Taiwanese artist Ella has been living on the mainland for many years. Recently, she took the initiative to suggest appearing alongside her ex-husband Harlem in support of their son Harry’s (Yue Enli) online music concert, sparking curiosity about Harlem’s thoughts. On October 16th, Harlem held a press conference for his new single “Branch Ice”, and when asked if there was a chance to appear with his ex-wife and son, he bluntly replied “no”, before falling silent, creating a moment of awkwardness in the room.
The 65-year-old Harlem and Ella have been divorced for 17 years, both having remarried and started new families, with children of their own. They have attended their son Harry’s graduation ceremonies separately. During a live stream session with Ella, she proposed the idea of Harlem joining her in supporting their son’s future online music concerts by singing together. She even jokingly said they should “buy the copyright from Harlem”.
Facing the media’s questions on the possibility of publicly appearing together as a family of three, Harlem unequivocally stated “no”, setting a clear boundary when it comes to topics involving his ex-wife. This straightforward response, contrasting the earlier sentimental speculations, left reporters accustomed to artists dodging questions momentarily speechless, leading to an awkward silence in the room.
Not only did Harlem show firmness in his stance, but his son Harry had previously poured cold water on the idea, stating that a family performance was “impossible! Forget about it”. He believed that it was enough for each parent to support him in their own way and that forcing a joint appearance for the sake of publicity was unnecessary.
However, when asked if he would invite his son to be a guest at his upcoming “Night of Harlem Music” tour, Harlem joked and said it depended on his son’s availability. He had already extended the invitation and was waiting for a reply regarding his son’s schedule.
When questioned about whether he would negotiate a fee if his son accepted the invitation, Harlem jokingly exclaimed, “After all these years, as long as he can afford it, I’ll pay up!” However, if his son agreed, he admitted it would be tricky for him to navigate the dynamics of a father-son performance, wondering whether they should banter or engage in a different kind of interaction. Nevertheless, he promised to do his best to arrange the concert content.