[INTERVIEW] Bii (毕书尽) Shares A Surprise For Upcoming Singapore Showcase & Drops Hint For 5th Album

Korean-Taiwanese singer Bii (毕书尽) will be returning to Singapore for his music showcase, Bii With You, on June 17th at The Star Theatre. With all VIP tickets snapped up within 9 minutes after the ticket sales launch, Bii is for sure one of the highly sought-after artists today with his rising popularity.

As we countdown to the showcase in June, be sure to check out our exclusive interview with Bii! He shared about his love for Singapore, his upcoming plans for the year and what fans can look forward to at the showcase.

Q: You’ve been to Singapore several times. Do you have any memorable or interesting fan encounter in Singapore to share?

I am very impressed by the passion and courtesy of Singapore fans. I like Singapore very much and I think it’s a country that makes me feel very relaxed. Three years ago when I was here to perform at the Spring Wave Singapore 2014, I came across a friendly driver. He introduced me to Singlish and taught me several useful phrases to use on stage. He didn’t know who I was, except for the fact that I was here as a performer. I can’t recall any of the phrases now, but I remembered that we shared many laughter in the car and I was really grateful for the warmth and hospitality.

歌迷的热情跟有礼貌让我非常印象深刻，我很喜欢新加坡，我觉得这是一个可以让我很放松的国家。记得2014年来新加坡春浪表演时遇到一个司机很可爱，其实他不知道我是谁只知道我是从国外来的表演者，所以他整路都在教我新加坡英文，跟我说在台上表演时可以用到，观众会觉得很亲切。虽然他教了什么其实现在我都忘光了，但我记得那天车上的笑声，很温暖，很感谢。

Q: You’ve been active in producing songs and featuring for drama OST. Will fans be able to look forward to a new album anytime soon?

I am in the midst of producing my 5th solo album. In addition to my own song compositions, this album will also feature some of my favourite musicians. If the recording goes well, I hope to meet all of you with my new album before August this year. Please look forward to it!

我目前已经开始在制作我的第五张个人专辑了。这次专辑里面除了收录我的创作之外，也有我很喜欢的音乐人的作品，所以请大家期待吧。如果录音顺利的话希望能在今年八月前带着新专辑跟大家见面。

Q: Fans love both the Mandarin and Korean versions of your songs as they give a different feel individually. Do you have any plans to release any tracks in Korean again?

Most of my early tracks were first written in Korean, so I recorded both the Mandarin and Korean versions in my first two albums. Moving forward, I think I’ll still be doing it this way, though I won’t really consider producing a full Korean album. If there’s an opportunity to advance into the Korean market in the near future, I hope to create an identity for myself as a Mandopop singer with my music and introduce Mandarin songs to the Koreans.

我早期的创作大多都先写韩文词，所以在前两张专辑里有收录几首歌是有中文跟韩文两个版的。我想之后应该也会继续这样的方式，但不会考虑做全韩文的专辑。之后如果有机会到韩国发展，我也希望是以华语歌手的身份带着我的音乐让更多韩国人认识到中文歌曲。

Q: When you compose the songs, do you write your first inspirations in Chinese or Korean (and translate it afterwards)?

When I was producing my first album, I penned everything down in Korean because my Chinese was really poor back then. For the second album, I tried writing bit by bit in Chinese, but Korean still makes up most of it. In my fourth album, I finally wrote a full song in Chinese! The track is called ’38’. Although the meaning behind the lyrics is simple, I consider this track as my first step towards a full composition in Chinese.

I’ve been wanting to attempt writing a Mandarin rap these days. I used to add in Korean rap in my songs but my fans were not able to understand and it was hard for them to sing along to the lyrics. I hope that I can master Chinese well for my fans and gift another self-composed track with my own Chinese lyrics or rap.

第一张专辑的时候因为中文能力实在很差，所以都是用韩文。第二张开始可以夹带一些中文，但还是以韩文做为主要基底。我在第四张专辑终于自己填了中文词了，这首歌叫做38，虽然词的意思很简单，但也算跨出我全中文创作的第一步。最近也想要试试看写中文rap，因为我之前常在自己的歌里加入韩文rap，但听到很多歌迷反应他们不懂韩文，这样不能一起唱。是真的希望为了他们我可以学好中文，赶快写一首有中文rap或再一首自己填中文词的歌送给大家。

Q: Which kind(s) of music genre is/are your favorite these days?

My favourite genre is still slow-rock.

我还是最喜欢抒情摇滚曲风的歌。

Q: What do you do in your free time?

Gaming! Haha, I usually don’t head out much. To me, it’s relaxing to stay at home in my free time and do the things I enjoy, like gaming, playing with my dog, practising on my guitar or cooking. On days when I am in an extremely good or bad mood, I will head to the KTV and sing to my heart’s content.

打电动！哈哈，我没事的时候几乎都不出门，宅在家打电动、跟狗狗玩、弹一下吉他、煮饭，对我来说就是很放松的事情。如果情绪很多（很开心、很不开心）的时候，我会去唱KTV，靠唱歌去发泄这些情绪。

Q: Since Singapore will be a prelude to your first ever large-scale concert in Taiwan, what can fans look forward to at this showcase?

This music showcase will be my first and only show before the Taiwan concert at the end of the year. My plans this year will include the Singapore showcase, filming for a drama, releasing my 5th album, as well as the year-end concert. I can’t multi-task more than one thing at a time, so I was really grateful to my agency whom planned out the timeline for this year and gave me sufficient time to prepare for every schedule.

I had initial plans to return and meet my Singapore fans last year, but wasn’t able to do so due to my packed schedule. Hence I want to specially dedicate this showcase to Singapore before my year-end concert in Taiwan.

I was especially saddened when I wasn’t able to perform for my fans during the public autograph session back in 2015 when I visited Singapore with Dino Lee and Ian Chen for our promotional tour. Although I still made an appearance at the event, I wasn’t able to perform at all because I was feeling so ill and weak that day. It made me feel so terrible and sorry for my fans, so I want to do something special this time to make up for it. I hope to gift my fans a complete showcase with purely my music and me. My live band will also be performing together and I’ve prepared a surprise song for the audience! I’ve never sang this song before, so you can definitely look forward to the showcase!

这场音乐会是我今年很少数的公开活动，因为今年公司对我的计划很简单，就是拍一部戏、发第五张个人专辑以及年底的小巨蛋。我是一个没办法一心二用的人，所以很感谢公司给我很足够的时间可以让我去准备。对于新加坡粉丝家人们其实本来在去年就有计划想回去看看大家，但是时间一直没配合上，所以在今年小巨蛋之前特别把唯一一场的音乐会献给新加坡。因为2015年跟师弟玉玺、彦允去宣传的时候我在最后一场的签唱会前得了肠病毒，虚弱的连自己都吓到。虽然还是有出席见大家，但那天完全唱不了歌。我觉得我欠大家一次，所以特别在这次带着我的Live band一起表演，在这场音乐会我希望给大家完整的我，纯粹只有音乐的我。当然这么久不见一定要带礼物啦，所以我会准备大家没听过的歌当作给大家的小惊喜。只有到现场的观众才听得到喔！

Details of Bii With You LIVE in Singapore
Date: June 17th, 2017 (Saturday)
Venue: The Star Theatre (The Star Performing Arts Centre)
Time: 8pm
Ticket Pricing: (Exclude booking fee)
S$178 (VIP) SOLD OUT! / $148 / $118 / $78
Ticketing Channel: SISTIC

Bii With You LIVE in Singapore is presented by KKBOX and Singtel. Special thanks to KKBOX for arranging this interview with Bii! Click HERE for more information of the showcase!

(Photos: KKBOX ; English Translations: Meixian)