Teresa Teng

Lovingly dubbed “Asia’s Eternal Queen of Pop,” Taiwanese singer and actress Teresa Teng is widely regarded as the most influential Chinese-speaking vocalist of all time. Born Teng Li-Chun on January 29, 1953, in Baozhong, Yunlin, she has had a fascinating journey since her debut in the late 1960s, fearlessly tackling everything from Cantopop and Chinese folk music to Western genres such as jazz, disco, and soul. She is also credited with being one of the first Chinese-speaking artists to cross over into the Japanese market, recording numerous pop songs that enjoyed great popularity in the charts across the East China Sea. After making her TV debut as the host of the show One Star a Day, Teresa Teng struck a deal with Yeu Jow Records and released her first studio album, Feng Yang Flower Drum, in 1967. The album was incredibly successful in Taiwan, achieving platinum certification and starting a streak of critically and commercially acclaimed albums that cemented her reputation as a rising star. During this time, her appearance in the music program The Gathering of Stars led to a contract with the Life Records label, through which she achieved widespread fame in Hong Kong thanks to singles like “Remembering Mama” and “The Moment I See You, I Smile.” In 1974, Teresa Teng issued the singles “No Matter Today or Tomorrow” and “Airport,” both included in her first Japanese LP, Airport/Snow. Following her move to Polygram and Kolin Records, the Taiwanese singer released her first Cantonese album Goodbye My Love in 1975. Throughout the late 1970s/early 1980s, Teresa Teng offered her first performances in North America, becoming the first music artist of Chinese descent to headline a concert at Los Angeles’ Lincoln Center in 1980, and resumed her career in Japan through a series of albums released by Taurus Record. I Only Care About You, her last studio effort, appeared in 1987, after which her output waned considerably. Even though she unexpectedly passed away on May 8, 1995, at the age of 42, the importance of her unparalleled legacy was made evident by the release of countless compilations following her death, including The Way We Were (1997), Greatest Hits 35th Anniversary 24K Gold Disc (2011), and The Voice of Jun Tian Lai 101 - Teresa Teng's 65th Anniversary (2018), which included the hit single “No Way.”

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