Sammi Cheng

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Sammi Cheng (鄭秀文)
Sammi Cheng's greatest hits album, "Completely Having Sammi".
Sammi Cheng's greatest hits album, "Completely Having Sammi".
Background information
Birth name Twinnie Cheng
Born August 19, 1972
Origin Hong Kong
Genre(s) cantopop
Occupation(s) singer, actress
Years active 1988 - present
Label(s) Capital Artist (1988-1995), Warner Music (1995-2005), East Asia Records (AMusic)(2005-present)

Sammi Cheng (鄭秀文) (Cantonese: Cheng Sau-Man; Mandarin pinyin: Zhèng Xìuwén, born August 19, 1972, Birth Name: Twinnie Cheng, Place of Origin: Hong Kong, parents from Chaozhou, Guangdong) is a Hong Kong actress and Cantopop singer.

With much success in the Hong Kong music industry, Sammi became one of Hong Kong's pop divas. She also has a successful film career, particularly in the romantic comedy genre. Her goofy, sometimes scatterbrained image went over well with Chinese audiences. In 2000 she made a series of romantic comedies with singer/actor Andy Lau and director Johnnie To, including Needing You (2000) and Love on a Diet (2001), which were hits and incorporate some elements of screwball comedy.

Contents

[edit] Beginning

Sammi Cheng entered the entertainment industry through a high profile, annual TV singing contest, New Talent Singing Awards in 1988, when she was only 16. Though she only placed third in the competition, the sponsoring record company, "Capital Artist", spotted the potential in Sammi and offered her an artist's contract. At the time, Sammi was still in school, so she had to learn to balance her studies with her blossoming singing career. Before finishing school, Sammi had managed to release 3 full-length studio albums: Sammi, Holiday and Never Too Late. The sales of each of these albums surpassed the previous one. Holiday, which was released in 1992, surprised everyone by managing to stay on the Top 10 Albums of the Week Sales Chart for a record-setting 10 weeks (despite by merely lurking around in the bottom half of the chart). The gross sales of these albums were considered successful for a new artist, but didn't launch Sammi onto the playing field of A-list artists.

[edit] Transformation

In 1993, Sammi realized that in order to go from a top B-list artist to an A-list artist, she had to create a unique image for herself. At the time, another rising female artist, Faye Wong, had started a wild and crazy fashion trend in the music industry. Capitalizing on the attention she had been getting from her duet with a strict A-list artist Andy Hui, "其實你心裡有沒有我" (Do you really have me in your heart?), Sammi went through a complete 180-degree transformation; she dyed her hair orange, purposely 'westernized' her pronunciation of Chinese and successfully toned her physique. At that time, dying your hair was only popular among street gangsters and it was a 'taboo' for artists to try to look rebellious. Sammi then came out with her 4th studio album, "鄭秀文的快樂迷宮" (Sammi's Happy Maze), which included the hit single, "Chotto 等等" (Chotto Matte). Her new image fit perfectly with the new single, which was a remake of a very upbeat Japanese song by Maki Ohguro. The success helped Sammi boost her singing career to the brim of one worthy of an A-lister.

In 1994, Sammi continued to capitalize on her wild, new image. Her first album of that year was "大報復" (Big Revenge). The album included the mega hit "叮噹" (Ding Dong), which became one of Sammi's all-time signature songs. But with her new fame also came a lot of backlash from the media. Critics pointed out that Sammi purposely "westernized" her Cantonese: instead of saying "Ding Dong", Sammi pronounced it as "Deen Dong". Despite the criticism, the song was one of most popular dance songs of that year. Throughout the rest of 1994, Sammi continued to release hit single after hit single, such as: Ten Commandments, Not Your Typical Love, Passion Island, Romeo and Juliet of Sarajevo, Amnesia and Bitter Love. The racy and controversial cut of Ten Commandments (which includes tiny bits of what can be recognized as a porn soundtrack) was banned from the radio a few days after its initial airplay. Of course, with prohibition came another level of attention and fame for Sammi. Her savvy way of handling the controversy and the media in the midst of that incident was arguably a confirmation to music industry insiders that Sammi was here to stay. And she continued to ride on her fame....

[edit] Rise to superstardom

In the beginning of 1995, Sammi did not renew her contract with Capital Artists. The record company reacted by putting her on the sideline, using marketing resources previously dedicated to promoting her to promote the labels' other artists. Sammi disappeared from the public eye for nearly half a year. Later in that year, it was revealed that Warner Music have signed Sammi as their recording artist. Sammi wanted a fresh start. She let her hair turned back into black and temporarily abandoned the wild image she used to have.

Her first album with Warner Music, "Can't Give You Up - 捨不得你" was extremely well received by the public. That album released 3 hit singles, "Gentlemen, you are so fine today - 男仕今天你很好", "Can't Give You Up - 捨不得你", and "The Mourning Song for Love - 愛的輓歌". In that same year, Panasonic also signed Sammi as their spokesperson for their latest CD walkman, using "Can't Give You Up - 捨不得你" as the theme song for their CD Player's TV Spot. It turned out to be a huge success for both Panasonic and Sammi. The song gained tremenous airplay and its popularity boosted Sammi straight back into the spotlight. The album and the singles swept most of the big awards in that year's annual music award shows. "Can't Give You Up" won the honour of Best Single of the Year at almost all of the year-ending music awards show in 1995. With "Can't You Give Up", Sammi became a household name in Hong Kong.

In 1996, Warned Music decided it was time for Sammi to expand her market and fan base beyond Hong Kong. They released her first Mandarin album, "Worth It - 值得". The album remains one of the best selling albums for a new artist in the Taiwanese market. The song "Worth It - 值得" also gained tremendous amount of airplay in many Mandarin speaking countries. During the summer blockbuster season, Sammi also launched her career on the big screen with the romantic comedy, "Feel 100% - 百分百感覺", with Ekin Cheng and Gigi Leung. This movie was a huge box office success with its great appeal towards the 20-something demograph. In conjunction with her newfound success on the big screen, Warner Music released Sammi's second album, "Can't Let Go - 放不低". The album was a huge success with hit singles, "Beware of Women - 小心女人", "Can't Let Go - 放不低" and "Owe Nothing - 不拖不欠". Panasonic decided to use Sammi's latest hit of that year "Can't Let Go - 放不低" to be the theme song for another TV spot for their latest CD walkman.

With the pop divas such as Sally Yeh and Faye Wong prioritizing their family life over their music career, the HK music industry was eagerly looking for the next pop diva. In the mid-1990s, Cass Pang (who also later decided to prioritize her family life over her signing career), Amanda Lee (who unfortunately spent her entire fortune on her concert and daily wardrobe and went nowhere after one relatively successful album), Vivian Chow and Sammi Cheng were considered to be the candidates as the next top pop diva. In order to secure her place among the competitions, Sammi finished her much successful year with her first concert, titled "Sammi's X-Dimension Concert - 鄭秀文X空間演唱會". The concert was very successful and Sammi created unforgettable styles by doning the Nike swoosh-shaped eyebrow, the Golden Bra and the Big Rose. At the same time of the concert, she released her last album of 1996, "Deep Passion - 濃情" which produced more hit singles such as "X Party - X派對", "Tacit Agreement - 默契", "The Angel of Calcutta, Mother Teresa - 加爾各答的天使-德蘭修女", "Let's Talk About Love (duet with Sally Yeh) - 談情說愛" and "Hesitation - 猶豫". By the time the year-end music award shows come around, Sammi came out as the biggest winner with her very first, "Most Popular Female Artist of the Year", "Top 5 Best Selling Artists of the Year", "Top Selling Female Artist of the Year" and also an accolade of awards for her singles, "Can't Let Go", "Owe Nothing", "Worth It" and "Tacit Agreement".

By the time 1997 rolls around, Sammi's status as the top pop diva in Hong Kong is confirmed. She started out the year with a brand new Mandarin album, "Waiting For You - 為你等". She followed that up a couple of months later with another new Cantonese album, "Our Theme Song - 我們的主題曲". Both of these albums were very successful. Continuing to spawn out hit singles one after another, Sammi made her 4th movie, "Killing Me Tenderly - 愛您愛到殺死您" with Leon Lai. Many singles from "Our Theme Song" can be found in the movie. Shortly after the release of her movie, Warner Music announced Sammi's second concert, titled "Sammi Star Show" and her last Cantonese album of the year, "The Language of Livig - 生活語言". Sammi broke the record for being the only artist to host two concerts within a year. The concert was well received and like her first concert, she donned more styles like the black shiny bra, the devil's horn and the leaf bra. Toward the end of the year, Sammi once again dominated the award shows.

[edit] Filmography

[edit] TV drama

  • The Monkey Sun Wu Kong (齊天大聖孫悟空) (2002): as (觀音大使)
  • Man's Best Friend (寵物情緣]]) (1999): as Susan (歐子珊)
  • Detective Investigation Files II (刑事偵緝檔案 II) (1995): as Ivy
  • Journey Of Love (親恩情未了) (1994): as 張家慧
  • Return of The Vampire (大頭綠衣鬥疆屍) (1993): as 飄雪/飄紅/Kitty
  • File of Justice I (壹號皇庭 I) (1992): as Fong Ga Kay (方家琪)
  • Life Of His Own (浪族闊少爺) (1991): as 施敏

[edit] Discography

[edit] Albums

Year Chinese Name English Name Language Album Type
1990 sammi sammi Cantonese Album
1991 Holiday Holiday Cantonese Album
1992 Never Too Late Never Too Late Cantonese Album
1992 火熱動感 Fiery Motion Cantonese Collaborative Album with Aaron Kwok, Edmond Leung, Andy Hui
1993 快樂迷宮 Happy Maze Cantonese Album
1993 大報復 Big Revenge Cantonese New Songs + Greatest Hits
1994 十誡 Ten Commandments Cantonese Album
1994 時間地點人物 Time, Place, Person Cantonese New Songs + Greatest Hits
1994 SAMMI SAMMI Cantonese Album
1995 其後 After Cantonese Album
1995 捨不得你 Missing You Cantonese Album
1995 是時候新舊對照18首 It's That Time...18 Songs Compilation Cantonese Greatest Hits
1996 放不低 Can't Let Go Cantonese Album
1996 不要新舊對照17首 Don't Want...17 Songs Compilation Cantonese Greatest Hits
1996 值得 Worth It Mandarin Album
1996 濃情 Deep Passion Cantonese Album
1996 是時候@不要新舊對照35首 It's That Time@Don't Want...35 Songs Compilation Cantonese Greatest Hits
1997 鄭秀文X空間演唱會1996 Sammi's X-Dimension Concert 1996 Cantonese Concert Album
1997 為你等 Waiting For You Mandarin Album
1997 我們的主題曲 Our Theme Song Cantonese Album
1997 生活語言 The Language of Living Cantonese Album
1997 兩情相悅 Cantonese Collaboration Album with Andy Hui
1997 華納超極品音色系列 Warner Music Special Cantonese Compilation Album with various artists
1998 鄭秀文1997演唱會 Sammi Star Show 1997 Cantonese Concert Album
1998 Feel So Good Feel So Good Cantonese Album
1998 最好混音精選 The Best Remix Compilation Cantonese Remix Compilation
1998 聽聞... Listen To... Cantonese Album
1999 愛情故事 Love Story Compilation Mandarin New Songs + Greatest Hits
1999 我應該得到 I Deserve Mandarin Album
1999 很愛很愛 Loving It Cantonese Album
2000 Sammi i Concert 1999 Sammi i Concert 1999 Cantonese Concert Album
2000 多謝 Thank You Cantonese New Songs + Greatest Hits
2000 去愛吧 Go Love Mandarin Album
2000 Ladies First Ladies First Cantonese Album
2000 眉飛色舞 Mandarin Album
2000 Love Is... Love Is... Cantonese Album
2001 文歌與我 Sammi's Song and I Cantonese Greatest Hits
2001 完整 Complete Mandarin Album
2001 鄭秀文台北演唱會 Sammi in Concert (Taipei) Mandarin Concert Album
2001 鄭秀文903拉闊演唱會2001 Sammi RTHK 903 Music is Live Cantonese Concert Album
2001 Shocking Pink Shocking Pink Cantonese Album
2001 心水選擇 The Best Picks Cantonese Greatest Hits
2001 溫柔 Tender Cantonese Album
2002 Shocking Colors Live 2001 Shocking Colors Live 2001 Cantonese Concert Album
2002 捨得 Willing Mandarin Album
2002 鄭秀文新曲+精選19首 Sammi's New Song + 19 Greatest Hits Cantonese Greatest Hits
2002 Becoming... Becoming... Cantonese Album
2002 鄭秀文電影金曲精選 Sammi's Movie Theme Songs Cantonese/Mandarin Compilation Album
2002 Wonder Woman Wonder Woman Cantonese Album
2002 電Party Electric Party Cantonese/Mandarin Compilation Remix Compilation
2003 美麗的誤會 A Beautiful Misunderstanding Mandarin Album
2003 完全擁有鄭秀文 The Complete Collection of Sammi Cheng Cantonese Greatest Hits
2004 La La La La La La Cantonese Album
2004 Sammi vs Sammi Sammi vs Sammi Cantonese Album
2004 Mi Century: 鄭秀文登峰造極世紀精選 Mi Century: Sammi Cheng's Chart Topping Century Greatest Hits Mandarin Greatest Hits
2004 Sammi VS Sammi 2004 演唱會 Sammi VS Sammi 2004 Concert Cantonese Concert Album
2006 Sammi Ultimate Collection Sammi Ultimate Collection Cantonese Greatest Hits

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

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