Despite Taiwanese rock singer Chang Chen Yueh having had some hit songs, he has never really ranked as a top artist.

Nevertheless many people are familiar with him and thousands sing his songs in karaokes across the country every day.

He never compromises, never follows trends and his songs are highly individualistic yet he still considers himself "a mainstream singer."

Nobody would describe him as "handsome" or "charming" even though he played supporting roles in movies as a teenager yet, as his contemporaries fade away, he is still around.

He is still releasing new albums, performing regularly and his signature scruffy, stylish look is still undeniably cool.

Already in his 30s, Chang has put on weight and grown a moustache, but people still call him the bad boy - always cool, low key, stylish and fun. He sings fun songs with humorous lyrics that are slightly cynical.

Instead of screaming out critical comments, Chang hides them behind pleasant folk rock melodies and his boyish voice.

This old bad boy has performed a few times in Shanghai, often in clubs for some kind of event or other.

This Saturday, he is throwing a real concert, or "a party" as he hopes, with his good friend Taiwanese rapper MC Hotdog.

The 3,000-seat-concert isn't big but for Chang, it's ideal.

"I have just started my strategy for the Chinese mainland market recently, so it's better for me to build a solid foundation. Three thousand seats are enough as long as all the audience can really appreciate my music," says the old boy.

Besides singing many of his songs, Chang will also act as the DJ at the beginning of the concert to warm up the audience.

He will encourage all the audience to stand up and dance to his music.

"I want to make my concert into a party and I want to invite all fans to sing and dance with me," says Chang.

"In my previous concerts in Beijing and Nanjing, all the audiences ended up standing in the middle of the concert. So, why bother with the seats? Even the photographers had fun dancing with me while taking pictures of the performance."

As mentioned before, the concert is a co-operation between Chang and his good friend MC Hotdog.

The two have worked together many times, holding concerts together in many places and singing on each others' new albums.

One of the most famed performers in Taiwan's underground music scene, MC Hotdog debuted in 2001 with an album titled "Gangs of Hotdog."

The album was discussed because of its similarity to Eminem's, with lots of swear words, content related to sex and violence, etc. It localized the Western genre of rap. MC Hotdog raps about the sub-culture of Taiwanese teenagers and youths, about their troubles and their demands.

Date: January 26, 7:30pm
Venue: Shanghai International Gymnastic Center, 777 Wuyi Road, Shanghai
Tickets: 280-880 yuan
Tel: 021-6448-0898

(Shanghai Daily January 24, 2008)