1997-2000: No. 43 Baojia Street and beginning of solo career Wang Feng and the band No. 43 Baojia Street, which was named after the street address of the
Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing. They released their first album in 1997, three years after the band was formed. During these three years the band practiced in a basement in the college and performed in local clubs and bars. To comply with his father's will and to have a stable income, Wang took the offer of the vice concertmaster of the National Ballet of China Symphony Orchestra. However Wang quit the job after a year even with a promotion of the concertmaster position, and put himself completely into Rock music. In the beginning, the band was sponsored by "Xiao Wei" (nickname), an alumnus of the
Central Conservatory of Music. Xiao Wei's sponsorship allowed the band to practice and perform. They gradually built up their reputation in Beijing, which led the band to a record deal from Beijing Jingwen Record Co., Ltd on 31 May 1997. The band was not profitable under Xiao Wei's sponsorship. Wang could not even pay his rent at that time. The record deal with Beijing Jingwen Record was an opportunity for the band to officially enter the music business and to solve the money issue. Xiao Wei understood the benefit of the deal for Wang Feng and the whole band. He terminated the sponsorship himself and left Beijing. Later that year the band made their first studio album,
No. 43 Baojia Street (1997). This album included songs like "Little Bird" and "Good Night Beijing", which became famous afterwards. One year later the band made their second album,
No. 43 Baojia Street 2 – Storm Approaching (1998). While the albums were sold in the market, the economic issue of the band and Wang himself did not resolve. In other words, the band was not making a profit. Wang decided to terminate the contract with Beijing Jingwen Record. In 2000, the Warner Music Beijing Co., Ltd found Wang Feng and offered him a record deal but not the whole band. Wang signed the contract and put out the album
Fireworks (2000) in the same year. The songs from this album were made before the band broke up.
2000–2006: Fireworks, Love is a Happy Bullet, and Crying while Smiling During his years with Warner Music, Wang had the boost of his career. Three albums were made, including
Fireworks (2000),
Love is a Happy Bullet (2002), and
Crying while Smiling (2004). The song
Flying Higher, which became very popular in China after release, was included in the album
Crying while Smiling. Wang also took care of the entire soundtrack of the movie
Beijing Bicycle (2001). In July 2005, Wang ended the five-year contract with Warner Music and started his own independent record label "Feng Sheng Music" (
Feng Sheng is the Chinese translation for Feng's voice). In the same year, Wang released his fourth studio album "Blooming Life" (2005). The song
Blooming life, same as the name of the album, became famous quickly after the album was released and became the most downloaded ringtones in some regions in China. In the same album, Wang included another two famous patriotic pieces,
Our Dream (我们的梦) and
I Love You, China (我爱你，中国).
Our Dream became the Beijing Olympic Top 10 Golden Songs;
I Love You, China was considered a gift for the success of
Shenzhou 6, the second human spaceflight of the People's Republic of China. In 2006, Wang won the "Best Male Singer in China", award at the 6th
Top Chinese Music Awards.
2007–2010: Brave Heart and Belief Flies in the Wind In May 2007, Wang made a new record deal with the Hong Kong media company MusicNationGroup. One month later, Wang released his fifth studio album
Brave Heart (2007). Wang claimed to be very satisfied with his work in this album, however one of the tracks was forced to be taken out by the authority. During the time the album was released, some people on the Internet claimed that the hit song
Brave Heart was a copy of the song
Crazy from the Canadian pop-punk band
Simple Plan. Wang's denied the accusation.
2011–2018: Life Asks for Nothing, Born in Hesitation, The River, and 29, Guoling Lane In 2011, after being signed to Rock Forward Entertainment, Wang Feng released
Life Asks for Nothing, the first ever double album in Chinese rock history, which topped a wide variety of charts and earned him nationwide critical acclaims on the major Chinese music awards. The same year Wang Feng became the first ever Chinese artist who held concerts in grand stadiums twice a year, making him one of very few Chinese rock musicians who enjoy commercial success and mainstream recognition without discarding its famously rebellious roots. In 2013, Wang Feng became a judge in
The Voice of China Season 2, with
Na Ying,
Harlem Yu, and
A-Mei. He continued to be a judge till Season 4. In 2016, Wang Feng became a judge in the
first season of the rebranded
Sing! China, where he became the winning mentor courtesy of Jiang Dunhao, who finished the winner of the series. Wang did not return for another season. In 2018, Wang Feng was one of the seven first-round singers taking part in the
sixth season of
Hunan Television's singing competition
Singer (which was previously named
I Am a Singer). He made it to the finals and finished third, behind
Hua Chenyu and winner
Jessie J.
2019–present: 2020 and Maybe I Can Ignore Death Wang released the album
2020 on 18 December 2019. His next album, titled
Maybe I Can Ignore Death, was released on 24 August 2022. He embarked on the Unfollow Tour in 2021, which held seven shows at different stadiums in China before its conclusion in 2023. == Personal life ==