Agnes Chan

Agnes Chan
Chinese name 陳美齡 (traditional)
Chinese name 陈美龄 (simplified)
Born August 20, 1955
Hong Kong
Other name(s) アグネス・チャン
Genre(s) Cantopop, J-pop, Hong Kong English pop
Years active 1971 - present

Agnes Chan or Agnes Meiling Kaneko Chan (traditional Chinese: 陳美齡; simplified Chinese: 陈美龄; pinyin: Chén Měilíng; Cantonese Yale: Chan Mei ling; Japanese: アグネス・チャン) is a pop singer, a "foreign television personality" (gaijin tarento), a Doctor of Education, a professor at Japanese universities,[1] an essayist, and a novelist. Since 1988, Chan has been a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador[2][3] and also supports the Japan Committee for UNICEF, a private corporation unaffiliated with UNICEF.[4]

Career

with John Roos (Ambassador to Japan), Susan Roos (Partner of Cook Roos Wilbur) and Ken Hayami (Executive Director of the Japan Committee for UNICEF)

Agnes Chan began singing and playing guitar in her junior high years in Hong Kong, as volunteer work for fundraising events. She had a chance to record a cover of Joni Mitchell's "The Circle Game" with her older sister, actress Irene Chan, and it became a hit song in Hong Kong. She became famous throughout southeast Asia through several of Chang Cheh's movies, including Young People and The Generation Gap.

Japanese singer/songwriter Masaaki Hirao brought Chan to Japan, and in 1972 she recorded her first Japanese pop hit, "Poppy Flower(ひなげしの花)." Her clear voice, pretty looks, and imperfect Japanese made her a teenage idol.[5] In 1973 her third single, "Splendor in the Grass (草原の輝き)," earned her the Japan Record Grand Prix "Rookie of the Year" award. She graduated from The American School in Japan in 1973.

Chan enrolled in Tokyo's Sophia University and studied for two years, after which she decided to take a break from the entertainment business and study social child psychology at the University of Toronto in Canada.

After graduating in 1978, Chan returned to Japan to resume her singing career. Her first Cantonese album was released in Hong Kong in 1979. She won a prize for her peace thesis for International Youth Year 1984. Her first concert in China, a benefit for Soong Ching-ling's children's fund, was held in 1985 at Beijing's capital gym for an audience of 54,000.

Chan's 1984 visit to Ethiopia during a drastic drought and food shortage was covered for the Nippon Television Network's annual "24-Hour TV" charity special. Through these events, she resumed her volunteer work as she continued her entertainment career.

In 1986, Chan married her former manager, Tsutomu Kaneko, and gave birth to her eldest son, Arthur, in Canada. When she returned to Japan the next year she would bring her infant along to the workplace, which was seen as highly controversial ("Agnes" became something of a buzzword in Japan) and raised the question of a mother's place in the working world.

In 1989 Chan began studying with Stanford University's department of education; her second son, Alex, was born during her stay in the United States. With Myra H. Strober, she investigated the situations of 10 graduates from Tokyo University and Stanford 10 years after their graduation. This showed significant differences between the men and women of Japan and the U.S., and earned Chan her Ph.D. Chan returned to Japan as a lecturer, essayist, and university professor. She welcomed her third son, Apollo, in 1996.

In 1998, Chan was appointed the first ambassador of the Japan Committee for UNICEF, established as an independent local non-governmental organization in Japan, under agreement with UNICEF.[6]

Chan's education had a profound impact on her singing career: by 2000 her recordings had taken a darker, moodier tone.

In 2002, Chan began her work as a novelist with Perfect Couple and Bullet Ring.

Chan released her first self-cover single, "Splendor in the Grass 2005 (草原の輝き2005)," in 2005, and Asahi beverage used the song in an herbal-tea commercial. Chan's latest single is "Flower of Happiness (しあわせの花)". In October she won the 14th Pestalozzi Education Award presented by Hiroshima University.

Her new English-language album Forget Yourself, including a duet with legendary Chinese performer Jackie Chan, was released in the United States in February 2006.

Chan is planning to release three new Japanese singles and make an album during 2007; she also plans to perform 35th-anniversary concerts in 100 Japanese cities and Beijing, China in 2007 and 2008.

In October 2007 it was reported that Chan had undergone breast-cancer surgery in a Tokyo hospital,[7] and is expected to make a full recovery.

Since April 2009, Chan has been the dean of the Agnes University, an unaccredited virtual university (not to be confused with accredited St. Agnes College in Kyoto) founded by Record China Co., where an honorary Bachelor's degree is awarded on completion of twelve essays of 10-400 words.[8]

Her eldest son Arthur graduated from Stanford University in 2009. Middle son Alex studies music at the same university and has gained attention through his acoustic YouTube performances, and youngest son Apollo studies in Japan.

She is a Roman Catholic.[9]

Present Main Regular Programs

Television

Radio

Discography

Albums

Charted singles

#TitleRelease Date/Chart Position
1Circle Game (-)
Debut single in Hong Kong		1971 (#1)
2Hinageshi No Hana (ひなげしの花 The Poppy Flowers)
Debut single in Japan		1972-11-25 (#5)
3Yousei No Uta (妖精の詩 Fairy Poetry)1973-04-10 (#5)
4Sougen No Kagayaki (草原の輝き Splendor In The Grass)1973-07-25 (#2)
5Chiisana Koi No Monogatari (小さな恋の物語 A Little Love Story)
Biggest hit in Japan		1973-10-25 (#1)
6Hoshi No Negai O (星に願いを When You Wish Upon a Star)1974-02-25 (#4)
7Pocket Ippai No Himitsu (ポケットいっぱいの秘密 Pocket Full of Secrets)1974-06-10 (#6)
8Utsukushii Asa Gakimasu (美しい朝が来ます A Beautiful Morning)'1974-09-10 (#8)
9Ai No Mayoiko (愛の迷い子 Lost Kind of Love)
1974-12-21 (#2)
10Koibito Tachi No Gogo (恋人たちの午後 A Day for The Lovers)1975-03-25 (#7)
11Hadashi No Bouken (はだしの冒険 Barefoot Adventure)1975-06-10 (#12)
12Shiroi Kutsushita Wa Niawa Nai (白いくつ下は似合わない The White Socks)1975-08-25 (#12)
13Fuyu No Hi No Kaerimichi (冬の日の帰り道 Walking Home on a Wintersday)1975-12-10 (#14)
14Koi No SEESAW GAME (恋のシーソー・ゲーム Seesaw Game of Love)1976-04-10 (#8)
15Yume O Kudasai (夢をください Give Me a Dream)1976-08-10 (#14)
16Kokoro Ni Tsubasa O Kudasai (心に翼を下さい These Wings on My Heart)
1977-04-25 (#32)
17Sukoshi Matte Te (少し待ってて Wait a Little)1977-08-25 (#64)
18Hana No Sasayaki (花のささやき In The Whispering of the Flowers)
1977-11-25 (#68)
19AGAIN (アゲイン)1978-08-25 (#22)
20Yasashisa Shirazu (やさしさ知らず Loving Without Knowing It)1978-11-25 (#52)
21Kagami No Naka No Watashi (鏡の中の私 Through The Looking Glass)1979-03-30 (#76)
22100 Man Hito No JABBERWOCKY (100万人のジャバウォーキー Everybody's Talking Jabberwocky)1979-07-25 (#97)
23Ai No HARMONY (愛のハーモニー Harmony of Love)1984-11-25 (#61)
24Kono Mi Ga Chigireru Hodo Ni ~Lovin' You Is Killin' Me~ (この身がちぎれるほどに)2000-06-21 (#50)
25Wasurenai De ~Time To Say Goodbye~ (忘れないで)2001-04-25 (#80)
26Shishousetsu ~My Love Story~ (私小説)2001-09-21 (#91)
27Kokoro No Tabibito (心の旅人 Travels of Love)2003-10-22 (#97)
28Soko Ni Wa Shiawase Ga Mou Umareteiru Kara (そこには 幸せが もう生まれているから I'm Happy I was Born In This World)2007-03-07 (#26)

Commercials

Written Works

References

  1. ↑ starbulletin.com | Features | /2006/04/11/
  2. ↑ http://www.unicef.org/people/people_nationalambassadors.html
  3. ↑ http://www.unicef.org/people/japan_53128.html
  4. ↑ http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/japan_31778.html
  5. ↑ Reporting Hong Kong: Foreign Media and the Handover. St. Martin's Press. 1999. p. 142. ISBN 978-0-312-22429-5.
  6. ↑ http://www.unicef.org/about/structure/index_natcoms.html
  7. ↑ The Standard - Hong Kong's First FREE English Newspaper
  8. ↑
  9. ↑ (Japanese) アグネス・チャンさん、マザー・テレサの本を出版

External links