Who Is Bii 畢書盡??

Taiwan artist Bii is back with his second album!!! It actually came out in mid May but I’ve only really gotten the time to properly check it out….. and boy do I love it!!! Its been awhile since Bii has graced our screens, reason being was that he spent the last 16 months in the military (he just couldn’t escape it).

This post isn’t really to talk about Bii’s new album but more of who he is and his pre-debut story. Many of you may (or may not) already know who Bii is, he is a half Taiwanese half Korean singer and thats all you probably know about him but let me give you more of an insight…. this is also what makes me like him this much.

Bii is a 23 year old artist based in Taiwan, the meaning of his stage name Bii stands for Be I I, the I’s representing his heritage. When Bii made his come back with his second album he decided to promote with his Chinese name 畢書盡 Bi Shu Jin but not that he was dropping Bii, oh his Korean name is 필서진 Pil Seo Jin. Bii as most of you know is of Taiwanese and Korean heritage, his father is from Taiwan and his mother is from Korea. Bii was born and raised in Korea by his mother while his father worked in China. For Bii growing up in Korea wasn’t the easiest thing as he wasn’t considered one of ‘them’, he wasn’t considered a Korean due to the fact that he had a foreign father. Back then (I don’t know if it is the same now) but Korean mothers were not allowed to pass their citizenship on to their children (of foreign fathers) even if they were born in that very country. So this meant that Bii was never given Korean citizenship, this also meant that when it came to college Bii had to pay more as he was considered a foreign student.

When Bii was 17 he decided to find his father leaving Korea, but before going to China, Bii stopped off in Taiwan to seek a friend of his parents who was then to take him to China to his father. At that time the friend happened to take Bii to a management company that belong to their friend (veteran singer) 李亞明 Li Ya Ming. The friend happened to mention that Bii liked to sing so when Li Ya Ming ask Bii to sing, Bii just looked at him blankly and waved his hands, Bii at 17yrs of age spoke no Mandarin at all. But Li Ya Ming saw something and it wasn’t Bii’s good looks so asked him to sing anything even if it was Korean, after he heard Bii sing he decided to sign him and have him learn mandarin as well as other things that will help develop him as a musician. But Bii released his first EP when he was 21years old, 4 years later…. why did it take so long? Well turns out it was actually because of Bii himself, he was quite an arrogant teenager, he wanted to be a singer but didn’t want to work for it, he expected it to be given to him on a silver platter. Li Ya Ming didn’t like Bii’s way of thinking and his attitude towards life but to Li Ya Ming he would still do something about it but it was one incident that drew the line for Li Ya Ming. Bii had gotten drunk and picked a fight with someone (or people I’m not too sure) which lead to him being arrested and also taken to the hospital due to the injuries (just minor ones). Li Ya Ming had sent Bii to China to give him to his father but what he didn’t realise was that his father didn’t have the time for Bii, so Bii’s father sent him to work in a factory in Shenzhen 深圳. After about nine months Bii’s father contacted Li Ya Min and said he thought it was now ok for Bii to go back to Taiwan to see Li Ya Ming. At that time Li Ya Ming thought ok I’ll just see him and see how was his life in China but that was it, but after Li Ya Ming saw Bii and realised how hard those 9months were for Bii (Bii had explained that where he worked, he  was suppose to get 900rmb per day but he only ended up getting about 100rmb as there were always ‘deductions’, he was bullied by co-workers, he never had enough to eat, all he ever bought was food was bread which will have had to last him for days) and realised how much those 9months impacted Bii and the way he sees life. Bii was then given a second chance and this time he didn’t waste it.

Bii’s first self composed song was called ‘What Can I do?’ and it was in Korean and it was a song dedicated to his mother and thus his professional road as an artist starts….

What I have written is what I have gathered from interviews hes had and from an interview Li Ya Ming did in regards to Bii, so please correct me if I have anything incorrect!!

Bii released his first EP at the start of July but it wasn’t until the end of July when Bii got his big break. Bii’s song was use for both opening and ending theme to popular drama 鍾無艷 Zhong Wu yen and this is how I got to know Bii. I’m a big watcher of T-dramas (well only good ones) and I’m more likely to watch or give a drama ago if someone I know is in it. It is always a bonus for the drama if the theme songs are really good and suited to the drama and I just loved both 鍾無艷’s themes, 到不了的幸福 is the openeing theme and 轉身之後 is the ending theme. I didn’t know who sung it but what I like was the drama’s opening scene, it went really well with the song and that the ‘plot’ of the drama was connected to the lyrics of both themes. Then finally came the question of who was the singer, because I like that the songs went so well with the drama and on top the singer was actually pretty good, he had voice that was different and distinct and there started my search, result and love for Bii and its always a bonus that Bii is just a cutie….

For now I leave you with a picture of Bii with his mother and younger brother and the Mv to the title song of this second album.

 

S.