| Chen Chi Chen 陳綺貞 |
|
|---|---|
| Background information | |
| Birth name | 陳綺貞 |
| Also known as | Cheer Chen |
| Born | June 6, 1975 [1][2] |
| Origin | Taipei, Taiwan, Republic of China |
| Genres | Pop, rock, folk, Indie |
| Occupations | singer-songwriter |
| Instruments | guitar, piano |
| Years active | 1997–present |
| Labels | Teamear Music; Rock Records (Magicstone Records 魔岩唱片) |
| Website | www.cheerego.com/ |
| Notable instruments | |
| Gibson Hummingbird, Gibson J-200 | |
Chen Chi Chen (simplified Chinese: 陈绮贞; traditional Chinese: 陳綺貞; pinyin: Chén Qǐzhēn; Wade–Giles: Ch'en2 Ch'i3 Chen1) also known as Cheer Chen; born June 6, 1975 in Taipei, Taiwan) is a popular yet low-profile Taiwanese singer-songwriter, widely recognized as a talented musician among the Chinese music industry.
Graduated from Taiwan National Chengchi University (Bachelor of Philosophy), Chen played in an underground band(Sunscreen 防曬油) as lead singer and guitarist back in the 1990s before she was attached to Rock Records. In 1997 she joined Magicstone, a subsidiary label under Rock Records and her debut album Think Twice was released in July 1998. Since 2003 she published her own music independently and now she is under Teamear Music
Chen is well known as a musician who regularly shuns the limelight and prefers to focus on her musical works rather than appearing on public media. She is also known for paying great attention in ensuring that each and every one of her live performances or concerts fulfills the expectation of her fans. She has on several occasions prepared hand-made entry-passes for her concerts.
Her earlier works are more folk-oriented with much bossa nova and orchestral arrangement (mainly produced by Will Lin with team members Yu-Huan Lee, Cincin Lee, Yun-Chang Dong etc.), but most of her recent works tend to be folk rock and poprock-based (produced by Tiger Chung under Teamear Music). Chung is her boyfriend and also her guitarist as well. He appeared in several of Chen's music videos of her songs, such as Sentimental Kills and Immortal.
Chen currently lives in the New Taipei Luzhou district. She is reported as being concerned with environmental issues. She has been frequently involved in community and public welfare activities.[3]
Contents |
Chen generally sings in Mandarin Chinese. She writes most of her own music and lyrics, and has produced several of her recordings independently. Her first recording Demo 1 was released in September 1997. To date she has published 5 official albums, 3 demos, 6 singles, 2 compilations, 4 DVDs, and a book of photographic(lomographic) collection.[4] Her songs are generally straightforward though with lots of the seventh and diminished chords. She usually appears with her Gibson Hummingbird acoustic guitar.
In 2004 & 2005, she was featured in two seasons of Lee The Blues Jeans advertisement with Stanley Huang. The advert song she composed 'Live in Silence'(靜靜的生活) was then rearranged and republished in her fourth album Peripeteia. In 2009, she became the spokesperson for Nikon Coolpix S620, and in 2010 for Nikon D5000 & Nikon D3100. In 2010 she was also featured in an Adidas Originals advert along with many other worldwide celebrities including Hyori Lee, David Beckham and Oasis. Since May 2011, she became the spokesperson for Sokenbicha herbal drink for the Taiwanese market.
In 2006, Chen's fourth album Peripeteia won the Best Music Album Producer award(Tiger Chung) and Best Music Video award at the 17th Golden Melody Awards.[5] During that same year, she was also nominated for Best Female Singer and Best Album of the Year. In 2010 she was nominated for the Best Song Writer (The Edge 魚).[6]
In 2009, Chen released her latest album Immortal , recorded unorthodoxly in the wardrobe of her own chamber but not in a proper studio and mastered by Grammy Award winner Bernie Grundman. The album was awarded one of the Top 10 Selling Mandarin Albums of the Year at the 2009 IFPI Hong Kong Album Sales Awards, presented by the Hong Kong branch of IFPI.[7] Back from later 2008, Chen started holding her concert tour, with the same theme as the new album Immortal. The tour continues around Taiwan, China Mainland, Hong Kong, Macau, Singapore, and she held a concert for the very first time in Melbourne on March 11, 2011.
Being the first female singer-composer to perform on the stage of Taipei Arena, she used to remind people to pursue their ambitions boldly and to always dream for a better tomorrow. She said, "Perhaps there are people feeling themselves fragile, insignificant and vulnerable, but they might be the sun that shines for the others, just as the heat of the Sun though unapproachable yet it guards the mother earth from afar even at night; life might not be smooth sailing for everyone in all stages, but we should always embrace hopes for a better tomorrow."[8][The Epoch USA Inc. 1]
Chen has also appeared on stage several times with famous Taiwanese band Mayday. She sang a duet with Ashin (陳信宏), lead vocalist of the band, in the upbeat love song Eloping To The Moon(私奔到月球). Ashin has also claimed that in Taipei, the only artist that puts on a better show than Mayday is Cheer Chen. Ashin further acknowledged Cheer's intellectual lyrics in his blog, "I think that Cheer writes great lyrics, Cheer’s lyrics appear to be a velvety knife which seems harmless but it is actually keen."[9][10][11]