Featuring characters in Journey to the West and the English version of Little Apple, one of the most famous meme songs in China, a music video has won over 170 million clicks on Tencent Video, a leading video platform in China.
That was probably how Shaun Gibson, who is now an international student at Suzhou-based Xi’an Jiaotong Liverpool University (XJTLU), first became famous on social media for his music talent and a magical blending of cultures.
Born in Northwich, a small town in east Britain, Shaun has been a music lover since very little. He made his first stage performance at the age of three, started to learn piano at nine, and composed his first song at 14.
With pursuit in music, he went to Liverpool University, where he got to know many friends from China.
Thanks to the Sino-UK cooperation between Liverpool University and Xi’an Jiaotong University, a good number of XJTLU students will continue their study in the UK every year. It is these Chinese students that opened a window to Chinese culture and Chinese pop music to Shaun.
“They always took me to Chinese Karaoke in downtown Liverpool.” Shaun cannot stop smiling while recalling the memories with his Chinese friends. “There was a guy who taught me about Pinyin.
“And I learned the very first Chinese song called Angles’ Wings.” he said. He later recomposed the song into an English version.
