Name	Na Ying
Chinesename	那英
Pinyinchinesename	Nā Yīng
Ancestry	Manchu & Hui
Origin	People's Republic of China
Birthdate	November 27, 1967
Birthplace	Shenyang, Liaoning, China
Othername	Natasha Na
Occupation	Singer
Genre	Mandopop
Yearsactive	1988
Name	Na, Ying
Date of birth	November 27, 1967
Place of birth	Shenyang, Liaoning, China

Category:1967 births Category:Living people Category:Chinese female singers Category:Faye Wong Category:Manchu people Category:People from Shenyang Category:People's Republic of China singers

:This is a Chinese name. The family name is Hán (韓).

Name	Han Geng
Caption	Hangeng (2009)
Tradchinesename	韓庚
Simpchinesename	韩庚
Pinyinchinesename	Hán Gēng
Jyutpingchinesename	Hon4 Gang1
Birthname	Han Geng
Height	181cm
Origin	Mudanjiang, China
Ancestry	Nanai
Birthdate	February 09, 1984
Birthplace	Mudanjiang, Heilongjiang, China
Othername	한경 (Hankyung)
Occupation	Singer, dancer, actor, model
Genre	Pop, dance, R&B;, Folk dance
Instrument	Piano
Voicetype	Tenor
Yearsactive	2005–present2010-present (solo)
Associatedact	SM Town, Super Junior, Super Junior-M
Influences	Tony Leung Chiu-Wai, Jackie Chan, Andy Lau
Website	Han Geng's Official Site
Weibo	Han Geng's Weibo
Awards	2007 Entertainment AwardsMost Stylish Male Artist2010 Meng Niu Music AwardsMost Potential Newcomer Artist2010 CCTV-MTV Music AwardsChina's Most Popular Male Singer2010 Meng Niu Newcomers Music Festival AwardsBest Newcomer Artist2010Tencent Star AwardsBest Male Singer of The YearOtherSee List of Super Junior awards

Title	Korean name
Hangul	한경
Hanja	韓庚
Rr	Han Gyeong
Mr	Han Kyung
Color	khaki

Han Geng (born February 9, 1984), is a Mainland Chinese pop singer and actor well-known for his dance skills and the numerous amounts of charity works he does. At a very young age, Han Geng started to learn dance, and by the age of 12, he was accepted into the dance department of the Central University for Nationalities. He left his family and his hometown in the Northeastern part of China to attend dance school in Beijing. During his years in school, he mastered all 56 types of Chinese traditional dances from the 56 Chinese ethnic groups.

In 2001, he was chosen by SM Entertainment to become a member of Korean boy band Super Junior, which debuted in 2005, and the leader of its sub-group Super Junior-M in 2008. On December 21, 2009, Han Geng filed a lawsuit against SME to terminate his contract with SME as he felt the 13 year contract was unlawful and overly restrictive.

For his various contributions to the spread of Chinese culture, Han Geng was also chosen to become a torch bearer for the 2008 Beijing Olympics, becoming the first boy band member in history to hold this role.

Early life

Han Geng, an ethnic Nanai from Northeast China, was born in Mudanjiang, Heilongjiang, China. He attended Guang Hua Elementary School from 1990 to 1996.

At Central University for Nationalities

At the age of 12, he was accepted into Central University for Nationalities and left Mudanjiang for Beijing to pursue dancing. During that time he also learned ballet and martial arts

In 1999, as a representitive of the Nanai ethnic group, he participated in the parade in honor of China's 50 year anniversary.

Career

Korea and Super Junior

In December 2001, Han's friend notified him of a talent scouting audition that was going to be held in Beijing, and his friend encouraged Han to sign up with him. Although hesitant at first, Han agreed to audition with his friend. Together they signed up for the H.O.T. CHINA Audition Casting, a casting audition that was hosted by Korean talent agency and label SM Entertainment. The competition rate was 3,000 to 1, and Han had no hopes of getting selected after auditions ended. Han became a national celebrity in China with the debut of Super Junior's third subgroup Super Junior-M on April 8, 2008 in China. The subgroup released their first Chinese-language studio album, Me, on May 2, 2008. The album debuted on Taiwan's G-music combo charts as #2 and #1 on many of China's and Thailand's music charts.

Han Geng ceased activities with Super Junior after filing for contract termination from SM Entertainment on December 21, 2009.

Acting

Han made a cameo appearance with band-mate Eunhyuk as a friend of Heechul in an episode of the MBC drama Rainbow Romance early 2006. In August 2006, Han played the role of a police officer in Zhang Liyin's debut music video "Timeless", starring alongside Lee Yeon-hee and bandmate Siwon. The two-part music video was released separately in September 2006. The music video was ranked #1 for four weeks on Melon's Video Chart. In November 2007, Han starred as the lead role in Zhang's debut Chinese music video, "I Will", and "The Left Shore of Happiness" alongside Lee and Siwon. Both music videos were released in February 2008.

Han's first big-scale film was Attack on the Pin-Up Boys, an SM Pictures production that starred all Super Junior members except Kyuhyun. He played the role of a popular basketball player who later got attacked by a mysterious force. Despite positive critical ratings, that film did not do well in the box-office. However, all four versions of the film's DVD were sold out and broke chart records.

In late 2008, Han filmed the CCTV mini drama called Stage of Youth in China. In the mini drama, he played Xia Lei, a young man who has to go through numerous obstacles and challenges in order to achieve his dream to become the new generation's dancing star. The 12 episode drama was a Chinese New Year Special and also a tribute to the Beijing Olympics 2008. It aired on CCTV-Children (少儿频道) from January 19–31, 2009.

2008 Beijing Olympics torch bearer

On March 20, 2008, Han was announced to be one of the torch bearers for the 2008 Beijing Olympics, the first boyband member to be chosen in history. He also donated 100,000RMB to the 2010 Yunnan Drought. In 2010, Han Geng became a spokesperson for "I Want To Go To School Kappa 1200 Help the School Children Project," a charity designed to help underprivileged Chinese children go to school. While most celebrities that participated sponsored one child through the program, Han Geng chose to sponsor ten, and Han Geng's fans, know as Gengfans (庚饭, lit. "Geng Rice"), sponsored another 124. Han Geng also recorded a song with Olivia Ong to promote the charity.

Solo career

On June 22, 2010, Han Geng officially announced his solo career at a press conference held at The Great Wall Of China, revealing the release of his first solo album titled Geng Xin 庚心, which hit stores throughout Asia on July 27. The name of the album literally means "Geng's heart", but it is also a play on words because it has the same pronunciation as "start anew" in Chinese. There is also a third meaning to it: the character Geng 庚 in his name comes from the evening star Hesperus/Venus (Chang Geng Xin 长庚星), which is what he's named after. So his album’s title can also mean "Evening Star" or "Geng's star", since Xing 星(star) and Xin 心(heart) have similar pronunciation in Chinese.

On July 6, Han Geng published a complete demo version of his album's title song "My Logo". The song was produced by American producers Tearce "Kizzo" Keaz, Rene Van Verseveld and Craig Williams. "My Logo" was written by Craig Williams and his team of award-winning United States music producers Tearce "Kizzo" Keaz, Rene Van Verseveld, Craig Williams, and Francesca Richard. Remarkably, Han Geng and Craig Williams invited Travis Payne and Stacey Walker (best known as Michael Jackson's choreographers) along with Michael Jackson's This Is It dancers - Dres Reid, Shannon Holtzapffel, Tyne Stecklein, and Daniel Celebre to join the choreography for the MV of this song.

Han Geng also held his first two solo concerts in Beijing on July 17 and 18. Tickets for the 2 concert days were sold out in a record time of 37 minutes. The album has topped various major music charts in China, Taiwan, and Singapore and it has sold more than 350,000 copies in only 2 months after its release. To celebrate such remarkable results, a special celebratory version of the album was released on October 1 with a limited number of 20,000 copies. In addition of the 10 songs in the album, the special version contains 7 MVs and a kareoke disc.As of December 2010, the album has sold more than 530,000 copies.

Controversies

Performance restrictions

Before his debut, Han entered Korea with a vacation visa and had to return to China every three months for a new one. With the debut of more foreign artists in Korea, the Korean government lifted its restriction on foreign performers on August 1, 2008.

Lawsuit

On December 21, 2009, Han Geng filed for contract termination from his former company SM Entertainment. The following day, December 22, 2009, Han Geng's lawyer released the reasons for the contract termination: the contract had provisions in SM Entertainment's favor, the 13-year contract length was unlawful, it would take an unfair sum of money to end the contract, he was not allowed to request to revise his contract, he was forced to do things that were not in his contract, he was forced to do things against his will, he was fined if he disobeyed the company, missed any events or was late, and there was unfair profit distribution. Along with this, it was disclosed that because of SM Entertainment's refusal to give him a day off in over two years, he had developed gastritis and kidney disease.

Han Geng's best friend and current manager, Sun Le, also submitted a statement to the Korean courts citing SM Entertainment's violation of Han Geng's rights. This statement was later leaked to the public via the internet. Though many suspected the statement to be fan created, it was later confirmed as legitimate. Sun Le's statement contended that Han Geng was forced to wear a mask due to SM Entertainment's ill handling of the visa issue, SM Entertainment purposely discriminated against Han Geng and his family, SM Entertainment refused to cooperate or listen to any of Han Geng's suggestions, SM Entertainment purposely turned down individual activities for Han Geng (including Ariel Lin's "Fireflies" music video, which later starred two other Super Junior members) and SM Entertainment treated Han Geng's potential endorsers poorly.

On December 21st, 2010, it was announced that Han Geng won the lawsuit against SM Entertainment. The three contracts have been officially nullified.

Discography

Albums

Filmography

Movies

Television series

Music video appearances

2006: "Timeless" – Zhang Liyin (Feat. Xiah of TVXQ)

2008: "I WILL" – Zhang Liyin

2008: "The Left Shore of Happiness" – Zhang Liyin

2008: "Beijing Welcomes You" – Various artists (100-day countdown for 2008 Beijing Olympics)

2010: "亚运有我精彩之吉" with Zhou Bichang for the 2010 Asian Games

2010: "我是火焰" for the 2010 Asian Games

2010: "不能忘卻的紀念" with Tan Jing

Awards and nominations

;CCTV Chinese Entertainment Awards: 2008 Nominated Best Film Rookie ("Attack on the Pin-Up Boys") ;Meng Niu Yogurt Music Awards: 2010 Won Most Promising Newcomer ;CCTV-MTV Music Awards: 2010 Won Mainland Most Popular Artist ;China Power Fashion Awards: 2010 Won Talented Male Singer of the Year ;Tencent Star Awards: 2010 Won Male Singer of the Year ;Meng Niu Newcomer Awards: 2010 Won Best Newcomer

See also

Nanai

Super Junior

Super Junior-M

Notes

References

External links

Han Geng's Official Site

Han Geng's Weibo

Super Junior Official Site

Super Junior Official Avex Site Super Junior Official Japanese Site

Super Junior-M Official Site

Super Junior-M Official Avex Site Super Junior-M Official Blog Han Geng's Cyworld Han Geng's Cyworld Official Site Han Geng's Baidu Bar Official Site

Category:1984 births Category:Chinese actors Category:Chinese dancers Category:Chinese expatriates in South Korea Category:Chinese male singers Category:K-pop singers Category:Living people Category:People from Mudanjiang Category:People's Republic of China Mandopop singers Category:Super Junior members Category:Super Junior-M members

Name	Wu Bai & China Blue
Tradchinesename	伍佰 & China Blue
Pinyinchinesename	Wǔ Bǎi & China Blue
Birthname	Wu Chun-lin (吳俊霖)
Origin	Taipei, Taiwan
Birthdate	January 14, 1968
Occupation	Singer/ Song Writer
Genre	Rock, Blues rock, PPop
Instrument	Guitar, Slide Guitar, Vocal, Trumpet, Keyboard, Drum
Label	Pony Canyon, Rock, Avex Trax
Yearsactive	1992-
Currentmembers	Wu BaiDean ZavoltaYu Ta-haoChu Chien-hui
Website	wubai.com

Wu Bai (; Taiwanese Minnan: Gō·-pah, born Wu Chun-lin (Chinese: 吳俊霖; pinyin: Wú Jǔnlín; Taiwanese: Ngô· Chùn-lîm) on 14 January 1968) is a Taiwanese rock singer and songwriter. He formed the band Wu Bai & China Blue with Dean "Dino" Zavolta on drums, Yu Ta-hao (余大豪 Yú Dàháo, aka “Big Cat”) on keyboards, Chu Chien-hui (朱劍輝 Zhū Jiànhuī) on bass guitar and Wu Bai himself on lead guitar and lead vocals. Labeled "the king of live music," Wu Bai is considered to be one of the biggest rock music stars in East and Southeast Asia.

Biography

Wu Bai was born in Suantou, Lioujiao -- literally "Garlic Village" -- in Chiayi County in south-central Taiwan. His father was a retired Taiwan Sugar Corporation worker and his mother a betel nut vendor, and he had two younger brothers who died in a car accident. His nickname Wu Bai, meaning "five hundred," derives from several stories, none of which can be proven to be fact: one story says the name came from his early academic success when he scored 100 points on each of five examination subjects.However, an interest in music in his teenage years led to a decline in his academic performance and he failed to pass the university entrance examinations. Another story says he used to charge 500 Taiwan Dollars for his early concerts.

In 2003, Wu Bai married Chen Wen-pey (陳文珮), his manager and girlfriend for over 10 years, in a private ceremony in Fukuoka, Japan.

Wu Bai is an avid fan of Japanese pro wrestling, and has even written a theme song for his close friend, Keiji Mutoh.

Career

Overview

Wu Bai is one of the biggest rock stars in Mandarin-language music which is marketed in Taiwan, China , Hong Kong, Singapore, and Malaysia. He also has fans in Japan, the United States, Canada, Australia and Ireland. He also has released a number of works sung in Taiwanese Minnan. Throughout the years, he held numerous sold out concerts in Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia and Hong Kong and has performed in North America as well. His albums have won many awards and have topped the sales charts. He writes almost all of his own songs for his albums and also writes for many popular artists including Andy Lau, Emil Chau, Karen Mok, Tarcy Su (蘇慧倫), and Vivian Hsu. His guitar-driven rock music differs from that of many mandopop or cantopop stars and, with his Taiwanese Mandarin accent and rough looks, he projects an image of an archetypal Taiwanese taike (台客) man in his music and film roles.

Early career and the formation of China Blue

Wu Bai left Chiayi County for the capital of Taipei in the late 1980s and worked in a number of menial jobs. One of those jobs in a music shop led to the formation of his first band, Buzz, which soon broke up.

Dean Zavolta describes the formation of Wu Bai & China Blue noting that the members originally "played for different bands up until about 1991, after which [Chu Chien-hui] and I began jamming together with the eventual idea of forming a newer, fresher, and original rock band...Then one day, he called me up and asked me if I would mind filling in for a one-off gig with himself and a guitarist named Wu Bai...Something just clicked between us. Both the music and the mo chi (默契) we had were fantastic. What really helped us though, was that when we first came out, Taiwan—along with other Asian countries—was ready for an Asian rock band that played live music."

Wu Bai debuted with two songs on the Taiwanese-language Dust of Angels Soundtrack in 1992 which were credited to his real name, Wu Chun-lin, and featured Chu Chien-hui and Dean Zavolta credited as China Blue. The same year, Pony Canyon Taiwan released Wu Bai’s first album, Loving Others is a Happy Thing, a solo effort credited to Wu Chun-lin / Wu Bai, and featuring each of the three other China Blue members on at least one song but without the group being mentioned by name. The 1993 soundtrack to Treasure Island featured Wu Bai as Wu Chun-lin with the three members of China Blue designated as such. All subsequent albums have been credited to Wu Bai & China Blue.

Growing popularity

Wu Bai's initial releases were followed by performing live at pubs throughout Taiwan notably Sleeping Earth in Taipei and, upon its closure, Live A Go-Go. As his fan base grew, "Friday with Wu Bai" became a weekly event for many listeners, especially college students. Based on this increasing popularity Wu Bai was given a contract with Rock Records’ Mandala Works which released his second album Wanderer's Love Song and accompanying music videos. Sales were limited but Wu Bai’s following continued to grow due to his live performances.

Music and film success

In January 1996, Wu Bai & China Blue brought their powerful live show to Hong Kong for the first time to great success and Wu Bai began to be known as Taiwan's "King of Live Music." Prior to Wu Bai & China Blue's achieving widespread popularity in Taiwan in the mid-1990s, guitar-oriented rock music was unusual in the country's domestic popular music scene. Live concerts were similarly rare but the group's frequent touring and live album releases set a new standard for live performing in Taiwan. The band's distinctive blend of poetical lyrics with rock tunes has won them fans not only in Taiwan but throughout East and Southeast Asia and they have had successful regional concert tours in the many cities.

Discography

Studio albums

愛上別人是快樂的事 (Loving Others is a Happy Thing) (1992)

浪人情歌 (Wanderer's Love Song) (1994)

愛情的盡頭 (The End of Love) (1996)

樹枝孤鳥 (Lonely Tree, Lonely Bird) (1998)

世界第一等 EP (1998)

白鴿 (White Dove) (1999)

伍佰&CHINA; BLUE電影歌曲典藏 / 順流逆流電影原聲帶 (Wu Bai & China Blue Movie Song Book / Time and Tide Soundtrack) (2000)

夢的河流 (Dream River) (2001)

淚橋 (Tear Bridge) (2003) (CD+VCD)

雙面人 (Two Faced Man) (2005)

GO PA 人面鯊 (2005)

純真年代 (Innocent Years) (2006) (CD+DVD)

忘情1015 新歌＋精選 （2007）（CD+DVD）

太空彈 (Spacebomb)（2008）

詩情搖滾 (Poetic Rock) (2009) (CD+DVD)

Live albums

伍佰的LIVE (1995)

夏夜晚風 (1997)

伍佰97亞洲巡弋紀念盤EP (1997)

空襲警報 (1999)

1999~2000真世界巡迴演唱會全紀錄 (2000)

冬之火 (2002)

伍佰力 (2004)

2005厲害演唱會全紀錄 (2005)

妳是我的花朵演唱會全紀錄（2007）

Soundtracks and compilations

Dust of Angels Soundtrack (少年吔，安啦！) (1992) – 2 songs

Treasure Island Soundtrack (只要為你活一天) (1993) – 2 songs

Time and Tide Soundtrack (順流逆流) (2000)

Legend of the Sacred Stone Soundtrack (聖石傳說) (2000)

Music and concert videos

2005厲害演唱會全紀錄 (2005)

妳是我的花朵演唱會全紀錄（2007）

太空彈 世界巡迴演唱會精選實錄 (2009)

Filmography

Films

The Personals (徵婚啟事) (1998)

A Beautiful New World (美麗新世界) (1999)

Time and Tide (順流逆流) (2000)

New Police Story (新警察故事) (2004)

Television

Say Yes Enterprise (求婚事務所) (2004)

Commercial advertisements

Taiwan Beer

Hey Song Sarsi (黑松沙士)

Golden Life Gold Jewelry Co. (今生金飾)

Books

風景 (Fēngjǐng) (Scenery), a book of Wu Bai's photography

Notes and references

External links

Wu Bai & China Blue Official Website includes discography and photographs taken by Wu Bai Fortune Cookie 500, an American fan website Live video recording of "Go to the Graveyard", Wu Bai & China Blue's rock interpretation of a Taiwanese folk song followed by band introductions at YouTube

Category:1968 births Category:Living people Category:Avex Trax artists Category:Taiwanese actors Category:Taiwanese Mandopop singer-songwriters

Honorific-prefix	Dato'
Name	Siti Nurhaliza
Background	solo_singer
Birth name	Siti Nurhaliza binti Tarudin
Born	January 11, 1979Temerloh, Pahang, Malaysia
Instrument	Vocals
Voice type	Soprano
Genre	Irama Malaysia, pop, soft rock, pop rock, R&B;, dance-pop
Occupation	Singer, songwriter, record producer, businesswoman, actress
Years active	1995–present
Associated acts	Krisdayanti, M. Nasir, Noraniza Idris, Too Phat
Label	Suria Records (1995–Present) Siti Nurhaliza Productions (2006–Present)
Url	SitiZone.com

Dato', or occasionally Datin Seri, Siti Nurhaliza binti Tarudin DIMP, JSM, SAP, PMP, AAP (Jawi: سيتي نورهاليز بنت تارودين ; born 11 January 1979) Her first single, Jerat Percintaan from her debut album won the 11th Anugerah Juara Lagu and another two awards for Best Performance and Best Ballad.

She is the only artist in Malaysia who has won – 34 Anugerah Industri Muzik awards, 22 Anugerah Bintang Popular awards, 20 Anugerah Planet Muzik awards, 18 Anugerah Juara Lagu awards, four MTV Asia Awards and the holder of two records in the Malaysia Book of Records. Backed with 14 studio albums, she is one of the most popular artistes in the Malay Archipelago and Nusantara region and she has been voted nine times in a row for Regional Most Popular Artiste in the Anugerah Planet Muzik since 2001. Currently, she has been listed as one of Malaysia's richest, most-influential, most award-winning, most single-produced artists.

In 2005, she was listed second by MTV Asia in Asia's Best Musical Artiste and Channel V's Biggest Asian Artiste.

Early life

Early childhood (1983–1995)

Siti was born on January 11, 1979 in Berek Polis Kg. Awah, Temerloh where she is the fourth child in a family of eight siblings to Tarudin Ismail and Siti Salmah Bachik. She comes from a musically inclined family; her brother, Saiful Bahri Tarudin, and her sisters Siti Norsaida and Siti Saerah are also singers. Her grandfather was a famous violinist, and her mother was a famous local traditional singer.

From the age of 13, she followed her uncle to invitational shows like wedding ceremonies and dinner parties to give her exposure performing live, where she was well received by the local community. During her childhood she was involved in various school activities, including sports and class speeches.

Siti Nurhaliza attended pre-school at the Sekolah Tabika Perkep, Balai Polis Kampung Awah, Temerloh. Here she showed her early singing talent at the age of six when she sang "Sirih Pinang", a Malay traditional song, at her kindergarten's end of year event. She attended primary school at Sekolah Rendah Kebangsaan Clifford and followed up her secondary education at Sekolah Menengah Clifford, Kuala Lipis, Pahang.

She was an athlete in school and active in sports

Career beginnings and musical success

Early commercial success (1995–1996)

Siti Nurhaliza's family performed at many local ceremonies in their hometown, such as weddings. At the age of 12, Siti began to learn traditional songs from her mother and went on performing that genre of music during special occasions and events.

She also was the vocalist for 'Family Group', a small band founded by her uncle, Abdul Rahim Bachik. She started to improvise her singing skills by participating in numerous local singing competitions before ultimately at the age of 16, she finally competed in the 1995 RTM Bintang HMI competition where she auditioned with a song made famous by Ruth Sahanaya, Kaulah Segalanya. While in the competition, she met Adnan Abu Hassan, a famous Malaysian music composer. He tutored her and helped her with her vocal performance, and ultimately she won the contest with the song by Aishah, Camar Yang Pulang. Siti was assumed as a great figure because it was difficult for foreign artists to break through in Indonesian's music industry if the artist has less to offer compared to their own artists.

In 1998, at the early age of 19, she launched her own company on January 12, Siti Nurhaliza Productions (M) Sdn. Bhd. which acts as the official management production to handle and manage her schedule. The ceremony was televised in 70 nations worldwide, which led her to become known in the international arena for the first time. In November of the same year, she was invited to perform in Japan for five days at the Pop Queen Festival, also known as Saga Fiesta '98.

Early international stardom (1999–2005)

On December 1999, Siti received her first international winning from an international singing competition when she took part in 'Shanghai Music Festival 1999' that was held in China, where she managed to win the Gold Award. She was also invited in 2000 and 2002 for the same competition as featuring artiste. Siti also managed to catch the juries' attention with her vocal prowess, that finally led her to be awarded with the Best Female Vocal Performance with the same single even though the single was judged by cassette tape/compact disc sent by her recording company to the organizer and not through live performance.

After winning several awards, Siti's name began to blossom widely in some parts of Asia. Siti started to go to Japan in 2002 after knowing that her single, Percayalah and other songs from Safa's album were well accepted and famous there, that led her to make series of concert in Tokyo. In 2003, Siti returned to Japan and performed a concert at Yokohama then.

Siti was the first non-Chinese artiste to be invited to perform at the 15th Golden Melody Awards, Taiwan in 2004. Apart from performing solo with 征服 (Charming) cover of Na Ying's single, she also sang a duet with Leehom Wang in a song called 月亮代表我的心 (The Moon Represents My Heart) which is a cover of the late Teresa Teng. She also appeared on a half hour special program by Azio TV during her brief four days in Taipei.

Siti held a successful solo concert at the Royal Albert Hall in London in April 2005, although the majority of the audience were Malaysians living in the United Kingdom and Malaysians who had traveled just to see the concert. British press called her as Asia's Celine Dion due to her powerful vocal and outstanding performances. During the concert, she was backed by the London Symphony Orchestra conducted by Indonesian maestro, Erwin Gutawa where the concert was even attended by the Sultan and Sultanah of Pahang and royal families from Brunei.

To date, Channel V has listed her as the Second Biggest Asian Artist due to her great achievements whereas the Taiwanese singer, Jay Chou is on the top of the list. Transkripsi became the year's best album after winning the Best Pop Album and Best Album categories in the Anugerah Industri Muzik. It also received praises before by critics as one of her best albums ever produced and the album released was her debut attempt of producing an album under her own production company. in 2007.]] On October 24, 2006, she was conferred as "Datuk" after receiving the title of Darjah Indera Mahkota Pahang (DIMP) from the Sultan of Pahang, Sultan Ahmad Shah on his 76th birthday along with designers, Bernard Chandran and Dayang Tom Abang Saufi.

She made her first appearance at the Grammy Award for the red carpet session on February 11, 2007 where she was the first Malaysian to walk the red carpet.

On April 20 and April 21, 2007, Siti performed at the successful Konsert Istana Cinta Nostalgia, which was a tribute concert for the late Tan Sri P. Ramlee & Puan Sri Saloma at Istana Budaya, Kuala Lumpur. The concert featured popular songs composed by Tan Sri P. Ramlee himself, performed by Siti and other invited artistes. Before this, Siti was also invited to perform a tribute concert for the late Sudirman Hj Arshad, also at Istana Budaya, Kuala Lumpur in 2002.

On April 30, 2007, she garnered 4 nominations in the Anugerah Industri Muzik including Best Pop Album (Transkripsi), Best Vocal Female Performance In An Album (Transkripsi), Best Music Video (Bisakah) and Best Cover for an Album (Transkripsi). She won three out of five – Most Popular Female Artist, Best Female Artist and Best Song.

Hadiah Daripada Hati and other works (2007–2008)

2007 showed Siti's participation on soundtracks for films where she recorded two songs for two different films where she sung Menanti Pasti and Hati for Kayangan and respectively. However, only the song Hati was included in her twelfth studio album, Hadiah Daripada Hati and also received the award of Best Original Theme Song from Anugerah Festival Filem Malaysia ke-21 (21st Malaysian Film Festival) in 2008.

Siti performed as Azizah, P. Ramlee's mysterious lover, in the musical 'Remy ... Kisah P. Ramlee (Remy ... The Story of P. Ramlee), which is a tribute to the late P. Ramlee, staged at Istana Budaya from October 19 to November 3, 2007.

Siti's twelfth studio album Hadiah Daripada Hati was released on December 10, 2007. Siti released the Latin-influenced pop song Ku Mahu as the first single of this album and it was featured as the opening theme song for a drama called Spa-Q. Melawan Kesepian was her second single and was the first track of this album to have a video clip. The song was a remake of a hit that was once popularized by an Indonesian band called Jikustik. Her acting debut in the musical 'Remy... The Story of P. Ramlee' also saw the debut of her third single Mulanya Cinta, which was created by Dick Lee, a Singaporean composer.

Siti has also became one the most frequently searched persons on Google by Malaysian Google users, according to Google's 2007 Malaysia Year-End Zeitgeist, beating celebrities like Paris Hilton and Britney Spears.

In January 2008, she was cited as one of the Asia's Idols by Asia News Network for her exemplary achievements and gaining the status as the icon of Malaysian entertainment. But these criticisms were rebutted when Hadiah Daripada Hati received five nominations in the 15th edition of AIM including Best Pop Album, Song of The Year, Best Vocal Performance in an Album (Female), Best Arrangement and Best Album Cover making Siti the second nominee with the most nominations after newcomer Faizal Tahir. Out of five categories including three multiple nominations for Best Arrangement category,

Lentera Timur (2008)

On 26 December 2008, was the release date of her 13th album, Lentera Timur, her most recent traditional contemporary album, Irama Malaysia (her fourth Ethnic Creative album) since her third one, Sanggar Mustika in 2002. She commented that the album has more modern and contemporary songs unlike her usual traditional genre. Siti also worked with renowned composers like M. Nasir and Indonesia's Katon Bagaskara. Nine out of 13 songs (which all was created and composed under three days) that have been chosen came from a songwriting workshop, Cipta Ekspress – Berirama Malaysia. The event which was organized by Malaysian Authors Copyright Protection (MACP) was specially organized to find the materials for the album. Both songs were included in her fourteenth album, Tahajjud Cinta.

Despite of the poor sale due to the lack of promotions, the quality of the album has never been denied.

In the same year, her wealth is said to have reached RM 50 Million by MTV Asia and was named one of the millionaires in entertainment in South East Asia. She announced a 40-day state of mourning for her father and put singing activity on hold, except for Konsert Malam Sinar Maulidur Rasul 1430 Hijrah (1430 Hegira Special Mawlid Night Concert).

Months after the lost, Siti's back to business where she announced her major three days concert at the prestigious Istana Budaya, SATU Konsert Eksklusif Dato' Siti Nurhaliza. It began its run on June 26, 2009 in Kuala Lumpur. The tickets were sold out weeks before the debut night. The concert received overwhelming compliments from critics, and the show was attended by distinguished people such as region well-known artistes like Krisdayanti and Rossa from Indonesia to name some.

In March, Siti revealed that she would begin work on her next album later in the year. Apparently, the idea came about while Siti was taking part in an Erma Fatima theater production, Sirah Junjungan. She also stated that, this will be her first attempt at spiritual songs and she plans to release the album for the holy month Ramadan of 2009 known as Tahajjud Cinta. Later, Siti and fellow friend, Indonesian singer, Krisdayanti have planned to produce a duet album featuring eight duets where Siti will choose four Malaysian compositions while Krisdayanti will pick the other four from Indonesia. and January 27 in Indonesia, under the name where it is an abbreviation with double meaning where it stands as the acronyms for the combination of both singers names, CT and KD, and also as the whole title of the album, which is Canda (Joke), Tangis (Cry), Ketawa (Laugh) and Duka (Sad). beating another 11 contestants where each country, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore has four representatives based on SMS votes.

After SATU, there will be a concert in Dubai, a local TV cooking show where she will host one episode and more TV appearances for Hari Raya Aidilfitri.

In August, Siti was given a privileged of her own channel on Astro at Channel 188 , Channel Siti for 28 hours on 30 August 2009 which has broadcasted her concert in June of the same year, SATU Konsert Eksklusif Dato' Siti Nurhaliza, her previous concert which was held at Bukit Jalil, the Siti's Fantasia Tour concert in 2004 and some of her music videos.

SimplySiti and 2010 activities

Siti's most recent concert was Konsert Bagaikan Sakti which was held in Esplanade – Theatres on the Bay, Singapore alongside Malaysian producer-composer-songwriter, M. Nasir which also was broadcasted live through Astro Box Office Events (Channel 955) on January 1, and the repeat show from 2nd till 10 January. Her own company, Siti Nurhaliza Productions (M) Sdn. Bhd. has also produced a concert for two Malaysian award winning artists, Faizal Tahir and Aizat entitled Konsert Satu Suara which was accompanied by Simfoni Orkestra Kebangsaan (National Orchestra Symphony) on February 12 until 14th at Istana Budaya.

On March 25, she received her first award of the year, Anugerah Artis Contoh HIP TV 2009 (HIP TV Role Model Artist Award 2009) defeating four other candidates based on votes from viewers through short message service (SMS). On March 30, she launched her own beauty and cosmetic products under the name SimplySiti. The products underwent research and development in Korea, and are incorporated with Nanotechnology before receiving approval of Halal status by JAKIM. 6 days later, she received her 13th consecutive award of Penyanyi Wanita Paling Popular 2009 (Most Popular Female Singer 2009) and the overall category award, Bintang Paling Popular 2009 (Most Popular Artist of 2009) from Anugerah Bintang Popular Bintang Harian 2009 with votes from over 225 300 votes from the readers of Berita Harian. The latter one is her seventh time winning the same accolade. On April 21, Siti won herself another two awards based on popular votes through SMS service from Anugerah Pilihan Pembaca Media Hiburan (APPMH) 2009/10 (Media Hiburan Readers' Choice Awards 2009/10). She won the award for Artis Wanita Berkulit Cantik 2009/10 (Female Artist With A Flawless Skin 2009/10) and special piece of the ceremony, Anugerah Khas APPMH 2009/10 (Special Award of APPMH 2009/10).

On May 2, she won herself her sixth and seventh awards of 2010 from Anugerah Industri Muzik (AIM) ke-17 2010 (17th Malaysian Music Industry Awards 2010) where she bagged two vocal awards, Persembahan Vokal Terbaik Dalam Lagu (Wanita) (Best Vocal Performance In A Song (Female)) through her single, Ku Percaya Ada Cinta and Persembahan Vokal Berkumpulan Dalam Lagu (Best Group Vocal Performance In A Song) through her single, Amarah from her collaboration album with Indonesian artiste, Krisdayanti, CTKD. This is her 11th time winning Best Vocal Performance out of 17 years history of AIM, creating a record of her own.

Less than two months after being commercialized since late March, her skincare products range, SimplySiti received "The Best Halal Product" under Cosmetic category by Halal Journal Magazine.

She also won another two awards from local fashion magazine, EH! voted by users through online and mail poles, Anugerah Stail EH! 2010 (EH!'s 2010 Style Awards) for the category of Selebriti Pencapaian Terbaik (Celebrity with the Best Achievements) and Selebriti Contoh (Role Model Celebrity) on July 21.

Artistry

Influences

Growing up as a child, most of her time, she would perform traditional and classic Malay folk songs. However, she has been cited that her local idol and one of her greatest influences is Sudirman Arshad and also P. Ramlee Cèline Dion, and Whitney Houston. where she also had given Cèline one of her solo albums, Hadiah Daripada Hati complete with her signature.

Image and legacy

When she first make her debut into the industry, she often been labeled as penyanyi kampung (old-fashioned or conservative singer) for her modest attire and her refusal to take pictures with man for a magazine cover, unless at a ceremony or at an award-accepting event. During her early years as a singer, she was criticized for refusing to wear daring clothes and her principle of not taking pictures with male artistes. She was quoted as saying: "As an artist, I do realize that there are many social responsibilities that I need to take care of. So, I opt to be moderate in everything, including in my sartorial matter." Her modest image was the subject of appraisals and positive feedback even from the Islamic scholars from Malaysia and Indonesia. Since then, her popularity throughout the South East Asia music industry remains strong when she was voted as Most Popular Female Artiste nine times in a row and Regional Most Popular Artistes in 2009 in Anugerah Planet Muzik 2009, beating contenders from Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia. Nicholas Teo, Singaporean Idol finalist, Maia Lee, and many others.

Themes and musical style

As a lyricist and record producer, most of her singles' lyrics revolve around the theme of love, although she has penned numbers of thematic single of spirituality and female empowerment. Several of her singles were written by her were targeted to a specific party – Biarlah Rahsia (Let It Be A Secret) was written with the allusion to the medias who constantly investigate her private personal relationships and Cahaya Cinta (Light of Love) was written specially for her husband during her marriage in 2006.

Born and raised in a traditional musically inclined family, she has recorded five ethnic pop oriented albums – four solo studio albums and one duet studio album with Noraniza Idris. She has been taught on how to sing traditional songs by her own mother who herself is a folk singer.

Vocal abilities and profile

Musically classified as an alto, she's one of Malaysia's best singers for winning 11 times the award for the "Best Vocal Performance in an Album/Single" from Anugerah Industri Muzik,

Adjie Esa Poetra, an Indonesian vocal instructor described her voice as "She is very careful and never fails in the tone production and she's able to produce the most artistic and beautiful tone as possible.... In any songs, she can sing it with ease but powerful other than possessing more than four-octave vocal range."

M.Nasir, music critic and music composer has praised Siti's voice as saying, "When we talk about her, she is the voice...Give her any songs, she can deliver it very well and it is not a problem to find a suitable song for her." He further praised Siti for her brave efforts to experiment her voice melisma with new musics or songs.

One of her trickiest songs to perform is Kurniaan Dalam Samaran, a Japanese inka-influenced song where it requires her play of transition of bass and soprano vocal tones However, at her recent SATU concert, she performed it live, where it received appraisals from critics and fans where one of the reviewers cited her live rendition as, "The Japanese-flavoured song required her to switch from her natural voice to falsetto in a hair-raising cadenza somewhere in the absurdly high range most women vocalists would cringe from. But she pulled it off effortlessly, sending shivers down my spine."

Lea Salonga, Filipino singer and actress who has done various theatrical work, including Miss Saigon and several Disney's movies has also expressed her praise and respect towards Siti's vocal ability during her concert in Malaysia in 2010 where she sang one of songs made famous by Siti and 2 By 2, Tiga Malam during the closing ceremony of her concert.

Personal achievements

Awards and accolades

Collaborations

Siti has collaborated with many renowned Asian artists such as Agnes Monica, Chrisye, Dewa 19, Gita Gutawa, Harvey Malaiholo, Padi, Peterpan, Rossa, Sahrul Gunawan and Yana Julio (Philippines), Francesca Peter, Sun Ho, Taufik Batisah One of Thailand most sought after singers, Tata Young has also expressed her interest in collaborating with Siti and has praised Siti as "Asia's Mariah Carey" for her outstanding performances.

International covers

Throughout her career, Siti Nurhaliza's songs have been covered by other artists, including her first Malay traditional single, Cindai which was re-recorded in Chinese version by Chien Bai Hui, a Chinese singer.

In popular culture

;In Music Datuk M. Daud Kilau's Anak Seni KRU's Empat Syarat

International performances

By far, she has been thrice to be invited to perform at the MTV Asia Awards, which are in 2003, where she sang her debut, Bukan Cinta Biasa, However, one of her earliest performances at an international stage is during the closing ceremony of 1998 Commonwealth Games where it was watched by more than 70 countries when she was only 19. However, the offer later was canceled by Siti due to her commitment with other projects after informing the organizers beforehand.

Wealth

Siti is known to be a formidable and successful and well-known businesswoman in Malaysia. She currently tops the list of the 'Richest Artistes' in Malaysia.

Other ventures

Products and endorsements

special and Pandan.]] With success in her singing career, Siti then got herself involved in business. She set up her own company – Siti Nurhaliza Productions (M) Sdn. Bhd. – with activities generally in the entertainment scene. She has four subsidiary companies, Siti Nurhaliza Collections Sdn. Bhd., Siti Nurhaliza Marketing Sdn. Bhd., Siti Sound Sdn. Bhd. and SN Mobile Digital Sdn. Bhd.

Siti sells her own tea, Ctea, brand of Malaysian tea, from tea cultivated on the foothills of Mount Kinabalu, Sabah. This Ctea brand comes in two flavours, Geranium Special and Pandan.

And now besides having her own products, she receives substantial income through commissions and royalties for her endorsements and as ambassador of products. She has been an ambassador and spokesperson for various international products – Jusco, Maxis, Maybelline, Minolta, Mitsubishi, Olay, Pantene, Pepsi, Samsung and TM Net.

Philanthropy

In January 2005, she donated RM 35 000 to three different organizations for the 2004 tsunami victims before her concert at the Royal Albert Hall in April of the same year. A year later in February, she donated RM 500 000 for the National Anti-Drug Campaign where she was also appointed as the ambassadress for the campaign. Six months later, she and her husband founded Yayasan Nurjiwa (Nurjiwa Foundation) where the foundation served as a platform for people to help those in need through charity concerts and dinner events where the money will be donated to the selected organizations. In 2009, she and her husband donated RM 1.5 million to build a new mosque in Tikam Batu, Kuala Muda where the land was given as a wakaf by both of them and Siti's mother-in-law where before this, her husband has also donated a sum of money to build two mosques in Kuala Lumpur and Pattani, Thailand. However, three months later, the mosque authorities of Kuala Muda refused to accept the donation for it is worried to contain subahat element regarding the original source of the money.

Personal life

Relationship with Datuk Seri Khalid

Big Walk in 2007.]] On July 17, 2006, Siti and her then-fiancee at that time, Datuk Khalid made a press conference announcing their wedding plans which will be held on August 21, after months of speculations by the media. Her plan to marry Datuk Khalid caused criticisms and uproar since she is going to marry a 47-year old widower with four sons where she was accused of causing his divorce. However, the issue was rebutted when Jabatan Agama Islam Selangor (Selangor Islamic Council) verified that Datuk Khalid and his former wife, Tengku Zawyah Tengku Izham are officially separated in February 2004, after 15 years of marriage.

Some sources speculate, the total wedding cost is RM 12,888,888 (USD 3,947,980 (adjusted to 2010 inflation)), however it was later denied by the couple and the wedding planner and stated that the total cost was roughly around RM 500,000. Her wedding dowry was revealed to cost at RM 22,222 and the hantaran (gifts from groom to bride and vice versa) cost around RM 30,000. The total sponsored items including Siti and spouse's jeweleries, dresses, and etc., cost more than RM 9 million. Later, RM 1 million from the total price paid by TV3 to broadcast the whole ceremony was later donated to charity. The engagement ceremony was held at Masjid Wilayah Persekutuan (Federal Territory Mosque) on August 21, 2006. The ceremony was also televised live and gathered more than 2 millions viewers. The first wedding reception was held on August 28, 2006, at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre (KLCC) which televised to 6.3 millions viewers nationwide. The wedding also received coverage from Indonesia, where 10 Indonesian media representatives were there to capture the moment including Trans TV, SCTV and Jawa Pos. It was a star studded affair, with guests including royal families, VIPs, celebrities, close friends and family. Indonesian celebrities like Hetty Koes Endang and one of Siti's closest friends, Krisdayanti were given the opportunity to give a performance to the newlywed and guests. The wedding was charted as the top celebrity wedding on Yahoo Buzz where she and her spouse is one out of two Asian couples listed.

On June 13, 2010, Siti and her husband, Datuk Seri Khalid, was recognized by E! News Asia as Third Most Powerful Celebrity Couple in Asia, behind Chinese entertainers couple, Simon Yam and wife, Qi Qi and Bollywood superstars couple, Aishwarya Rai and husband, Abhishek Bachchan.

Discography

1996: Siti Nurhaliza I

1997: Siti Nurhaliza II

1997: Cindai

1998: Adiwarna

1999: Pancawarna

2001: Sahmura

2001: Safa

2002: Sanggar Mustika

2003: E.M.A.S

2004: Prasasti Seni

2006: Transkripsi

2007: Hadiah Daripada Hati

2008: Lentera Timur

2009: Tahajjud Cinta

Concerts and tours

1999: Konsert Live Siti Nurhaliza

2001: Konsert Mega Siti Nurhaliza, Bukit Jalil 2001

2002: Konsert Salam Akhir Siti Nurhaliza – Untukmu Sudir

2004: Secretaries Week Celebration 2004

2004: Siti Nurhaliza Live In Concert 2004

2005: Siti Nurhaliza In Concert, Royal Albert Hall London

2006: Konsert Akustik Siti Nurhaliza

2008: Diari Hati Siti Nurhaliza

2009: SATU Konsert Eksklusif Dato' Siti Nurhaliza

2009: Konsert Seribu Warna

2010: Konsert Bagaikan Sakti

2010: Konsert SATU Suara

Filmography

Channel

{| class="wikitable sortable" |- !Year !Appearance !Role !Notes |- |2009 |SITI (Channel 188) |Herself |A special channel for two days for her by Astro showing her previous concerts - Konsert Fantasia Siti Nurhaliza (2004), Konsert SATU (2009) and various music video clips from her. She was the first ever to received such recognition from Astro. |- |}

Television

{| class="wikitable sortable" |- !Year !Appearance !Role !Notes |- |1995 |Bintang RTM |Herself - Winner |Her first ever television program where she auditioned before later was crowned as the overall winner. |- |rowspan="1"|2000 |Konsert Sensasi Siti Nurhaliza |Herself |A special television program for Eid-ul-Fitr. |- |rowspan="2"|2001 |1 Jam Bersama Siti Nurhaliza |Herself |A special 60-minute television program for her by Indosiar. |- |Divas of South East Asia |Herself |She joined with fellow Malaysian artistes, Sheila Majid, Fauziah Latiff, with another three Indonesian representatives, Krisdayanti, Titi DJ and Vina Panduwninata with single representative from Philippines, Kuh Ledesma for a concert that was aired throughout the Asean region. |- |2002 |Hiburan Minggu Ini |Herself |One of several of her earliest television shows that were produced by her own company, Siti Nurhaliza Productions (M) Sdn. Bhd. |- |3D Siti (Dari Dalam Diri Siti) |Herself |A two-episode show with television station, Trans TV. |- |Syawal Datang Lagi |Herself |Her own productions with collaboration with RTM for Eid-ul-Fitr. |- |Variasi Fitri... Siti Nurhaliza |- |rowspan="5"|2005 |Konsert Akustik Siti Nurhaliza |Herself |The show was also released as VCD and it was nominated for Best Entertainment Special in Asian Television Awards 2005. |- |Dari Studio Satu |Herself | |- |Mentor |Herself |A reality program where she becomes the mentor for Mohd. Fahmi Hj. Jaafar (Fahmi) where she and her protégé were competing with different artistes and their protégés. |- |Konsert Fenomena Siti Nurhaliza & Dayang Nurfaizah |Herself |A special television program for Eid-ul-Fitr with Dayang Nurfaizah. |- |Siti Nurhaliza - Indonesian Tour |Herself |A two-episode show for Trans TV, showing her performances of touring five main cities of Indonesia. |- |rowspan="8"|2006 |Antara KL & Jakarta |Herself |A special two-episode television program, where the first episode featured two female artistes from Malaysia, and another one from Indonesia before the next episode where it featured the male artistes. She collaborated with Sheila Majid and Shanty from Indonesia. |- |Zoom In Bersama Siti Nurhaliza |Herself |- |Zaleha Ayam Patah |Cameo as an early 50's Ghazal singer. |A special production of Universiti Putra Malaysia. |- |Tiada Rahsia |Herself |Special show discussing personal matters of Siti Nurhaliza and her husband, Datuk Seri Khalid before they were married in a special 3 episodes. |- |Siaran Langsung Perkahwinan Siti Nurhaliza & Datuk K |Herself |A special Eid-ul-Fitr television program with Saiful Apek. |- |Mentor |Herself |Second season of Mentor where she taught her protégé, Siti Khadijah Hassan (Kat) where they end up winning the second runner up overall. |- |Siti Nurhaliza Mencari Bintang Pantene |Herself |A reality television program with the collaboration with Pantene to find the next ambassador for Pantene in the Malaysian market where she is both judge and host. |- |rowspan="2"|2007 |Detik Kehidupan Siti Nurhaliza |Herself | |- |Siti Nurhaliza Cari Bintang Pantene |Herself |An Indonesian version of Malaysia's Siti Nurhaliza Mencari Bintang Pantene. |- |rowspan="3"|2008 |Zoom In Bersama Siti Nurhaliza |Herself | |- |Teratak Siti Nurhaliza |Herself |A one-hour special television program where she and her sisters, Siti Saerah and Siti Norsaida performed an Eid-ul-Fitr special. |- |Siti Nurhaliza Bersama Peminat |Herself |A special television program for Eid-ul-Fitr. |- |rowspan="5"|2009 |Kasih Siti |Herself |A special television program for Eid-ul-Fitr. |- |Spa Q 2 |Special Appearance |- |Citarasa Bersama Dato' Siti Nurhaliza |Herself |A 13-episode cooking show for Ramadhan where she hosted with several guest artists. |- |Lentera Aidilfitri Dato' Siti |Herself |A special television program for Eid-ul-Fitr. |- |Konsert Sesuci Lebaran Datuk Siti Nurhaliza |Herself |A special television program for Eid-ul-Fitr. |- |rowspan="6"|2010 |Konsert Bagaikan Sakti Siti Nurhaliza & M. Nasir |Herself |A live telecast of Siti's and M. Nasir's collaboration concert in Singapore. |- |Stylistika Siti |Herself |A special one-hour show where she performed while donning her favorite stylists' dresses and discussed mostly sartorially matter from her early beginnings. |- |Konsert Di Hati Siti |Herself |Her first show with TV9 and also her first show where she invited her idols to perform together. |- |CT15 |Herself |A special television program for Eid-ul-Fitr. |- |Lebaran Diva Dato' Siti Nurhaliza |Herself |A tribute to her where she also was a guest judge. |}

Theatre

Film

Videography

;Concert albums

1999: Konsert Live Siti Nurhaliza

2001: Konsert Mega Siti Nurhaliza, Bukit Jalil 2001

2002: Konsert Salam Akhir Siti Nurhaliza – Untukmu Sudir

2004: Secretaries Week Celebration 2004

2004: Siti Nurhaliza Live In Concert 2004

2005: Siti Nurhaliza In Concert, Royal Albert Hall London

2006: Konsert Akustik Siti Nurhaliza

;DVDs

2006: Siti Nurhaliza In Concert, Royal Albert Hall London

2007: The Best of Siti Nurhaliza – DVD Karaoke

;Video albums

1998: CT Best

2000: The Best of Siti Nurhaliza

2001: CT Best 3

2001: CT Best 4

2003: CT Best 5

2003: CT Best 6

2003: CT Best 7

2004: CT Best 8

2008: 2 Diva (with Krisdayanti)

References

External links

;Official

Siti Nurhaliza Official Website

Siti Nurhaliza Tarudin Official Facebook Account

Siti Nurhaliza Tarudin Official Twitter Account

SimplySiti Products Official Website

;Miscellany

CARI Forum: Datuk Siti Nurhaliza

HajahDatoSitiNurhaliza

Radio CTFM – Inspirasi Muzik Siti Nurhaliza

Simply Siti Nurhaliza Zone

Category:1979 births Category:Living people Category:Malaysian Malay people Category:Malaysian female singers Category:Malaysian Muslims Category:Malaysian singers Category:Malaysian television personalities Category:People from Pahang Category:Malay-language singers

Name	Elva Hsiao
Tradchinesename	蕭亞軒
Simpchinesename	萧亚轩
Pinyinchinesename	Xiāo Yǎxuān
Jyutpingchinesename	Siu1 Aa3 Hin1
Birthname	Xiāo Yǎzhī (蕭雅之)
Origin	Republic of China (Taiwan)
Birthdate	August 24, 1979
Birthplace	Taipei, Taiwan
Othername	Elva Siu
Occupation	Singer, Actress
Genre	Mandopop
Instrument	Singing
Label	Virgin Records/Gold Typhoon (1999–2004; 2008-present)Warner Music (2005–2007)
Yearsactive	1998–present
Website	www.loveelva.com
Awards	World Music AwardsBest-Selling Chinese Artist2001

Elva Hsiao (), also known as Elva Siu, is a Taiwanese Mandopop singer.

Biography

She was educated at John Casablanca's College in Vancouver, British Columbia and hence fluent in both written and spoken English. While in Vancouver, she attended the New Talent Singing Awards Vancouver Audition in 1998 with her birth name of Hsiao Ya-chih (蕭雅之). She became one of the 12 finalists but did not place in the top 5. The song she sang was CoCo Lee's "Love Me A Little Longer (Chinese: 愛我久一點)". Also in that competition there were 3 other Taiwanese recent singers, 183 Club member Jacky Chu 祝釩剛 (who was the winner), DJ Ruby Lu 盧春如 (1st Runner-Up) and 蜜雪薇琪 (Michelle*Vickie) member Michelle Hsu (now known as Mimi or Michelle).

Music career

Elva was originally signed to Virgin Records Taiwan, a sub-label of EMI, which created the stage name 蕭亞軒 for her. Her self-titled début album in 1999 sold over 1 million copies in Asia and cemented her status in the Chinese music industry.

Elva Hsiao sang the song "U Make Me Wanna", which appeared on her album Love's Theme Song, Kiss (2002), with British boy band Blue. Virgin Records and Elva parted ways in summer of 2004.

For a year, Elva rested as record companies fought over her next contract. It ended up becoming a battle between Warner Music Taiwan and Sony BMG, with Warner Music winning the battle in the end. Elva signed into Warner Music on March 23, 2005, making her Warner Taiwan's "fifth diva" (after Sammi Cheng, A-Mei Chang, Na Ying, and Stefanie Sun). Fans were overjoyed at this, and waited for the coming of a new album, which Warner had promised would be released in June 2005.

However, Warner Music Taiwan was facing internal issues during this period, including executives resigning and a change of staff members. Many other Warner artists (including Stefanie Sun, Machi, A-Mei, and F.I.R.) were affected and did not see much promotion on their albums. However, none faced as much trouble as Elva, whose album was delayed from September till December and eventually Warner announced that the album would be delayed indefinitely. This angered the fans, who had been waiting patiently. Their protests spammed the forums of Warner Music Taiwan, causing the entire website to be out of service for a week.

In February 2006, a Warner representative promised in an interview that the album would be released around late March/early April. It was only a few weeks later that magazine articles reported another change of staff members and the possibilities of the album being delayed into late April/early May.

In June 2006, she released a new single, entitled "The World I Want" [我要的世界].

In October 2006, the delayed album still had not been released, although Elva announced that it would be released in December. At that time she was in Los Angeles working on dance choreography. In addition, she released another new promotion single entitled "Elva Is Back", a fast catchy song featuring electro beats and raps. A dance song “Confession”(表白) made the top 10.

Elva and Warner Music announced in November that her newest album would be released on 22 December. The album is entitled [1087], signifying the number of days Elva had been absent from the Mandopop scene.

She released the music video for her single called "Confession" in mid-2007. Her second single is called "L.o.V.E". Her third single is called "Not Far Away". Her fourth single is called "The Ambassador. Her fifth single is called "Honey Honey Honey". Her sixth single is called "My Boyfriend".

Back to EMI

After the contact with Warner Music, Elva decided to switch back to EMI Virgin Records in 2008. She described the switch as "going back home" as she was among the first few artists signed by Virgin Music Chinese in 1999 when the division was first established. Some critics also commented Elva was avoiding the back of Warner's original General Manager Sam Chen who has a bad name in Chinese music industry in controlling and creating fake statistics for his artists. The rumored contract cost EMI over NT$250 million which is over HKD 60 million or about USD 8 million. Johanna Wang, President of EMI Music Taiwan commented that the action of signing Elva was proving they (EMI) are not going to quit the Chinese music scene. Instead, they would create a new entertainment empire spanning over film productions, artist management, concert production, publishing and both digital and traditional music industries.

Elva's first album back with EMI,三面夏娃, was originally set to be released in late May 2008. But due to the delay in production and of China's approval due to the Olympic Games , the album was pushed back and released on 13 June 2008.

Elva switched her record company to Gold Typhoon after Gold Label Record's acquisition of EMI Music Taiwan in August 2008.

Film and other media work

In Taiwan, she has done television commercials for a wide diversity of products, ranging from cellular phones to jewelry to makeup, for major brands such as Avon, De Beers, Motorola, Pantene, and Sprite. She also worked as a spokesperson for Shiatzy Chen. She has had film roles in two movies: Infernal Affairs (2002) and The Butterfly Lovers (2004). She is no longer participating in Fresh Tomato For Sauce (Announced 2007). However, she is currently in talks to play a role in the TV series Less Than Zero, a retake on Bret Easton Ellis' famous novel that will be set in Taipei. Elva

By joining EMI Virgin Records, the EMI's Gold Label Records which is seen as an inter-industrial agency is starting to find scripts and tailor-made roles for Elva as she plans to have more participation in movies under EMI, as part of changes to the strategic plans of EMI in the Asia-Pacific market. She will have a role in an upcoming TV series called 大江大海一九四九, which seeks to chronicle the material covered in Lung Ying-tai's novel of the same name (which chronicles the Chinese Civil War).

The first cross-media work is the co-partnership with Puma which Elva would become the spokesperson of Puma and Puma would buy media place including TVCs, print ads, billboards for the label and Elva's album. Puma would also sponsor Elva's music video "I'll Be There".

Discography

Studio albums

Elva Hsiao Self-Titled Album (蕭亞軒同名專輯 Xiao Ya Xuan Tong Ming Zhuan Ji) (1999) EMI

Red Rose (紅薔薇 Hong Qiang Wei) (2000) EMI

Tomorrow (明天 Ming Tian) (2001) EMI

4 U (4U) (2002) EMI

Love's Theme Song, Kiss (愛的主打歌，吻 Ai De Zhu Da Ge, Wen) (2002) EMI

In Love With Love (愛上愛 Ai Shang Ai) (2003) EMI

Fifth Avenue (第五大道 Di Wu Da Dao) (2003) EMI

1087 (1087 ''Yi Ling Ba Qi) (2006) Warner Music

3-Faced Elva (3面夏娃 San Mian Xia Wa) (2008) EMI

Diamond Candy (鑽石糖 (2009) EMI

Miss Elva (蕭灑小姐 (2010) EMI

Collections and compilations

Beautiful Episode (美麗的插曲 Mei Li De Cha Qu) (2004) EMI

Love Elva... Remix & More (最熟悉的...蕭亞軒 ''Zui Shu Xi De...Xiao Ya Xuan) (2006) EMI

References

External links

LoveElva.com - Official site

Elva-Siu.com - Chinese language site

MTVChinese.com Elva Hsiao information page

Category:1979 births Category:Living people Category:New Talent Singing Awards contestants Category:People from Taipei Category:Taiwanese actors Category:Taiwanese female singers Category:Taiwanese Mandopop singers Category:World Music Awards winners