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Cui Jian

Cui Jian or Choi Geon (; ; born 2 August 1961) is a Chinese singer-songwriter and musician. Dubbed the "Godfather of Chinese Rock", Cui is often deemed the most influential rock musician in China.}} His music draws influences from Chinese traditional music, hip-hop, jazz, electronic, and avant-garde, while his lyrics often delve into political, social, and philosophical themes. Recognized for his countercultural importance, Cui is seen as a cultural icon whose works have significantly shaped rock music both domestically and across Asia.

Born into an ethnic Korean family with parents who were both artists, Cui began his musical career in 1981. In 1986, Cui performed his song "Nothing to My Name" at Beijing's Workers' Gymnasium, which is considered a seminal moment in the history of Chinese rock. Standing out in the Chinese music scene when patriotic ballads and Cantopop were popular, he started to gather a cult following on China's university campuses, credited with pioneering the country's alternative music. This was followed by ''Rock 'n' Roll on the New Long March'' (1989), China's first original rock album, which remains one of the most successful and best-selling albums in the nation's history. Despite his popularity among the Chinese youth, he was subject to censorship by both the Chinese and Taiwanese governments. Siding with demonstrating students during the 1989 Tiananmen protests, Cui was banned from playing major venues in Beijing for a decade.

Cui's subsequent albums ''Solution'' (1991) and ''Balls Under the Red Flag'' (1994) received critical acclaim, the latter of which is regarded by some as his ''magnum opus''. He explored electronic rock music on the albums ''The Power of the Powerless'' (1998) and ''Show You Colour'' (2005). In 2002, he initiated the Live Vocals Movement against lip-synching at live and televised performances. Following his participation in producing several films, including the musical film ''Blue Sky Bones'' (2013), his album ''Frozen Light'' (2015) was regarded as his musical comeback. In 2022, the album ''A Flying Dog'' (2021) earned him the Golden Melody Award for Best Male Mandarin Singer, the top music award in the Chinese-speaking world.

British think tank Chatham House named him one of the most powerful and influential individuals in China in the 21st century. Cui has sold more than 10 million records in Asia. However, the vast majority of his CDs sold in China were bootlegged. Including these, the total number of his record sales amounts to approximately 100 million copies. He has held over 1,000 concerts worldwide, and he was the first non-Japanese Asian to receive an MTV Video Music Award. Provided by Wikipedia