concert has been held by a Taiwanese singer since their debut.
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In January 1999, A-Mei endorsed Sprite in Sinophone territories, singing the song "Give Me Feelings " in the commercials.
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A-Mei won the "Gold Award for Female Singer in the Music World" in the 1998 Ultimate Song Chart Awards Ceremony held by Commercial Radio Hong Kong and the "Asia Pacific Music Award" in the 1998 Top Ten Golden Songs Awards Ceremony.
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A-Mei became the first Taiwanese singer to perform at the Shanghai Stadium, with the seats at the venue filled to the brim; it is notable that there were nearly 80,000 attendees attending the show, making it the most successful concert in that city's history.
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A-Mei is the first to perform in Taitung County by holding a large-scale ticketed concert at the Taitung County Stadium that attracted tens of thousands of people.
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On 28 December 1999, A-Mei released the greatest hits album A-Mei New Century Collection.
22.
Under pressure from Beijing, Sprite buckled and cut its contract with A-Mei by removing her as its endorser, meanwhile contemporary hit radio stations in China temporarily ceased broadcasting her music.
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A-Mei held press conferences in Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Malaysia.
24.
On 7 September 2001, Forward Music released the compilation album, Journey, which included all unreleased songs A-Mei recorded when she was signed under Forward Music.
25.
On 9 November 2001, in Taipei City, the "Real New Song Concert" was held at the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall where A-Mei held a free large-scale concert to promote the album.
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In December 2001, A-Mei held seven concerts in the United States and Canada.
27.
In 2002 A-Mei won the Best Mandarin Female Singer award for the very first time with the album Truth at the 13th Golden Melody Awards; it was a deserving win after four years of consecutive nominations in the same category since her second album Bad Boy.
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A-Mei was named as one of the 25 Asian Heroes featured in the special issue of Time Magazine in 2002.
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A-Mei appeared on the cover of Asia Weekly for the second time at the end of the year.
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In June 2003, A-Mei sponsored the Korean PC game "A3," being paid tens of millions for the endorsement.
31.
A-Mei had her first starring role in a film serving as the heroine of the movie Brave, and sang the theme song "Brave" for the movie of the same name.
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At the MTV Asia Awards 2004 A-Mei won the award for Favorite Artist Taiwan for the second time on Valentine's Day 2004.
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Back home in Taiwan, A-Mei was under fire from individuals who championed Taiwanese pride.
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A-Mei explained that his remarks were intended to criticize China, and that he had not intended to criticize the singer herself, arguing that the local media had misquoted him.
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On 31 July 2004, A-Mei set foot in Beijing and held a successful concert, with an estimated 10,000-strong audience.
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A-Mei composed the two songs "Love Is The Only Way " and "Crucial Moment " on the album.
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A-Mei stirred up controversy with the song "Love Is The Only Way," which had a music video that depicted a same-sex wedding with the two grooms sharing a kiss.
38.
The many personal and professional setbacks over the past year made A-Mei contemplate on whether her current situation was suitable for continuing her music career; so at the end of 2004 she came up with the idea of temporarily leaving the music scene to go study abroad in Boston, Massachusetts.
39.
On 1 October 2005, A-Mei participated in a national women's charity endorsement, which made her the first singer to sing at the Taipei Arena.
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A-Mei's live singing skills and stage charm were unanimously praised by the public, and the performance was regarded as her first big step to return to the pinnacle of the music scene after a brief slump.
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The organizers specially arranged for A-Mei to take a helicopter to the press conference venue to enjoy diva-level treatment.
42.
In June 2006, A-Mei participated in the finale performance titled "Music ORZ" at the 17th Golden Melody Awards.
43.
A-Mei said that she was very happy for the support her gay fans have given her along the way and will always support gays who are in hiding along with the ones who are happy to come forward.
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A-Mei generously embraced HIV carriers Yahui and Ladybug on stage and expressed her hope to participate in the Pride Parade every year.
45.
In February 2008, A-Mei filmed the music video for the 2008 Olympics theme song "Forever Friends" in the Forbidden City.
46.
A-Mei overcame the language barrier and performed in Tokyo with many Japanese actors.
47.
A-Mei performed 59 consecutive performances overall in major Japanese cities such as Osaka and Nagoya, with all of the performances being very well received.
48.
At the 19th Golden Melody Awards that year, not only was she nominated for five awards and invited to perform for her Star album, A-Mei brought her "Amit" performance style to the big stage for the first time with pop punk music.
49.
A-Mei became the first Chinese singer to perform five consecutive concerts with the same theme at the Taipei Arena.
50.
A-Mei released her fifteenth studio album, Amit, on 26 June 2009, which was her very first album to be released under her aboriginal birth name.
51.
At the 21st Golden Melody Awards, A-Mei became the most decorated artist that night with the album Amit winning a total of six trophies.
52.
The last time A-Mei had received a major Golden Melody Award was when she won the Golden Melody Award for Best Female Mandarin Singer in 2002 for her album Truth eight years prior.
53.
A-Mei is the first Taiwanese singer to accept this interview.
54.
In March 2011, she renewed her contract with Coca-Cola Company to become the spokesperson for their 125th anniversary; A-Mei was allowed to personally design a limited edition commemorative bottle.
55.
In June 2011, A-Mei ranked first in a Forbes survey of "The 25 Most Famous Taiwanese in Mainland China," making her influence bigger than that of many well-known political and business figures.
56.
In July 2013, A-Mei became one of the judges of Chinese talent show, The Voice of China, along with Wang Feng, Na Ying, and Harlem Yu.
57.
In December of the same year, A-Mei held a free outdoor concert to support the legalization of same-sex marriage at Huashan 1914 Creative Park.
58.
In January 2014 A-Mei was placed on the Asia Gay Equality Heroes list made by the well-known international gay magazine Element Magazine in Singapore.
59.
In June 2014, A-Mei signed a recording deal with EMI Taiwan and was selected as the chief brand officer for the record label.
60.
Not only did Story Thief win the top spot in major physical, digital, and radio charts, A-Mei took the top spot in Taiwan's annual sales for a female vocalist.
61.
On 6 September 2018, A-Mei was invited to sing her latest single "If Only" with one of the world's leading tenors, Andrea Bocelli, at the Celebrity Fight Night charity gala in Italy in 3 languages: Italian, English and Chinese.
62.
On 31 December 2018, A-Mei was the finale guest before the countdown at Taipei City's New Year's Eve Festival.