Wu Mochou: Maverick musician

Wu wears different costumes with heavy makeup. Photos Provided to China Daily

Wu Mochou's new music video

Some consider Wu as the representative of the generation born after 1990 in China because of her individuality.

According to her music teacher Zhang Chuge, Wu is a star in the school because of her singing skills and stage presence.

"Off stage and without makeup, she is ordinary. But when she performs onstage, she becomes another person," Zhang says.

He says Wu's popularity does not come as a surprise. "She has strong personal character, which makes her different," Zhang says.

Indeed, Wu has been harnessing her drama skills since she was a child.

Born and bred in Qiqihar, Northeast China's Heilongjiang province, Wu tagged along when her parents traveled around the country to perform.

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Her late father, she describes, was tall and handsome. When night fell, he would put on makeup and turn into a cross-dressing performer.

"I grew up like a gypsy or nomad, which was very exciting. The big caravan was our exclusive stage," she recalls. "I'll never forget those days."

Her mother, who is also a performer, backed up her father with other team members.

She is a cool mother in Wu's eyes.

"My father was bald and I always wanted to be like him, so my mother shaved my head," Wu giggles.

There is a sense of shyness in her when she speaks about her father, who passed away when she was 18.

To remember him, Wu has a portrait of him tattooed on her left arm. The sentimental girl keeps her old mobile phone so that she can still look at all the text messages her father sent to her.

Since young, Wu knew her vocation is to be a performer, just like her parents. She started singing R&B at 9 and likes interpreting different songs in her own way.