Crowd Lu, was born on 15 July 1985. He is a Taiwanese indie singer-songwriter

Singer-songwriter

Singer-songwriters are musicians who write, compose and sing their own musical material including lyrics and melodies. As opposed to contemporary popular music singers who write their own songs, the term singer-songwriter describes a distinct form of artistry, closely associated with the...

. He is also referred to as Vitas Lu after making a parody of the song Opera No. 2 by the Russian singer Vitas

Vitas

Vitaliy "Vitalik" Vladasovich Grachyov , better known by his stage name Vitas , is a Russian singer-songwriter.Known for his high falsetto voice, he has been given the nickname "Prince of the Dolphin Voice" in China...

. Due to a serious car accident in his first year at Tamkang University

Tamkang University

Tamkang University is a private Taiwanese university located in Tamsui District, New Taipei City. Founded in 1950 as a junior college of English literature, the college has expanded into a full university with 11 colleges today....

, Lu learnd to play guitar

Guitar

The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...

 during his hospitalization. The following year, Lu won first prize for musical composition and solo performance at Tamkang University and proceeded to once again take the gold in composition and become the crowd favorite at National Chengchi University

National Chengchi University

National Chengchi University is a prestigious public university at Muzha in Wenshan District, Taipei City, Taiwan. It is well-known for its concentration on the social sciences, law, commerce, communication, liberal arts and for its MBA programs....

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In 2009, Lu won Best New Artist and Best Composer at the 20th Golden Melody Awards

20th Golden Melody Awards

Ceremonies of the 20th Golden Melody Awards were held at the Taipei Arena in Taipei, Taiwan on June 27, 2009.-Registration process:Registration for entry into the 20th Golden Melody Awards was opened December 1–31, 2008...

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Early life

Crowd Lu was raised in a household rich with culture and focused on the arts in Tainan City, Taiwan. His mother was a lover and collector of Western jazz records, which sparked a similar—if not greater—musical interest within Lu at a very young age. The glimmer of Lu's talent was apparent as he would belt out the songs of Whitney Houston and Michael Jackson only after listening to them once or twice. Lu's grandmother also contributed to his musical versality. His grandmother was a fan of local Taiwanese dramas and would sing theme songs from these dramas to Lu and his sister to coax them to sleep. It was most likely at this time that Lu developed his signature style- carefree, sincere, and youthful.

After graduating from the Tainan Guangming High School in 2003, Lu moved north to Taipei to attend Tamkang University. Although he intended on majoring in electrical engineering, due to his near fatal car accident, Lu was forced to switch his major to Spanish Literature.

Music career

In his freshman year at Tamkang University, Lu was run over by a bus and suffered severe injuries in both legs. As a result, Lu spent months in the hospital, during which he picked up the guitar and experimented with musical composition. The following year, Lu won first prize for musical composition and solo performance at a Tamkang University singing contest and proceeded to once again take the gold in composition and to become the crowd favorite at a similar contest at National Chengchi University. Lu caught the eye, and ears, of prominent music record producer Zhong Cheng Hu, and, with Zhong, produced three singles. Of them, "Good Morning, Beautiful Dawn!" appeared on the Taiwan Musical Society's Top Ten Singles in 2007. By mere word of mouth, Lu sold 15,000 CD's of his singles.

In late 2006, for a little more than a year, Lu toured all of Taiwan, hopping from diners to universities, and created a huge following, especially among university students.

In 2008, Lu ended his tour with 100 concerts and, on May 25, came out with his first CD 100 Ways of Living. Filled with the simple honesty of everyday life, 100 Ways of Living topped the charts and altered the course of the heavily Mando-pop musical industry and taste in all of Asia dramatically.

On August 23, 2008, Lu had his own first official concert, only 88 days after his hit CD came out.

In 2009, Lu's albums Seven Days (七天) and Live in Taipei International Convention Center (TICC) were both awarded one of the Top 10 Selling Mandarin Albums of the Year at the 2009 IFPI Hong Kong Album Sales Awards, presented by the Hong Kong branch of IFPI.