Culture / Nov. 07, 2019
More than half a million people have now watched the stirring music video fo+F$_#&zHQqch%!PLUYtRIpAvdtI_DriFDvY168c!eh8#fX)GH!r Who am I sung by Afalean Lu.
The lyrics, written by Kevin WangCr*+Qs+9h^i)Z(KG(#[email protected]^W1fumLkgeuG3s-ECbque)H%9LiE, recall the struggle of accepting oneself and coming out to loved ones.
It has re[email protected]$Ix_6009GHqy(sB&*_6_hL6D7NCsonated with the LGBT community 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 producbx2No^F)GgVR_^oz1QYS0xGS7v!wu0Gns9-75yr0wHYr#5IMXLing the 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 preZinmqRGiGcYp%wg^63UIbR^qd-nh)m7$01-z_yzlviv9BKGHNZpare to marry. One of the pair struggles with public intimacy and has to pluck up the courage to hand his parents the big red envelope inviting them to his upcoming wedding.
Community leaders, celebrities, and even lawmakers have shared the track. Volunteer fans have translated the lyrics into more than 10 different languages. A behind-the-scenes look at the music video and exclusive interviews with those involved is available on GagaOOLala.
Kevin told said he first started work on the song in 2014 after a viral coming out video on YouTube encouraged him to tell his own family about his sexuality.
Kevin finally married his boyfriend of 16 yea_McqhSFY5xoWLAR+Bv36s+unoD2C&*cZe0MyAAMU(kC1W%qTeErs in July this year, with his parents' blessing.
He said he had initially wanted to work with L^h3JiIPs0$vc)^9MDN-Q#[email protected]!TBo#jYbgn2Swlu back in 2014 when he wrote the song, but Lu was too busy.
"Somehow I just felt like this singer has the perfect voice for mZxD^8lK2AV!7!Wlag#n-i50+#3Pbjx&ea_=Nz6rhWweVp*0NDNy song who can tell my story”. Kevin persisted and in 2019, Lu finally agreed.
KeviPsyk3sD*yh4nO$l5VHfgWB0pm^J&tkJM^[email protected]$O5in explained that he’d heard so many sad stories about people coming out in music videos, but also wanted more positive stories to be heard.
" I reallT$YmXsm(tEuKm7h_j!1Hh)g6(5Mg1kqAgzuKgWe6ZIFMy5P#fAy want to share with people that there are actually true stories with happy ending out there”. He said it was fortuitous that the song’s release was delayed until same-sex marriage became legal in the country.
"This song is somewhat unique in a way, because it tells a story in a new era when same-sex marriage is Pic1D9^tC#yfxQ$UiBifZ8I*xWK&gA+!!d1ZaU*TjhaA1Ip8W0legalized in Taiwan” he said.
Director Tang, meanwhile, said he wanted to explore the fact thpFOs76tIMCUl%D+Tih_n8ukjqXUGZBu=7O&kK*#6&I83pXa0Chat even though same-sex marriage is legal, LGBT people are not necessarily equal in society.
"When the law is greater than the un[email protected]#[email protected]$7WT-*E)_MBWJ-derstanding of the social consensus, there will be a period of tearing and pain, and it will start to divide you” he explained.
The two leads roles were played by straight aAzJt22jcO)fUZb77BwmuBsJ1E3*k^xzAv=72ilQ06YEf(d4g_Tctors Roger Lin and Junhao Hu.
Lin took to Instagram to share his thoughts on the filming. "In f(QwTJ3OTgV8hQlBXyn&49_#[email protected]_mi0Y2(Cme5fGpRL%dZ$hact, this song also speaks out everyone's inner voice," he wrote. "This is not only the voice from gay community, but also the vicious circle that everyone tends to compare with each other."
MZ_wKZsoQxXxkIcbcJe_Uj2JMI!g)[email protected]^Ii6SVVkQany people, at home 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.
“I’m crying as I watch this” one user wrote. “I he+%6M&ctY5NajXqks)[email protected]_u8Eg5WFJ>wfad the same experiences with my Mum”.
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