Chen Chi Chen
Encyclopedia
Chen Chi Chen also known as Cheer Chen; born June 6, 1975 in Taipei
, Taiwan
) is a popular yet low-profile Taiwanese
singer-songwriter
, widely recognized as a talented musician among the Chinese music industry.
Graduated from Taiwan National Chengchi University (Bachelor of Philosophy), Chen played in an underground band(Sunscreen 防曬油) as lead singer and guitarist back in the 1990s before she was attached to Rock Records
. In 1997 she joined Magicstone, a subsidiary label under Rock Records
and her first official album Think Twice was released in July 1998. Since 2003 she published her own music independently and now she is under Teamear Music
Chen is well known as a musician who regularly shuns the limelight and prefers to focus on her musical works rather than appearing on public media. She is also known for paying great attention in ensuring that each and every one of her live performances or concerts fulfills the expectation of her fans. She has on several occasions prepared hand-made entry-passes for her concerts.
Her earlier works are more folk
-oriented with much bossa nova and orchestral arrangement (mainly produced by Will Lin with team members Yu-Huan Lee, Cincin Lee, Yun-Chang Dong etc.), but most of her recent works tend to be folk rock
and poprock-based (produced by Tiger Chung under Teamear Music). Chung is her boyfriend and also her guitarist as well. He appeared in several of Chen's music videos of her songs, such as Sentimental Kills and Immortal.
Chen currently lives in the New Taipei Luzhou district. She is reported as being concerned with environmental issues. She has been frequently involved in community and public welfare activities.
Chinese. She writes most of her own music and lyrics, and has produced several of her recordings independently
. Her first recording Demo 1 was released in September 1997. To date she has published 5 official albums, 3 demos, 6 singles, 2 compilations, 4 DVDs, and a book of photographic(lomographic) collection. Her songs are generally straightforward though with lots of the seventh and diminished chords. She usually appears with her Gibson Hummingbird
acoustic guitar.
In 2004 & 2005, she was featured in two seasons of Lee The Blues Jeans advertisement with Stanley Huang
. The advert song she composed 'Live in Silence'(靜靜的生活) was then rearranged and republished in her fourth album Peripeteia. In 2009, she became the spokesperson for Nikon Coolpix S620, and in 2010 for Nikon D5000
& Nikon D3100
. In 2010 she was also featured in an Adidas Originals advert along with many other worldwide celebrities including Hyori Lee, David Beckham and Oasis. Since May 2011, she became the spokesperson for Sokenbicha
herbal drink for the Taiwanese market.
In 2006, Chen's fourth album Peripeteia won the Best Music Album Producer award(Tiger Chung) and Best Music Video award at the 17th Golden Melody Awards. During that same year, she was also nominated for Best Female Singer and Best Album of the Year. In 2010 she was nominated for the Best Song Writer (The Edge 魚).
In 2009, Chen released her latest album Immortal , recorded unorthodoxly in the wardrobe of her own chamber but not in a proper studio and mastered by Grammy Award
winner Bernie Grundman
. The album was awarded one of the Top 10 Selling Mandarin Albums of the Year at the 2009 IFPI Hong Kong Album Sales Awards, presented by the Hong Kong branch of IFPI. Back from later 2008, Chen started holding her concert tour, with the same theme as the new album Immortal. The tour continues around Taiwan, China Mainland, Hong Kong, Macau, Singapore, and she held a concert for the very first time in Melbourne on March 11, 2011.
Being the first female singer-composer to perform on the stage of Taipei Arena
, she used to remind people to pursue their ambitions boldly and to always dream for a better tomorrow. She said, "Perhaps there are people feeling themselves fragile, insignificant and vulnerable, but they might be the sun that shines for the others, just as the heat of the Sun though unapproachable yet it guards the mother earth from afar even at night; life might not be smooth sailing for everyone in all stages, but we should always embrace hopes for a better tomorrow."
Chen has also appeared on stage several times with famous Taiwanese band Mayday. She sang a duet with Ashin (陳信宏), lead vocalist of the band, in the upbeat love song Eloping To The Moon(私奔到月球). Ashin has also claimed that in Taipei, the only artist that puts on a better show than Mayday is Cheer Chen. Ashin further acknowledged Cheer's intellectual lyrics in his blog, "I think that Cheer writes great lyrics, Cheer’s lyrics appear to be a velvety knife which seems harmless but it is actually keen."
Taipei
Taipei City is the capital of the Republic of China and the central city of the largest metropolitan area of Taiwan. Situated at the northern tip of the island, Taipei is located on the Tamsui River, and is about 25 km southwest of Keelung, its port on the Pacific Ocean...
, Taiwan
Taiwan Province
Taiwan Province is one of the two administrative divisions referred to as provinces and is controlled by the Republic of China . The province covers approximately 73% of the territory controlled by the Republic of China...
) is a popular yet low-profile Taiwanese
Music of Taiwan
Taiwan is densely-populated and culturally diverse, including a majority of Bensheng ren , a powerful faction waishengren who arrived with Chiang Kai-shek in the middle of the 20th century and the minority of aboriginal peoples.With the arrival of the KMT led Republic of China government in 1949,...
singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriters are musicians who write, compose and sing their own musical material including lyrics and melodies. As opposed to contemporary popular music singers who write their own songs, the term singer-songwriter describes a distinct form of artistry, closely associated with the...
, widely recognized as a talented musician among the Chinese music industry.
Graduated from Taiwan National Chengchi University (Bachelor of Philosophy), Chen played in an underground band(Sunscreen 防曬油) as lead singer and guitarist back in the 1990s before she was attached to Rock Records
Rock Records
Rock Records is a Taiwanese record label founded in 1980 by Sam and Johnny Duan . The record label had their first multiseller in 1989 with Sarah Chen.It is now Asia's largest independent record label....
. In 1997 she joined Magicstone, a subsidiary label under Rock Records
Rock Records
Rock Records is a Taiwanese record label founded in 1980 by Sam and Johnny Duan . The record label had their first multiseller in 1989 with Sarah Chen.It is now Asia's largest independent record label....
and her first official album Think Twice was released in July 1998. Since 2003 she published her own music independently and now she is under Teamear Music
Chen is well known as a musician who regularly shuns the limelight and prefers to focus on her musical works rather than appearing on public media. She is also known for paying great attention in ensuring that each and every one of her live performances or concerts fulfills the expectation of her fans. She has on several occasions prepared hand-made entry-passes for her concerts.
Her earlier works are more folk
Folk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
-oriented with much bossa nova and orchestral arrangement (mainly produced by Will Lin with team members Yu-Huan Lee, Cincin Lee, Yun-Chang Dong etc.), but most of her recent works tend to be folk rock
Folk rock
Folk rock is a musical genre combining elements of folk music and rock music. In its earliest and narrowest sense, the term referred to a genre that arose in the United States and the UK around the mid-1960s...
and poprock-based (produced by Tiger Chung under Teamear Music). Chung is her boyfriend and also her guitarist as well. He appeared in several of Chen's music videos of her songs, such as Sentimental Kills and Immortal.
Chen currently lives in the New Taipei Luzhou district. She is reported as being concerned with environmental issues. She has been frequently involved in community and public welfare activities.
Biography
Chen generally sings in MandarinStandard Chinese
Standard Chinese, or Modern Standard Chinese, also known as Mandarin or Putonghua, is the official language of the People's Republic of China and Republic of China , and is one of the four official languages of Singapore....
Chinese. She writes most of her own music and lyrics, and has produced several of her recordings independently
Indie (music)
In music, independent music, often shortened to indie music or "indie" is a term used to describe independence from major commercial record labels or their subsidiaries, and an autonomous, Do-It-Yourself approach to recording and publishing....
. Her first recording Demo 1 was released in September 1997. To date she has published 5 official albums, 3 demos, 6 singles, 2 compilations, 4 DVDs, and a book of photographic(lomographic) collection. Her songs are generally straightforward though with lots of the seventh and diminished chords. She usually appears with her Gibson Hummingbird
Gibson Hummingbird
The Gibson Hummingbird is an acoustic guitar model/series produced by the Gibson Guitar Corporation.Unlike the other flat-top Gibson acoustics, the Hummingbird was Gibson's first square-shoulder dreadnought, similar to the dreadnoughts produced by C.F. Martin & Company...
acoustic guitar.
In 2004 & 2005, she was featured in two seasons of Lee The Blues Jeans advertisement with Stanley Huang
Stanley Huang
Stanley Huang is a Taiwanese American singer. Huang grew up in California and first started out in the boyband L.A. Boyz with older brother, Jeff Huang and cousin Steven Lin.-Musical Career :...
. The advert song she composed 'Live in Silence'(靜靜的生活) was then rearranged and republished in her fourth album Peripeteia. In 2009, she became the spokesperson for Nikon Coolpix S620, and in 2010 for Nikon D5000
Nikon D5000
The D5000 is a 12.3 megapixel DX format DSLR Nikon F-mount camera, announced by Nikon on 14 April 2009, and rumored to have been discontinued in November 2010. Although it is listed as discontinued on the Nikon Japan website, it is still available in other regions as of April 2011. The D5000 has...
& Nikon D3100
Nikon D3100
The Nikon D3100 is a 14.2 megapixel DX format DSLR Nikon F-mount camera announced by Nikon on August 19, 2010. It replaces the D3000 as Nikon's entry level DSLR. It introduces Nikon's new EXPEED 2 image processor and is the first Nikon DSLR featuring full high definition video recording with full...
. In 2010 she was also featured in an Adidas Originals advert along with many other worldwide celebrities including Hyori Lee, David Beckham and Oasis. Since May 2011, she became the spokesperson for Sokenbicha
Sokenbicha
, is a Japanese blended tea brand of The Coca-Cola Company Introduced first to the Japanese market in 1993, it became available to the U.S. market in October 2010....
herbal drink for the Taiwanese market.
In 2006, Chen's fourth album Peripeteia won the Best Music Album Producer award(Tiger Chung) and Best Music Video award at the 17th Golden Melody Awards. During that same year, she was also nominated for Best Female Singer and Best Album of the Year. In 2010 she was nominated for the Best Song Writer (The Edge 魚).
In 2009, Chen released her latest album Immortal , recorded unorthodoxly in the wardrobe of her own chamber but not in a proper studio and mastered by Grammy Award
Grammy Award
A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...
winner Bernie Grundman
Bernie Grundman
-Biography:He is most known for his mastering work and his studio, Bernie Grundman Mastering, which he opened in 1983 in Hollywood. The studio, which includes engineers Chris Bellman, Patricia Sullivan and Brian Gardner, mastered 37 projects which received Grammy Award nominations in 2005.Grundman...
. The album was awarded one of the Top 10 Selling Mandarin Albums of the Year at the 2009 IFPI Hong Kong Album Sales Awards, presented by the Hong Kong branch of IFPI. Back from later 2008, Chen started holding her concert tour, with the same theme as the new album Immortal. The tour continues around Taiwan, China Mainland, Hong Kong, Macau, Singapore, and she held a concert for the very first time in Melbourne on March 11, 2011.
Being the first female singer-composer to perform on the stage of Taipei Arena
Taipei Arena
Taipei Arena is an indoor sporting arena located in Taipei, Taiwan. Built in 2005, the large multi-purpose stadium can accommodate major international sport events such as ice skating, ice hockey, gymnastics, handball, basketball, tennis, badminton, table tennis, indoor soccer, boxing, judo,...
, she used to remind people to pursue their ambitions boldly and to always dream for a better tomorrow. She said, "Perhaps there are people feeling themselves fragile, insignificant and vulnerable, but they might be the sun that shines for the others, just as the heat of the Sun though unapproachable yet it guards the mother earth from afar even at night; life might not be smooth sailing for everyone in all stages, but we should always embrace hopes for a better tomorrow."
Chen has also appeared on stage several times with famous Taiwanese band Mayday. She sang a duet with Ashin (陳信宏), lead vocalist of the band, in the upbeat love song Eloping To The Moon(私奔到月球). Ashin has also claimed that in Taipei, the only artist that puts on a better show than Mayday is Cheer Chen. Ashin further acknowledged Cheer's intellectual lyrics in his blog, "I think that Cheer writes great lyrics, Cheer’s lyrics appear to be a velvety knife which seems harmless but it is actually keen."
Official Albums
- Think Twice 讓我想一想 (July 1, 1998)
- Lonely Without You 還是會寂寞 (April 2000) / Princess From East '01 Series (June 21, 2001 - Japan version)
- GroupiesGroupies (album)Groupies is Cheer Chen's third album, released by Rock Records in Taiwan in 2002.-Track list:#Miss Paranoid #Too Smart #A Little Step #1234567...
吉他手 (August 1, 2002) - Peripeteia 華麗的冒險 (September 2005)
- Immortal 太陽 (January 23, 2009)
Demo CDs
- Demo1 (September 1997)
- Demo2 - Cheer's Walkman (March 2000)
- Demo3 (November 9, 2001)
Singles
- Track 1 - Sentimental Kills (November 15, 2003)
- Track 2 - Travel with Sound 旅行的意義 (March 24, 2004)
- Track 3 - After 17 (December 31, 2004) also included a track composed for Jing-mei Girls' Senior High School 小小校歌
- Track 4 - Pussy (February 8, 2007)
- Track 5 - Fly for You 失败者的飞翔 (July 13, 2008)
- Track 6 - Ephemera 蜉蝣 (October 5, 2011)
Compilation Albums
- The Best of Cheer Chen - Rock Records HK Golden Decade Classics (October 2002)
- The Best of Cheer Chen 1998-2005 - Rock Records TW (March 2005)
DVDs
- SIXTEEN DAYS Cheer's Frame-001 (October 2005)
- Cheer's FLOWERS Concert Classic Memoirs + 2 CDs (May 2007)
- CHEER LOOKS: Cheer's Adventurous Image Diary - Cheer's Frame-002 (September 2007)
- IMMORTAL TOUR (May 2010)
Unreleased Songs
- Solitude (孤獨) Partially included as a hidden trackHidden trackIn the field of recorded music, a hidden track is a piece of music that has been placed on a CD, audio cassette, vinyl record or other recorded medium in such a way as to avoid detection by the casual listener...
after the last song(#10) in the first official album Think Twice Taiwan version - A Practice (每天都是一種練習) Partially included as a short track(#7) in the third official album Groupies
- Monsoon (季風) Lyrics by Tiger Chung
Books and Printed Works
- 《不厭其煩》(BúYànQíFán) - Cheer's Collection of Lomography with short notes (November 5, 2001)
- LIVE.LIFE《現場·生活》2006 Calendar (December 2005)