Stage name: David Tao Zhe
Chinese name: Tao Xu Zhong
DOB: 07/11/1969
Chinese horoscope: Rooster
English horoscope: Cancer
Height: 178cm
Status: Still single
Education: UCLA
Known fav singers: John Lennon, Sting
Known fav directors: Martin Scorese, Woody Allen
Known fav movie: The last temptation of Christ, The Godfather
Known fav books: Harry Potter series
Known fav car: Ferrari
Musical influence: Too many to list

David was borned in Hong Kong to parents who were famous entertainers in Taiwan. HIs father, Tao Da Wei, was an actor/singer/composer and his mother a very well known Chinese opera singer. David spend some of his childhood in Hongkong and during his Soul Power concerts in HK, he shared some of his childhood memories. His father and mother supposedly eloped when his father could not get approval to marry his mother. Later his father decided to pursue his dream of working for Walt Disney and they migrated to US where David senior realised his dream and worked as an animator in Disney Burbank. His parents later returned to Taiwan where his father began his singing career, leaving David to complete his education in the US. Left to himself, David took on many jobs even as a policeman in LAPD without the knowledge of his parents.

Later working as a salesman, David met reputed Taiwanese producer, Wang Zhi Ping, who after finding out who he was, offered him a job. So David went back to Taiwan writing and later producing songs for many singers. In 1997 with the help of Wang Zhi Ping and another Taiwanese producer, Jim Lee, David released his first album under an independent label called Shock Records set up by Jin Ruei-yao, well known Taiwanese pop singer, and her husband. This album set a record in Taiwan during the 9th GMA as the first album from a new singer to be nominated for 5 awards  - Best Newcomer, Best Singer, Best Producer, Best Song & Best Album. David won two awards, Best Newcomer and Best Producer becoming the first newcomer/singer to also win a Best Producer award. David's first album was notable for the excellent production and even more amazing, the album was entirely recorded in David's home in LA. The album also broke new ground in the music style and arrangement with its strong western influenced R&B flavor.

Airport 10.30 first caught people's attention but it was the simply arranged, melodic I Love You that became David's signature tune. The album also featured an acappella song, Spring Wind, which was a new R&B version of a favorite old Taiwanese song. David sang all the vocals in this song which remained one of the best acappella songs in Chinese. Airport 10.30 was also nominated for MTV award for Best Chinese Video in 1998 along with Coco Lee who was the winner. David became famous overnight and unable to cope with the media attention, he went back to LA. Other then releasing a remixed Bastard ep, writing and producing songs for Taiwanese singers such as A-Mei, and producing theme for Ford cm which was later to become one of Tension's hit songs, I'll Be With You, David disappeared from the Chinese entertainment scene.

In 1999, two years after his first album, David released his second album I'm OK. Although this was his best selling album, a lot of people still said that his first album was his best forgetting that I'm Ok has the most hits from the rock ballad Rain, the country flavored Small Town Girl, the classic r&b Ordinary Friends, the soulful Leave to the love ballad Close to You. In this album David tried many musical styles including his favorite rock music, in fact each song is different in their style and music arrangement. David was nominated for six GMA awards - Best Album, Best Producer, Best Singer, Best Video, Best Song and Best Song Arrangement. He only won the Best Producer Award and then had the last laugh as Rain went on to win Best Chinese Video at the 2000 MTV Music Awards. It was a mystery that I'm Ok did not win the Best Album Award when it break the record of 600,000 albums sold. But it would seemed that the Taiwanese music industry has a love/hate relationship with David. They could not denied his musical talents yet sneered at his preference for western music influences, his 'indie' way of producing his music in LA and not depending on any of the big record companies. Later his critically acclaimed third album, Black Tangerine, was not nominated for any GMA awards and one of the GMA boss even hinted that there may be problem with this album leading people to suspect David of plagarism. If that was the real problem, 80% of the albums produced in Taiwan will not be eligible for GMA nomination either.

I'm Ok cannot be compared with his first album as David was not producing the same kind of music. Where his first album was like a beautiful musical story from the first song to the last, I'm OK was more diverse and it is perhaps the most personal of David's albums. Even the album concept shot in an old style train station in LA seemed to delve deep into David's life journey. After picking up a few more awards in Asia, David went back to LA. In 2001, surprising the Chinese music industry once more, David released another album under the Shock Records label but it was not his third album. It was called Smart produced by David for Tension, a group of five young musicians who was signed up by David impressed by their vocal abilities.

In the second part of 2002, David released Black Tangerine, an album that cannot be easily categorised although it was a classic David Tao album. It has a hardhitting rock song, Black Tangerine, an updated old Mandarin hit in r&b style, Moon Over My Heart, a rousing song that makes you smile, My Anata, a love ballad, Angel, some great tunes, 22 and Butterfly, and a few alternative songs, Dear God and Lullaby, as well as a surprise hit in the English demo, Katrina. What set Black Tangerine apart was the strong social commentary including a track consising of news snippets. While Black Tangerine did not have the wonderful melodic feel of his first album or the hits of I'm OK, it was an album that wanted to reach out to people's hearts and minds with the power of music. It's one of the few Chinese albums that has no intention of inducing hits for the karaoke lounge. Black Tangerine won a slew of awards in Asia but as mentioned before, was overlooked for the GMA in Taiwan.

David Tao is not a very prolific singer/producer but he has achieved much more than other Chinese singers who has ten or more albums to their name. Most critics now tend to compare him disparagingly with younger singer/writer/producer forgetting that David made his name without the backing of a major record company, without any kind of hype as the next so and so, without knowing that he will be wildly successful in shaking up the Chinese entertainment world. He was the first to show both Chinese singers and listeners that music has no boundaries and the others that came after him benefited from his bold, successful attempt to break new ground in the conservative world of Chinese music.

David has since held a series of successful concert in Hong Kong, Taiwan, Malaysia and Singapore in 2003. His concerts like his music are simple in concept but dynamic in delivering 100% of pure music to his audience. David is now in the midst of producing his fourth album and will hopefully resume his concert tour in China early next year.
(credit to whall)

David's profile extracted from Studio Classroom Nov issue, credit to pill from davidcn.com

David Tao
By Andrea Brodersen and Michael Ridgeway
Graphics By Rebecca Chao

This Asian pop star makes music that matters
Pop star David Tao has been labeled "Asia's king of R&B," and rightly so. He's the man who brought R&B to the Mandarin music scene.
Nowadays, "King David" rules the Mandarin scene with his smooth voice and matchless songwriting talent. Praised for his fresh musical style, this singer has gained a faithful following throughout Asia. Fans just can't get enough of him.
David was born in Hong Kong on July 11, 1969, but spent most of his childhood in Taiwan and the United States.
David, an only child, grew up in a musically talented family. His mother was a successful Chinese opera star. But it was his father who instilled a love of music in him. Chinese and Western songs often filled their home, with his father singing along. David soon joined in.
Still, David never dreamed of becoming a famous musician. As with most young people, his dreams changed with the passing fancies of childhood. At one point, he even considered becoming a lawyer.
David's work experience has also been as varied and random as his childhood dreams. He worked many different jobs while living in the U.S. - from shoe salesman to police officer.
In college, David majored in psychology and filmmaking. He planned on pursuing a career as a movie director. His life, however, took a decidedly unexpected detour.
In 1993, a Taiwanese music producer walked into an instrument store in the U.S. where David was working. He soon discovered that David spoke Mandarin and had a good understanding of music.
He encouraged David to pursue a career in Mandarin pop. Shortly afterward, David moved back to Taiwan and began working as a songwriter for various pop singers. He quickly became known for his distinctive R&B style. Many famous pop stars began seeking him out to help write their albums.
Finally, in 1997, David jumped our from behind the scenes and into the spotlight. That year, he released his debut self-titled album. He also won a Golden Melody Award for Best Newcomer.
David strives to create music that brings people hope. He also uses his music to share his Christian faith. He says, "I don't debate my faith with others, and I don't force others to believe in God, but I will share with you all the blessings God has given me."
David prays for inspiration to make music that touches hearts. He wrote the song "Dear God" after the September 11 tragedy. "I just sat there with a guitar one day ... and then this melody came out from nowhere," he says. "I knew it was something sent from above."
How does David measure success? Certainly not by the number of albums he's sold. For David, success is when a fan says to him, "Your music cheered me up and helped me in my darkest hour."
Unlike many pop stars, David cares little about his image. For him, music is about presenting a message, not an image.
"I don't really know how people perceive me, and honestly, that's something I really don't think about," he says. "I just try to do what I do well and work hard at it."