Singer shows the world his talent at UN
From humble roots in a mountain village, Zhou Shen is at the summit of success, Minlu Zhang reports from the United States.
Zhou is also pleased that his song has become a starting point for people to find a way to understand Chinese culture, and added that he thinks music is very important to the spread of culture.
On YouTube, vocal analysts have discussed his singing skills. In one YouTube video with 128,000 views, a voice teacher who goes by the name Bethany says that after listening to Zhou for the first time, she is "over the moon" to hear a singer with the skill and agility he displays in Big Fish.
"He is doing something very smart but also very cool. When you're in falsetto, sometimes it can be tricky to get your vocal cords to fully adduct. Rather than a neutral onset … he's putting a little 'h' in there … so it adds this really cool effect, making it sound really breathy, but it also is a healthy way of getting your cords together when you're in falsetto," she says in the video.
Zhou's music takes inspiration from traditional Chinese culture, and he weaves elements of ancient melodies and poetic themes into his compositions..
"In fact, I have many songs that are related to Chinese opera. I have one called Brightness, which is a combination of pop music and Chinese opera," he said.
"It is actually quite difficult to combine the two without being obtrusive, and creating a sense of dialogue between ancient and modern times in just three to four minutes is not easy. Moreover, this blending of ancient and modern elements has to be smooth and natural," Zhou told China Daily, adding that he is continuing to make more attempts.
As popular as he is now, Zhou's voice caused him some trouble in school because he said that he sounded like a girl.
"During adolescence, my voice didn't change much when everyone else's did. The cynicism surrounding me at that time greatly affected my self-esteem," he said.
Faced with the pressure of both family and academic expectations, he abandoned his musical aspirations after graduating from high school and became a medical student in Ukraine. However, after a year, he decided to quit and applied to the Lviv National Music Academy.
