Taiwanese singer-songwriter and TV personality Harlem Yu is widely regarded as one of the first Mandopop artists to incorporate elements from hip-hop and R&B into his songs. Born Yu Chengqing on July 28, 1961, in the city of Taipei, he made his official recording debut in 1986 with the album Sad Singer, followed by other popular releases such as I Know I Have Grown Up (1987), Missed Love (1988), and Give You All My Love (1989). In the mid-1990s, Harlem Yu moved to Sony Music Taiwan and delivered a series of LPs that would consolidate him as one of the biggest names in Mandopop, including Get Close (1995) and the gold-selling Just for You, released in 1997. During those years, he also made a foray into television, hosting several variety shows both in Taiwan and China. His music career experienced a sudden surge in popularity in the early aughts when he lent his voice to the track "Qing Fei De Yi," the theme song to the 2001 Taiwanese TV drama Meteor Garden. The song was subsequently released as a single from his twelfth album Tidal Wave (2011) and eventually became his trademark song. It was also featured in the Chinese remake of the series, which aired in 2018.
