Joey Yung
Joey Yung (Chinese: 容祖兒; Cantonese Yale: Yùhng Jóuyìh, pinyin: Róng Zǔ'ér; born 16 June 1980) is a Hong Kong singer signed to Emperor Entertainment Group. Since her debut in 1996, Yung has won numerous awards, including the JSG Most Popular Female Singer and Ultimate Best Female Singer – Gold awards a record-breaking nine times. She was ranked 63rd on the 2014 Forbes China Celebrity 100, making her the most influential Hong Kong-based female singer that year.[1] In 2014, she reportedly earned HK$80 million (US$10.3 million).[2]
In this Chinese name, the family name is Yung.
Joey Yung
16 June 1980
Hong Kong Institute of Vocational Education, Diploma in Tourism
- Singer
- actress
1996–present
Róng Zǔ'ér
Róng Zǔ'ér
ㄖㄨㄥˊ ㄗㄨˇ ㄦˊ
Yùhng Jóuyìh
Jung4 Zou2Ji4
- Joey
- Cho B (祖B)
- Jo-Jo (祖祖)
Hong Kong
Vocals, Piano, Guitar
Early life[edit]
Yung was born on 16 June 1980 at Yan Chai Hospital in Tsuen Wan elder to one brother.[3] She has ancestral roots from Xinhui, Guangdong.[4] She attended Ma On Shan Lutheran Primary School, where she was classmates with Wong Cho-lam in her sixth grade.
At the age of fifteen, Yung competed in the Big Echo Karaoke Singing Contest and was subsequently signed by Go East Entertainment Co., Ltd. As an artist under Go East, she recorded the song "The First Time I Want to be Drunk" as a theme song for a film but did not gain much recognition and was dropped by the label not long after. She continued to attend school while working as a clerk and helping her mother manage a fashion boutique. Later, an ex-colleague from Go East introduced her to Pony Canyon. However, not long after she joined the company, Pony Canyon shut down its Hong Kong branch.
Career[edit]
1998–1999: Debut[edit]
In 1998, Yung signed with the Hong Kong record label Fitto Entertainment. In 1999, she was sent abroad for training and began to receive singing lessons from Teresa Carpio and Roman Tam, whom she accompanied on concert tours to gain experience as a performer. By that point, she had graduated from the Hong Kong Institute of Vocational Education with a diploma in tourism.
On 30 September 1999, she released her debut EP, EP 1 Joey. It sold 130,000 copies in Hong Kong and remained on the IFPI Album Charts for 2.3 weeks.
2000–2009[edit]
In February 2000, Yung's apartment in Happy Valley was destroyed in a fire.[5] That year, she made her first film appearance in Winner Takes All and her first television drama appearance in The Green Hope. She also released her second EP, titled EP 2 Can't Afford to Miss, and her first studio album, Who Will Love Me. At the same time, she fronted campaigns for several brands including Four Seas, the Red Cross, and Netvigator, and held her first concert, Joey Yung's 'See You Everywhere' Live Concert, at the Hong Kong Coliseum.
In 2001, Yung released her first compilation album Love Joey, which became the best-selling album of the year, followed by two Cantonese albums, All Summer Holiday and Solemn on Stage. In November, she held her second live concert and first concert series, H2O+ 'Solemn on Stage' Joey Yung Live in Concert 2001 at the Hong Kong Coliseum. She launched her singing career in Taiwan with the release of her first Mandarin album Honestly.
In 2002, she traveled abroad for two months to undergo dancing lessons, returning to Hong Kong to release the Cantonese album Something About You. She then became the spokesperson of Nissin and Nikon. On 11 October, she released the Mandarin album One Person's Love Song, and at the end of the year, she released her second compilation album, Love Joey 2.
In 2003, Yung's became well known for the song "My Pride" (我的驕傲) (the theme song of the TV commercial for Banyan Garden developed by Cheung Kong Holdings), released on 25 March on the album of the same name. That year, she became the spokesperson of a slimming parlour, losing some baby fat and presenting a new image. She released the album Show Up! on 30 September and held her third concert, Show Up! Live at the Hong Kong Coliseum. On 17 December, she released the Mandarin album Sola Portrait (獨照). At the end of the year, she dominated all the major Hong Kong music awards ceremonies, winning a handful of prestigious awards, including the JSG Most Popular Female Singer award and the Gold Song-Gold award (金曲金獎) at the JSG Best Ten Music Awards Presentation for "My Pride." She also won her first Best Female Singer-Gold award at the CRHK Music Awards, becoming the award's youngest ever recipient, and the Media Award for the artist who had accumulated the most awards from the four music award ceremonies in Hong Kong. Following this, she began the Show Up World Tour, which included dates in Canada, Australia, the United States, Mainland China, Macau, and Malaysia.
Personal life[edit]
In June 2012, Wilfred Lau publicly announced their relationship which Yung subsequently confirmed.[17][18] They broke up in 2018.[19] She has openly expressed a pro-establishment stance during the 2019-2020 Hong Kong Protests and was featured prominently in a video campaign by the People’s Daily to "oppose violence" and "rebuild Hong Kong."[20] In March 2021, Yung posted on Weibo, expressing her support for cotton made in Xinjiang, after companies suspended purchasing of cotton from there due to human rights concerns.[21]