Shin (; born Su Chien-hsin on 14 May 1971) is a Taiwanese singer, songwriter, and actor. He is known as the former lead singer of the rock band Shin and a

Golden Melody Awards The Golden Melody Awards (), commonly abbreviated as GMA, is an honor awarded by Taiwan's Ministry of Culture to recognize outstanding achievement in the Mandarin, Taiwanese Hokkien, Hakka, and Formosan-languages popular and traditional music ...

nominee for Best Mandarin Male Singer. Shin had been singing in pubs for around ten years before becoming a singer. He formed a band with Chris, Michael, Max and Tomi during his pub singing days. They debuted their self-titled album ''Shin'' (信樂團同名專輯) in May 2002. On 20 March 2007, he left the band and started his solo career.

Musical style and vocal characteristics

Xin is noted for his wide vocal range and extremely powerful voice which is rare in

Mandopop Mandopop or Mandapop refers to Mandarin popular music. The genre has its origin in the jazz-influenced popular music of 1930s Shanghai known as Shidaiqu; later influences came from Japanese enka, Hong Kong's Cantopop, Taiwan's Hokkien pop ...

. Shin is also renowned for his high screams while singing rock songs. He got the public attention by singing

Scorpions Scorpions are predatory arachnids of the Order (biology), order Scorpiones. They have eight legs and are easily recognized by a pair of Chela (organ), grasping pincers and a narrow, segmented tail, often carried in a characteristic forward cur ...

'
Still Loving You
and other foreign rock band's songs in

Harlem Yu Harlem Yu (; born 28 July 1961) is a Taiwanese singer-songwriter, television host and businessman. He has been hosting television shows in Taiwan since 1994 and in China since 2011, and served as a coach for three seasons of '' The Voice of Chi ...

's show 音樂大不同. He became popular in mainland China by the son
死了都要愛
Shin's musical style includes Heavy metal,

hard rock Hard rock or heavy rock is a heavier subgenre of rock music typified by aggressive vocals and Distortion (music), distorted electric guitars. Hard rock began in the mid-1960s with the Garage rock, garage, Psychedelic rock, psychedelic and blues ...

pop rock Pop rock (also typeset as pop/rock) is a fusion genre and form of rock music characterized by a strong commercial appeal, with more emphasis on professional songwriting and recording craft, and less emphasis on attitude than standard rock musi ...

and

mandopop Mandopop or Mandapop refers to Mandarin popular music. The genre has its origin in the jazz-influenced popular music of 1930s Shanghai known as Shidaiqu; later influences came from Japanese enka, Hong Kong's Cantopop, Taiwan's Hokkien pop ...

in which he mainly sings Hard Rock. He also tried other music genres like

nu metal Nu metal (sometimes stylized as nü-metal, with a metal umlaut) is a subgenre of that combines elements of heavy metal music with elements of other music genres such as hip hop music, hip hop, funk, industrial music, industrial, and grunge. Nu ...

progressive rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog) is a broad genre of rock music that primarily developed in the United Kingdom through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early-to-mid-1970s. Initially termed " progressive pop", the ...

and

Britpop Britpop was a mid-1990s United Kingdom, British-based music culture movement that emphasised Britishness. Musically, Britpop produced bright, catchy alternative rock, with significant influences from British guitar pop of the 1960s and 1970s. B ...

in songs such as 再見, 頑強 and 英國的夏天.

Solo career

''我就是我'' (''I'm Just Me'') (2007-2008)

After leaving the band, in September 2007, Shin released his debut solo album, titled ''我就是我''. In 2008, he was nominated for ''Best Mandarin Male Singer'' at the 19th Golden Melody Awards. On 21 December 2007, Shin began his debut solo concert tour Starting from Shin: I Am Me (從信開始我就是我) in

Nanjing Olympic Sports Center Nanjing Olympic Sports Centre Stadium () is a multi-purpose stadium located in Hexi New Town, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China. It is primarily used for football and athletics events and is the centerpiece of a larger Olympic Park complex which also inc ...

, where he performed the track "Shut Up" with guest Taiwanese artist Will Pan, which was released in Pan's sixth studio album '' Play It Cool'' under label Universal Music Taiwan. The tour continued onto Beijing Workers' Gymnasium and Shanghai Indoor Stadium. Shin sang a duet "需要你的愛" (Need Your Love) with Taiwanese band

F.I.R. F.I.R. () is a Taiwanese pop rock band formed in 2004. The group currently consists of Lydia and Ian Chen. Originally consisted of Faye, Ian & Real Huang, they are well known throughout Asia after their hit "Lydia", which gained popularity for ...

, which was released on their fourth album ''

Love · Diva ''Love, Diva'' () is the fourth studio album by F.I.R., released on 28 September 2007. The album features 11 new tracks, with the song 荼靡時代 (Tu Mi Times) being offered as a bonus track. 月牙灣 (Crescent Bay) was the first single off th ...

''.

''集樂星球'' (''Take Me To the Stars'') (2008-2009)

''集樂星球'' debuted at #3 in G-music Mandarin Chart in week 43, which is also the highest rank of this album. On 23 May 2009, Shin played a concert in

Capital Indoor Stadium The Capital Indoor Stadium () is an indoor arena in 56 Zhongguancun South Street, Beijing, China that was built in 1968. It hosted matches between national table tennis teams of China and the United States in 1971; these matches were part of the ...

titled "Febia 晶銳集樂星球演唱會".

''趁我'' (''While I'') (2009-2011)

''趁我'' is the first commercial success of Shin in Taiwan since his solo career. The album debuted at #3 on G-music Mandarin Chart and hit #1 on G-music Mandarin Chart on week 48. 火燒的寂寞 (The Lonely Fire) and 趁我 (While I) became a hit in both Mainland China and Taiwan. 火燒的寂寞 (The Lonely Fire) was awarded for Most Favourite Mandarin Song at TVB JSG Season's Award. On 27 August 2010, Shin made an appearance in Back to Basic-Rock Stars Concert (Beijing) (怒放搖滾英雄演唱會北京站). On 25 September, Shin held a concert with Taiwan singer A-Lin at Club Nokia in Los Angeles. On 29 November, the single 降龍樂章(Dragon Movement) was released. The song was endorsed for a Mainland online game 降龍之劍 (Dragon Sword).

''黎明之前'' (''Before The Dawn'') (2011-2012)

Shin released his fourth album on 22 July 2011. The album debuted at #1 on 5music Mandarin Chart. The music video of the first single, Before the Dawn (黎明之前), was directed by 比爾賈, with Taiwan famous artist Barbie Shu as the main actress. However, the music video is banned from broadcasting in Taiwan because of its violence and bloody content. On 23 September 2011, Shin and A-Lin held a concert titled "One Night in

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

" at Dallas Brooks Centre. On 24 December 2011, Shin held a small concert in Shanghai at Shanghai International Gymnastic Center. Shin won the ''Best Male Singer(Taiwan/Hong Kong)'' in Sprite Music Award. The song Before The Dawn won the ''Best Song of the Year''. On 6 April 2012, Shin released ''Before The Dawn'' (Audio-visual collection). This album includes 5 music videos, 6 live performances and a video of making the album. On 21 April 2012, Shin started his tour titled " 信無畏搖滾巡迴演唱會" (Shin Fearless Rock Tour) in Taipei at

Taipei Arena The Taipei Arena () is a multi-purpose stadium in the capital Taipei, Taiwan, and it is operated by the Taipei Rapid Transit Corporation (TRTC). Built in 2005, the large multi-purpose stadium can accommodate major international sport event ...

with

Anna Tsuchiya is a Japanese singer, actress and semi-retired model. Since 2005, she is primarily known as a singer.Oricon p ...

and A-Lin as guests. This is the first time that Shin held a concert at

. It is announced that the tour will come to

Beijing Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...

and

Shanghai Shanghai, Shanghainese: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: is a direct-administered municipality and the most populous urban area in China. The city is located on the Chinese shoreline on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the ...

in November 2012.

''我記得'' (''I Remember'') (2012–2014)

One of the song from this album, "Embrace in Strong Wind" (狂風裡擁抱) was performed in Shin's concert in Taipei Arena with A-Lin. The Music Video of the duet was released on 7 August. This song soon became a hit in KTV. On 1 and 16 September, Shin participated in Bloom of Youth rock tour (怒放青春巡迴演唱會)

Shenzhen Shenzhen is a prefecture-level city in the province of Guangdong, China. A Special economic zones of China, special economic zone, it is located on the east bank of the Pearl River (China), Pearl River estuary on the central coast of Guangdong ...

and

Quanzhou Quanzhou is a prefecture-level city, prefecture-level port city on the north bank of the Jin River, beside the Taiwan Strait in southern Fujian, China, People's Republic of China. It is Fujian's largest most populous metropolitan region, wi ...

stations. On 7 September 2012, Shin released his fifth studio album '' I Remember''. Differing from the past, ''I Remember'' is not a rock album. Most of the songs in it are pop love songs. Shin sang softly in this album, unlike the usual. Shin released his first Cantonese song 太 (a Cantonese version of 我選擇笑) in I Remember (edited version). Shin also remade his famous song 天高地厚 in the edited version. On 9 July 2014, Shin ended his 12 years relationship with

Avex Taiwan Avex Taiwan Inc (, formerly 艾迴唱片公司 or 艾迴股份有限公司) is an entertainment and record label based in Taiwan. It was founded in July 1998 and is a foreign consolidated subsidiary of parent company Avex Group, based in Japan. A ...

and signed a new contract with

HIM International Music HIM International Music () is a Taiwanese independent record label and artist management company established in 1999. It was previously known as Grand Music International Inc. (宇宙國際音樂股份有限公司). It is an International Federat ...

which allowed him to have more freedom and control in producing his own music.

''反正我信了 (Whatever, I Just Believe In) (''2015-2016)

On 6 March 2015, Shin released the first album ''反正我信了(Whatever, I Just Believe In)'' after signing with

. In 2016 January, Shin participated in Mainland China's singing competition programme ''I Am a Singer'' (season 4) and was eliminated in episode 6 despite his impressive performance in attempting alternative songs that are rarely sung in music programmes. He received much respect from the Chinese audience because of his innovative style and courage. He gained a large fan base in China despite his early loss.

''大爺們 (Welcome to My World) (2016-present)''

On 8 December 2016, Shin announced that he will start a new world tour named "信GentleMonster 2017巡回演唱會" (Shin Gentle Monster 2017 Tour) in 2017 and the first concert will be on 20 May 2017 in

. The tour is said to include at least ten cities in

Mainland China "Mainland China", also referred to as "the Chinese mainland", is a Geopolitics, geopolitical term defined as the territory under direct administration of the People's Republic of China (PRC) in the aftermath of the Chinese Civil War. In addit ...

and

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

and potential stations in

Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

and

the United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. On 30 December 2016, the eighth solo studio album ''大爺們 (Welcome to My World)'' was released. On 19 May 2017, one day before his concert in

, Shin released his greatest hits album ''SHIN: BEST OF BEST'' celebrating his 15th Anniversary.

Discography

Solo albums

Shin band albums

Hit singles *2002:《死了都要愛》 *2002:《一了百了》 *2002:《世界末日》 *2002:《One Night In 北京》 *2003:《離歌》 *2003:《天高地厚》 *2004:《千年之戀》 *2004:《海闊天空》 *2004:《假如》 *2007:《我恨你》 *2007:《傷城》 *2008:《告別的時代》 *2009:《火燒的寂寞》 *2009:《趁我》 *2011:《黎明之前》 *2011:《假裝陽光的蠟燭》 *2011:《遠得要命的愛情》 *2012:《狂風裡擁抱》 *2012:《暗藏後悔》 *2015: 如果你還在就好了 *2015: 反正我信了 *2015: 冷火 *2016: 掌紋算命 *2016: 唱不完的副歌

Soundtrack contributions

Filmography

Film and television

* ''死了都要愛'' - starring role * ''At the Dolphin Bay'' ( 海豚灣戀人) - cameo * ''Westside Story'' ( 西街少年) - Chris, Tomi and Shin cameo *2007: '' Summer x Summer'' ( 熱情仲夏) as Sean *2008 Honey & Clover (蜂蜜幸運草) as 任以薰 *2012: '' 賽車傳奇'' as 林司哲 *2013: Love Retake (愛情不NG) as 鄭直 *2013: Micro Film 18歲的勇氣 as 信 *2013: Miro Film 反核卡到天王篇 as Toy store owner *2014: '' Go, Single Lady'' 上流俗女 as 何偉成 *2017: 笑林足球 as 森

Variety and reality show

*2016: '' Singer (season 4)'' *2022: '' Call Me by Fire (season 2)''

Awards and nominations

References

External links

*
Shin@Avex Taiwan 2010 official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shin 1971 births Living people Taiwanese Mandopop singer-songwriters 21st-century Taiwanese male singers 21st-century Taiwanese singers Taiwanese activists for Chinese unification