Kit Chan

Kit Chan
Chinese name 陳潔儀 (traditional)
Chinese name 陈洁仪 (simplified)
Pinyin Chén Jiéyí (Mandarin)
Jyutping can4 git3 ji4 (Cantonese)
Origin Singapore
Born (1972-09-15) 15 September 1972
Singapore
Occupation Singer, Actress, Writer and Creative Consultant
Genre(s) Pop, Mandarin Pop, Cantopop
Label(s) Ocean Butterflies (1993–2004)
Banshee Empire (2010-Present)
Years active 1993–present (singer)
1997–present (actor)
Website

Kit Chan (Chinese: 陈洁仪; pinyin: Chén Jiéyí, born 15 September 1972, Singapore) is a Chinese singer and actress of Singaporean nationality.

Early life

Chan is the third daughter in a family of four sisters.

Chan studied in Fairfield Methodist School (Primary), Raffles Girls' School, Raffles Junior College and Lasalle-SIA College of the Arts.[1] During Chan's six-year hiatus from the music scene from 2004 to 2010, she returned to LaSalle as a mature student. She wrote a thesis on the psychology of performance and graduated with first-class honors.[2]

Entertainment Career (1993-Present)

Since her debut in 1993, Chan has worked in singing, theatre, television drama, poetry, song-writing, entrepreneurship and creative direction. In 1994, Chan released the album "心痛" (Heartache) into the Taiwanese market. She subsequently released more albums regionally including “喜欢你” (Liking You), “炫耀” (Dazzling), and “担心” (Worried), performing in parts of Asia, the United States, Korea, and New Zealand, as well as collaborating with symphonies and orchestras in Hong Kong, Taiwan and Singapore.

Chan was the first solo artiste to perform the National Day Parade theme song “Home” (家) in 1998. It later become the tradition for pop artistes doing so each year. Chan took a hiatus in 2004 from her performing career to further her studies and joined international PR consultancy Hill & Knowlton as a campaign specialist in 2007. She worked on the Ministry of Defence's 2009 Total Defence campaign, 'What Will You Defend?'.[2] She left the company after 19 months.[3][4]

Chan has also worked linguistically and theatrically, with her Cantopop, and English albums. She has held lead roles in the Hong Kong musical Snow.Wolf.Lake with Jacky Cheung – both the Cantonese version in 1997 and the Mandarin production in 2005 – followed by The Legend (where she played the late Teresa Teng), and "Forbidden City: Portrait of An Empress" (where she played the young Empress Dowager Cixi)– first performed in 2002 as part of the Esplanade's opening programme, and again in 2003. Chan has also played the lead in the Dutch-Hong Kong production of "East Meets West", and the Taiwanese musical "What's Love Got to Do with It?".

In September 2006, she reprised her role again in "Forbidden City: Portrait of an Empress", as part of a plan to make this musical internationally recognised, in the hope of going on a world tour. Chan later fronted the first Singapore Day in New York City in 2007. After her corporate sojourn, Chan performed the commissioned theme song “One World” at the APEC 2009 Gala Night and returned the theatre as leading lady (Li Qing) in the Mandarin musical – “雨季” (December Rains) at Esplanade Theatre in 2010. In the same year, she sang “Home” for the third time at the National Day Parade. Chan was also a member of the cast of the television drama Healing Hands II, the sequel to TVB's medical drama Healing Hands in 2000. She was the female lead in SPH MediaWorks Channel U's drama serial Cash is King. Chan also acted in the 2010 film "Lover's Discourse".

In 2011, Chan released her first studio album since 2004《重譯 陳潔儀》(Re-interpreting Kit Chan) and staged two solo concerts in collaboration with the Singapore Chinese Orchestra (SCO) at Esplanade Concert Hall, as the anchor performance of the Huayi Chinese Festival of Arts 2011. In the same year, she held her three-night solo concert "The Music Room" at the Marina Bay Sands Grand Theater. Also in 2011, Chan worked with Nexus, Ministry of Defence as Creative Director for the Total Defence "Home – Keeping It Together" Campaign 2011. She was also executive producer for the remake of the "Home" MV, which featured 39 local artistes spanning different genres, eras and races, including Max Surin, Dick Lee, Taufik Batisah, JJ Lin, and Stefanie Sun.[5] She wrote the theme song "倔强" for the MediaCorp Channel 8 anniversary drama Devotion, which won Best Drama Theme Song award at the 2012 Star Awards. Concerts themed 《傾城》were also held in Hong Kong.[6]

In 2014, Chan performed in her first leading film role in Jason Lai's Miss J Contemplates Her Choice as the titular Miss J, who offers advice to callers on a radio talk show. The film premiered at the Singapore International Film Festival in December.[7] In 2014, Chan reportedly underwent a surgical procedure that left her barely able to speak, however she completed her 'Spellbound' concert eventually in 2015 at Star Theatre.[8][9][10] She also participated China reality singing contest I Am A Singer where Chinese critic Deng Ke remarked that Kit Chan can’t sing.[11] She announced her retirement from performing at the National Day Parades in 2015 after making her last NDP performance.[12]

She launched her latest album in July 2016 with original songs titled "The Edge of Paradise 天堂邊緣"

Chan has published a collection of her English poems (Cork out of my Head) in 2000 in Taiwan, I Write a Page in 2000 in Singapore, and a fiction book (together with friend Siew Fern Yong) called Cathy and Jodie: The Princess and the Flea.[13]

Community involvement

In 1998, Chan was appointed as the first National Youth Ambassador for Singapore's National Youth Council. She served for two years.[1] From 2001-2005, she served as a council member with the National Youth Council.[13] In 2002 the Commonwealth Youth Programme Asia Centre awarded her an Award for Excellence in Youth Work.[1]

In 2007, Chan was appointed to the board of the National Heritage Board over a two-year period, reaching out to the Singapore audience and linking with the creative industries.[14]

She is also the ambassador to the Christian relief organization "World Vision".

In 2015, she wrote the theme song to The Dream Makers II.

Business ventures

Chan has invested in two boutiques in Singapore, Flowers in the Attic and Roses in the Loft.[1]

In 2010, Chan set up her own record label, named after her singing group Banshee Empire from when she was in secondary school.[15]

Personal life

On 8 December 2012, Chan married her long-time boyfriend, whom she met in 2000.[16]

Discography

Date of release Title
September 1993
November 1994
June 1995
  • Cornered 逼得太紧
June 1996
  • Sadness 伤心
December 1996
  • Don’t Let Me Hate You 别让我恨你
December 1997
  • Revelation 揭晓 (Cantonese)
May 1998
May 1998
  • Dreams and Memories 有你愛过 (Cantonese)
August 1998
  • Too Deep In The Act 入戏太深
August 1999
  • Dazzling 炫耀
January 2000
  • That Day, That Night 那天那夜
April 2000
  • Best 最好 (Cantonese)
June 2000
  • Lola 萝拉
March 2001
  • Numbness 麻醉 (Cantonese)
January 2002
  • Like Kit 喜歡.潔儀.喜歡 (Compilation)
September 2002
  • Dreamscape 异想世界
28 September 2003
  • Understand 懂得
July 2004
  • East Toward Saturn 东弯土星
August 2008
  • Kit Chan Selections 私房歌 (2CD)
April 2009
  • Kit Chan Selections 私房歌 (24K Gold edition)
April 2009
  • Wait and Wait 等了又等
25 January 2011
  • Re-interpreting 重译
15 October 2011
  • Re-interpreting (Version 2) 重译 (第二版) 重奏 (CD+DVD)
25 January 2016
  • Waiting 等 (EP)
5 July 2016
  • The Edge of Paradise 天堂邊緣

Stage

Year Performance type Title Location
1997
  • Musical (Cantonese)
  • Snow.Wolf.Lake《雪狼湖》
  • Hong Kong
1998
  • Musical (Cantonese)
  • The Legend 《漫步人生路》
  • Hong Kong
2001
  • Concert (English / Mandarin / Cantonese)
  • That's Kit 《就是陳潔儀》
  • Singapore
2002
  • Musical (Cantonese)
  • East Meets West 《千里情牽》
  • Hong Kong
2002
  • Musical (English)
  • Forbidden City: Portrait of an Empress 《慈禧太后》
  • Singapore
2003
  • Musical (Mandarin)
  • What's Love About? 《愛情有什麼道理》
  • Singapore
2003
  • Musical (English)
  • Forbidden City: Portrait of an Empress 《慈禧太后》
  • Singapore
2005
  • Musical (Mandarin)
  • Snow.Wolf.Lake《雪狼湖》
  • China, Hong Kong
2006
  • Musical (English)
  • Forbidden City: Portrait of an Empress 《慈禧太后》
  • Singapore
2009
  • Concert (Mandarin / Cantonese)
  • Join Love Club Concert 情牽女人心演唱會
  • Hong Kong
2010
  • Musical (Mandarin)
  • December Rains 《雨季》
  • Singapore
2011
  • Concert (English / Mandarin / Cantonese)
  • My Musical Journey 《我的音乐之旅》
  • Singapore
2011
  • Concert (English / Mandarin / Cantonese)
  • The Music Room 《想像空间》
  • Singapore
2012
  • Concert (Cantonese)
  • An Enchanted Evening with Chiu Tsang Hei 《傾城》
  • Hong Kong
2015
  • Concert (English / Mandarin /Cantonese)
  • Kit Chan Spellbound《著迷·陳潔儀》
  • Singapore,China

Filmography

Film

Year Title Role Notes
1999 Eating Air Mysterious Girl
2010 Lover's Discourse Mrs. Lai
2014 Miss J Contemplates Her Choice Miss J Premiered at the Singapore International Film Festival

Television series

Year Title Role Notes
2000 Healing Hands II
2004 Cash Is King Huang Jinhao

Web series

Year Title Role Notes
2017 Patisserie Fighting Mediacorp Toggle Web series

Awards

Years Awards
1994
  • Singapore Hit Awards, Media Recommendation—Best Newcomer
1995
  • Singapore Hit Awards, Best Local Artiste
1997
  • 8th Gold Awards, World Best Chinese Female Artiste
1997
  • Hit Radio Pop Music Awards, Outstanding Female Artiste
1999
  • Singapore Hit Awards, Best Local Artiste
1999
  • Her World Young Woman Achiever[17]
2000
  • Singapore Hit Awards, Best Local Artiste
2000
  • COMPASS Award, Top Local Artiste of the Year
2000
  • Hit Radio Awards 2000, Best Chinese Artiste Outside Hong Kong & Taiwan Territories

References

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 11/22/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.