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Edison Chen

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Edison Chen

Edison Chen (陳冠希) is a popular Hong Kong Chinese actor and R&B, Hip-pop singer/rapper.

He was formerly an artist of the Emperor Entertainment Group (EEG); however, his contract with EEG ended in 2005. He is the founder of the fashion label CLOT Inc and is also CEO of the record label Clot Media Division Limited. He is currently living in Hong Kong and relocated in Taiwan in 2013. He owns a lifestyle company named CLOT, which works with labels and artists from all around the world gathering them all together in unison in the Greater Asian region, although they are based in the Hong Kong region.

He also sings cantopop and can speak English, Cantonese, and Mandarin. However, as with many foreign-born Chinese, Edison does not have a perfect command of Cantonese or Mandarin. He is idolized for his "cool" attitude and his good looks, though critics cite him as conceited ("chuen", "串", in Cantonese slang). Rising to fame, he quickly established himself as the best selling balladeer by having his CDs sold over in millions before verging to RnB and Hip hop. He is known for his deep-airy and lyrical baritone voice as both a Cantopop and Mandopop singer.

He dabbled in modelling as well including Levi's Jeans and Samsung Cellphones. Since then, he has involved with numerous films and advertisements.

As of February 21, 2008, he has announced his indefinite departure from the Hong Kong entertainment scene due to his sex photo scandal earlier that year. He returned in 2010 but has yet to make a comeback in the Hong Kong film industry.

Regardless of the scandal, He gained the title "Asia's Eminem." [1]

Profile

  • Name: Edison Chen
  • Chinese name: Chun Kwoon-hei (陳冠希)
  • Born: October 7, 1980
  • Birthplace: Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
  • Height: 5'10"
  • Weight: 145 lbs
  • Years active: 2000 (singing), 2000–present (acting)
  • Language Spoken: English, Cantonese, Mandarin and an elementary level of Japanese
  • Favourite Music Genres: R&B, hip hop
  • Favorite Musical Instrument: The Turntable
  • Favourite Singers: Sammi Cheng, Leslie Cheung, R Kelly, Jay-Z, Janet Jackson
  • Favorite Actor: Jackie Chan
  • Hobbies: Dancing, Singing, Playing basketball, Internet
  • Favourite Food: Japanese cuisine
  • Favorite Country: United States
  • Favourite City: New York City
  • Favourite Colour: Blue
  • Favourite Movies: Star Wars, Gladiator
  • Favourite Accessories: Diamond earring, platinum rings
  • Favourite Sport: Basketball, swimming
  • Unforgettable Achievements: Gen Y Cops, Pepsi campaign in Shenzhen, Debut album
  • Likes: Happiness, Peace
  • Dislikes: Hypocritical people, Filthy, War

Early Life and Beginnings

Edison Chen was born on October 7th, 1980. He was raised in Richmond (Vancouver) and graduated high school at Robert Cecilia Palmer Secondary School (apparently, Edison was a slacker at school but was lucky enough to graduate). Edison's official online blog states that "He is just a normal everyday guy like you, but only his job is to entertain..."

Prior to his music career, he went to High School in Hong Kong International School (HKIS) in the class of 1998. He also attended high school at R. C. Palmer Secondary School in Richmond, BC.

In Canada, he searched for a successful way to become a celebrity. Seeing how he failed to receive any recording contracts within Canada or the States because of his Chinese ancestry, he later returned to Hong Kong, and with the help of his father and networks, he was able to make it big, signing a deal with the EEG company.

Career

Film

In 1999 he was at the age of 19, a talent scout approached Chen while he was clubbing with friends in Hong Kong. He asked him to film a commercial for Citibank where Leon Lai and Cecilia Chung are also involved. From then on, his career began with the Japanese film Dead or Alive 2: Birds. He made his Hong Kong film debut in the film Gen-Y Cops in 2000. Edison's first movie Gen-Y Cops received terrible reviews from the Hong Kong media. As he has gained more experience he has improved somewhat since those early days. He recently starred in the film Jiang Hu in which his character had to rape a dog as a punishment. This scene however, did not bring praise from critics as Edison remains, as some critics say, "talentless". In the movie Initial D Chen took the role of Ryosuke Takahashi.

Chen has starred in many films including Infernal Affairs I, Infernal Affairs II,Infernal Affairs III, Twins Effect and Twins Effect II.

Currently, Edison is making his Hollywood Debut in The Grudge 2, the second in a Japanese horror remake of Ju-on, starring Sarah Michelle Gellar and Amber Rose Tamblyn. He is cast as an investigative reporter. The film will be released on Friday, October 13 2006.

In 2011, he made a comeback for his first independent film Almost Perfect, co-starring Kelly Hu was screened at the Asian American Film Festival.

Music

In 2000, at the age of 20, Chen landed a record deal with Emperor Entertainment Group. He recorded his first EP <Edison Chen> and appeared in the 2000 Jade Solid Gold Award Ceremony where he won the "Best Newcomer Award (gold)," (tied up with Louis Koo) and the "Newcomer King Award."

Unsatisfied with the achievement, he decided to challenge himself to study new things for improvement. Therefore, he suggested to his company that he wants to go to Japan for 3 months to study music (because of his interest in music production and to improve more of his singing skills), dance, and creating music early in 2001 in which was approved by his recording company and expects difference from him in order to reach his goals. [2]

After releasing typical Cantopop/Mandopop albums, It took him a number of successful album releases before he was given the opportunity to produce a hip hop album. His first hip-hop release was in February 2004, called Please Steal This Album backed by MC Yan and Singaporean musician Hanjin Chen. Several singles from the album topped local pop charts. Chen mentioned the difficulty of fitting in Hong Kong, where it is dominated by cantopop, but said that hip hop has a great potential.

Though many consider Edison Chen to be the first pop singer who brought hip-hop culture to Hong Kong music industry, it was LMF that began the underground hip-hop industry in Hong Kong. But if LMF started hip-hop in Hong Kong, Edison made it mainstream in Cantopop. This is reflected as many of Edison's rap songs feature MC Yan from the now disbanded LMF.

His song "香港地" (Hong Kong Place), featuring MC Yan and Han Jin, about how the Hong Kong people are like, and calls for union of the Hong Kong people, was one of the great hits in 2004. Edison continued his hip-hop style, and released another hip-hop album HAZY in 2005. The song "嘥氣" (Waste of Breath) describes the assault incident Edison encountered before.

Edison has received help from fellow rap artist "Lupe Fiasco" to help Edison by being featured in a mixtape with Edison. The song "Chicapow" was well known getting Edison more well known in the rap scene. Not only has Lupe Fiasco helped Edison with songs, he also models with Edison's CLOT clothing.

He is featured on M-Flo's album, Cosmicolor, on the track "LOVE ME, HATE THE GAME" with Chan, Thaitanium and Ryohei Yamamoto.

After Chen's comeback in late 2009 he began work on his next album titled CONFUSION. The record includes collaborations with well-known local hip hop artists MC HotDog, MC Yan, and Master Chef. Additional collaborations include Sammi Cheng and Jay Chou.

Fashion

Edison had also established his own lifestyle company, CLOT inc. It is co-owned by Edison himself with partners Kevin Poon and Billy Ip. CLOT has been a hit in Hong Kong since its establishment in 2004, with their retail select clothing shop JUICE selling brands from around the globe, including silas, tonite, PAM, devilock, Revolver, Neighborhood, Nike, Medicom Toys etc. Edison and co hit the peak this year with their collaboration with Nike on a pair of sneakers, known as the Air Max 1 NL 'Kiss Of Death'. The sneakers sold out immediately after its worldwide release and has known to be one of the most sought after sneakers this year to Sneaker Heads.

Multimedia company

In February 2007, he invested $10 million HKD to open his own multi-media company, Clot Media Division, which plans to produce movies, commercials and music albums. In June 2007, he released a Mandarin album, 讓我再次介紹我自己 (Allow Me To Reintroduce Myself) with tracks produced by Kanye West, Just Blaze, and Clinton Sparks. He also has a new TV show – The Untitled Edison Chen Show, for which he is producer, creator, director, and host – airing in 2011 on Next Cable in Taiwan.

Community work

As early as 2001 Chen had appeared in Vancouver charity shows. He has also been a supporter for the gay and lesbian community in Hong Kong, including being voted as an icon in 2001.

In 2007 he was invited by Be@rbrick toys for a charity event in Hong Kong Harbour City. The charity proceeds were donated to "Hong Kong Blood Cancer Foundation".[12]

Notable News

In March 2004, Edison Chen was assaulted by two teenagers, aged 16 and 17, in downtown Hong Kong. The two teenagers apparently mocked Edison by breakdancing in front of Edison as he was leaving a hair salon. One of the teenagers swung at Edison and hit him in the right ear. The two teens ran off whilst Edison gave chase for nine city blocks before returning to the same shopping arcade. There he called his "assistants" (rumored to be ex-Triads) to look for the two teens. They were eventually caught on a bus.

On March 9, 2007, Chen was returing home when he discovered a Taxi, that had just dropped off some passengers, blocking his gate. The taxi driver requested that Chen back-up so that he could pull out and let Chen enter; however, Chen's security guard requested instead that the taxi driver pull over so Chen could pass, resulting in the driver insulting the guard and a subsequent argument between Chen and the driver. Eventually, Chen got out of his car, kicked the taxi several times and broke all the windows. He was charged, convicted and fined HK $4,700.

In January 2008, Chen was involved in a widely-publicized sex scandal which involved multiple sexually explicit photographs of himself and other people were circulated on the Internet. Celebrities implicated in the scandal included Gillian Chung, Bobo Chan, Mandy Chen, Candice Chan, Rachel Ngan and Cecilia Cheung. The photographs also included 6 other women and other men, as well as his current girlfriend Vincy Yeung. On February 21, 2008, he officially announced his indefinite departure from the Hong Kong entertainment industry.

Artistry

Voice and timbre

Although he's untrained in singing, he is known for his distinctive head and nasal voice, Chen possesses the vocal range of a lyric baritone for his sweet and mild singing voice while his tessitura is in the range of E3 to F#4.

During his years as both Cantopop and Mandopop singer, he has been known to sing "typical pop songs" where he showcase his distinctive natural vocals on his early recordings. From his album Please Steal This Album, some of his songs can be heard of his improvement on his vocals and the ability to reach high notes of a high lyric baritone to a low tenor.

His version of Eason Chan's "Nicotine" where he hit the high notes of G and G# above middle C.[3]

In comparing his vocal techniques to Hong Kong singers Jackie Chan (for his usual nasal voice), Takeshi Kaneshiro (for his distinctive low register), his voice is also comparable to international musicians R Kelly (for his falsetto) and Eminem (for his technical rap skills); His also known for executing the dynamics sweeping from his whispering pianissimo to his theatrical fortissimo effect in some of his old recordings as well.

Vocal Profile

  • Lowest Note: Db2 (Another Year)
  • Highest Belt: A4 (Yu Loi Bin Loi), (Heroes), (Wake Up)
  • Highest Falsetto Note: D5 (Photo Ready In An Instant), (Wake Up)
  • Exclamation: Db6 (New Excitement)
  • Vocal Type: Middleweight Lyric Baritone (4 Octaves and a note)

Musical Style

His music has encompassed a broad range of genres with ballad, soul, contemporary pop, hip hop and RnB. When he was little, he listens to cartoon songs like Doraemon and Disney music. He grew up mainly listening to hiphop and RnB from his friend's recommendation. [4]

Personal Life

In Chen's personal blog, he referred to an anonymous girlfriend as "V". In 2007, he finally announced that he has been dating Vincy Yeung (the niece of EEG founder Albert Yeung) for three years. On an entertainment show in Taiwan, Chen disclosed that he planned to marry Vincy and that his previous playboy and womanising habits have stopped because of his love for his current girlfriend. He repeated his gratitude to her in an interview with Time Out Hong Kong magazine in March 2011.[5]

Chen was due to relocate to Taiwan in early 2013.[5]

Trivia

  • Edison was also voted as the top 100 Asian men by public Internet users this year, 2006.
  • On March 22 2006, Edison Chen was on a Japanese dating show with Anne Suzuki who was Jay Chou's character's girlfriend in Initial D.
  • He is a method actor by reading Stanislavsky’s books and took method acting classes in L.A. in which he explains that method acting asks you to draw on personal experiences to put into your character. [5]
  • Showcases his unusual skills in playing the piano for the film Life Translated 7

Discography

Cantonese Albums

Mandarin Albums

EPs

Compilations

Collaborations

  • 2001 - Release (with Joey Ng) - from his album Visual Diary
  • 2001 - 只要有目標 (with Elva Hsiao) - a bilingual song in Mandarin and Cantonese for the Solar Project 2001 Campaign.
  • 2001 - Party For Three Persons (with Twins) - from his album Peace and Love
  • 2002 - How Bad I Am? (with Hanjin and Gillian Cheung) - from his album Breakthrough
  • 2003 - 唔該行開（Argue Mix）(Please Leave (Argue Mix)) (with Yu Chiu) - from her album YUSEE AGAIN!
  • 2005 - Waste of Breath (with Maria Cordero) - from his album Hazy: The 144 Hour Project
  • 2007 - "LOVE ME, HATE THE GAME" with M-Flo, Chan, Thaitanium and Ryohei Yamamoto - from M-Flo's album Cosmicolor
  • 2011 - Mr. Sandman [NASA Remix] (with MC Hotdog, Sammi Cheng)

Filmography

Film

  • 2000 – Dead or Alive 2: Birds (Dead or Alive 2: 逃亡者) (Japan)
  • 2000 – Gen-Y Cops (特警新人類2)
  • 2001 – Final Romance (願望樹)
  • 2001 – Dummy mother, Without a Baby (玉女添丁)
  • 2001 – Dance of a Dream (愛君如夢)
  • 2002 – Princess D (想飛)
  • 2002 – Nine Girls and a Ghost (九個女仔一隻鬼)
  • 2002 – Infernal Affairs (無間道)
  • 2003 – The Twins Effect (千機變)
  • 2003 – The Medallion (飛龍再生) (Cameo)
  • 2003 – Infernal Affairs II (無間道II)
  • 2003 – The Spy Dad (絕種鐵金剛)
  • 2003 – Infernal Affairs III (無間道III: 終極無間) (Cameo)
  • 2004 – Sex and the Beauties (性感都市)
  • 2004 – Moving Targets (2004 新紮師兄)
  • 2004 – Life, Translated (時差7小時)
  • 2004 – Jiang Hu (江湖)
  • 2004 – The Twins Effect II (千機變)
  • 2004 – A-1 Headline (A-1 頭條)
  • 2005 – Initial D (頭文字D)
  • 2005 – Under The Same Moon (同じ月を見ている) (Japan)
  • 2006 – Dog Bite Dog (狗咬狗)
  • 2006 – The Grudge 2 (咒怨2)
  • 2007 – Trivial Matters (破事兒)
  • 2008 – The Dark Knight (Cameo)
  • 2009 – The Sniper (神鎗手)
  • 2009 – Coweb (戰無雙) (Cameo)
  • 2012 – Almost Perfect
  • 2014 – Golden Chicken 3 (金雞SSS)
  • 2014 - Streets of Macao
  • 2015 - Initial D 2

TV series

  • 2002 – Feel 100% (百分百感覺)
  • 2003 – Hearts of Fencing (當四葉草碰上劍尖時) Guest
  • 2005 – Eight Heroes (八大豪俠)
  • 2012 – Tourbillon
  • 2014 – Blind Spot

Other appearances

  • 2001 – Weakest Link (一筆OUT消)
  • 2005 – MTV Whatever Things
  • 2006 – Gumball 3000: Drivin' Me Crazy

Voice Over works

  • 2001 – Cats & Dogs (貓狗鬥一番) (Voice only, Cantonese version)
  • 2007 – Shrek the Third (史力加之咁就三世) (Voice only, Cantonese version)
  • 2012 – Sleeping Dogs (Jackie Ma) (Video game)

Endorsements

  • Citibank (with Leon Lai)
  • Pepsi
  • Evisu
  • Levi's
  • Samsung
  • U-Campus Edge Wear (with Paula Taylor)

Awards

Film and TV Awards

  • 2001 - 20th Hong Kong Film Awards - Nominee - Best New Performer for Gen-Y Cops
  • 2003 - China Fashion Awards - Winner - Character Figure
  • 2004 - China Fashion Awards - Winner - Asia Breakthrough Artist
  • 2007 - BQ Celebrity Score Awards - Nominee - Best Fashion Artist

Music Awards

  • 2000 - Jade Solid Gold Best Ten Music Awards - Winner - Most Popular New Artist (Male) (dual gold with Louis Koo)
  • 2001 - Jade Solid Gold Best Ten Music Awards Winner - 4 Stations Best Song/Four Channel Award (silver)
  • 2001 - TVB8 Mandarin Music Awards - Winner - Top 10 Songs/Winner - Best New Singer
  • 2002 - Jade Solid Gold Best Ten Music Awards - Winner - Favorite Online Song - I never told you (bronze)
  • 2002 - RTHK Top 10 Gold Songs Awards - Winner - Best Song
  • 2002 - CMA Chinese Music Awards - Winner - Favorite New Singer
  • 2002 - Top Chinese Music Awards - Winner - Outstanding New Singer
  • 2002 - Music Pioneer Chart Awards - Winner - Favorite Singer
  • 2002 - TVB8 Mandarin Music Awards - Winner - Best Song
  • 2003 - MusicRadio China TOP Ranking Chart - Winner - Gold Song
  • 2004 - Music Pioneer Chart Awards - Winner - Favorite Singer
  • 2004 - Jade Solid Gold Best Ten Music Awards - Winner - Outstanding Performance
  • 2011 - Golden Melody Awards - Nominee - Best Music Video - Mr. Sandman

Citations

  1. ↑ LETTERS: Edison Chen is a celebrity Taipei Times, Retrieved January 9, 2015
  2. ↑ Edison says goodbye to the media XP Weekly, Retrieved January 9, 2015
  3. ↑ [www.youtube.com/watch?v=ViGrVbZG1aE Edison Chen 陳冠希- 尼古丁] with Lyrics]
  4. ↑ From cartoon songs to loving hip hop Yes! Retrieved January 10, 2015
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Edison Chen

External links

Retrieved from "http://www.generasia.com/w/index.php?title=Edison_Chen&oldid=458030"