a-mei: The Rock 'n Roll Spirit In My Heart
“Rock music, to me, is just like the music of the Taiwanese indigenous peoples: simple, naked, straightforward, and brimming with vitality.” a-mei tells Apple Music. While the C-pop megastar is known for her soul-baring ballads and stadium-worthy anthems, the sprit of rock ‘n’ roll is most felt in her alter-ego—AMIT, a daring, adventurous persona born out of her Puyuma name. “When people see AMIT, their first thought is rock ‘n’ roll. Yet, to me, AMIT's music conveys a sense of overcoming, of experimentation, and of tearing down boundaries. This is also something I've experienced with The Beatles.” Break free from your former self and keep reinventing—for a-mei, it’s what rock music and the Beatles stands for. “After stirring up a worldwide fanaticism, they didn’t stay satisfied with where they were at. They never stopped boldly experimenting with their music, whether it was writing, composing or coming up with new recording techniques. As they meandered through various musical styles, their own kind of boundless creative freedom came out so naturally and straightforwardly.” She says. “I decided to put a few AMIT songs in my Beatles playlist and arranged them according to their styles and the feelings you get from listening to them. Like, after [The Beatles’] ‘Come Together’, you get the song ‘阿密特 給親人 來唱歌吧 等待豐收的父親’ (‘AMIT, Sing to Your Family And Wait for the Father of Bountiful Harvests’). Maybe everyone listening can feel a sense of wonder at the variety of approaches to expressing similar feelings.” “Before they were famous, The Beatles played at the Cavern pub in Liverpool–when I first came out, I was playing at all the pubs I could too.” a-mei says of the identification she feels with The Beatles and their career. “I remember I started coming into contact with the Beatles’ music around 17, 18 years old. Back then, I was in a band with my cousin and some friends, and I was taking in a lot of English popular music. During those years, my band would often want to play The Beatles’ ‘Come Together’, and so that was a song that we played a lot.” She would go on to make herself one of the biggest names in C-pop, and along the way, relieve the Beatles legacy. “In 2010, I went to Las Vegas for work. That time, I went on a special pilgrimage to Cirque du Soleil’s the Beatles-inspired stage show, LOVE. In that special rounded theatre, I got to enjoy the full effect of The Beatles’ classic songs. It was a truly fantastic and unforgettable time. The soundtrack for that show is one of my favourite Beatles albums. Otherwise, the legendary Let It Be and Abbey Road, as well as one of their firsts, Please Please Me, are all albums that I listen to a lot.” Now, get in the rock & roll spirit with a-mei and enjoy some of her favourite Beatles classics!