Perfect Pitch

August Band rock China

By Suwitcha Chaiyong

The Year of Rabbit might be the year that T-pop really makes a mark on the international stage. Paving the way in China and Taiwan is August Band, who have become stars in those countries since the release of the movie Love of Siam in 2009.

According to popular Chinese search engine Baidu, August Band singer Witwisit Hiranyawongkul (Pitch) has been voted one of the most popular foreign artists in China, with more than 10 million votes. Pitch and his band especially hit big after their performance at the Guangzhou International Sport Center for the Hunan TV New Year countdown concert in China.

Student Weekly recently met up with Pitch for our Chinese New Year issue. The 21-year-old star told us all about his exciting experiences in China and Taiwan.

Student Weekly: Do you usually celebrate Chinese New Year?

Pitch: My family is Thai, so we don't do anything special during Chinese New Year. Our neighbours are Chinese, though. When I was very young, I sometimes received lucky red envelopes from them and watched them light up firecrackers.

Student Weekly: Have you ever visited China or Taiwan during Chinese New Year?

Pitch: No. But I know the festival is important to many of my fans there, because they always bless me on my band's Facebook page and tell us about what they did to celebrate.

Student Weekly: Do August Band have any Chinese songs now?

Pitch: Yes. I wrote a song called "Rak Mai Chai Took Yang (Love Isn't Everything)," and we held a contest to let our fans write Chinese lyrics for the song. Apart from China and Taiwan, we also have Chinese fans in other countries like Canada, the US, Malaysia and the Philippines.

Student Weekly: Is it hard to sing in Chinese?

Pitch: It's quite difficult. I used to study basic Chinese language in primary school, but I've hardly used it since then. My fans were happy with my singing, but I'm thinking of learning more about Chinese language.

Student Weekly: How do you feel about your popularity ranking on Baidu being higher than Korean pop sensation Rain?

Pitch: I'm surprised and happy. I believe that every artist works hard and that voting systems like that encourage us to keep creating good work.

Student Weekly: What was it like performing at the Guangzhou International Sport Center for the New Year concert?

Pitch: I was proud because August Band were the only foreign band there. We got to dance with lots of Chinese celebrities during the opening of the show. We never expected to come this far!

Student Weekly: Are your Chinese and Taiwanese fans much different from your Thai fans?

Pitch: They aren't as shy about talking to us as our Thai fans. Chinese fans liked to follow our bus in their cars. I was also impressed that they could remember the names of all 13 members in our band. They could sing along with our Thai songs, too.

Student Weekly: How did you go performing at the Hohaiyan Rock Festival in Taiwan?

Pitch: It was great fun. The festival gave us an opportunity to meet rock musicians from Korea, Japan and Europe. It really broadened our perspective about music. We also had plenty of fans to support is during our performance, especially when we played songs from Love of Siam.

Student Weekly: Do you think T-pop will become more popular in the future?

Pitch: I think that our music will continue to attract Chinese and other listeners. As well as Thai pop receiving attention overseas, Thai actors and TV dramas are also becoming popular on Chinese television.