Wayne Lin Junjie (; born 27 March 1981), better known by his stage name JJ Lin, is a
Singaporean
Singaporeans, or the Singaporean people, refers to citizens or people who identify with the sovereign island city-state of Singapore. Singapore is a multi-ethnic, multi-cultural and multi-lingual country. Singaporeans of Chinese, Malay, Ind ...
singer, songwriter, record producer and actor. Lin launched his musical career by releasing his debut album ''
Music Voyager
''Music Voyager'' () is the debut studio album by Singaporean singer JJ Lin, released on 10 April 2003 by Ocean Butterflies
Ocean Butterflies Music () is an independent Asian music and entertainment company specializing in Chinese-Pop (C-pop). ...
'' (2003).
[ GIO, Taiwa]
15th Golden Melody Awards winners list
12 May 2004. Retrieved 20 June 2011
Early life
JJ Lin was born to a
Kim-mûi Hokkien
The Hokkien () variety of Chinese is a Southern Min language native to and originating from the Minnan region, where it is widely spoken in the south-eastern part of Fujian in southeastern mainland China. It is one of the national languages in ...
family in Singapore and studied at ,
Anglo-Chinese School (Independent) and
Saint Andrew's Junior College
St. Andrew's Junior College (SAJC) is a junior college in Singapore, offering two-year pre-university courses leading up to the Singapore-Cambridge GCE Advanced Level examination. It is an Anglican mission school, part of St. Andrew's Schoo ...
before completing his
National Service
National service is the system of voluntary government service, usually military service. Conscription is mandatory national service. The term ''national service'' comes from the United Kingdom's National Service (Armed Forces) Act 1939.
The ...
. Lin's family consists of his brother, father and mother who have a background in Chinese Classical Music, hence influencing the artist's music. Furthermore, his brother was a major influence in his career choice.
Career
In addition to
Mandarin
Mandarin or The Mandarin may refer to:
Language
* Mandarin Chinese, branch of Chinese originally spoken in northern parts of the country
** Standard Chinese or Modern Standard Mandarin, the official language of China
** Taiwanese Mandarin, Stand ...
, Lin also sings in English,
Hokkien
The Hokkien () variety of Chinese is a Southern Min language native to and originating from the Minnan region, where it is widely spoken in the south-eastern part of Fujian in southeastern mainland China. It is one of the national languages in ...
(his native dialect) and
Cantonese
Cantonese ( zh, t=廣東話, s=广东话, first=t, cy=Gwóngdūng wá) is a language within the Chinese (Sinitic) branch of the Sino-Tibetan languages originating from the city of Guangzhou (historically known as Canton) and its surrounding are ...
using romanized pronunciation system, and has released his songs in Cantonese. In Taiwan, he was awarded the Best New Artist award at the
Golden Melody Awards
The Golden Melody Awards (), commonly abbreviated as GMA, is an honor awarded by Taiwan's Ministry of Culture to recognize outstanding achievement in the Mandarin, Taiwanese Hokkien, Hakka, and Formosan-languages popular and traditional music ...
.
After completing his national service, Lin signed with
Ocean Butterflies International
Ocean Butterflies Music () is an independent Asian music and entertainment company specializing in Chinese-Pop (C-pop). Founded in 1986, it operates in six regions: Mainland China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia and United States.
Hist ...
, which launched the then 22-year-old Lin's debut album in 2003. In 2011, Lin signed a new contract with the record label
Warner Music Taiwan
Warner Music Group's labels include the following.
Flagship labels
*Atlantic Records
*Elektra Records
*Parlophone Records
*Warner Records
Atlantic Records Group
* 1st & 15th Entertainment
* All Money In
* Artist Partners Group
* Asylum Re ...
.
He is well known for his songwriting and singing skills. He wrote songs for various musical artists while he was still a trainee under
Ocean Butterflies
Ocean Butterflies Music () is an independent Asian music and entertainment company specializing in Chinese-Pop (C-pop). Founded in 1986, it operates in six regions: Mainland China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia and United States.
Hist ...
under his mentors, Billy Koh and Sunkist Ng. In total, he has written over a hundred songs for other artists. His notable compositions include "Remember" (记得) for Taiwanese singer
A-Mei
Kulilay Amit (, born 9 August 1972), better known by her stage name A-Mei, is a Taiwanese Puyuma singer and record producer. In 1996, she made her singing debut and released her album, ''Sisters''. Her albums ''Truth'' (2001), ''Amit'' (2009), ...
,
A-Do's "Let Go" (放手),
Harlem Yu
Harlem Yu (; born 28 July 1961) is a Taiwanese singer-songwriter, television host and businessman. He is particularly well-known for singing the theme song, ''Qing Fei De Yi'', for the 2001 television drama, '' Meteor Garden''. He made a cameo i ...
's "What's Wrong With You?" (干嘛你看不爽我),
Cyndi Wang
Cyndi Wang Hsin-ling (; born 5 September 1982) is a Taiwanese singer and actress. Wang debuted her musical career as she released her debut album, ''Begin...'' (2003). Besides her musical career, Wang has starred in many TV dramas, including ...
's "When You" (当你),
Vivian Hsu
Vivian Hsu ( Atayal: ; ; born March 19, 1975) is a Taiwanese singer and actress.
Hsu rose to prominence in Japan, where she made her first appearance in 1995 and has become a highly recognized celebrity with her countless appearances in media dur ...
's "Smiling Eyes" (爱笑的眼睛), and
Comic Boyz
Comic Boyz () was a Taiwanese vocal quintet boy band, composed of Kingone Wang, Figaro Tseng, Peter Chang, Shone An, Arroy Shen and Eddie Hsu. Despite the publicity and making appearance in Taiwanese dramas, Comic Boyz was not as successful as e ...
's "Heart of Superman" (超人心).
In Singapore, he was selected to perform the remixed version of "Home", the theme song of the
National Day Parade in 2004. Lin has sold 1 million copies in less than a week and is extremely successful throughout Asia.
In July 2007, he broke a Guinness record by signing 3,052 CDs in 2 hours and 30 minutes. During the signing, he was not allowed to drink or eat. The average time for him to sign a CD was 2.7 seconds.
In May 2008, he performed at the
CCTV
Closed-circuit television (CCTV), also known as video surveillance, is the use of video cameras to transmit a signal to a specific place, on a limited set of monitors. It differs from broadcast television in that the signal is not openly t ...
charity event ''The Giving of Love'', dedicated to helping victims of the
2008 Sichuan earthquake. Lin also donated a large sum of money to the rescue efforts and composed a song "Love and Hope" () commemorating the tragedy.
In February 2008, Lin released a compilation album entitled ''Waiting for Love'' (). It has selected tracks from several of his albums spanning from his debut album to 2007's ''
West Side
West Side or Westside may refer to:
Places Canada
* West Side, a neighbourhood of Windsor, Ontario
* West Side, a neighbourhood of Vancouver, British Columbia
United Kingdom
* West Side, Lewis, Outer Hebrides, Scotland
* Westside, Birmingham E ...
''. Later in October of that year, his sixth album, ''
Sixology
''Sixology'' () is the sixth studio album by Singaporean singer JJ Lin, released on 18 October 2008 by Ocean Butterflies.
The album won for an IFPI Hong Kong Top Sales Music Award for Top 10 Best Selling Mandarin Album of the Year.IFPI Hong K ...
'' (), was released, and it sold 280,000 copies in a week.
His own fashion line, SMUDGE, was opened in Singapore during 2008 Christmas with an unofficial launch. The store's official launch was on 13 March 2009.
In May 2009, Lin won three awards at the 14th annual Composers and Authors Society of the UK (Compass) Awards Presentations, a ceremony that honors performers in the music scene. It was held at the
Royal Albert Hall
The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall on the northern edge of South Kensington, London. One of the UK's most treasured and distinctive buildings, it is held in trust for the nation and managed by a registered charity which receives no govern ...
,
Hyde Park
Hyde Park may refer to:
Places
England
* Hyde Park, London, a Royal Park in Central London
* Hyde Park, Leeds, an inner-city area of north-west Leeds
* Hyde Park, Sheffield, district of Sheffield
* Hyde Park, in Hyde, Greater Manchester
Austra ...
, Buckingham Palace and
Raffles City Convention Centre
Raffles may refer to:
People
*Sir Stamford Raffles (1781–1826), British statesman, Lieutenant Governor of Java and founder of Singapore in 1819
*Thomas Raffles (1788–1863), English Congregational minister
* Frank Boucher (1901–1977), Canad ...
, Singapore. He was honored with the Top Local Artiste of the Year award, which is given out to Singaporean artists who generated the highest royalty earnings for the year. In that same year, Lin won the Singapore Youth Award.
In 2009, his singing career was put on hold due to his voice being damaged by
acid reflux
Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) or gastro-oesophageal reflux disease (GORD) is one of the upper gastrointestinal chronic diseases where stomach content persistently and regularly flows up into the esophagus, resulting in symptoms and/ ...
and flu, as well as his hectic touring and recording schedules. His poor health forced him to return to Singapore to recover and receive treatments. He released the seventh album, Hundred Days, on 18 December 2009.
In May 2010, Lin performed in America for the first time at the
Asian Pacific American Heritage Month
Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month (, officially changed from Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month) is observed in the United States during the month of May, and recognizes the contributions and influence of Asian Americans and ...
Concert Tour (APAHM).
In June 2010, Lin performed together with American singer
Sean Kingston at the opening concert of the
Marina Bay Sands to thousands of invited VIPs guests. But both were absent at the
inaugural
In government and politics, inauguration is the process of swearing a person into office and thus making that person the incumbent. Such an inauguration commonly occurs through a formal ceremony or special event, which may also include an inaugur ...
YOG Opening Ceremony. Lin's eighth album, ''
She Says'' (她說), was released on 8 December 2010.
Lin's ninth studio album,
Lost N Found (学不会) was released on 31 December 2011. A preview of his 9th album was made available on 12 December 2011 on various Chinese internet radio channels.
Lin's tenth anniversary album,
Stories Untold (因你而在) was released on 13 March 2013. A compilation of micro films were released in conjunction with the album, serving to expand the stories behind the songs. He worked with a few notable people on the album, including
Ashin, Harry Chang (张怀秋), and his older brother Eugene Lim (林俊峰). He also started his world tour "Timeline" in July 2013 in
Taipei
Taipei (), officially Taipei City, is the capital and a special municipality of the Republic of China (Taiwan). Located in Northern Taiwan, Taipei City is an enclave of the municipality of New Taipei City that sits about southwest of the n ...
, Taiwan.
Lin co-wrote the song "Dreams" with Goh Kheng Long and
Corrinne May
Corrinne May (born Corrinne Foo May Ying; 19 January 1973) is a Los Angeles-based Singaporean musician, singer, and songwriter.
Life and career
She graduated from the prestigious Berklee College of Music in Boston, and began her career as a sin ...
and performed the song live during the grand finale at the
Chingay Parade on 27 and 28 February 2015.
One of his recent ventures in the world of music was a duet with
Ayumi Hamasaki
is a Japanese singer, songwriter, record producer, actress, model, spokesperson, and entrepreneur. By 2002, Hamasaki had earned the nickname "Empress of J-pop" due to her popularity in Japan and throughout Asia. Due to her success and relevanc ...
, for the latter's music video, "The Gift" (and as of 27 April 2015, has about 1,882,459-page views).
In 2015, he was selected to perform the
National Day Theme Song, "Our Singapore", which was composed by
Dick Lee
Richard Lee Peng Boon (born 24 August 1956) is a Singaporean singer-songwriter, playwright and film director.
Early life
Lee was born to a Peranakan father, Lee Kip Lee, (who wrote for ''The Straits Times'') and his wife , Elizabeth Tan. He was th ...
. His experimental debut album ''
From M.E. to Myself
''From M.E. to Myself'' () is the twelfth studio album by Singaporean singer JJ Lin, released on 25 December 2015 by Warner Music Taiwan.
The album earned Lin two Golden Melody Awards
The Golden Melody Awards (), commonly abbreviated as GMA, i ...
'' was released on 25 December 2015.
On 7 July 2016, Lin released "If Miracles had a Sound", a 96-minute music documentary created over the course of 455 days, taking place throughout studios in the U.S., Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong, and Taiwan. The theme song of the documentary, "Infinity and Beyond" (超越无限) was released on 21 June 2016.
On 19 December 2017, JJ Lin posted on his Instagram page that the past two years "had not been easy" and that he had been "searching constantly for a clear direction", needing a "shelter for the soul, a 'SANCTUARY'". He "penned songs and finished his
Message in a Bottle album", which was released on 29 December 2017. At the same time, he and his team and "shared a common vision, starting on project "SANCTUARY" and built the space from ground zero." In early 2018, he announced his "Sanctuary" concert tour began in Shanghai on 17 March. In 2019, he released ''The Story of Us'' (), and actress
Wu Jinyan
Wu Jinyan (, born August 16, 1990) is a Chinese actress. She is best known for her roles in television series ''Beauties at the Crossfire'' (2013), '' Story of Yanxi Palace'' (2018) and ''The Legend of Haolan'' (2019).
Early life and educatio ...
starred in the music video.
In January 2020, Lin released a song "I'll Stay With You" dedicated to the medical staff in
Wuhan
Wuhan (, ; ; ) is the capital of Hubei, Hubei Province in the China, People's Republic of China. It is the largest city in Hubei and the most populous city in Central China, with a population of over eleven million, the List of cities in China ...
, China, who were working hard to save patients infected with
COVID-19
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...
.
Other work
Lin has appeared in various advertisements for brands such as
Sprite,
Durex
Durex is a brand of condoms and personal lubricants owned by the British company Reckitt Benckiser. It was initially developed in London under the purview of the London Rubber Company and British Latex Products Ltd, where it was manufactured be ...
, ''
Dota 2
''Dota 2'' is a 2013 multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) video game by Valve. The game is a sequel to ''Defense of the Ancients'' (''DotA''), a community-created mod for Blizzard Entertainment's '' Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos.'' ''Dota 2' ...
'',
Beats and Cornetto Royale.
He is also a tourist ambassador for Singapore. He was also involved in an anti-drugs event as an ambassador, in Taiwan. The theme song for this event is "Baby Baby", which is from his album ''Westside''.
On 14 August 2015, Lin was selected to be the advisor for Team
Harlem Yu
Harlem Yu (; born 28 July 1961) is a Taiwanese singer-songwriter, television host and businessman. He is particularly well-known for singing the theme song, ''Qing Fei De Yi'', for the 2001 television drama, '' Meteor Garden''. He made a cameo i ...
on ''The Voice of China'' (season 4).
On 4 November 2016, Lin joined the variety show "
Dream Voice" as one of the mentors alongside
A-mei
Kulilay Amit (, born 9 August 1972), better known by her stage name A-Mei, is a Taiwanese Puyuma singer and record producer. In 1996, she made her singing debut and released her album, ''Sisters''. Her albums ''Truth'' (2001), ''Amit'' (2009), ...
Zhang,
Jam Hsiao
Jam Hsiao Ching-Teng (, born 30 March 1987) is a Taiwanese singer and actor. At the age of 17, while still in high school, he began working as a restaurant singer. In May 2007, Hsiao took part in the first season of China Television (CTV)'s sta ...
,
Hebe Tian
Hebe Tien (; born 30 March 1983) is a Taiwanese singer and actress. She rose to fame in the early 2000s as a member of Taiwanese girl group S.H.E. The release of her debut album, '' To Hebe'' (2010), established her as a solo artist. Tien's son ...
, and
Yu Quan
Yu·Quan () is a Chinese soft rock duet. They were founded in June 1998 as a duo between Chen Yufan (陈羽凡) and Hu Haiquan (胡海泉). They are from Beijing and Shenyang, Liaoning respectively. Both members were born in 1975. They were sign ...
. He stayed on as a mentor for the second season of the show, which was released in October 2017, and the third season, which was released in October 2018.
In 2017, Lin established Team Still Moving under Gunfire (Team SMG), a professional
esports
Esports, short for electronic sports, is a form of competition using video games. Esports often takes the form of organized, multiplayer video game competitions, particularly between professional players, individually or as teams. Although orga ...
team.
Initially focused on
Arena of Valor
''Arena of Valor'' (), formerly ''Strike of Kings'', is an international adaptation of ''Honor of Kings'' (), a multiplayer online battle arena developed by TiMi Studio Group and published by Level Infinite for Android, iOS and Nintendo Switch ...
,
Team SMG has expanded itself into other games such as
PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds
''PUBG: Battlegrounds'' (previously known as ''PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds'') is a battle royale game developed by PUBG Studios and published by Krafton. The game, which was inspired by the Japanese film '' Battle Royale'' (2000), is based ...
in 2018,
Mobile Legends: Bang Bang in 2020 and
Dota 2
''Dota 2'' is a 2013 multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) video game by Valve. The game is a sequel to ''Defense of the Ancients'' (''DotA''), a community-created mod for Blizzard Entertainment's '' Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos.'' ''Dota 2' ...
in 2021.
In 2019, he took part in the Chinese food travelogue show ''
Chef Nic
''Chef Nic'' () is a Chinese food travelogue show starring Nicholas Tse and featuring different celebrity guests per episode. The first episode aired on July 12, 2014.
Episodes
Season 1
Season 2
Season 2 added regular cast members including W ...
''.
On 24 February 2021, Lin performed a medley of songs ("
A Whole New World
"A Whole New World" is the signature song from Disney's 1992 animated feature film ''Aladdin'', with music by Alan Menken and lyrics by Tim Rice. A duet originally recorded by singers Brad Kane and Lea Salonga in their respective roles as t ...
", "
Can You Feel the Love Tonight
"Can You Feel the Love Tonight" is a song from Disney's 1994 animated film ''The Lion King'' composed by English musician Elton John with lyrics by Tim Rice. At the 67th Academy Awards in March 1995 it won the Academy Award for Best Original So ...
", "
Let It Go
"Let It Go" is a song from Walt Disney Animation Studios, Disney's 2013 computer-animated feature film ''Frozen (2013 film), Frozen'', whose music and lyrics were composed by husband-and-wife songwriting team Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert L ...
" and "Embark") to commemorate the official launch of the digital streaming service
Disney+
The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment
Entertainment is a form of activity that holds the attention and interest of an audience or gives pleasure and deligh ...
in Singapore, which launched a day earlier on the 23rd.
In July 2022, Lin said he is collaborating with Kiat Lim, son of Singaporean billionaire
Peter Lim
Peter Lim (born 21 May 1953) is a Singaporean business magnate who was a stockbroker, and is now a private investor who has invested in sectors ranging from palm oil to medicine. In 2019, Forbes ranked him as the 10th richest person in Singa ...
, and Elroy Cheo, a scion of the Cheo family that owns edible oils firm Mewah International, to co-found ARC, an app-based digital community that authenticates member profiles with
non-fungible token
A non-fungible token (NFT) is a unique digital identifier that cannot be copied, substituted, or subdivided, that is recorded in a blockchain, and that is used to certify authenticity and ownership. The ownership of an NFT is recorded in the b ...
s (NFTs).
Discography
Filmography
Films
Television series
Television shows
Tours
* Just JJ World Tour (2006–2007)
* I Am World Tour (2010–2011)
* Timeline World Tour (2013–2015)
* Sanctuary World Tour (2018–2021)
* JJ Lin “JJ20” World Tour (2022-2023)
Awards and nominations
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lin, JJ
1981 births
Living people
Hokkien people
Hokkien singers
21st-century Singaporean male actors
21st-century Singaporean male singers
Anglo-Chinese School alumni
MAMA Award winners
Saint Andrew's Junior College alumni
Singaporean Christians
Singaporean Mandopop singers
Singaporean people of Hokkien descent
Singaporean singer-songwriters
Mandopop musicians