Da Zhang Wei, known professionally as Wowkie Zhang, was born on August 31, 1983, in Beijing, China. As a singer, he began his musical journey at the Children's Cultural Palace, where he won several singing competitions. In 1998, Zhang formed The Flowers with friends, adopting the stage name Da Zhang Wei due to the commonality of his real name. The band signed with New Bees Music in January 1999 and released their debut album On the Other Side of Happiness, which included hit songs like "Stillness" and "Disillusion". In December 2001, they released their second album, Strawberry Statement. The Flowers won the Media Award at the Second Chinese Pop Music Festival in 2002. They signed with EMI in 2004 and released the single "I Am Your Romeo" that same year. Their fourth studio album, Hua Ji Wang Chao, or Blooming Dynasty, was released in July 2005 and won numerous awards. The Flowers disbanded in 2009, leading Zhang to pursue a solo career. He released his first solo album, Vol. 2: 大张伟 in December 2014, followed by 大年三十 in July 2016. Notable singles include "不服来抖" (2017), "胡撸胡撸瓢儿" (2018), and "只为自己开的花" (2024). Zhang also gained popularity as a TV host, co-hosting China's top talk show Day Day Up from 2016 to 2021. His song "Bei-er Shuang", performed at the China Central TV's Spring Festival Gala in 2014, became an instant national sensation.
