Culture / Nov. 07, 2019
More t2gJ*2l*!p=Y6EC9*7PF2b$QrE9PQftE&uTZkABnc#@T4O(#V9Dhan half a million people have now watched the stirring music video for Who am I sung by Afalean Lu.
The lyrics, written by Kevin Wang, recall the struggle of accepting oneself and coming out to lzAmVPp2KVH7-7q-LIVplrPP#cpA+PE4M40V3i#47qGGQaNW5yxoved ones.
It has resonated with the LGBT cwmm&*[email protected])yRXQBpXuw)SJ%tOA5fL1&8v2h_pVHommunity in Taiwan as it takes stock after finally being granted the right to marry earlier this year.
“‘Who am I?’ Is the simplest question yet the most complicated question in everyone’s life,” explained Kevin, "I wish everyone to believe that love is always the answer”.
Wang spent his own money on producing thtDMxrjjm2Ou!L4)zxH_G4g#TEkzqS+CY8GNsEGZkNPXe5*uRlhe tune and is donating the profits to an LGBT charity. It is the first time he has produced a song and is a dream come true for him.
The song’s video, directed by Tang Jianzhe, depicts a handsome couple as they prepare to marry. One of the pair struggles w)uhg+OAeQx(^6cKwrIW%tIap48!^Mc(%@C)mBWunkOB2VKFVUPith public intimacy and has to pluck up the courage to hand his parents the big red envelope inviting them to his upcoming wedding.
Community leaders, celebrities, and even lawmakers have shared the track. Volunteer fans have translated the lyrics into more than 10 different languages. A behind-the-scenes look at the music video and exclusive interviews with those involved is available on GagaOOLala.
Kevin told said he first started work on the song in 2014 after a viral coming out video on YouTube encouraged him to tell his own family about his sexuality.
Kevin finally married his boyfriend of 16 years in July th[email protected]#XCDU4Xa-n1uLBOC4BDzqv(td11(eOnw-2is year, with his parents' blessing.
He said he had initially wanted to work with Lu back in 2014 when he wrote the song, but Lu was tooNrdUH9^i&JrXBrx*gn7P6I^kGRtDj+MM4H4(a-lAMn%N&YK5p7 busy.
"Somehow I just felt like this lzBV4Gxrpg&#VS2ttND91eWobx6#r*sKIho-2JXwlwQO2nY5_3singer has the perfect voice for my song who can tell my story”. Kevin persisted and in 2019, Lu finally agreed.
Kevin explained that he’d heard so many sad sto[email protected]([email protected]+ht4(e^$*5%6jWEBOzries about people coming out in music videos, but also wanted more positive stories to be heard.
" I really want to share with people that there are actually true stories with happy ending out there”. He said it was fortuitous that the song’s release 4nKgQ$oj4Z-rIQVNiGrw56aO4r6faHoqz9ONViS*sU*!()8uI_was delayed until same-sex marriage became legal in the country.
"This soxc%([email protected][email protected]$b5Y*dNsHm5NUHAIxG*@yvrlkGpr-9%ng is somewhat unique in a way, because it tells a story in a new era when same-sex marriage is legalized in Taiwan” he said.
D5E5Tc6-#Nz7R_&r0+FMhmS$HkiF5g79D1rWID=n2OpvlJGh$*virector Tang, meanwhile, said he wanted to explore the fact that even though same-sex marriage is legal, LGBT people are not necessarily equal in society.
"When the law is greater F1DeqOrHBK(8ldI*jQ21)[email protected](@than the understanding of the social consensus, there will be a period of tearing and pain, and it will start to divide you” he explained.
The two leads roles were played by straight actors Roger 9_YVUhkk%^[email protected]$+u#3O$FfXgCYcs#C(sFc)-3H%ktCLgLin and Junhao Hu.
Lin took to Instagram to share his thoughts on the filming. "In fact, this song also speaks out everyone's inner voice," he wrote. "This is not only the voice Zh*TKd*(1=SJW$Nn*)HrJs0$%*JL%l7ZycSdu6pP%[email protected]from gay community, but also the vicious circle that everyone tends to compare with each other."
Many people, at ho*d0$!^&YC8VX+Qjd%j^r=#_!hIN2Z6&DnSeTWTGi9yiq)uIiTGme and abroad, posted their own experiences of coming out and the YouTube video. Others expressed how the music gave them encouragement and hope to come out.
w)fDDmxd)oi))RGBW4$ltZuVt0QnV8KvD6(0=_1s-5gCWWgGMn“I’m crying as I watch this” one user wrote. “I had the same experiences with my Mum”.
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