Young heartthrob remains down to earth

American pop rock singer Greyson Chance was in Beijing recently. Zou Hong / China Daily

August has been an exciting month for American pop-rock singer-songwriter Greyson Chance.

The 15-year-old won the Most Popular New International Artist of the Year Award at the CCTV-MTV Mandarin Music Awards on Aug 21 in Beijing, where he also introduced his new song, Sunshine & City Lights, with his guitarist and producer Michael Warren.

During his stay, Chance also promoted his album, Hold On 'Til The Night, which was released in February. He says he draws his songwriting inspiration from everything and anything, and is influenced by a wide variety of music genres, such as rock, jazz and electronic.

"I wrote a lot for my new record, and I was influenced by many rock bands. I try to make my show really fun and youthful," Chance says.

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"You really hear the different emotions that you're going to feel during a year. You hear heartbreak in some, you hear anger, you hear sadness, you hear happiness in some, and you hear I'm in love in some songs," he says of his new album.

But he was virtually an unknown some two years ago. Chance shot to stardom after his soulful rendition of Lady Gaga's Paparazzi went viral on YouTube.

The video has more than 45 million hits to date and netted the young musician an invitation to perform it on the Ellen DeGeneres show. She was so impressed by him that she created her own label to sign the young singing sensation and from there, his life took a dramatic turn.

"Well, you know my life has completely changed. It really, really has, from being a normal kid to being an artist. I've definitely matured," he says. "The transition was tough, especially the traveling. But I am getting used to it. It becomes my life."

But he doesn't see his overnight stardom as an easy thing. "You have dedicated your life to it. You got what you put into it. Even if you win a competition, it's not like everything is ready and handed to you. You have to work hard and then at the end of the day, you get rewarded," he says.

He also got to finally meet his idol Lady Gaga back stage and sat front row with his friends for the Monster Ball at the Ford Center. He recalls that he was so excited and couldn't wait to see her that night.

"She always stays (true to) herself, the style, the music. She is a mentor and a friend. I learned a lot from her. Off stage, she is very nice and different from what we saw onstage," he recalls.

Unlike Lady Gaga, the young singer doesn't like dramatic outfits. "I don't like bright colors and you'll never see me in shorts," he reveals.

Ellen DeGeneres, one of his new album's producers, also gave him lots of constructive opinions. "She is my boss, we work together and come up with new ideas together," he says.

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Growing up in suburban Oklahoma, the pop singer-songwriter was a self-taught vocalist. He started learning piano at 3 years old.

"My parents never pushed me to do anything. When I learned piano, I just played what I like and I don't listen to my teacher," he giggles. "I think that is why I enjoy music so much."

He has been compared with another young heartthrob Justin Bieber, but Chance says he has never been bothered by the comparison, adding that they are different and have different music styles.

With a huge fan base in Asia, he looks forward to meeting and cooperating with Asian musicians in the future. He also plans to have a concert in China soon, maybe after releasing his second album.

It's still early days yet to define or predict the future of the young singer-songwriter. What's on his mind now is to produce good music and keep on learning.

"Being an artist every day, it's amazing! What I do sometimes gets hard and gets sticky but I love what I do and I would never give it up for anything," Chance says.

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chennan@chinadaily.com.cn