Chen Ming: Not the same old song
0 Comment(s)
Print
E-mail China Daily, July 29, 2013
|
|
|
Chen Ming aims to meet her audiences in a simple and intimate atmosphere for her upcoming Beijing concert. |
Chen Ming aims to meet her audiences in a simple and intimate atmosphere for her upcoming Beijing concert.
The '90s pop queen Chen Ming is finding her return to the scene means adapting to a market that has evolved since her reign's zenith. But she tells China Daily she's ready to move into the future.
Chen Ming became a household name for her 1994 album's title song Loneliness Makes Me So Beautiful, which sold more than 1 million copies on the Chinese mainland.
Though the song's pioneering combination of jazz and pop - considered "dark" by many, as Chen recalls - stirred controversy, it swept music charts that year. Her wide vocal range and expressiveness also became her signatures.
The following albums, For You and Happy Hometown, were also chart-toppers. They sold millions.
Chen performed at various events, including the annual CCTV Spring Festival Gala, China's most watched TV show.
But the vocalist has never hosted a solo concert. She'll take the stage in August.
"I had many performance opportunities but didn't take them," the 45-year-old says.
Her motivation for the August gig came from her participation this year on the popular Hunan Satellite TV Station show I Am a Singer.
The program, based on a South Korean counterpart, pits seven seasoned vocalists against one another. It was Chen's first public appearance since she withdrew from the limelight to live quietly as a mother and wife.
"The show focuses on music and vocals," she says.
"Today's pop industry ignores music and hasn't heard my voice in a long time. Appearing on the show rekindled my passion."
In 1993, Chen gave up her stable factory job and left her hometown of Luoyang city, Henan province, to chase her musical dream in Guangdong province's Shenzhen, which was the mainland's major pop hub.
She became a bar singer and covered Hong Kong stars' popular songs. The happiest thing then, Chen recalls, was cooperating with bands and singing live.
"The mainland didn't have record companies," she recalls.
"My dream was to release my own cassette."
Guangzhou's China Record Co signed her in 1994 and released her first album. It was then the largest and oldest State audio and video publishing group.
"I still remember traveling across the country by train to promote the album," she recalls.
"I was 24, and everything was so new and interesting. I didn't matter if I made it or not - I was loving the journey."
Three best-selling albums in, Chen got married and decided to take a break. It was 1998.
Go to Forum >>0 Comment(s)