The sound track of the movie has now been sold to more than 150,000 record buyers...and transferred to uncounted tapes. And Su Jui's rendition of the movie's theme song, The Same Moonlight, topped the island's top twenty for more than 13 weeks. Her second album, A Sudden Looking Back, has now held her in top position through the album's second week on the market.
At a recent concert for a young audience, everyone stood up to greet her. She was invited to appear in stage shows at Taipei's largest theater restaurant three times in one year—a record for a solo singer, and the tables were packed each time. Her Singapore stage show was a heavy success; the schedule was extended twice, and she was requested to come back 20 days after it closed. All this proves that Su Jui is a star. But what has it cost her?
"Mine is an entirely different life from that of the girl in the movie. I am not like her; I know what I want—a professional music career. What is life to me? A very serious thing. And what is music? A beautiful experience to which I can dedicate my whole life.
"For the past 15 years, I have been singing soul, blues, and rock under the name 'Julie.' Music circles really knew that I was good—but not the general public. Before singing for the movie Papa, I had rejected many chances for fame. If the music for a movie is no good, or not in my style, I would still reject it."
When Beatle fever and 60s youth movements swirled round the world, young people on this island were not left out. Girls shortened their skirts, boys let their hair grow long, and a group in the pop music vanguard started to perform Western music—band, combo, and solo pieces. These musicians were admired by the island's youth, but received little recognition from the establishment. Julie was among the vanguard group, and those over thirty and more can still recall her frequent appearances on the stage of Taipei City Hall in white miniskirt, legs sleek atop Roman shoes. The vanguard musicians had a good time for a few years. Then, one after another, they dropped out altogether or shirted to standard Chinese pop songs because of the limited market for their Western music.
Kao Ling-feng, Liu Wen-cheng, Tracy Huang, Sylvia Chang, Tracy Tsui and Ouyang Fei Fei are currently the top six singers of Chinese pop music; all were from the group.
"After so many years of dedication to good and meaningful Western music, I was the only one left. I often felt so lonely and disappointed," said Julie.
Janis Joplin, Aretha Franklin, and Dionne Warwick are Julie's professional lodestars. Their songs require skillful performances—but are not easily accepted by audiences here. But because Julie believes the flavor of their music can be recollected longer, she was never willing to accept a diet of sweet and mellow Chinese pop as a trade off for instant fame, and she drifted away from her colleagues of several years ago.
Here is a recent example of the success Julie passed by: Let It Be Tonight was the island's top 1982 hit, sung by a young girl, previously unknown and without any formal musical training—she became one of the island's major female singers just because she sang that song. The opportunity was offered originally to Julie, and she was told it would make her famous. But Julie declined, although she thought the melody was good, "The words were just too childish—meaningless for me. I am a grown woman not a teenager." So it was not like the movie, and Julie did not trade away a piece of her soul for fame.
What made her finally sing Chinese pop and rock? The answer traces back to the general background of Taiwan's music industry.
It has all been very recent—the island's talented, bright young professionals gaining their seats in the film industry, music, fine arts, photography, even journalism. It is not just that their work is good, but that they have come up with better forms of expression for young people's sentiments, including those worldly feelings of anger, depression, and confusion in the wake of modern times.
Yu Kan-ping, the director of Papa, Can You Hear Me Sing is one of the rising elite of local motion pictures. He signed on as a group, some of the island's most prominent composers, song-writers, and instrumental musicians to produce score and songs for the movie. Their cooperation was a big event in pop music circles here; the results were deemed excellent. Then the time came to pick the right female vocalist.
When Yu saw and heard a Julie singing Papaya on TV, he knew she was the one—But he had to call up friends to find out who she was.
The songwriter of Papaya treats the performer like a vocal instrument. The score of the song runs from the button to the very top of the five-line. Only well trained vocalists can sing it. And Julie certainly performed it well.
When Yu asked Julie to join the team, a wholly different life began for her. Julie was finally to taste the fine flavor of success.
"Their music, at least, met my basic requirements. Besides, several of the songs are dynamic and up-beat. The lyrics are saying that something is happening in our society," Julie explained her musical shirt. So she sang for the movie, and the soundtrack became her first album. And Julie became singer Su Jui, a Chinese name chosen for the album and a new start on a new career track.
The movie Papa, Can You Hear Me Sing, the album The Same Moonlight, and singer Su Jui have all flared in Taiwan's star ranks. And Taiwan finally produced a recording product meeting international standards in terms of recording, design, music, singing skills, and accompaniment. "Everyone of us put out our best to produce the album, but no one really foresaw it would be so well accepted by the public," chortled Julie.
After 15 years of dedication to Western music, Julie had become known only to a limited number of people. In less than a year in Chinese pop music, Su Jui has become an international Asian star. That makes us wonder—Is it that fortune finally came her way? Or is it that her hard work finally won her success?