張惠妹
Kulilay Amit (Chinese: 張惠妹; pinyin: Zhāng Huìmèi; born 9 August 1972), better known by her stage name A-Mei, is a Taiwanese singer and record producer of Puyuma descent. Born as Amit Kulilay in eastern Taiwan, she made her debut in 1996. A leading figure of the Mandopop music scene since the mid-1990s, A-Mei is regarded for breaking ground for Taiwanese indigenous peoples and being a voice for LGBT rights and gender equality. She has been given the moniker "Queen of Mandopop" and the "Pride of Taiwan." Her career longevity, resilience, artistry, and versatility have established her as a pop culture icon in the Sinophone world.
Born and raised in Beinan, Taitung, Taiwan, A-Mei moved to Taipei at age 20 in 1992. In 1996, she released her debut studio album, Sisters, which saw major commercial success and sold over a million copies in Taiwan. Her sophomore record, Bad Boy (1997), found even greater success, eventually becoming the country's best-selling album overall. Her follow up releases—Holding Hands (1998), Can I Hug You, Lover? (1999) and Regardless (2000)—received critical and commercial acclaim, with the first two albums also selling well over a million copies. A cross-strait relations controversy caused her to experience a decline in sales in 2004; she would later experience a resurgence in 2006 with her album I Want Happiness?.
Her albums Truth (2001), Amit (2009), and Faces of Paranoia (2014) each won her a Golden Melody Award for Best Mandarin Female Singer, making her one of the singers who won the category the most times. Having sold over 50 million records, A-Mei is the best-selling female artist in Taiwanese music history. In 2002, Time named her one of the 20 most influential people in Asia. In 2017, she was included in the "Charity Heroes List" by the Asian edition of Forbes. She has embarked on eight concert tours since her debut, with the Utopia World Tour (2015–2017) drawing over 2.5 million people.
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