Becoming famous overnight has brought Chen Chusheng his fair share of trouble, and he longs for the simple life away from the limelight. Photos by Zou Hong / China Daily
 

Putting the troubles of the past behind him, Chen Chusheng is all set to take his music to a new level. Chen Nan reports.

Chen Chusheng’s rise to fame was nothing less than meteoric. But the overnight success also cut into his privacy and dimmed his enthusiasm for song writing. The champion of the 2007 Super Boy （Happy Boy） singing competition says he would rather be a pub singer or a guitarist than a star under the spotlight. "You may think I am lying and pretending. But that’s true," Chen says quietly in an interview with China Daily. "I miss the days when I sang and played the guitar in the bars of Shenzhen. I didn’t have to cater to anyone but myself, and I love that feeling." The 29-year-old from Sanya, Hainan province, says he received his first guitar from his parents when he was 16 and started his pub singing career in his hometown while still in high school.

"I was also good at other activities such as kungfu, soccer and fishing, but music was my favorite. My parents played a lot of music at home and I would sing along. They gave me plenty of freedom to fulfill my dream, but never thought about my becoming famous," Chen says. "All they hoped for me was to be happy and healthy, and that’s true even today."

He left for Shenzhen when he was 19 to realize his dream and "further his musical skills". He spent most of his time listening to different genres and writing his own songs during the day. Singing in bars allowed him to observe life and inspired his lyrics.

"People visit bars for various reasons and have different moods - some are sad, some happy and yet others are introspective. I observed them and tried to guess their life stories," he recalls.

"I didn’t experience any hardship when I sang at those small bars. The payment was adequate and I was happy doing my dream job," he adds.

Chen became a household name in 2007 after winning the Super Boy singing competition.
 

One of Chen’s most popular hits, Has Anyone Told You, was born out of his bar experiences in Shenzhen, when he lost his girlfriend and his brother was hurt in a car accident. Its lyrics express the sadness and confusion he experienced. The song was officially released in 2007 and won him numerous awards across the country.

As Chen gathered his musical inspirations and polished his singing and guitar playing, he started participating in singing competitions, and quickly began to be noticed.

In 2001, he won the Most Potential New Artist award at the Asia Music Awards held in Shanghai and in 2003, he won the championship at the National Pub Singer Competition held in Hunan province, which offered him a contract with EMI, which he left in 2005.

When he first joined the Super Boy singing competition, his smooth mellow voice, shy smile and original songs had nearly 1 million fans voting for him.

Recalling the compe