Teresa Teng
Teresa Teng was probably one of the most famous singers amongst the Chinese people worldwide. She was known to be very influential and popular Chinese pop singers. She mostly sang romantic ballad and folk songs.
Born in Baojhon, Taiwan, to a Mainland Chinese family from Hebei province, Teresa Teng was educated at Gin ling Girls High School. As a child she would win many awards for singing at school events. She won her first major award at an event held by the Broadcasting Corporation of China. Soon she quit her high school to pursue this talent as a career.
Teresa Teng had her first foot in the hall of fame when she was spotted performing on a popular Taiwanese music program. She set off with releasing records under the label of Life Records and soon won the ” Best New Singing Star”.
After her debut in Japan her popularity grew worldwide, she went on to sing in Cantonese, Japanese and English besides her native Mandarin.
In 1981Teng’s contract with Polydor ended. She signed a contract with Taurus Records in 1983 to make a successful comeback in Japan. In 1984, Taurus Records released her most-acclaimed album, Light Exquisite Feeling. The most popular single from the album today is “Wishing We Last Forever”. There were many hits released in the years from 1984-1989 making them ‘Teresa Teng’s Golden Years’ in the views of her fans.
She was the first singer to win four All-Japan Record Awards for consecutive years (1984-1988).
Teng performed in Paris during the Tiananmen student protests in 1989 on behalf of the students and proclaimed her support for democracy. On May 27, 1989, over 300,000 people attended the concert called “Democratic songs dedicated to China” at the Happy Valley Racecourse in Hong Kong.
Teresa Teng had performed in many countries around the world during her career. However her hopes of performing in Mainland China never materialized. The Communist Party of China invited her to do so in the 1990s but she passed away before she could perform.
On May 8th 1995,Teresa Teng succumbed to a major asthma attack and died while on a holiday in Thailand.
Teng’s songs have been covered by a number of singers, including Faye Wong who released a tribute album -Decadent Sounds of Faye (1995) of her popular hits.
Also, her songs are featured in various films, e.g. Rush Hour 2, Prison On Fire.
Awards she won:
- The New Singer Award for Kūkō in 1974.
-The Gold Award in 1986 for Toki no Nagare ni Mi o Makase.
-The Grand Prix in 1984,1985 & 1986.This was the first time anyone had won the Grand Prix three years in a row.
-The Outstanding Star Award for Wakare no Yokan in 1987.
-The Cable Radio Music Award (Wakare no Yokan) in 1987 and 1988.
-The Cable Radio Special Merit Award in 1995
Teresa Teng was billed as one of the “Five Great Asian Divas” during the 1970s and 1980s due to her huge cross-cultural popularity. The music of Teresa Teng remains the most popular.
To commemorate Teng’s 10th death anniversary, Teresa Teng Culture and Education Foundation launched a campaign called “Feel Teresa Teng”. Fans paid homage at her shrine at Chin Pao San Cemetery. Some of her dresses, jewelry and personal items are placed on exhibition at Yuzi Paradise, an art park. The wax figure of Teng has been unveiled at Madame Tussauds Hong Kong.
- Kritika Rao
Tags: china, singer, taiwanese music, teresa teng
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