LIU HUAN

b. 1963, Tianjin

Pop singer, professor

Liu Huan is one of China’s pioneers of popular music. Since his unofficial public debut in 1985, he has become a major pop star. Liu Huan graduated in 1985 from the French Department of the Institute of International Relations in Beijing. He is a professor of the History of Western Music at the Foreign Economic and Trade University in Beijing; singing is a sideline.

A singing contest at the French Embassy launched his career.

Liu Huan’s steady stream of theme songs for popular television series made him a household name. He has sustained his popularity for over a decade, and is considered the top pop singer of the 1990s. He is best known for the theme songs for Beijingers in New York (Beijingren zai Niuyue), ‘Sunrise East, Rain West’ (Dongbian richu, xibian yü), The Third Legion’ (Disan juntuan), Hu Xueyan, and ‘Heroes’ Song’ (Haohan ge). Liu also sang the theme song for the 11 th Asian Games, entitled ‘The Strong Wind of Asia’ (Yazhou xiongfeng), and has sung at other international sporting events. He has won both popular and critical acclaim with his songs, including the National Top Ten Young Composers Appraisal awards for composition and performance in 1990. The theme song for Beijingers in New York held the top spot on the radio charts for ten weeks, and won the award for Best Annual Film and TV Music. In 1999, he was recognized by the CCTV-MTV music awards as Best Male Artist.