Born to a less well to do family in Eastern Taiwan, and being the 3rd youngest among her 8 siblings, A-Mei received much love and support from her parents. A-Mei had an undaunted talent - a talent to mesmerize audiences with her voice. She entered the music scene and has since climbed her way to success. Her hard work had indeed paid off when she sashayed her way to become the biggest overnight sensation ever in Chinese Pop history. Having only released three albums, A-Mei amazed many when she bagged several awards, receiving much fame as the Best Newcomer.

A-Mei's singing talent was discovered when she entered a singing contest ("Five Lights Singing Contest") in Taiwan, upon her father's request, who had apparently been quite ill. Her father had encouraged her to try her hands on singing in the contest, saying that she sounds better than everyone else. Having much faith in her father, A-Mei participated in the contest with hopes of winning the first prize. She wanted her father to be proud of her, hoping that by winning, it would make him happy and cure his illness. Unsurprisingly, A-Mei won. But it was too late, her father passed away prior to her victory in the singing contest.

After wandering for a while, A-Mei did not know what to do with her talent. Luck came when her cousin asked her to sing lead-vocals for his rock band, which A-Mei excitedly agreed. It was then that A-Mei begun her music career. She went off to Taipei (Northern Taiwan) with her cousin's band and they performed in many famous pubs including "Wood Ship" where other famous singers like Li Du first started. Every night, A-Mei would grace the stage, embracing her audiences with a feeling of enjoyment and warmth. Soon Zhang Hui Mei became known at the local pub scene as "A-Mei". A-Mei became experienced on stage and was apt in communicating with her audiences. Success today, has come a long way and is due in great part to her pub performances. One of the major stepping stones to A-Mei's success today was landing the opportunity to sing the theme song to a program in Taiwan for the "Flying Disc Channel". Listeners all over Taiwan would hear A-Mei's raspy, Western-rock-esque vocals on a consistent basis, giving her much exposure and popularity. Following this, A-Mei was able to get a recording contract with "Forward Music", a small low-budget record company from Taiwan. There, an established male artist, Zhang Yusheng, approached her to perform in a duet called "The One Who Loved Me Most, Hurt Me the Most". By the end of 1996, A-Mei released her first CD, entitled "Jie Mei". It became an instant hit within the two weeks it was aired on radio and was ranked within the top 3 positions on the IFPI Chart subsequently. The album maintained it position for several weeks, making her one of the biggest overnight sensations ever in Chinese Pop history.

Till this day, A-Mei is grateful for her mother's relentless caring and musical guidance. During A-Mei's younger days, her mother coached her and crafted her musical talent. Occasionally, her mother, Wang Yu Mei, now in her early 60s, would sing out her emotions and record it on cassette. She would then bring the cassette home for her daughters to listen and they would all cry at the strength of their mother's emotion and energy. Their mother would call this the "Sound of the Wind". Even today, A-Mei cries when she hears her mother's voice. In her first CD, A-Mei invited her mother, sisters and cousin from Eastern Taiwan, to sing back up on the eventual title track "Jie Mei". It had captured the interest of EMI when it became such a big hit in Taiwan. EMI has since signed her, allowing her more access to resources with a bigger budget.

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