Joanna Wang (; born 1 August 1988), is a

Taiwanese-American Taiwanese Americans ( Chinese: 臺灣裔美國人; pinyin: ''Táiwān yì měiguó rén''; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: ''Tâi-Bí-jîn'') are Americans of Taiwanese ancestry, including American-born descendants of migrants from the Republic of China (Taiwan) ...

singer-songwriter, daughter of music producer (王治平). Born in

Taipei , nickname = The City of Azaleas , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Taiwan#Asia#Pacific Ocean#Earth , coordinates = , subdivision_type = Country ...

but raised in Los Angeles, California, Wang dropped out from

Gabrielino High School Gabrielino High School (abbreviated GHS and often referred to as Gab) is a public high school located on San Gabriel Boulevard in San Gabriel, California, east of Downtown Los Angeles, serving the 9th to 12th grades. It was established in 1994. ...

when she was 16. Her debut album, '' Start from Here'', was released in January 2008 as a double-disc set, one in English and the other in Chinese. The album reached No.1 in Taiwan and has been popular throughout Southeast Asia. In June 2008, it was released in Japan. Her second album, ''

Joanna & Wang Ruo-lin ''Joanna & Wang Ruo-lin'' is the second studio album by Joanna Wang, released in January 2009. It comprises two discs, given two separate titles: the first, also titled Joanna & Wang Ruo-lin, is described in this article; disc 2 is titled '' The ...

'', which includes her all-original endeavor, '' The Adult Storybook'', was released in January 2009.

Career

As she was raised in the United States, Wang was exposed to many pop music acts, including

The Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...

Queen Queen most commonly refers to: * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a kingdom * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen (band), a British rock band Queen or QUEEN may also refer to: Monarchy * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Q ...

, and

Oingo Boingo Oingo Boingo () was an American new wave music, new wave band formed by songwriter Danny Elfman in 1979. The band emerged from a Surrealism, surrealist musical theatre troupe, The Mystic Knights of the Oingo Boingo, that Elfman had led and wri ...

. Among her major influences are

Danny Elfman Daniel Robert Elfman (born May 29, 1953) is an American film composer, singer, songwriter, and musician. He came to prominence as the lead vocalist and primary songwriter for the new wave band Oingo Boingo in the early 1980s. Since scoring his ...

, Yoeko Kurahashi,

Paul McCartney Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained global fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and the piano, and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John ...

, and

video game music Video game music (VGM) is the soundtrack that accompanies video games. Early video game music was once limited to sounds of early sound chips, such as programmable sound generators (PSG) or FM synthesis chips. These limitations have led to t ...

, most notably those from the

Castlevania ''Castlevania'' (), known in Japan as is a gothic horror action-adventure video game series and media franchise created by Konami. The series is largely set in the castle of Count Dracula, the arch-enemy of the Belmont clan of vampire hunters. ...

, Zelda, and

Mario Mario (; ) is a Character (arts), character created by the Japanese game designer Shigeru Miyamoto. He is the star of the ''Mario (franchise), Mario'' franchise, a recurring character in the ''Donkey Kong'' franchise, and the mascot of the Ja ...

series. She has stated in her YouTube videos and in interviews that she dislikes her debut and rejects it as her own work. Wang is a

left-handed In human biology, handedness is an individual's preferential use of one hand, known as the dominant hand, due to and causing it to be stronger, faster or more dextrous. The other hand, comparatively often the weaker, less dextrous or simply l ...

guitarist. She has performed some of her own work and has covered various popular songs in English and in Chinese on Taiwanese television programs. Starting in 2013, Wang began occasionally performing with a band under the name Alferd Packer & The Weird Uncles. In March 2016, Wang performed in a production of the musical ''Turn Left, Turn Right'', based on the illustrated book of the same name, sometimes known as ''A Chance of Sunshine'' in English''.'' Wang's rendition of "

Pure Imagination "Pure Imagination" is a song from the 1971 film ''Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory''. It was written by British composers Leslie Bricusse and Anthony Newley specifically for the movie. It was sung by Gene Wilder, who played the character of ...

" from her album ''Midnight Cinema'' was used for the

Samsung Galaxy Fold The Samsung Galaxy Fold is an Android-based foldable smartphone developed by Samsung Electronics. Unveiled on February 20, 2019, it was released globally beginning on September 6, 2019. The device is capable of being folded open like a book to ...

product unveiling advertisement in February 2019.YouTube
/ref> Wang would release her twelfth album, ''Hotel La Rut'' in 2024, a

concept album A concept album is an album whose tracks hold a larger purpose or meaning collectively than they do individually. This is typically achieved through a single central narrative or theme, which can be instrumental, compositional, or lyrical. Som ...

inspired by the '' Kids In The Hall'' sketch of the same name.

Awards

*2008: Singapore Hit Awards 2008 – Outstanding Newcomer *2008: 9th CCTV-MTV Music Awards – Most Popular New Female Artist of the Year in Hong Kong and Taiwan *2008: Metro Hits Music Awards – Metroshowbiz Hits Mandarin Songwriter Singer Big Award *2008: Metro Hits Music Awards – Metro Radio Hits Most Voted Newcomer Award *2008: China Mobile Wireless Music Awards – Most Potential New Female Singer *2008: 2008 Beijing Chinese Pop Music Awards – Best Composer-Singer Newcomer

Discography

Original Albums

*'' The Adult Storybook'' (2009) *''The Adventures of Bernie the Schoolboy'' (2011) *''Galaxy Crisis: The Strangest Midnight Broadcast'' (2013) *''

Bob Music ''BOB MUSIC'' () is the fourth original album by Taiwanese-American singer-songwriter Joanna Wang Joanna Wang (; born 1 August 1988), is a Taiwanese-American singer-songwriter, daughter of music producer (王治平). Born in Taipei but rai ...

'' (2015) *''House of Bullies'' (2016) *''Modern Tragedy'' (2018) *''Hotel La Rut'' (2024)

Cover Albums

*'' Start from Here'' (2008) *''

'' (2009) *''The Things We Do for Love'' (2011) *''Midnight Cinema'' (2014) *''Love is Calling Me'' (2019)

EP

*''H.A.M. (Happy Accessible Music)''(w/ Chinese Title: "火腿") (2016)

Notes

* a. Quotation in Chinese: "有壓力的話我也寧可這樣，我想做自己想要的音樂。"

References

External links

Joanna Wang official websiteJoanna YouTube ChannelNew Tokyo Terror YouTube ChannelJoanna Hong Kong Fans Forum
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wang, Joanna 1988 births Living people Singers from Taipei Singers from Los Angeles Taiwanese emigrants to the United States Taiwanese women singers Taiwanese women singer-songwriters Taiwanese singer-songwriters People from Miaoli County Taiwanese people of Hakka descent American people of Chinese descent American musicians of Taiwanese descent