A torch bearer for the Athens Olympics and the Beijing Games, a popular teacher of the history of Western music at a university here and a self-taught Chinese pop star, 45-year-old Liu Huan is in the spotlight once more.

This time, he'll be facing a full house of 91,000 at the Bird's Nest on the opening ceremony of the Olympics on Friday evening.

The Beijing Organizing Committee of the 29th Olympic Games (BOCOG) announced on Wednesday morning that Liu, together with British warbler Sarah Brightman, will sing the Olympics theme song during the Opening Ceremony.

"The BOCOG invited me on July 22 to sing the Games theme song with Sarah Brightman," said Liu on his official fansite on Wednesday.

"We finished a recording of the song on Monday," he said, without elaborating, noting that the song is still a closely guarded secret.

Liu's manager, who only identified himself by his surname Lu, also said Liu is busy rehearsing with Brightman for the big show two days away.

Musical prodigy

Unlike most pop singers, most Chinese got to know Liu from TV, as many of his works were chosen or created as the theme songs for screen dramas.

A French language major at the Beijing-based Institute of International Relations, the self-taught Liu won the college singing competition in both English and French in 1985.

His first TV theme song was for the popular series "Undercover Police" back in 1986, one year after his graduation.

After that, he distinguished himself with the "Asian Mighty Winds" theme song of the 1990 Asian Games performed with Chinese pop diva Wei Wei.

His song, "Asking Myself a Thousand Times for That," the theme for the popular drama "A Beijing Native in New York," was No. 1 for 10 weeks on mainland radio stations in 1993.

In 1994, he performed at New York's Carnegie Hall and got thunderous applause for his clarity of voice and beautiful singing.

The "Song of Gallantry" ("Hao Han Ge" in Chinese) aired as the theme song for the CCTV drama Water Margin and was also a great hit across the country in 1997.

By 2007, when Liu staged a concert in Beijing, he was already dubbed the "king of pop" in China.

"I've listening to his songs since childhood. Even my parents are his fans," said 21-year-old Wang Bo, a student at the Institute of International Relations in Beijing.

"[His songs] are so good I couldn't believe he is not a professional," Wang said. "I am really looking forward to hearing Liu on Friday. Even though I haven't heard the song yet, I think it's going to be an awesome song just like 'Hand in Hand' of the 1988 Olympics."

Love for Olympics

The Beijing Olympics is not Liu's first involvement with sports.

In 1993, Liu and Wei Wei sang "Good Luck Beijing" by Giorgio Moroder, one of the world's best-known composers and author of theme songs of the 1984 Los Angles Games and 1988 Seoul Games, to cheer China's bid to host the Olympics in 2000.

Since then, Liu has sung at several national games in China and at the Asian Games here in 1990 and in Hiroshima, Japan in 1994.

Liu was even among the bearers of the Athens Olympic torch during its Beijing leg in 2004. He was selected to run in the Beijing Games' torch relay in his hometown, Tianjin municipality, just this month.

"He is experienced in singing theme songs for sport events. And, if necessary, he can sing in at least three languages -- Chinese, English and French -- and he is one of the most respected and popular singers in the country. I cannot think of any Chinese more suitable than Liu to sing the theme song of this year's Olympics," Wang said.

Wang's opinion was shared by many, as the BOCOG's choice of Liu came as no surprise for many Chinese.

According to the popular weekly Oriental Outlook, more than one-third of those surveyed said they wanted to hear the theme song performed by Liu.

(Xinhua News Agency August 7, 2008)