David Tao
Encyclopedia
David Tao born Tao Xuzhong , was born on 11 July 1969. He is a Taiwanese
Taiwanese people
Taiwanese people may refer to individuals who either claim or are imputed cultural identity focused on the island of Taiwan and/or Taiwan Area which have been governed by the Republic of China since 1945...

 Golden Melody Award
Golden Melody Award
The Golden Melody Awards is an annual Taiwanese music award, founded in 1990, presented by Government Information Office , Republic of China. It is usually presented in May, June or July each year and presented for music in Mandarin, Taiwanese, other Chinese dialects, and Taiwn's aboriginal...

-winning singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriters are musicians who write, compose and sing their own musical material including lyrics and melodies. As opposed to contemporary popular music singers who write their own songs, the term singer-songwriter describes a distinct form of artistry, closely associated with the...

. He is well-known for creating a crossover genre of R&B and hard rock
Hard rock
Hard rock is a loosely defined genre of rock music which has its earliest roots in mid-1960s garage rock, blues rock and psychedelic rock...

 tunes which has now become his signature style and for having popularized R&B in the Mandopop
Mandopop
Mandopop is a colloquial abbreviation for "Mandarin popular music." It is categorized as a subgenre of commercial Chinese-language music within C-pop. Mandopop was the first variety of popular music in Chinese to establish itself as a viable industry. As the name implies, Mandopop features songs...

 industry.

Biography

Tao was born on 11 July 1969 in Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...

 to parents who were entertainers in Taiwan
Republic of China
The Republic of China , commonly known as Taiwan , is a unitary sovereign state located in East Asia. Originally based in mainland China, the Republic of China currently governs the island of Taiwan , which forms over 99% of its current territory, as well as Penghu, Kinmen, Matsu and other minor...

. His father, Tao Dawei (David Tao Sr.), was an actor/singer/composer and his mother, Wang Furong, a Chinese opera singer.

Tao spent part of his childhood in Hong Kong (something which he shared with his audience during his Soul Power concerts in Hong Kong). His parents supposedly eloped when his father could not get approval to marry his mother. Tao had his education in Taiwan from kindergarten to the junior high school level at the Bethany Campus of Morrison Academy in Taipei
Taipei
Taipei City is the capital of the Republic of China and the central city of the largest metropolitan area of Taiwan. Situated at the northern tip of the island, Taipei is located on the Tamsui River, and is about 25 km southwest of Keelung, its port on the Pacific Ocean...

. Later, his father decided to pursue his dream of working for Walt Disney, and they migrated to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 city of Arcadia, California. There he attended Arcadia High School
Arcadia High School (Arcadia, California)
Arcadia High School is a part of the Arcadia Unified School District and is a four-year comprehensive secondary school located on a site in Arcadia, California. Their motto is"Our Caring Makes a Difference."...

. where David Tao Sr. realized his dream and worked as an animator in Disney Burbank.

Tao's parents later returned to Taiwan where his father began his singing career, leaving him to complete his education in the United States. Left to fend for himself, Tao took on many jobs, including a stint as a policeman in the LAPD
Los Angeles Police Department
The Los Angeles Police Department is the police department of the city of Los Angeles, California. With just under 10,000 officers and more than 3,000 civilian staff, covering an area of with a population of more than 4.1 million people, it is the third largest local law enforcement agency in...

, without the knowledge of his parents. Eventually, he graduated with a bachelor degree in Psychology from UCLA.

Career

Whilst working as a salesman, Tao was offered a job by Taiwanese producer Wang Zhiping and went back to Taiwan, initially writing, and later producing songs for many singers before releasing his self-titled album David Tao in 1997. He has since released four more albums, a live concert recording and a compilation of his best songs. His works have influenced many singers to acknowledge his works more than the normal listener. Tao is a prolific composer and songwriter and has written songs for fellow artists such as A-Mei
A-Mei
A-Mei , also known by her birth name Chang Hui-mei , is an aboriginal Taiwanese pop singer and occasional songwriter. She is also known by her aboriginal name Gulilai Amit . She was born in the rugged mountains of eastern Taiwan and is the third youngest of nine siblings. A-mei made her debut in...

 and S.H.E..

David Tao (1997)

In 1997, with the help of Wang and another Taiwanese producer, Jim Lee, Tao released his self-titled first album (David Tao), under an independent label called Shock Records
Shock Records
Shock Records is Australia's largest independent record label. It helps distribute records from overseas records labels such as Epitaph Records, and also for small record labels designed specifically for that band such as Cement Records...

, set up by Taiwanese pop singer Jin Ruei-yao, and her husband. This album set a record in Taiwan during the 9th Golden Music Awards, as the first album from a new singer ever, to be nominated for a total of 5 awards - Best Newcomer, Best Singer, Best Producer, Best Song and Best Album.

Airport 10.30 first caught people's attention, but it was the simply arranged, melodic I Love You that became one of Tao's signature tunes. The album also featured an a cappella
A cappella
A cappella music is specifically solo or group singing without instrumental sound, or a piece intended to be performed in this way. It is the opposite of cantata, which is accompanied singing. A cappella was originally intended to differentiate between Renaissance polyphony and Baroque concertato...

 song, Spring Wind, which was a new R&B version of a favorite old Taiwanese song. Tao sang all the vocals in this song, which still stands today, widely regarded as one of the best a cappella
A cappella
A cappella music is specifically solo or group singing without instrumental sound, or a piece intended to be performed in this way. It is the opposite of cantata, which is accompanied singing. A cappella was originally intended to differentiate between Renaissance polyphony and Baroque concertato...

 songs in Chinese
Chinese language
The Chinese language is a language or language family consisting of varieties which are mutually intelligible to varying degrees. Originally the indigenous languages spoken by the Han Chinese in China, it forms one of the branches of Sino-Tibetan family of languages...

.

Airport 10.30 was also nominated for the MTV Awards for Best Chinese Video in 1998 along with Coco Lee
CoCo Lee
Coco Lee , born on 17 January 1975, also known by her official English name as Ferren Lee, is a pop singer, songwriter, record producer and actress. Coco started her career in Hong Kong but, after becoming popular in Taiwan, she was widely considered to be a Taiwan artist. She was born to a Chinese...

, who became the eventual winner.

Tao won two of the awards, namely Best Newcomer and Best Producer, becoming the first newcomer/singer to also win a Best Producer award. Tao's first album was notable for the excellent production which, remarkably, was done in Tao's home in Los Angeles
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...

 entirely. The album also broke new ground in the music style and arrangement with its strong Western-influenced R&B flavor.

Tao shot to an unprecedented meteoric rise to fame following the release of David Tao. Unable to cope with the sudden media attention, he flew back to Los Angeles soon afterwards.

Between David Tao and his next album, besides releasing a remixed Bastard Pop ep, writing and producing songs for various hit Taiwanese singers, notably a theme song which became one of Taiwanese boyband Tension's hit songs, I'll Be With You, Tao was not heard on the Mandarin-Pop scene for a long while as he quietly disappeared into obscurity.

I'm OK (1999)

In 1999, two years after his first album, Tao released his second album I'm OK. This album was claimed to be a best-selling album by breaking the previous record by selling 600,000 copies, yet various critics had claimed that the impact of I'm OK was not any stronger than his previous work in terms of style and arrangement.

Notable hits include:
  • Rock ballad Rain, Angeline
  • Country
    Country music
    Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...

    -flavored Small Town Girl
  • R&B-influenced Just a Friend
  • Leave, a soul number.
  • Close to You, a love ballad.
  • Tuberose, a catchy a cappella
    A cappella
    A cappella music is specifically solo or group singing without instrumental sound, or a piece intended to be performed in this way. It is the opposite of cantata, which is accompanied singing. A cappella was originally intended to differentiate between Renaissance polyphony and Baroque concertato...

     remake of a traditional Chinese song.


In this album, Tao attempted many musical styles, including, unsurprisingly, his favorite rock music. In fact, some critics have noted that each of his songs are different from one another, in terms of their style and music arrangement.

Tao was nominated for six GMA awards for I'm OK - Best Album, Best Producer, Best Singer, Best Video, Best Song and Best Song Arrangement. He only won the Best Producer Award on the GMA, but Rain later went on to win Best Chinese Video at the 2000 MTV Music Awards.

Black Tangerine (2002)

In 2002, Tao released "Black Tangerine". Some notable songs in this post-911 album, of which he derived much of his inspiration from:
  • Black Tangerine, a hard-hitting rock song.
  • Moon Over My Heart, an updated old Mandarin hit re-rendered in R&B style.
  • My Anata, a Japanese-influenced rock number.
  • Angel, a love ballad.
  • 22, a catchy tune depicting the woes of a girl in crossroads.
  • Butterfly, an under-rated song which he penned about his relationship with God.
  • Katrina, a surprise demo he wrote and sang entirely in English.
  • Dear God,a song he wrote for 911.
  • Melody,, a song for a most important woman in his life.


What set Black Tangerine apart was the strong social commentary, including a track consisting of various actual Taiwanese news snippets of unrelated family tragedies and public incidents, placing the state of Taiwanese society in a somewhat negative point of view.

Dear God tells about the sadness of Tao regarding a mother of a victim whom has died in 911 and stared at her son’s picture and expected him to revive. Tao uses his song as weapon to bitterly criticize terrorists. Also, this song expressed Tao’s voice that love was gradually neglected by this society; more and more people concern about money and drama more than love and equality today. Melody was written for his ex-girlfriend whose name is Melody. Tao and melody were in a relationship when Tao was 16 years old. This song was an important memory to Tao.

Black Tangerine won various awards in Asia but was, incidentally, overlooked for the Golden Music Awards in Taiwan, where the album was originally intended for.

Tao has since held a series of successful concerts in Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...

, Taiwan
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...

, Malaysia and Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...

 in 2003, having already won many fans over with his signature simplistic style.

The Great Leap (2005)

In 2005, Tao released his fourth album, The Great Leap. It earned four nominations at 17th Golden Melody Awards
17th Golden Melody Awards
The 17th Golden Melody Awards were held on June 10, 2006 at the Taipei Arena in Taipei, Taiwan.-Summary:Although alternative musicians were nominated several times for awards, most of the categories were won by mainstream artists. The award ceremony featured South Korean pop singer Se7en as a guest...

 and won the "Best Album Award".
Notable songs in the album include:
  • Ghost (鬼), the first single of the album, showcasing an eclectic mix of 80's Disco synth with Linkin Park-esque Metal & Rap elements. The lyrical style, a continuation of the social commentary from the previous album, describes a person's fears among a mass media-driven society that is getting too close for comfort.
  • Susan Said (Susan 說), a track that combines Beijing Opera
    Beijing opera
    Peking opera or Beijing opera is a form of traditional Chinese theatre which combines music, vocal performance, mime, dance and acrobatics. It arose in the late 18th century and became fully developed and recognized by the mid-19th century. The form was extremely popular in the Qing Dynasty court...

    's unique singing accent and instrumental arrangement with Tao's signature R&B style.

  • Love Can (就是愛你), An infectious sing-along ballad about love. A throwback to his signature tune, "I Love You" from his debut album.
  • Who Do You Love (愛我還是他), The first ballad single off the album which had tremendous commercial appeal.
  • Art of War (孫子兵法), nominated for Best Arrangement in 2006's Taiwan 17th Golden Melody Awards, this rock hit featured the "12 Girls Band" (女子十二樂坊) as Tao and co-arranger, Goh Kheng Long fused hard metal and traditional Chinese instruments into a song leaden with socially critical lyrics.

Beautiful (2006)

A fifth studio album by Tao was released on 4 August 2006. "Beautiful" was a successful album which had three nominations in GMA, being nominated with Best Song, Best Composer and Best Male Vocalist.Despite Tao being a GMA veteran, he never won Best vocalist and this time this was also no exception with Tao only winning Best Song with his Marry Me Today. Among the more popular songs in the album are the title song Too beautiful, another old song restyled into Tao's signature arrangement, Can't Get You Outta My Mind, and a duet song with Jolin Tsai
Jolin Tsai
Jolin Tsai was born on 15 September 1980. She is a Taiwanese Golden Melody Award-winning Mandopop singer, dancer and actor. She is managed by Mars Entertainment Ltd .-Career:...

, Marry Me Today.

Opus 69 (2009)

Tao's latest album was released on August 21, 2009. It marks the return of Tao, and he developed the album with a blend of R&B, Rock and Soft Ballads.

Discography

Studio albums
# English Title Chinese Title Released Date Label
1st David Tao
David Tao (album)
David Tao Self-Titled Album is Taiwanese Mandopop singer-songwriter David Tao's debut Mandarin solo studio album. It was released on 6 December 1997 by Shok Records .-Track listing:-External links: formerly EMI Music Taiwan...

 
陶喆 同名專輯 6 December 1997 Shok Records
2nd I'm OK
I'm OK (album)
I'm OK is Taiwanese Mandopop singer-songwriter David Tao's second Mandarin studio album. It was released on 10 December 1999 by Shok Records ....

 
10 December 1999 Shok Records
3rd Black Tangerine
Black Tangerine
Black Tangerine is the third studio album by Taiwanese singer-songwriter David Tao, released August 9, 2002.The album was awarded one of the Top 10 Selling Mandarin Albums of the Year at the 2002 IFPI Hong Kong Album Sales Awards, presented by the Hong Kong branch of IFPI.-Track listing:...

 
黑色柳丁 9 August 2002 Shok Records
4th The Great Leap  太平盛世  21 January 2005 EMI Music Taiwan
5th Beautiful
Beautiful (David Tao album)
Beautiful is Taiwanese Mandopop singer-songwriter David Tao's fifth Mandarin studio album. It was released on 4 August 2006 by EMI Music Taiwan.The album features a mid-tempo duet, "今天妳要嫁給我" with Jolin Tsai...

 
太美麗 4 August 2006 EMI Music Taiwan
6th Opus 69
Opus 69
Opus 69 is the sixth studio album by Taiwanese singer-songwriter David Tao, released August 21, 2009.The album was awarded one of the Top 10 Selling Mandarin Albums of the Year at the 2009 IFPI Hong Kong Album Sales Awards, presented by the Hong Kong branch of IFPI.- Track listing :-External links:...

 
69樂章 21 August 2009 Gold Typhoon

Compilation albums
# English Title Chinese Title Released Date Label
1st Ultrasound 1997-2003  樂之路 8 August 2003 EMI Music Taiwan

Soundtrack albums
# English Title Chinese Title Released Date Label
1st Adoration 暗戀 LIVE特別版 15 September 2009 Gold Typhoon

Concert DVD/Live Album
# English Title Chinese Title Released Date Label
1st Ultrasound (the documentary film)  十一號產房 11 July 2003 Shok Records
2nd Soul Power Live album 陶喆現場原音專輯 20 December 2003 Shok Records
3rd Soul Power Live @ Hong Kong  陶喆香港演唱會實況 17 February 2004 Shok Records
4th David Tao Live 2009 (Shanghai)  1.2.3我們都是木頭人 陶喆 世界巡迴演唱會 (上海站) 27 March 2009 Gold Typhoon

Awards

Golden Melody Awards
Year Number Award 1998 9th Best Mandarin Album David Tao
David Tao (album)
David Tao Self-Titled Album is Taiwanese Mandopop singer-songwriter David Tao's debut Mandarin solo studio album. It was released on 6 December 1997 by Shok Records .-Track listing:-External links: formerly EMI Music Taiwan...

 
Best Composer "沙灘" (Blue Moon)
Best Album Producer David Tao
David Tao (album)
David Tao Self-Titled Album is Taiwanese Mandopop singer-songwriter David Tao's debut Mandarin solo studio album. It was released on 6 December 1997 by Shok Records .-Track listing:-External links: formerly EMI Music Taiwan...

 
Best Male Mandarin Artist David Tao
Best New Artist David Tao
2000 11th
11th Golden Melody Awards
The 11th Golden Melody Awards ceremony was held at the Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall in Taipei, Taiwan, on April 28, 2000. Aboriginal music featured prominently in this award ceremony.-External links:...

 
Best Mandarin Album I'm OK
I'm OK (album)
I'm OK is Taiwanese Mandopop singer-songwriter David Tao's second Mandarin studio album. It was released on 10 December 1999 by Shok Records ....

 
Best Music Video "找自己" (Rain)
Best Composer "找自己" (Rain)
Best Arrangement "找自己" (Rain)
Best Album Producer I'm OK
I'm OK (album)
I'm OK is Taiwanese Mandopop singer-songwriter David Tao's second Mandarin studio album. It was released on 10 December 1999 by Shok Records ....

 
Best Male Mandarin Artist David Tao
2006 17th
17th Golden Melody Awards
The 17th Golden Melody Awards were held on June 10, 2006 at the Taipei Arena in Taipei, Taiwan.-Summary:Although alternative musicians were nominated several times for awards, most of the categories were won by mainstream artists. The award ceremony featured South Korean pop singer Se7en as a guest...

 
Best Mandarin Album The Great Leap 
2007 18th
18th Golden Melody Awards
The 18th Golden Melody Awards for the Popular Music Category was held on 16 June 2007 at Taipei Arena in Taipei, Taiwan. It was themed "Mii", which stood for "Music is international".-Summary:...

 
Best Song of the Year "今天妳要嫁給我" (Marry Me Today) with Jolin Tsai
Jolin Tsai
Jolin Tsai was born on 15 September 1980. She is a Taiwanese Golden Melody Award-winning Mandopop singer, dancer and actor. She is managed by Mars Entertainment Ltd .-Career:...

 from Beautiful
Beautiful (David Tao album)
Beautiful is Taiwanese Mandopop singer-songwriter David Tao's fifth Mandarin studio album. It was released on 4 August 2006 by EMI Music Taiwan.The album features a mid-tempo duet, "今天妳要嫁給我" with Jolin Tsai...

 
Best Composer David Tao for "今天妳要嫁給我" (Marry Me Today) from Beautiful
Beautiful (David Tao album)
Beautiful is Taiwanese Mandopop singer-songwriter David Tao's fifth Mandarin studio album. It was released on 4 August 2006 by EMI Music Taiwan.The album features a mid-tempo duet, "今天妳要嫁給我" with Jolin Tsai...

 
Best Male Mandarin Artist David Tao for Beautiful
Beautiful (David Tao album)
Beautiful is Taiwanese Mandopop singer-songwriter David Tao's fifth Mandarin studio album. It was released on 4 August 2006 by EMI Music Taiwan.The album features a mid-tempo duet, "今天妳要嫁給我" with Jolin Tsai...

 
2010 21st
21st Golden Melody Awards
Ceremonies of the 21st Golden Melody Awards were held at the Taipei Arena in Taipei, Taiwan on June 26, 2010.-Eligibility:Registration for entry into the 21st Golden Melody Awards was opened from December 15, 2009 to January 4, 2010.-Song Of The Year:...

 
Best Male Mandarin Artist David Tao

HITO Radio Music Awards
Year |Nomination Result Ref
2007 Best Producer David Tao
Best Composer "似曾相識" (Finally)
Best Loved by Audience "今天妳要嫁給我" (Marry Me Today)
Top 10 Songs of the Year

External links

DavidTao.com official homepage
The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
x
OK