Wanting

Hailing from China and now based in Vancouver, the singer-songwriter Wanting specializes in sincere, tuneful adult alternative pop. Born Wanting Qu in 1983 in Harbin, Heilongjiang Province, China, she absorbed a broad array of influences during her formative years, ranging from Chinese acts like Jonathan Lee and Emil Wakin Chau to Western voices such as Avril Lavigne, Michelle Branch, and Sarah McLachlan. Only after departing for studies in Canada in 2000 did she begin actively developing her own vocal talents, performing with a rock band during that period before turning to original solo material by 2008. She joined the Nettwerk roster in 2009. The following year the track “Drenched” drew wider notice when it appeared on the soundtrack of the 2010 Hong Kong film Love in the Buff. Wanting issued her debut album, Everything in the World, in 2012; it earned platinum certification in China, while Say the Words followed the next year. She resurfaced in 2015 with the single “Love Birds.” Two years afterward she delivered her third full-length release, LLL, produced by Justin Gray (John Legend, Mariah Carey, Miley Cyrus).