Priscilla Chan

Priscilla Chan
Priscilla Chan

Chan performing at the "Priscilla Chan Live in Concert 2004" on May 25 of 2004.
Chinese name 陳慧嫻 (Traditional)
Chinese name 陈慧娴 (Simplified)
Pinyin Chén Huìxián (Mandarin)
Jyutping can4 wai3 haan4 (Cantonese)
Birth name Priscilla Chan Wai-han (陳慧嫻)
Ancestry Panyu, Guangdong
Origin Hong Kong
Born July 28, 1965 (1965-07-28) (age 46)
Hong Kong
Occupation Singer
Genre(s) Cantopop
Instrument(s) Singing
Label(s) Polygram Records Ltd. (1986-1997)
Cinepoly Records Ltd. (1998-2001)
Universal Music Group (2003-2004)
International Entertainment Corporation (2007-present)
Years active 1984-1989
1990-2003
2007-present
Official Website Official blog (traditional Chinese (HK))

Priscilla Chan Wai-han is a female Cantopop singer in Hong Kong.

Contents

Background

Chan has a younger brother and sister. Her father is a retired senior officer of Hong Kong Immigration Service. She attended Marymount Secondary School in Happy Valley, Hong Kong (formerly known as Maryknoll Sisters School). Active in extracurricular activities and pastimes, as a teenager she would often enter singing contests, and eventually got discovered by a recording company. She currently lives in Happy Valley, Hong Kong, with eight cats;[citation needed] she is known for expressing great passion and emotion in her love songs, in which many of them are cantopop classics.

Career

Chan started her life as a professional singer when she was 18 in 1983. Her first song was titled "Forgotten Promise" (逝去的諾言), which is recorded in an album "Girl Magazine" (少女雜誌) that also featuring two other newcomers. The song propelled Chan's career; thus, she released her own first album "The Feelings of a Story" (故事的感覺) in 1984. The next year, she released "Priscilla," which included the hit "Flower Shop" (花店). In 1986, the album "Revolt" (反叛) had several classics and push Chan to new heights. Song included "Dancing Street" (跳舞街) (a version of Angie Gold's "Eat You Up" but based production wise, on Yōko Oginome's version, titled "Dancing Hero" (ダンシング・ヒーロー)), "Loving Accident" (痴情意外), "Love Me Once Again," "Revolt" (反叛), and "Hugging with Tears" (與淚抱擁). Chan had a rough 1987, but she rebounded nicely in 1988 with the album 嫻情 1988, and the song "Silly Girl" (傻女, a Cantonese rework version of the Spanish song "La Loca" by Maria Conchita Alonso) that first confirmed her status as a serious contender in the golden age of Cantopop. "Silly Girl" was re-made into a disco-version by a newcomer in Hong Kong in 2007.

Chan chose to retire in 1989 in order to pursue her degree in psychology at the Syracuse University in Syracuse, New York, a promise to her parents that she kept. In her supposed-to-be last album, (永遠是你的朋友) "Always Be Your Friend," the everlasting hit "Thousands of Songs" (千千闕歌) elevated her status in the legendary mega pop stars heavy industry including Leslie Cheung, Anita Mui, Alan Tam, and Sally Yeh. This best-selling album of 1989 also recorded hits like "Night Flight" (夜機) and "Dancing Boy."

During her academic career, she returned to Hong Kong and recorded three albums from 1992-1994 during the summer vacations. The song "Snowfall" (飄雪) was very popular for karaoke at the time; other hits included "Red Tea Shop" (紅茶館), which was voted among the Top 10 song of the Year in 1992, "Come Back!" (歸來吧!), and "Jealousy." The album sales were surprisingly good despite the fact that she spent most of the time in the U.S. with minimum publicity.

By 1995, Chan has returned to the music industry in full force. Her initial return brought her back to the top of the pop chart with two albums: "Welcome Back" and "I'm Not Lonely" (我不寂寞). In fact, "Welcome Back" topped the sales chart for a modern record of six weeks! Songs like "It's Always Raining Tonight" (今天夜裡總下雨), "Missing You" (留戀), "Missing Love and Dust" (戀戀風塵), "I'm Lonely" (我寂寞), and "Flow" (飄) became instant classic. Her 10-night series of concerts in 1996 reaffirmed her popularity with the public. Another concert in 1997 with Hong Kong Philharmonic Symphony (HKPS) in Hong Kong made her the second pop artist ever to work with the HKPS.

With the signing of a new recording company, Cinepoly, her fame started to decline. The death of her beloved cat, Remington, in 1998 marked the start of three year period when she found life difficult as the new recording company wasn't working well for her. In 2000, after the last album with Cinepoly named "Good For You" (為你好), she retreated from the music scene until 2003 when she made a come-back with an album named "Loving Knot" (情意結) and a series of concerts in Hong Kong. However, due to album sales that fell below her expectations, mostly because of illegal online downloading and piracy, she decided to retreat once more. She criticized the trend of Cantopop audiences, whom she believed was only interested in admiring the entertainers' images and not appreciating their music. However, she has reiterated her desire to continue singing, as many loyal fans still remain around the world.

In 2007, Chan signed to IEC - EC Music and the following year released a new live album recorded at a series of concerts in Hong Kong.

Concert tours

Personal life

Her personal life was closely scrutinized by the Hong Kong press. She was not the press' favorite as the Hong Kong tabloids often reported negative news of her. Since 2003, she has not been particularly active, preferring to appear on TVB or Mainland television programmes and singing in overseas concerts; sometimes she'd attend some private events in Hong Kong as well. But in 2007, she started to be active again as she prepared for a new album and new concert.

Many in Hong Kong believed she made a wrong decision to leave the music industry at the peak of her career for college in 1989. In a radio interview, Chan disagreed. She considered singing was an important part of her, but she valued education more. Furthermore, she reiterated the reason for getting a college degree was to fulfill her promise to her parents.

Her love life is of great interest to the media as well. She has had three boyfriends during her adult life. First, was her music producer Michael Au in the 1980s, but they ended their relationship before her return to Hong Kong in 1995. (Au has since married). After Au, Chan dated an artist/designer Michael Cheung, and that relationship ended in 2001. Last, her latest boyfriend was Dr.Tony Tse; they mutually agreed to end the 5-year relationship in July 2007. The cause of the break-up, according to Chan, was personality differences. The break-up was a painful one and had imposed substantial impact on their personal lives. According to some of their close friends, both of them really cherished the relationship immensely. They would never part if it were not the enormous differences of their personalities and lifestyles. Nevertheless, Dr. Tse, as her family physician, is still taking good care of her health and their relationship remains close.

Discography

Albums

Year Title Native name Language(s) Publisher
1984 Girl's Magazine 少女雜誌 Cantonese Polygram Records Ltd.
1984 Thousand Years Lover EP 千年戀人 Japanese Polygram Records Ltd.
1984 Thousand Years Lover 千年戀人 Japanese Polygram Records Ltd.
1984 The Feelings of a Story 故事的感覺 Cantonese Polygram Records Ltd.
1985 Priscilla - Cantonese Polygram Records Ltd.
1986 Revolt 反叛 Cantonese Polygram Records Ltd.
1987 Transform 變、變、變 Cantonese Polygram Records Ltd.
1987 Remix + Best of Remix + 精選 Cantonese Polygram Records Ltd.
1988 Priscilla's Love 嫻情 Cantonese Polygram Records Ltd.
1988 Silly Girl 傻女 Mandarin Polygram Records Ltd.
1988 The Color of Autumn 秋色 Cantonese Polygram Records Ltd.
1988 Priscilla Chan Remix - Cantonese Polygram Records Ltd.
1989 Forever Friends 永遠是你的朋友 Cantonese Polygram Records Ltd.
1989 Priscilla Chan in Concert 陳慧嫻幾時再見演唱會 Cantonese/English Polygram Records Ltd.
1990 Get Up and Dance - Cantonese Polygram Records Ltd.
1992 Come Back 歸來吧 Cantonese Polygram Records Ltd.
1993 I'm always on your side 你身邊永是我 Cantonese Polygram Records Ltd.
1994 Who is my lover today 今天的愛人是誰 Cantonese Polygram Records Ltd.
1995 Welcome Back - Cantonese Polygram Records Ltd.
1995 I am not lonely 我不寂寞 Cantonese Polygram Records Ltd.
1996 Satisfy 心滿意足 Cantonese Polygram Records Ltd.
1996 Priscilla Chan in Concert '96 雪映美白'96陳慧嫻演唱會 Cantonese Polygram Records Ltd.
1996 Priscilla Chan Polygram 88 Compilation 陳慧嫻寶麗金88極品音色系列 Cantonese Polygram Records Ltd.
1996 Problematic Woman 問題女人 Cantonese Polygram Records Ltd.
1997 Musical Encounters with Priscilla and the Philharmonic 慧嫻‧港樂奇妙旅程 Cantonese/Mandarin Polygram Records Ltd.
1997 Priscilla Chan 2 Polygram 88 Compilation 陳慧嫻2寶麗金88極品音色系列 Cantonese Polygram Records Ltd.
1997 My heart is about to fly away 心就要飛了 Mandarin Polygram Records Ltd.
1998 Priscilla Chan AVCD - Cantonese Polygram Records Ltd.
1998 In love for 2000 hours 愛戀二千小時 Cantonese Polygram Records Ltd./Cinepoly Records Co Ltd.
1998 Priscilla Chan and William So Music is Live 陳慧嫻+蘇永康拉闊音樂 Cantonese Polygram Records Ltd./Cinepoly Records Co. Ltd.
1999 This is Love 正視愛 Cantonese Universal Music Group/Cinepoly Records Co. Ltd.
2000 Good For You 為你好 Cantonese Universal Music Group/Cinepoly Records Co Ltd.
2003 Loving Knot 情意結 Cantonese Universal Music Group
2003 Priscilla Chan Live 陳慧嫻珍演唱會2003 Cantonese/English Universal Music Group
2008 Priscilla Chan Concert Live 2008 陳慧嫻活出生命II演唱會2008 Cantonese Universal Music Group

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