International superstar Faye Wong

Hong Kong pop diva Faye Wong is probably the most internationally successful Chinese artist to date. Her career began when she was 18 and she moved from Beijing to Hong Kong with her family. In her new hometown she started to take singing lessons and soon her singing teacher introduced her to the Cinepoly record company.

Faye started recording, but at first, she was not allowed to use her own name. In English, "Faye" might mean princess or queen and her record company did not consider it appropriate for a Chinese pop star to be "royal". Therefore she recorded her first three records using the name Shirley Wong.

Faye's music was mostly typical Cantopop, which she did not particularly like. That is the reason why she, in the beginning of the 90's, decided to move to New York to study music and literature. She wanted to find her own identity and fulfill some of her personal goals in life.

The new Faye

Faye came back from New York as a new person. The time spent abroad improved her musical abilities and soon after she returned to China, she released her next album, entitled "Coming Home".

The album was significantly different from her earlier production. First of all, it was released using her real name and secondly, the musical style was completely different. Her new album included more Rhythm & Blues and some of the songs Faye composed herself. The album became a hit on the Chinese music scene.

During the following years Faye became known for her alternative dressing style and crazy concert antics. These are the reasons why she is often compared to the Icelandic pop star Björk.

In 1994, Faye released an album titled "Faye Wong" and it received a lot of publicity. There was no text or pictures on the cover of the album and by this she wanted to state that she did not care about publicity. She just wanted to be famous for her musical skills, not for her appearance. Even nowadays she uses this policy, as she seldom gives interviews or takes part in public festivals.

Talented actress

Faye Wong is also known for her personal style (Image: CNS) Besides her musical career, Faye has found time for acting in films. In 1994, she had a leading role in Wong Kar-wai's experimental movie Chungking Express. Her acting won her the award for "Best Actress" at the 1994 Stockholm International Film Festival. At the same time her manager Katie Chan said in a statement that Faye's success was a miracle, because she is an artist who does whatever she wants and follows her own path.

Nowadays this singing actress, or acting singer is one of the most famous Chinese artists in her homeland as well as abroad. She prefers to sing in her mother tongue of Mandarin Chinese, but she has also released records in English, French, Japanese and Cantonese. She gets her inspiration from her favorite artists such as The Cranberries, Cocteau Twins, Air, Sinead O´Connor and The Sundays.

Faye's internationally best known song is her hit single "All Eyes On Me", which appeared on the soundtrack of the film "Final Fantasy 8".