Taking her show on the road

Singer-songwriter Qu Wanting will kick off her 22-city national tour from Beijing, after her monthlong road trip through North America early this year. Photo provided to China Daily

Singer-songwriter Qu Wanting has been performing internationally to the point of exhaustion. Chen Nan catches up with her before she sets off on her national tour this month.

Singer-songwriter Qu Wanting has probably been feeling a little bit carsick lately.

She undertook a monthlong road trip through North America, performing at 18 cities from Vancouver to New York in February, to promote her second album, Say the Words, a follow-up of her award-winning debut Everything in the World two years ago.

At the end of May, she will kick off her 22-city national tour from Beijing.

She's still excited about her first North American tour.

"I was exhausted, but it was a really cool experience," the 29-year-old says.

Qu and 11 other performers toured in a pink bus, the exterior of which was adorned with her headshot. Bouncing between big theaters and small live house venues, she enjoyed intimate contact with her fans.

"We've been driving all day and all night. It was like a dream come true, being a singer-songwriter on the road," she says.

"The fans could follow me singing all my songs－both the Chinese and English songs. I feel proud that a Chinese singer-songwriter can bring original works to global fans."

But it took a while for the first Chinese singer-songwriter signed under both Universal Music China and Canadian music label Nettwerk in 2009 to realize this dream.

When she released her songs online, such as Drenched and You Exist in My Song, she attracted not only fans but also filmmaker Pang Ho-cheung, who featured those two songs in his romantic comedy Love in a Puff in 2012. She became a household name in China that year, when You Exist in My Song was performed by Li Daimo, a contestant of the popular reality talent show The Voice of China.

Qu composed and wrote her two albums, which contain a mix of English and Chinese songs. For her second album, she also worked with Grammy Award-nominated record producer Ron Aniello, who has worked with artists like Bruce Springsteen and Sixpence None the Richer. Last year, she was even invited to serve as the Vancouver tourism ambassador in China.

Before all that achievement, she had been living in a small apartment in Vancouver, writing and composing her songs, and looking for opportunities to get greater exposure for them.

The native of Heilongjiang's provincial capital Harbin, who was educated in Canada, says her success is within her expectations. She has been writing songs since age 15 and has matured as an artist in recent years.

"I know that for some people, I seem have a kind of overnight success, but I have to say that it's not true," she explains.

"I have been making the effort for years. I know my music and my voice so well. I am confident about myself. I always have a clear goal in my mind－releasing albums with my own style and attitude. I think I made it."

She admits she had a hard time adjusting to celebrity life after winning fame, especially the intensive tour schedule.

But the upside is she can help young singer-songwriters and bands show themselves to the world. She invited new bands and musicians to open her concerts during her North American tour.

Qu plans to return to Vancouver to enjoy a simple life for a few months before releasing her third album at the end of the year.

"Since no one recognizes me in Vancouver, I don't wear makeup and walk downstairs to buy food," she says.

"That kind of life is peaceful and inspires me to write more songs."

If you go:

ThinkPad Space

Inside the MasterCard Center, the former Wukesong Arena, 69 Fuxing Lu (Road), Haidian district, Beijing.

7:30 pm, May 30 and 31.

400-610-3721.

180-580 yuan ($29-93).