Na Ying

Na Ying
Background information
Chinese name	那英
Pinyin	Nā Yīng (Mandarin)
Origin	China
Born	(1967-11-27) 27 November 1967 Shenyang, Liaoning, China
Other name(s)	Natasha Na
Occupation	Singer
Genre(s)	Mandopop, Chinese Romantic Music
Years active	1988[1]–present
Spouse(s)	Gao Feng (m. 2004; div. 2005) Meng Tong (m. 2006)
Children	Meng Xiaotong (daughter), Gao Xing (son)
Ancestry	Manchu
Influenced by	Julie Sue
Awards Golden Melody Awards Best Female Mandarin Artist 2001 Romantic Bitterness MTV Asia Awards Favourite Artist, Mainland China 2002

Na Ying (born 27 November 1967), less frequently referred to as Natasha Na, is a Chinese vocalist. She is considered as one of the best present-day female singers in Mainland China, having sold more than 10 million albums. She is also noted for her buoyant and forthright personality.^[1]

Biography

Na was born in Shenyang, Liaoning. She is an ethnic Manchu, a descendant of the noble Yehe Nara clan of the Qing dynasty. She became a member of the Liaoning Juvenile Broadcasting Chorus in 1979, and the Shenyang Singing and Dancing Troupe in 1983. Na won several national singing contests in the 1980s, and received vocal training from the famous composer Gu Jianfen (谷建芬).^[2]

Na's father was a doctor. He wanted her to have a good education and become a doctor when she grew up. However, Na exhibited a natural talent for singing, and was determined to become a singer instead.

Na began her recording career in 1988 in Taiwan and Hong Kong.^[1] She released her first album Dreaming With You, in 1994. Following the release of that album, she released several additional albums, becoming one of the most popular Mandarin-language artists of Mainland China.

At the 1998 Spring Festival Gala show hosted by CCTV, Na sang a duet "Meet in '98" (相約一九九八) with Faye Wong. Wong had already achieved fame in Hong Kong and elsewhere, but the performance with Na brought her to superstar status in China itself.^[3]

Na had a relationship with Chinese footballer Gao Feng and a son by him, but they separated in 2005.^[4] She married Meng Tong in 2006, and they had a daughter in 2007.^[2]

Although she devoted time to her family and children from 2002 to 2009, she never quit the stage,^[1] and had a prominent role at the closing ceremony of the Beijing 2008 Summer Olympic Games.^[2]

At the close of 2009 she performed the concert "20 Years of Na", a retrospective of her stage career, at the Capital Gymnasium. Although her 2009 single "The Journey of Love" topped the charts wherever it was released, her early song "Follow Your Instinct" remains her favourite.^[1]

After a hiatus of nearly nine years, Na returned to the music scene in 2011, releasing a new album called So... What?. The album reached the number one position on both the mainland China and Taiwan album charts.

In 2012, Na became a coach and judge on the first season of the popular television singing show The Voice of China, along with Yang Kun, Liu Huan and Yu Chengqing.^[2] She returned to the judges panel in 2013 for the show's second season, along with Wang Feng, Zhang Hui-mei and Yu Chengqing. Na continued being a judge on the third and fourth season of that show with Wang Feng, Yang Kun, Zhou Jielun and Yu Chengqing

In 2016, Na appeared on the first season of the show Sing! China, along with Wang Feng, Zhou Jielun, and Yu Chengqing. She will also be on the second season of the show which will premier July 2017.

Discography

The following are a selection of her albums released from 1994 to 2011.^[2]

• 1994: 為你朝思暮想 Wèi nǐ zhāo sī mù xiǎng (Dreaming with you)
• 1995: 白天不懂夜的黑 Bái tiān bù dǒng yè de hēi (The day doesn't know the night)
• 1998: 征服 Zhēng fú (Conquering)
• 1999: 乾脆 Gān cuì (Totally)
• 2000: 心酸的浪漫 Xīn suān de làng màn (Sad and romantic)
• 2001: 我不是天使 Wǒ bù shì tiān shǐ (I'm not an angel)
• 2002: 如今… Rújīn… (Nowadays)
• 2011: 那又怎樣… Nà yòu zěn yàng… (So what?)
• 2015: 默... Mò... (Sadness)

References