Priscilla Chan

All Music Guide:

Cantopop singer Priscilla Chan enjoyed great success in the 1980s, but after she moved abroad to study at an American university, her popularity began to fluctuate and eventually fade. Born in Hong Kong on July 28, 1965, she made her recording debut in 1983 at age 18 with the song "Forgotten Promise." She scored many hits throughout the remainder of the decade, most notably the song "Thousands of Songs" from her farewell album, Always Be Your Friend (1989). Following that album, Chan spent several years in the United States at Syracuse University studying psychology. Her 1995 comeback album, Welcome Back, was a huge success, and she remained popular for several years afterward. After the turn of the century, however, her star began to fade as a new generation of Cantopop singers overtook her.

Wikipedia:

Priscilla Chan Wai-han is a female Cantopop singer in Hong Kong.

Background

Chan has a younger brother and sister. Her father is a retired senior officer of Hong Kong Immigration Service. She attended Marymount Secondary School in Happy Valley, Hong Kong (formerly known as Maryknoll Sisters School). Active in extracurricular activities and pastimes, as a teenager she would often enter singing contests, and eventually got discovered by a recording company. She currently lives in Happy Valley, Hong Kong. She is known for expressing great passion and emotion in her love songs, of which many are cantopop classics.

Career

Chan started her life as a professional singer when she was 18 in 1983. Her first song was titled "Forgotten Promise" (逝去的諾言), which is recorded in an album "Girl Magazine" (少女雜誌) that also featuring two other newcomers. The song propelled Chan's career; thus, she released her own first album "The Feelings of a Story" (故事的感覺) in 1984. The next year, she released "Priscilla", which included the hit "Flower Shop" (花店). In 1986, the album "Revolt" (反叛) had several classics and push Chan to new heights. Song included "Dancing Street" (跳舞街) (a version of Angie Gold's "Eat You Up" but based production wise, on Yōko Oginome's version, titled "Dancing Hero" (ダンシング・ヒーロー)), "Loving Accident" (痴情意外), "Love Me Once Again", "Revolt" (反叛), and "Hugging with Tears" (與淚抱擁). Chan had a rough 1987, but she rebounded nicely in 1988 with the album 嫻情 1988, and the song "Silly Girl" (傻女, a Cantonese rework version of the Spanish song "La Loca" by María Conchita Alonso) that first confirmed her status as a serious contender in the golden age of Cantopop. "Silly Girl" was re-made into a disco-version by a newcomer in Hong Kong, Jill Vidal, in 2007.

Chan chose to retire in 1989 in order to pursue her degree in psychology at the Syracuse University in Syracuse, New York, a promise to her parents that she kept. In her supposed-to-be last album, (永遠是你的朋友) "Always Be Your Friend", the everlasting hit "Thousands of Songs" (千千闕歌) elevated her status in the legendary mega pop stars heavy industry including Leslie Cheung, Anita Mui, Alan Tam, and Sally Yeh. This best-selling album of 1989 also recorded hits like "Night Flight" (夜機) and "Dancing Boy."

During her academic career, she returned to Hong Kong and recorded three albums from 1992–1994 during the summer vacations. The song "Snowfall" (飄雪) was very popular for karaoke at the time; other hits included "Red Tea Shop" (紅茶館), which was voted among the Top 10 song of the Year in 1992, "Come Back!" (歸來吧!), and "Jealousy." The album sales were surprisingly good despite the fact that she spent most of the time in the U.S. with minimum publicity.

By 1995, Chan has returned to the music industry in full force. Her initial return brought her back to the top of the pop chart with two albums: "Welcome Back" and "I'm Not Lonely" (我不寂寞). In fact, "Welcome Back" topped the sales chart for a modern record of six weeks! Songs like "It's Always Raining Tonight" (今天夜裡總下雨), "Missing You" (留戀), "Missing Love and Dust" (戀戀風塵), "I'm Lonely" (我寂寞), and "Flow" (飄) became instant classic. Her 10-night series of concerts in 1996 reaffirmed her popularity with the public. Another concert in 1997 with Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra (HKPO) in Hong Kong made her the second pop artist ever to work with the HKPO.

With the signing of a new recording company, Cinepoly, her fame started to decline. The death of her beloved cat, Remington, in 1998 marked the start of three year period when she found life difficult as the new recording company wasn't working well for her. In 2000, after the last album with Cinepoly named "Good For You" (為你好), she retreated from the music scene until 2003 when she made a come-back with an album named "Loving Knot" (情意結) and a series of concerts in Hong Kong. However, due to album sales that fell below her expectations, mostly because of illegal online downloading and piracy, she decided to retreat once more. She criticized the trend of Cantopop audiences, whom she believed was only interested in admiring the entertainers' images and not appreciating their music. However, she has reiterated her desire to continue singing, as many loyal fans still remain around the world.

In 2007, Chan signed to IEC - EC Music and the following year released a new live album recorded at a series of concerts in Hong Kong.

Concert tours

Personal life

Her personal life was closely scrutinized by the Hong Kong press. She was not the press' favorite as the Hong Kong tabloids often reported negative news of her. Since 2003, she has not been particularly active, preferring to appear on TVB or Mainland television programmes and singing in overseas concerts; sometimes she'd attend some private events in Hong Kong as well. But in 2007, she started to be active again as she prepared for a new album and new concert.

Many in Hong Kong believed she made a wrong decision to leave the music industry at the peak of her career for college in 1989. In a radio interview, Chan disagreed. She considered singing was an important part of her, but she valued education more. Furthermore, she reiterated the reason for getting a college degree was to fulfill her promise to her parents.

Her love life is of great interest to the media as well. She has had three boyfriends during her adult life. First, was her music producer Michael Au in the 1980s, but they ended their relationship before her return to Hong Kong in 1995. (Au has since married). After Au, Chan dated an artist/designer Michael Cheung, and that relationship ended in 2001. Her ex boyfriend was Dr.Tony Tse; they mutually agreed to end the 5-year relationship in July 2007. The cause of the break-up, according to Chan, was personality differences. The break-up was a painful one and had imposed substantial impact on their personal lives. According to some of their close friends, both of them really cherished the relationship immensely. They would never part if it were not the enormous differences of their personalities and lifestyles. Nevertheless, Dr. Tse, as her family physician, is still taking good care of her health and their relationship remains close.