Janice Vidal
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Template:Infobox Chinese-language singer and actor Janice M. Vidal, often credited simply as Janice, is a female Cantopop, Jazz and R&B singer based in Hong Kong. She is the twin sister of singer Jill Vidal.
Debuting in 2005, Vidal has become one of the new notable singers in Hong Kong and Asia. She performs her songs in English, Cantonese and Mandarin.
Biography
Vidal was born on April 13, 1982 in Kowloon. She is of mixed parentage with a Filipino father with ancestry in Cebu, Philippines and a Chinese Korean mother from Seoul, South Korea. As a Hong Kong singer she had chosen to adopt the Chinese name Wei Lan (衛蘭), although most of her fans refer to her simply as Janice. In the past she also went by names such as "Renee" in her musical work prior to her debut album in 2005 and "Ming Lok Tai" (明樂蒂) in a EEG singing competition in 2000. As of 2006[update], her father resides in Hong Kong, while her mother resides in South Korea. She studied English while attending international schools in Hong Kong. She decided not to pursue college because of financial reasons.
She admitted in a radio interview that she can't read Chinese and uses English to help her pronounce words that she sings in the recording studio.
Pre-debut
Before becoming an artist herself, Vidal had always enjoyed singing. Her voice came to the attention of renowned producer Mark Lui by chance when she recorded the backing vocals for one of Leon Lai's songs "純粹誤會(Drum & Bass Mix BPM 170)" in 2001. Lui informed Leon, who in turn decided to offer Vidal a contract with Amusic (東亞), a newly-formed record label where Leon Lai is a major investor and to which he himself transferred. As a result, Vidal became the first newcomer to sign for Amusic in 2004.
Music career
In her first concert, Vidal stated that she was signed by Amusic around 2003. At the time Leon Lai thought that her Cantonese was not good enough, and initially asked her to work as an office assistant.[1]
During the winter of 2004, Vidal started catching the media's attention by covering one of Lai's classic hits "Long Distance" (情深說話未曾講) in English. The cover song quickly became a hit. Some fans initially thought it was an overseas singer who was covering one of Lai's classic hits, but were surprised to find out the singer was an unknown Hong Kong rookie. Since it was Christmas, her first song was swiftly followed by a Christmas version of another Lai cover "Bu Ke Yi Shi" (不可一世), sung in Cantonese. The Cantonese cover of "Long Distance" (情深說話未曾講) was aired on radio in Spring 2005 for the first time.
By April 2005, Vidal had become known as a mysterious singer who sung several cover versions of Leon Lai's songs, but whose face has never been shown in public. After roughly six months of radio publicity and building public anticipation, her face was finally unveiled when her debut album "Day & Night" was released on April 13, 2005. Fellow Cantopop singer, Justin Lo, was one of the main producers for this album, and it soon became a hit. On 25 November 2005, Vidal released her second album "My Love".
Vidal won all the (female) newbies singers awards in 2005 that were awarded by Hong Kong media. They were Commercial Radio Hong Kong (CRHK) 2005 Best Female Newbies - Gold, RTHK 2005 Best Female Newbies - Gold, TVB 2005 Best Female Newbies - Gold and Metro Radio I-Tech Metro Best Newbies 2005 (unranked). In mid-December 2005, she was placed fifth for Commercial Radio 2's 2005 Favorite Female Singer Award. She obtain Bronze in the Best Female singer category for 2006.
Vidal held her first concert series in Hong Kong from 29 March to 1 April, 2007, as part of her 4-night stint at Hong Kong Coliseum. It was called "My First Concert."
Vidal's fourth studio album, titled Serving You, was released on 27 November 2008. On 21 December during the press conference for Lai's new album "Is Me", Lai announced that 'Serving You' had sold more than 150,000 Units[2]. Her first English album will be released in July 2009.
From 28 April 2007 to 13 May 2007 Madame Tussauds Hong Kong organised "Madame Tussauds - Your Celebrity Choice for this Summer" competition with an aim to select new wax portrayal to be displayed in Madame Tussauds museum[3] Vidal won the competition in May and her wax portrayal started to display in the glamour section on 18 July 2007. The statue is dressed in a green ballet dress used during "My First Concert which" Vidal had donated.[4]
Jill Vidal
Janice Vidal's twin sister Jill Vidal (衛詩) is also a singer. Jill was signed by the same record label as Janice at the end of 2005 and released her first song in December 2005. Although their voices sound virtually the same, Jill has a notably different style from Janice; her songs tend to be more hard-core urban R&B and are also more fast-paced, while Janice has a heavier pop and blues feel to her songs. On 24 Feb 2009, Jill Vidal was arrested for drugs possession in Japan.[citation needed]
Discography
| Release Date | Album Name | Languages | Music Label |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 Apr 13 | Day & Night | Cantonese, English | AMusic |
| 2005 May 26 | Day & Night (2 CD Special Version) | Cantonese, English | AMusic |
| 2005 Nov 25 | My Love | Cantonese, English, Mandarin | AMusic |
| 2006 Nov 21 | Do U Know | Cantonese, English | AMusic |
| 2008 Nov 27 | Serving You | Cantonese, English | AMusic |
Filmography
Musical Film
| Release Date | Title | Chinese Title | Role |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2006, Nov | A Melody Looking | 缘邀之音 | Janice |
| 2007, Jul | The Girl Who Leapt Through Time (Cantonese translation) | 時をかける少女 | Makoto Konno |
Concert
| Year | Date | Title | No of Shows | Location | Sponsor |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | 29 March - 1 April | My First[5] | 4 | Hong Kong Coliseum | Hang Seng Bank Credit Card |
| 2007 | 30 September | My First[6] | 1 | Canton | Budweiser |
| 2008 | 1 May | My First | 1 | Stadium Merdeka | Celcom X-Pax |
| 2008 | 8 Nov | Magic Live Concert - Janice Vidal [7] | 1 | Star Hall in Hong Kong International Trade and Exhibition Centre | The Community Chest of Hong Kong |
Awards
| Year | Date | Awards |
|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Dec 26 | Metro Radio I-Tech Metro Newbies Award |
| 2006 | Jan 01 | Commercial Radio Female newbies of the Year - Gold Award |
| 2006 | Jan 16 | TVB Best New Female Singer - Gold Award |
| TVB Top 10 Song:Run Away from Home | ||
| TVB Best Performance-Silver | ||
| TVB Four Media Best Performance Award-Gold | ||
| 2006 | Jan 23 | RTHK Best New Female Singer - Gold Award |
| 2007 | Jan 01 | Commercial Radio Best Female Singer - Bronze Award |
| 2007 | Metro Radio Best Female Singer | |
| Metro Radio Karaoke Hit Song:My Love My Fate | ||
| Metro Radio Hit Song:Run Away from Home | ||
| 2007 | RTHK Top Ten Singers 2007 | |
| 2008 | RTHK Top Ten Singers 2008 | |
| 2008 | Metro Radio My Most Admired Female Singer | |
| Metro Radio Hit Song:Doesn't Matter |
| Year | Date | Awards |
|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Yahoo Search Popular Awards: Most Increase | |
| 2005 | PM Popular Talented New Female Stars | |
| 2005 | PM Readers Choice Song: Big Brother | |
| PM Readers Choice Duet: 24 | ||
| 2005 | Road Show Respected Newcomer |
Music pop chart
| Year | Single | Peak positions ( Week(s) ) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RTHK Chinese Pop | CRHK Ultimate 903 | Metro Radio Pop Chart | JSG Billboard | MOOV Chart | uChoice音樂排行榜 | ||
| 2005 | "Big Brother (大哥)" | 3 | 6 | 7 | 9 | - | - |
| 2005 | "Will You Come Tonight? (今夜你不會來)" | 1 | 2 | 3 | 1 | - | - |
| 2006 | "Messy Heart (心亂如麻)" | 1 | 1 | 2 | - | - | - |
| 2006 | "My Love My Fate" | 1 | 1 | 1 | - | - | - |
| 2006 | "Love Talent (愛才)" | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | - |
| 2006 | "Run Away from Home (離家出走)" | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | - |
| 2007 | "Deep Love (深愛)" | 1 | 1 | 3 | - | 4 | - |
| 2007 | "Love You Still Love You (愛你還愛你)" | 1 | 3 | 1 | - | 2 | - |
| 2007 | "Children's fairytale 童夢 (feat.光良)" | 3 | 10 | 1 | 1 | - | - |
| 2007 | "Doesn't Matter (無所謂)" | 3 | 9 | 3 | 1 | 3 | - |
| 2008 | "Acrobatics (雜技)" | 1 | 2 | 1 | - | 1 | - |
| 2008 | "Water (如水)" | 1 | - | 1 | - | 1 | - |
| 2008 | "Main character loves me (主角愛我)" | - | - | - | - | 1 | - |
| 2008 | "Cloudy Vacation (陰天假期)" | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | - |
| 2008 | "If The World Has No Fairy Tales (就算世界無童話)" | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 2009 | "My Cookie Can" | 3 | 5 | 3 | - | 7 | - |
| 2009 | "Love is deeper than being Human (愛深過做人)" | 1 | 5 | ||||
| 2009 | "999" | ||||||
| Total number of #1 singles | 10 | 4 | 9 | 6 | 6 | 1 | |
See also
References
- ^ Janice forgive her mother not attending her concert (Simplified Chinese), Ta Kung Pao, Retrieved on 2007-10-16 via Google cache
- ^ " Is Me" press conference retrieved on 22-12-2008
- ^ Janice Vidal Overwhelms Competition in "Your Celebrity Choice for this Summer" Madame Tussauds Set to Bring Summer Freshness To Hong Kong This Season, Madame-Tussauds of Hong Kong, Retrieved on 2007-07-30
- ^ Janice Captures the Spirit of Summer at Madame Tussauds Hong Kong ,Madame-Tussauds of Hong Kong, Retrieved on 2007-07-30
- ^ Janice first concert press conference amusic.hk Retrieved on 30-08-2007
- ^ Budweiser Janice My First Canton amusic.hk Retrieved on 17-09-2007
- ^ Magic Live Concert (Traditional Chinese) amusic.hk Retrieved on 26-09-2008
- ^
Major Music Charts in Hong Kong (in Chinese), Musichk.org, retrieved 2007-02-03
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External links
- Janice at Amusic Official Site
- Janice Vidal English Forum