Chinese are kind and hospitable， and people from the entertainmentbusiness were willing to help this African chap. He still feels inhis heart the warmth of so many friends who have offered him helpand taken good care of him， though his first freezing winter in Beijingcaused the tropical fellow great suffering. When recalling that “frozen experience， he exaggeratedly mimics trembling with cold. “I almostfroze to death. But eventually I have gotten used to it. It’s nothing ifyou put on warmer clothes. He is in love with Chinese culture， and in love with the country.
He has been working hard to learn the Chinese language， Chinesesongs and Beijing opera. He even learned paper-cut skills from a folkartist.
Maybe he was born to carry a tune. He has made huge strides in60 his oral Chinese though he still feels daunted by written Chinese characters.
He doesn’t miss any opportunity to practice his oral Chinese andnotes down all the good sentences he comes across， whether catchphrases or amusing slang. His friends are happy to “transfer intellectualproperty” and pledge to give him private tutoring in Chinese. ManyTV stations invite Hao Ge to do shows because his sense of humor andwisecracks， expressed in Chinese， usually achieve unexpected effects.
Hao Ge sings Chinese songs clearly enunciated and in a fullvoice， and his musical talents have been appreciated by many professionals.
In September 2005， at the recommendation of a friend， HaoGe took part in “Star Boulevard”， a singing contest at the China CentralTelevision （CCTV） Station. Bi Fujian， the host of the show， didn’
t take him seriously at first and gave him a routine audition， becausethere were many foreign participants with great skills in the competition.
Bi was immediately surprised by his singing after the audition.
My god！ Such a good voice！ Such an excellent song！ No problem. Justgo ahead！
Surely， he “hit his mark at the first shot”； surely， he “soared intothe sky with one flap of his wings”。 He won first place in the weeklypreliminary， then first place in the monthly knock-out. In the end， hetook second place in the annual finale. Mr. Bi said during the show： “In2005 the first weekly and monthly champion was Abao， and I expectedAbao would take the first place at the finale. Sure enough he did. HaoGe has taken first place both at the weekly and monthly competitions，and I expected that he would be able to take first place in this year’s finale.
Well， the second place is not so bad.” A trace of a pity was detectablein his remarks. Many viewers also felt pity for him， and evenquestioned in their online postings the fairness of the adjudicators.
After he got first place in the weekly championship of the “StarBoulevard”， Hao Ge signed a full membership contract with HighView Star Works after being recommended by Liu Huan. “It is myhonor to be favored by Mr. Liu. Of course he is farsighted in recommendingme.” Hao Ge is confident that Liu wouldn’t let him down. Inthe contests that followed， he got a lot of advice from Liu Huan， whowent with friends to the contest site to cheer him， and even canvass votes onstage for him at the annual finale.
“He is my teacher and my big brother and has given me so muchguidance.” He gave a thumbs-up when talking about Liu Huan’s songswhich， as Hao Ge put it， “are all eternal classics”。 From the weeklycompetition to the annual finale， this African chap entered the contestsinging songs almost all chosen from Liu Huan’s classics， such as“Cannot Live Without You”， “Everlasting Sunrise on the Grasslands”，“Cherish the Memory of My Battle companion” and so on. “For example，when I was about to sing ‘Cherish the Memory of My Battlecompanion’， which is the theme song of the movie Guest From theIce-Caped Mountains， Mr. Liu told me the background story to get meemotionally engaged， and so I did it with a lot of emotion.” With theelegant way of singing he has learned from Mr. Liu， combined withhis R&B style and heartfelt singing， he always touches the soul of hisaudience.
Hao Ge has won tens of thousands of fans. “An African bro couldmove us Chinese audience to tears with his Chinese songs！” Many ofhis audience amazed.
On the stage of the grand finale， host Bi egged him on to presentan aria from Peking Opera. Hao Ge， in dead earnest， put on the operacostumes and then played the dark-skinned Judge Bao Gong， a role inBehead the Emperor’s son-in-law. There was no need for him to puton black-skin makeup; his natural color spared him the process. Hisremarkable imitative vocal music drew loud applause. With instructionfrom Ms. Qiu Yun， daughter of later Qiu Shengrong， an outstandingPeking Opera artist， Hao Ge learned this aria in just three days. “Hehas a marvelous power of understanding，” Ms. Qiu Yun said.
When foreigners translate the term Jing Ju， a unique form ofChinese theater， into “Peking Opera”， they can often end up feelingdaunted when they try to study it. But Hao Ge has cooked up “a secretshortcut” in learning folk arts like Peking Opera. He thinks of PekingOpera as Chinese Rap， which removes most of the pressure from thelearning process. The shortest distance between the two points is astraight line. Whether it is science or art， the simplest way is usuallythe superior way in expressing it. Remember that Hao Ge has a mas6ters degree in science; the master hashis scientific way of learning.
Hao Ge shakes the age with hisgreat reputation. He was invited byCCTV to perform at the 2007 ChineseNew Year Gala with a famous Chinesesongstress Han Hong. In singing “In aFaraway Place”， a classic love song， thetwo thrilled the minds and stirred thesouls of the audience with their heavenlyhigh ranges. On New Year’s Eve， at least 900 million viewers watchedthe wonderful duo on TV， and more Chinese got to know the youngAfrican.
To perform in the event is considered a great honor and a symbolof high standing in show circles， a dream of many Chinese artists.
