Janice Vidal

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Janice Vidal
Janice Vidal 2020 (cropped).png
Vidal in 2020
Background information
Born (1982-04-13) 13 April 1982 (age 42)
British Hong Kong
Genres Cantopop
OccupationsSinger, actress
InstrumentsVocals
Years active2005–present
Labels A Music (2004–2015)
Warner Music (2015–2023)
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese 衛蘭
Simplified Chinese 卫兰
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu Pinyin Wèi Lán
Yue: Cantonese
Jyutping Wai6 Laan4
Vidal in 2007 Janice Vidal.jpg
Vidal in 2007

Janice M. Vidal (born 13 April 1982) is a Hong Kong Cantopop singer and actress. Vidal was first discovered by music producer Mark Lui and initially began her career as a back-up singer for Leon Lai. She debuted as a solo artist in 2004 under Lai's label, Amusic, where she remained until signing with Warner Music in 2015.

Contents

She is of mixed Filipino, Chinese, and Korean descent [1] and the twin sister of singer Jill Vidal.

Biography

Vidal was born in Kowloon, Hong Kong to a Filipino father and mother of mixed Chinese and Korean descent. She worked as a bar singer under the name "Renee" [2] and joined the 2000 New Talent Singing Awards as Ming Lok Tai (明樂蒂) [3] before adopting her current Chinese name, Wai Lan (衛蘭).

Vidal admitted in a radio interview that she cannot read Chinese and uses Romanization to help her pronounce words that she sings in the recording studio.

In an interview with South China Morning Post in 2009, she stated that she had converted to Buddhism about 6 years prior. Vidal has since converted to Christianity together with her sister Jill. [4]

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. [5]

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 song, "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 sang several cover versions of Leon Lai's songs, but whose face had never been seen 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 13 April 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) newbie singer awards in 2005 that were awarded by the 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 placed fifth for Commercial Radio 2's 2005 Favorite Female Singer Award. She won 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 four-night stint at the 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. [6]

Vidal's fifth studio album, titled Morning, was released on 3 July 2009 and is her first English album consisting entirely of original compositions.

From 28 April 2007 to 13 May 2007 Madame Tussauds Hong Kong organised the "Madame Tussauds – Your Celebrity Choice for this Summer" competition with an aim to select a new wax portrayal to be displayed in the Madame Tussauds museum. [7] Vidal won the competition in May and her wax portrayal went on display in the glamour section on 18 July 2007. The statue is dressed in a green ballet dress worn during "My First Concert", which Vidal had donated. [8]

Janice Vidal released her Greatest Hits Selection + New Songs compilation disc on 27 November 2009, which comprises hit songs from her 5-year singing career and features 34 songs and 17 Music Videos.

In April 2010, Janice won the highest record sales award (female artist) at the 2009 Hong Kong IFPI Awards ceremony. In addition, her albums Serving You and Wish were also listed among the top 10 best-selling Cantonese albums of 2009.

Janice released her new Cantonese album called Love Diaries before her second concert, "Fairy Concert 2010", at the Hong Kong Coliseum on the 16 and 17 October. She also held her first MOOV live concert on 11 July 2010, where she performed five new songs from her new album as well as older classics with new arrangements. The song "What Men Believe" (男人信甚麼), with JW, won her Best Song of the Year at the TVB 2010 Jade Solid Gold Music Awards.

Discography

Studio albums

Release DateAlbum NameLanguagesCD TypeRecordingMusic Label
13 April 2005Day & NightCantonese1 Audio CDStudio Amusic
25 November 2005My LoveCantonese1 Audio CDStudioAmusic
21 November 2006Do U KnowCantonese1 Audio CD + 1 DVDStudioAmusic
27 November 2008Serving YouCantonese1 Audio CDStudioAmusic
3 July 2009MorningEnglish1 Audio CDStudioAmusic
27 November 2009Wish (New + Best Selection)Cantonese2 Audio CDsStudioAmusic
27 October 2010Love DiariesCantonese1 Audio CD + 1 DVDStudio + LiveAmusic
21 December 2012ImagineCantonese1 Audio CDStudioAmusic
28 November 2014E11Cantonese1 Audio CDStudioAmusic
29 July 2017Love and Other ThingsCantonese1 Audio CDStudioWarner Music Hong Kong
27 October 2017Janice Vidal Mandarin AlbumMandarin1 Audio CDStudioWarner Music Hong Kong
20 September 2019In His NameCantonese1 Audio CDStudioWarner Music Hong Kong
19 December 2022DaughterCantonese1 Audio CDStudioWarner Music Hong Kong

Live releases

Filmography

YearTitleRole
2006 A Melody Looking Janice
2007 The Girl Who Leapt Through Time (Cantonese translation)Makoto Konno
2010 Frozen "穎"(Wingz)
2021 Stars Academy Coach

[9] [10]

Concerts

YearDateTitleNo of ShowsLocationSponsor
200729 March – 1 AprilMy First [11] 4 Hong Kong Coliseum Hang Seng Bank Credit Card
200730 SeptemberMy First [12] 1 Guangzhou (Canton) Budweiser
20081 MayMy First1 Stadium Merdeka Celcom X-Pax
20088 NovMagic Live Concert – Janice Vidal [13] 1 Star Hall in Hong Kong International Trade and Exhibition Centre The Community Chest of Hong Kong
201016–17 OctoberFairy [14] 2 Hong Kong Coliseum IDA
201429–30 NovemberWalking to the Future2 Hong Kong Coliseum
201812–14 JanuaryOh My Janice World Tour3 Hong Kong Coliseum

Awards

YearDateAwards
200526 Dec Metro Radio I-Tech Metro Newbies Award
20061 Jan Commercial Radio Female Newbies of the Year – Gold Award
2006Jan 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
200623 Jan RTHK Best New Female Singer – Gold Award
2006JanSina Music Best Female Newbies – Gold Award
Sina Most Listened Duets – "24"
2006Apr IFPI Hong Kong – 2005 Ten Best Sales Local Artists
IFPI Hong Kong – 2005 Most Sales Female Newbies [15]
20071 Jan 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
200729th (2008) RTHK Top Ten Singers 2007
200729 JanSina Music No 3 Most Listened – "離家出走" (Run Away from Home)
Sina Music Direct Most Listened Program – Janice x Jill new album
200830th (2009) RTHK Top Ten Singers 2008
2008 Metro Radio My Most Admired Female Singer
Metro Radio Hit Song: Doesn't Matter
201030 Jan32nd (2009) RTHK Top 10 Song Award – "就算世界無童話" (If the World Has No Fairy Tales)
32nd (2009) RTHK Vocalist Award (Commonly known as Top 10 Singer, was awarded to more than 10 singers in 2009)
201026 Jan2009 Sina Music Most Listened 20 – "就算世界無童話" (If the World Has No Fairy Tales)
2009 Sina Music Most Listened Album – "Wish"
20107 Apr IFPI Hong Kong – 2009 Ten Best Sales Releases, Cantonese – Serving You
IFPI Hong Kong – 2009 Ten Best Sales Releases, Cantonese – Wish
IFPI Hong Kong – 2009 Ten Best Sales Local Artists
IFPI Hong Kong – 2009 Ten Best Sales Local Female Vocalists [16]
201029 Dec Metro Radio Hit Song: "愛在天地動搖時" (Love While the World Is Shaking)
Metro Radio Hit Duet Song: "男人信甚麼" (What Men Believe) – With JW
Metro Radio Best Female Singer
Metro Radio Best Song: "男人信甚麼" (What Men Believe) – With JW

Related Research Articles

Cantopop is a genre of pop music sung in Cantonese. Cantopop is also used to refer to the cultural context of its production and consumption. The genre began in the 1970s and became associated with Hong Kong popular music from the middle of the decade. Cantopop then reached its height of popularity in the 1980s and 1990s before slowly declining in the 2000s and shrinking in the 2010s. The term "Cantopop" itself was coined in 1978 after "Cantorock", a term first used in 1974. In the 1980s, Cantopop reached its highest glory with fanbase and concerts all over the world, especially in Macau, Mainland China, Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia, South Korea, and Japan. This was even more obvious with the influx of songs from Hong Kong movies during the time.

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References

  1. "Lessons in love, health, empowerment with Hong Kong singer Janice Vidal". Young Post. Retrieved 16 February 2023.
  2. , Star Words – Interview, East Weekly 303 Edition Book B. Retrieved 20 July 2010
  3. "衛蘭側田改名換姓運轉乾坤". The Sun. Hong Kong.
  4. Janice: Except God, I trust Leon the Most (Traditional Chinese), Oriental Daily. Retrieved 8 July 2010
  5. Janice forgive her mother not attending her concert (Simplified Chinese) [ permanent dead link ], Ta Kung Pao. Retrieved 16 October 2007 via Google cache
  6. " Is Me" press conference. Retrieved 22 December 2008
  7. Janice Vidal Overwhelms Competition in "Your Celebrity Choice for this Summer" Madame Tussauds Set to Bring Summer Freshness To Hong Kong This Season Archived 11 July 2007 at the Wayback Machine , Madame-Tussauds of Hong Kong. Retrieved 30 July 2007
  8. Janice Captures the Spirit of Summer at Madame Tussauds Hong Kong Archived 28 September 2007 at the Wayback Machine , Madame-Tussauds of Hong Kong. Retrieved 30 July 2007
  9. "Janice Vidal". IMDb. Retrieved 12 March 2010.
  10. "Janice Vidal". chinesemov.com. Retrieved 12 March 2010.
  11. Janice first concert press conference amusic.hk. Retrieved 30 August 2007
  12. Budweiser Janice My First Canton amusic.hk. Retrieved 17 September 2007
  13. Magic Live Concert (Traditional Chinese) amusic.hk. Retrieved 26 September 2008
  14. "SheIsJW" (in Chinese). Amusic. Archived from the original on 1 February 2011. Retrieved 9 July 2010.
  15. IFPI Hong Kong Top Sales Music Award 2005, IFPI Hong Kong, Retrieved on 20 July 2010 Archived 2 July 2012 at the Wayback Machine
  16. IFPI Hong Kong Top Sales Music Award 2009, IFPI Hong Kong, Retrieved on 8 July 2010 Archived 22 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine