Dou Jingtong plays her recent gig in Beijing's 798 Art Zone. [Photo by Jiang Dong/China Daily]

It's evening at the 798 Art Zone in Beijing. Singer-songwriter Dou Jingtong emerges from a coffee shop next to a live-house venue, where she has just performed.

Fans scream her name and take her photos on cellphones.

"I love you," one young woman tells her idol.

In her tight blue jeans and a loose white blouse, Dou, 19, smiles shyly and waves at people.

Success has come early for the soft-spoken musician, who released her debut album, Stone Cafe, in April. It is in English.

 

Dou Jingtong plays her recent gig in Beijing's 798 Art Zone. [Photo by Jiang Dong/China Daily]

Released in digital format on QQ Music, a platform of Chinese internet giant Tencent, the album has been heard more than 40 million times within three weeks, setting a record for Chinese musicians.

"It's a miracle for such a young Chinese, who just released an album and sings in English, too," says Andy Ng, general manager of Digital Media Service of QQ Music, adding that the company has launched a new project, Music Plus, to support young talents.

On China's music scene, Dou is a rare emergence. Fans are impressed by her silky voice and singing style that mixes electronic, alternative rock and other elements.

The daughter of pop star Faye Wong and rock veteran Dou Wei, she has been living under the limelight since childhood.

Her mother, a Beijing-born singer who rose to fame after moving to Hong Kong in the late 1980s, is one of the country's best-selling female artists.

Her father, a former lead vocalist of legendary Beijing rock band Black Panther, is a musical genius to China's rock lovers.

The 19-year-old singer and her megastar mother, Faye Wong, pose in Hong Kong for the release of her debut album, Stone Cafe, in April. [Photo/CVG]

The couple's marriage ended in a divorce in 1999. Both have withdrawn from public life since.

But the paparazzi are now following Dou Jingtong.

"I don't want people to stereotype my music because of my family background in music," Dou Jingtong says.

Stone Cafe has songs, such as May Rain, My Days and Chimes, which she wrote while studying songwriting in the United States.

The album is named after a school canteen where she wrote them.

 

Fans cheer for Dou's performance in Taipei in April. [Photo/China Daily]

She has dedicated the song Lola to her younger sister, Li Yan, who is the daughter of Faye Wong and her second husband, Chinese actor-turned-entrepreneur Li Yapeng.

Dou Jingtong also delivers her take on individuality in the song, Blue Flamingo, where she says, "Pink is good, pink is well, but I got my eyes on my blue flamingo".

"Artists are self-centered. I don't know how to describe my music. You just listen to it and have your own ideas," she tells a bunch of reporters.

Growing up with her grandmother in Beijing, Dou Jingtong has been exposed to a variety of music, thanks also to her aunt, Dou Ying, her father's younger sister and a singer.

"My early memories of songs were those played by my aunt in her car, like songs of Michael Jackson," she says. "I am drawn to different sounds, such as people's voices. I listen to voice messages over and over again."

 

Dou Jingtong. [Photo provided to China Daily]

She dreamed of becoming a singer-songwriter since childhood. At age 1, her voice was featured in her mother's song Tong, which her parents wrote for her birth. In 1999, she sang in Wong's title track of the album Lovers & Strangers.

Dou Wei left "Black Panther" in 1992, and has made instrumental albums since. Dou Jingtong contributed her voice in his 2014 album Shan He Diao, which also features Dou Wei's father, Dou Shaoru, playing traditional Chinese instruments.

People backing her career include Katie Chan, Wong's longtime agent, who helps sharpen not just Dou Jingtong's market moves but also her wardrobe.

In contrast to singers of her parents' generation, who were inspired by limited sources of Western music in the 1980s, and launched their career by signing contracts with record companies, Dou Jingtong and many other young Chinese musicians grew up listening to music of international musicians and use the internet to spread their music.

When she released her first guitar-driven song, With You, on the Web in 2012, the videos attracted millions of views.

Dou Jingtong. [Photo provided to China Daily]

At every performance given by Dou Jingtong, including her debut show in Tokyo in 2015, her charisma has also reminded her fans of her parents' legacy.

Dou Jingtong also likes traveling alone. While recording Stone Cafe by collaborating with producers from the United States and Britain, she flew to London and Los Angeles by herself. At the time, she was 16 years old.

With several tattoos, frequent changes of hair color and gender-neutral dressing, Dou Jingtong, by most people's standards, looks rebellious. But in person, she is humble and easygoing.

"I cannot even do roller coaster," she says.

Dou Jingtong. [Photo provided to China Daily]

At the end of the interview, she stands up and bows lightly, thanking media in the room.

Outside the building, her fans are still waiting to get a glimpse of the teen sensation who is considered a long-awaited milestone in China's pop world.

"This is just the beginning for me. Physically I will grow up but I want to keep my curiosity and passion for music just like a kid," says Dou Jingtong, who has already started writing songs for her next album.

Contact the writer at chennan@chinadaily.com.cn