Jane Zhang eyes US charts via Timbaland collaboration
Timbaland gave me such a brand new life journey. It’s not just about music ... (he) really makes me feel refreshed. He’s got a lot of ideas when we’re doing music. Some ideas just suddenly come without any reasons. I don’t know, I just love those ideas.
LOS ANGELES: Jane Zhang, dubbed China’s ‘Super Girl’ for her soaring vocals, is collaborating with awardwinning Timbaland for a sustained assault on US music charts.
Timbaland has worked with everyone from Jay Z to Justin Timberlake to the “Empire” TV series cast, and Jane is his latest muse.
Jane, famed for her whispery high vocals, got together for the song Dust My Shoulders Off, which reached the top 10 on the US iTunes chart.
“Timbaland gave me such a brand new life journey. It’s not just about music... ( he) really makes me feel refreshed,” Zhang, 32, said in a recent interview. “He’s got a lot of ideas when we’re doing music. Some ideas just suddenly come without any reasons. I don’t know, I just love those ideas.”
Dust My Shoulders Off, an addictive, beat- driven pop song, is a departure from the sound Jane has been known for back home, which helped her score multiple hits.
She had catapulted to fame after competing in China’s popular, all-female TV singing competition “Super Girl.” Though she is established outside the US, she says she is enjoying life as a “new” artist.
She plans to release an album this year and says singers like Mariah Carey helped her fall in love with music, and taught her English.
“Her voice makes me think about how to sing the songs well, how to release your emotions to everyone. The first time I heard her music I didn’t learn English yet so I didn’t understand the lyrics ... I just feel that her voice is amazing, and I can really feel the things she told,” Jane said.
“After a few years I wanted to learn Engl ish and I checked the lyrics. It just meant the same thing I felt.”
Jane Zhang, singer