[2][5] While he rose to prominence in China for singing traditional Chinese folk tunes, he also writes and sings Chinese pop and educational music and performs a variety of English-language material including American jazz standards and rock-and-roll.

[6] Rhea additionally credits former U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, whom he met and sang for in 2016, as an inspiration to pursue a career in cultural diplomacy.

[1] Rhea was born and raised in Alexandria, Louisiana, where he was first singled out to sing solos in his Catholic church choir[1][7][8] and learned piano and violin in local music programs.

[15] Rhea often sings North Shaanxi folk songs, which he first heard and fell in love with on his first visit to China.

For instance, CCTV host Zhu Jun demonstrated to him how Shaanxi people crouch down to eat the noodles (a folk custom in Shaanxi);[19] in other cases, Rhea has taught other TV personalities, for instance Hong Kong singer Leo Ku, to write the character while reciting a mnemonic poem for remembering the character's 43 strokes.