This article is about the Taiwanese singer and actress. For the American cancer researcher, see Angela Zhang (scientist). For the Chinese electrical engineer, see Ying Jun Zhang.
Zhang gained recognition with the Taiwanese television dramas My MVP Valentine (2002) and At Dolphin Bay (2003). Since 2004, following the instant success of her first album, Over the Rainbow, she has focused on her singing career, releasing popular albums like Aurora (2004) and Pandora (2006),[4][5] along with starring in another hit TV drama, Romantic Princess (2007). Her career was derailed in 2008 by a public row with her family, which was further worsened by a falling out with her label, Linfair Records. She did not revive her career until the Hunan TV reality show Singer 2018, where she participated as both a host and contestant. Since then, she has shifted her focus to mainland China.
Early life
Zhang was born into an ethnic Hakka family from Zhongli, Taoyuan, Taiwan, as the eldest of three children. She has a sister, Connie Chang Shao-hsuan, and a brother, Carson Chang Po-yu, who is the youngest of the three. Zhang's maternal grandfather was ethnic Uyghur,[6] with the rest of her family Hakka.[7] At the age of ten, Zhang moved to Singapore to study. After a few months, she returned to Taiwan because she "was not able to adapt (to life) there". At 12, she and her family migrated to Vancouver, where she attended Sir Winston Churchill Secondary School.[7] She moved back to Taiwan at 19.
Career
Zhang gained recognition when played a leading role in the Taiwanese television drama My MVP Valentine with Taiwanese boy band 5566, followed by a leading role in another Taiwanese television drama At Dolphin Bay with Taiwanese actor Wallace Huo, in which she also sang the ending theme song (Yi Shi De Mei Hao) and English song (Journey). She has been nominated twice for Best Actress at Golden Bell Awards. She also has been nominated twice for Best Mandarin Female Singer at Golden Melody Awards. In 2010, Zhang became a spokesperson of Shanghai Expo 2010 and sang the theme song "The Window of the City". Zhang performed at the first Formula 1 Festival in Shanghai.[8]
Controversy
In 2008 Zhang was diagnosed with mitral valve prolapse and disappeared from the public eye, traveling between Taiwan and Canada for medical treatment.[9] During her break from the showbiz, her mother Jiang Rouyi, her father Zhang Zhihong, and her uncle Jiang Lile spoke out against her in a magazine interview in 2009. Her family claimed that she neglected parental support, abused alcohol and drug and came out as gay. Zhang counterclaimed that her mother took off with her savings amounting to NT$100 million (approximately $3.41 million). Zhang also presented her drug test results to prove her innocence. Zhang's sister and brother stood by her.[10] On January 19, 2011, which marked Angela Zhang’s 29th birthday, her parents, uncle, and grandmother got into a street brawl while meeting with Zhang’s brother, who was serving in the military, along with his friend.[11]
Zhang's career did not revive from the prolonged family row until her participation in the reality show Singer 2018, after which her uncle again accused Zhang of unfilialness, claiming that she had promised to provide NT$60,000 per month to support her parents and to buy each of them a house, but failed to fulfill these commitments. According to her uncle, her father was living in poverty, burdened with debts of NT$500,000 to NT$600,000 and struggling to afford food, while her mother had to work as a low-paid domestic worker in Vietnam to make ends meet.[12]
Names in Bold indicate the winning singer, while Italics indicate the runner-up singer. Singers are listed based on their original season appearances, returning singers (who participated in seasons 5 or 8) are not repeated.
Singers participated in groups are listed in parentheses. Initial singers first listed in order of official announcement, followed by Substitute/Challenge Singers in order of appearance.
