Taiwanese actress Lin Meixiu, 56, who has won prestigious awards such as the Golden Horse Awards, Golden Bell Awards, Asia Pacific Film Festival, and Best Supporting Actress at the Taipei Film Festival, made a surprising crossover into the music industry after 37 years in the entertainment industry. When asked about what led her to venture into singing at this stage of her career, Lin Meixiu simply said, “It was fate.”
She revealed that the matchmaker who facilitated her debut single turned out to be the renowned singer-songwriters Xie Mingyou and Peng Jiahui.
It turns out that during a stage performance of the play “Human Conditions VII” three years ago, she bonded with Xie Mingyou, as both of them shared a love for music and often relieved stress by strumming the guitar and singing during breaks. At one point, Lin Meixiu casually mentioned to Xie Mingyou, also known as “Black Brother,” that he could help her write a song when he was free. Later, Xie Mingyou wrote two songs for her, although at that time Lin Meixiu had not considered releasing them, but the seeds of her dream were planted.
Last year, during a chat with her friend Peng Jiahui, she once again mentioned her music dream. The proactive Peng Jiahui not only encouraged her with the words “if you have a dream, go for it,” but also sent her a demo of her own composition just ten minutes after hanging up the phone. This gesture deeply moved and inspired Lin Meixiu, who remarked, “I never expected that my friend’s private conversation would not only result in a song but also ignite my desire to release an album!” This song later became the prototype of the lead single “Lai Chun.”
Subsequently, Lin Meixiu collaborated with Xie Mingyou to complete the entire song, solidifying her determination to become a singer and release an album. Lin Meixiu’s husband, the renowned photographer Zhang Ximing, took the initiative to write the lyrics for this song and used the name of Lin Meixiu’s mother, “Lai Chun,” as the song title.
During the recording process, Lin Meixiu found herself “tearing up just singing the words ‘Lai Chun,'” and she never imagined that she would end up crying while recording. After completing the recording of the single, she paid her respects in front of her mother’s ancestral tablet, played the song for her, and even consulted oracle blocks asking for the opinion of the late “Lai Chun.” She received two affirmative answers, leaving Lin Meixiu overjoyed.
The animated music video produced by her husband Zhang Ximing, however, became what Lin Meixiu jokingly referred to as a “horror film.” Despite the jest, she hoped that audiences would resonate with the music video for “Lai Chun” and emotionally expressed, “I hope that when everyone has their mother around, they will cherish their mothers a bit more, even if it’s just a little.”