The Nigerian-born performer Emmanuel Uwechue, a k a Hao Ge, has risen to stardom singing in Mandarin Chinese.

Watch two videos on him here… http://www.cp-africa.com/2011/03/16/meet-nigerian-born-singer-emmanuel-uwechue-chinas-rising-pop-star-2/

Profile New York Times

Hao Ge (pronounced How Guh) is perhaps China’s most unlikely pop star: he is Nigerian, and he sings in Mandarin.

His real name is Emmanuel Uwechue, though he is better known by his stage name, which sounds like the words for “good song” in Chinese. Mr. Uwechue, 33, has developed quite a fan base, particularly among the children and middle-aged women who watch “Xin Guang Da Dao,” the “American Idol” knockoff show, where he first gained notice a few years after his arrival here almost a decade ago. He has performed alongside a host of Chinese superstars — including Sun Nan, Na Ying and Han Hong — and has been enthusiastically embraced by the Chinese media.

“The African Who Searches for His Dream in China,” read the headline atop a 2006 article about Mr. Uwechue on QQ.com, a popular social networking site here. Articles by the state-run Xinhua news agency and in the Web-based magazine Sina Entertainment, as well as a television documentary, have similarly chronicled his unusual story. Mr. Uwechue even appears on bus ads: “Good Song Comes From Good Wine,” reads an advertisement for the Guan Gong Fang company, which signed him to represent its brand of wine.

“He’s good — he’s not just another foreigner who got on TV because he could speak and sing in Chinese,” said Yu Na, 40, who lives in northwest Beijing, adding that she likes to “jump up and down” to Mr. Uwechue’s more upbeat songs; many of them are soul-infused versions of classic Chinese love songs, with faster rhythms.

Mr. Uwechue is not the first foreigner to have made a name for himself in China, but he is the first African to have reached widespread success here. Some music industry experts in China credit part of his fame to the close economic and cultural ties — including friendship and exchange programs and other joint ventures — that have long existed between China and some African countries. In a recently televised public performance, Mr. Uwechue dressed up as an oil rig worker and sang alongside a Chinese fellow laborer. http://www.cp-africa.com/2011/03/16/meet-nigerian-born-singer-emmanuel-uwechue-chinas-rising-pop-star-2/