In this Hong Kong name, the surname is Chan. In accordance with Hong Kong custom, the Western-style name is Eason Chan and the Chinese-style name is Chan Yick Shun.
Eason Chan Yick Shun (traditional Chinese: 陳奕迅; simplified Chinese: 陈奕迅; pinyin: Chén Yìxùn; born 27 July 1974) is a Hong Kong singer and actor.[3][4][5] He is one of the most popular and influential singers in both Cantopop and Mandopop. Besides holding the record for winning the "Ultimate Male Singer – Gold" award (10 times) and "My Favorite Male Singer" award (9 consecutive years) at the "Ultimate Song Chart Awards Presentation" in HK, he is also holding the record for being nominated for and winning prestigious Golden Melody Awards "Best Male Mandarin Singer" (9 times and 3 times respectively) in Taiwan. Chan was ranked sixth in the 2013 Forbes China Celebrity Top 100 List.[6][7] Chan was ranked third in Spotify Global Top Mandopop Artists of the Years 2023 and 2024. [8] By December 2024, Chan's monthly listeners in Spotify was over 4 millions.
Chan is a frequent winner of Asia's music awards. He has won a number of prestigious Golden Melody Awards in Taiwan. In 2003, he won Best Mandarin Male Singer and Best Mandarin Album for "Special Thanks To...." In 2009, he won Best Mandarin Album for "Don't Want to Let Go". Chan won his second Best Mandarin Male Singer award in 2015, for the album "Rice and Shine". In 2018, Chan was named Best Mandarin Male Singer for the third time – the most of any singer (tied with Johnny Yin) – for the album "C'mon In~".[9]
Chan has kicked off over 300 concerts all around the world since 1999. He successfully held world tours in different regions, including Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan, mainland China, Southeast Asia, Europe, North America and Australia. He was the first Chinese singer who held tour in London's O2 Arena, and the first HK singer who held solo concerts in Beijing's National Stadium (Bird's Nest). In 2014, Chan's net worth was HK$100 million.[10] In 2020, Chan was on Forbes Asia’s inaugural 100 Digital Stars list.[11] Chan was the most-streamed artist in Hong Kong on the Spotify music streaming platform from 2016 to 2021.[12][13] Since joining UMG, Chan has amassed over 75 billion streams across various platforms by 2023.[14][15]
Early life
Chan was born in Hong Kong on 27 July 1974. Chan went to England to study when he was 12. He attended St. Joseph's kindergarten and St. Joseph's College Primary School in Hong Kong, Dauntsey's School in Wiltshire, England and later Kingston University, studying architecture.[16][17] He also trained in vocals at the Royal Academy of Music, where he received Grade-8 vocal certifications.[18] Chan returned to Hong Kong before the completion of his degree to participate in the 1995 New Talent Singing Awards Competition, winning first place on July 16, 1995, and signed to Capital Artists, ending his future career as an architect while launching a career in music.[19]
Career
Chan has been praised by critics and fellow musicians alike as one of the top singers of his generation. Since the very beginning of his career, he has been one of the favourites to lead the new generation of Cantopop.[20] He has been described as a breath of fresh air in the HK music scene.[21][22] In the 2000s, Chan emerged as the leading male singer of his generation, fulfilling his role as an innovator and a leader in the HK music scene, winning prestigious awards one after another.[23][24][25]
His Cantonese album "U87", named after his favourite microphone and released in 2005, was labeled by Time magazine as one of the five Asian albums worth buying.[27] "U87" was the top selling non-concert, non-collection category album in Hong Kong in 2005.[28] He was Hong Kong's highest selling male artist in 2002, 2003 and 2007. He has been one of Hong Kong's top selling artists every year since 2000.[29] His concert DVD "Get a Life" was the highest selling album of 2006.
Chan has also been successful in his work in the Mandopop scene.[30][31] He has won numerous awards in both mainland China and Taiwan, most notably Taiwan's Golden Melody Awards. He is the second non-Taiwanese singer, after Jacky Cheung, to win Taiwan's Golden Melody Awards. He won "Best Male Mandarin Singer" third, in 2003, 2015 and 2018, "Album of the Year" twice in 2003 and 2018, and "Best Mandarin Album" in 2009.
His album "Admit It" was nominated for Golden Melody Awards' Best Male Singer; although it was ultimately won by Gary Chaw. Next year, he was again nominated for Golden Melody Awards' Best Male Singer, for his work in Mandarin album "Don't Want To Let Go", although the award went to Jay Chou. However, Chan won Album of The Year for "Don't Want To Let Go".
Eason Chan in 2008
Chan has won a number of Asian music awards as well. He won his first Asia Pacific's Most Popular Singer Award in 2007, and again in 2008.
Chan has been named by Chinese critics as the next God of Songs (歌神) after Jacky Cheung.[32][33] However, Eason has more than once clarified that he wishes to build his own name instead, and not just be the successor of Jacky Cheung.[34][35] Chan and Cheung sung a duet together, titled 天下太平, on the album "Perfect Match", released in April 2006. Chan and Cheung collaborated on other occasions as well.
In 2009, Chan performed in "PAX Musica 2009" in Tokyo. He sang seven songs, including a Japanese song by Koji Tamaki called "Mr. Lonely". This was his first time performing in Japan publicly. Japanese Musician Ikurō Fujiwara praised Chan for his charisma on stage and expressed hope to collaborate with Chan in the future. Chan planned to promote his musical works in Japan in 2010.
In 2011, Chan released a new Cantonese album titled "Stranger Under My Skin" on 22 February.[36] Released in November, Chan's Mandarin album titled "?" features a piano performance by his seven-year-old daughter.[37]
Chan released the "...3mm" Cantonese album on 10 August 2012 followed by a remix version of the album, titled "...3mm Remix" releasing on 8 November 2012. It was an album by Eric Kwok and Jerald Chan in composing music, including the number one songs "Finish" (完) and "Heavy taste" (重口味). At the same time, Chan opened his own music production company, EAS Music.
In 2014, Chan received Honorary Doctor of Arts degree for accomplishments in the Cantonese music industry from Kingston University, where he studied architecture before entering the entertainment industry.[19]
In 2015, Chan released a Cantonese album "Preparing" 《準備中》, which contained the number one song "Unconditional" (無條件). Chan received multiple awards for the work.
In 2017, Chan released a Mandarin album, "C'mon In~ ", which was awarded at the 29th Golden Melody Awards for Album of the Year and Best Male Mandarin Singer. Besides holding the record for winning Best Male Mandarin Singer (tying the record of Taiwanese singer Johnny Yin), he also became the Hong Kong singer with the most awards for that category.
Chan in 2018
In 2018, Chan released album "L.O.V.E." (mainly in Cantonese), which was successful in Taiwan's 30th Golden Melody Awards, winning nominations to three major awards: Song of the Year, Album of the Year, and Producer of the Year, Album. Ultimately, the album's producer, Carl Wong, won the "Producer of the Year, Album" award. This was the first time in the history of the Golden Melody Awards that a Cantonese album won this award.
Chan’s Mandarin single "Warrior of the Darkness" (孤勇者), released in November 2021 for Riot Games' series Arcane : League of Legends Season 1, was super hit and skyrocketed to become a phenomenon in the Mandarin music market. On top of Mandopop fans, it was exceptionally popular among the kids.[38] With less than two years since its release, the song has garnered over 8.4 billion streams, making it the biggest digital song in UMG China’s history. [39]
Chan performing in Guangzhou in 2024
More than 28 years after Chan's debut, he kept releasing new album, "Chin Up!", and going on his "Fear and Dreams" world tour in 2023. “Homo Sapiens”, a Cantonese song from "Chin Up!", was awarded at the 34th Golden Melody Awards for Best Lyrics. This was the first time that a Cantonese song won this award.
Chan released a Chinese theme song again for Riot Games' series Arcane: League of Legends Season 2 in November 2024. The song "Isha's Song" (這樣很好) was featured in the official Arcane Season Two soundtrack.
Concerts
Chan has held eight major theme concert series at the famous Hong Kong Coliseum starting from 1999. His first series of four concerts at the Coliseum, Eason's 99 Big Live, came four years after his debut in 1995. That amount of time was considered short for a new singer to gain general approval and public support needed to perform at such a prestigious venue. Two years later in 2001, Chan held a series of nine The Easy Ride concerts under the wing of his second record company, Music Plus. In 2003, he held a series of seven The Third Encounter concerts with the support of Music Plus. In the spring of 2006, after a year of rest and another change of record company, Chan held his fourth theme concert series, a total of nine Get a Life concerts. A year later, Chan broke his own record while holding his fifth series of concerts named Eason's Moving on Stage. During October and November 2007, he completed a total of 16 hugely successful Chan's Moving on Stage1 concerts.[40]
Chan embarked another series of concerts at Hong Kong Coliseum, named DUO (18 shows), Eason's Life (25 shows), and Fear and Dreams (27 shows) in 2010, 2013 and 2022 respectively. As of January 2023, Chan held over 110 concerts at Hong Kong Coliseum.
Months after his Moving On Stage Concerts came to finish, Chan began another tour in mainland China, called "Ninety Minutes of Bliss". Instead of playing at grand venues, Chan played at smaller venues in order to get closer to his fans. He completed two concerts in Nanjing and three more in Shanghai before and during Christmas 2009. Two more concerts were held in Beijing on 29 and 30 May in 2010.
In between his tours, Chan held his sixth record-breaking Theme Concerts at the Hong Kong Coliseum for a total of 18 concerts, scheduled from 20 March to 6 April 2010. This new series was called Duo Eason Chan 2010 Concert (《DUO陳奕迅2010演唱會》).
After the May "Ninety Minutes of Bliss" concerts in Beijing, Chan went to Europe for his first European tour scheduled. He visited three cities over the course of 5 days: London, Manchester, and Rotterdam. The venues for the three concerts were, respectively, Royal Albert Hall, Manchester Apollo and Rotterdam Ahoy. Tickets to his London and Manchester concerts were each sold out within hours of ticket release. Chan is the second Hong Kong singer after Roman Tam to perform in the prestigious Royal Albert Hall.[47]
At Chan's concert in Beijing on 29 September 2011 at the Beijing Workers' Stadium, Faye Wong made a special guest appearance, surprising many as Wong had not previously accepted any invitations to appear as a special guest at another singer's concert; this was the first time that she did so.[48]
Continuing his Duo Eason Chan 2010 Concert World Tour, Chan made his second appearance in London, the O2 Arena on 23 April 2012.[49] He became the first Chinese artist playing in the O2 stage. The concert was sold out in twenty minutes to 12,000 fans crashing the venue's web servers. [50][51]
In 2015, Chan held his 100th show of Another Eason Life's World Tour in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, on 4 December 2015. This was the first time ever that a Hongkongese singer performed at the Centre Bell. The tour ended late in 2016, as he took a break from concert touring.
In September 2017, Chan began a new tour called Eason Says C'mon in~Tour, which was noted for performing in small stadiums like Macpherson Stadium, Hong Kong, which could only seat about 2,500 people.[52] This tour was to promote his new album “C’mon in~”, visiting 18 cities around the world, with 19 shows held across Asia, Europe, America, which was never been done before by any Hong Kong artist.[53]
On 21 November 2019, it was announced that Fear and Dreams concerts would be cancelled because of unstable circumstances in Hong Kong.[54]Fear and Dreams tour resumed in Hong Kong Coliseum from 9 December, 2022 to January 2023, marking him performing as a solo act in the venue since Eason's Life tour in 2013. Fear and Dream world tour embarked in April 2023. The tour, so far, covered Taiwan, South East Asia, North America, Macau, and mainland China. He was the first Asian singer performing at Chase Center, San Francisco.[55]
On May 25, 2024, after play the 100th show of the Fear and Dreams tour and the fourth of six shows in Hangzhou, Chan announced in person that the next two shows, scheduled for May 25 and 26, will be postponed to May 27 and 28 because his doctors had advised him to rest his vocal chords. His voice was hoarse when he spoke. The two shows were postponed again when Chan shared on Weibo on May 26 that his vocal chords have not improved. The new dates are to be determined.[56] Chan had to postpone his shows again when he fainted from heatstroke while playing tennis outdoor on June 10. He fractured his cheekbone and suffered a deep cut on his chin that required 30 stitches; recovery was estimated to be three weeks. As a result, his six upcoming shows in Chongqing in June were postponed to 2025.[57] The tour resumed in August 2024 after recovery.
Musical
On 18 and 19 August 2005, Chan performed the musicalWrestling with God (人神鬥), the second programme of Love Music Tour 2005 organised by Netvigator. He was the actor and producer. Stars featured in the show included famous comedian Jim Chim (詹瑞文), singer Wilfred Lau (劉浩龍), Taiwanese singer Mavis Fan (范曉萱), Best Supporting Actress Winner of the 23rd Hong Kong Film AwardsJosie Ho (何超儀), pop duoat17 and Soler. The story was about the competition among different angels (played by the featured stars) to protect the only man alive in the world (played by Eason Chan). The secret guest, veteran singer George Lam (林子祥), played Chan's late father. The audience were impressed by the performers, who told the story through song and dance.
Charity work
Chan has been appointed as Orbis International's Sight Ambassador in Hong Kong since 2006. He has travelled to India and Sichuan, China, visiting kids and elders with visual impairment, to raise funds for Orbis.[58] Chan has also been an active participant in Hong Kong's fundraising campaigns such as the 2003 fundraiser for SARS victims and the 2008 fundraiser for Sichuan earthquake victims.
In 2018, Chan led the band, Eason and the duo band, to hold a charity concert “L.O.V.E. is L.I.V.E.” for the needy from several charitable organizations to deliver positive energy to the society.
In July 2020, Chan held the online charity concert, The Live Is So Much Better With Music Eason Chan Charity Concert, in an open area next to K11 Musea in the early morning, and at the Hong Kong Coliseum in the late afternoon in support of the Hong Kong Live Performance and Production Industry Association. Chan performed in an empty stadium due to the COVID-19 restrictions.[60]
Personal life
In 2002, Chan suffered a severe groin injury when he fell off the stage during his concert in Taiwan. As a result, one of his testicles had to be surgically removed. He has since then fully recovered.[61]
In 2006, he married former actress Hilary Tsui (徐濠縈) with whom he has a daughter, Constance, born 2004.[62] When Constance was about 2 years old, she was featured on the cover of Life Continues album. In 2012, there was rumour about their marriage was faltering due to Tsui's drug scandal. The couple held a press conference to deny all rumours and allegations.[63]
In 2013, Chan revealed he had suffered from bipolar disorder and phobia of large crowds during the 11th night of his "Life Concert 2013".[64] In 2020, Chan has been appointed as the "Shall We Talk" initiative's ambassador to promote mental health and arouse public attention to mental well-being. His classic Canto-pop song, "Shall We Talk", has been chosen as the theme song.[65]
Support for Xinjiang-sourced cotton
On 25 March 2021, Chan's company, My Kan Wonderland Limited announced on Weibo that the company would "resolutely boycott any behaviour vilifying China" and that the company would terminate its role as a brand ambassador for Adidas, leading to public backlash against Chan.[66][67] The announcement came after Adidas and other members of the Better Cotton Initiative had publicly resolved to not use cotton sourced from Xinjiang[66][68] and also following a BBC investigation that found that Uyghur forced labor was being used in the production of cotton in the region.[67][69] The South China Morning Post reported that, after the announcement was made, Chan's Facebook page, which did not mention the boycott, was flooded with "thousands [of] comments sharply critical of the move" and that "[a]ccording to the United Nations, human rights groups and victim testimonials, China has placed at least 1 million Uygurs and other ethnic minorities in high security camps, where they are subjected to indoctrination, torture and forced labour."[66] China maintains that claims of forced labor in Xinjiang are "entirely fabricated".[67]
Eason Chan at the CCTV-MTV music award ceremony in Beijing in July 2002
Over 20 years since his debut, he has released more than 40 albums and won numerous renowned awards in Hong Kong, Taiwan, mainland China and Southeast Asia.
In Hong Kong, Chan is the big winner of music awards. He is holding the record for winning major awards in CRHK's "Ultimate Song Chart Awards Presentation", including nine times of "Supreme Grand Prix du Disque" (叱咤樂壇至尊唱片大獎); seven times of "Grand Song Award" (叱咤樂壇至尊歌曲大獎) for "K Song King" (2000), "Magnificent Sunset" (2005), "Seven Hundred Years Later" (2009), "Flavours" (2012), "The Wind Took" (2013), "Unconditional" (2015) and “Four Seasons" (2016); ten times of "Ultimate Male Singer Gold"; nine consecutive times of "My Most Favorite Male Singer"; and five times of "My Most Favorite Song" awards.
Chan is also holding the record for winning “Most Outstanding Male Singer" award for 13 consecutive years, and "Global Chinese Gold Song" award (全球華人至尊金曲獎) for ten times in RTHK's Top Ten Chinese Gold Songs Award. Chan has won a number of TVB's "Top Ten Golden Melody Awards", Male Singer of the Year awards and Album Of The Year awards. Chan is highly recognized by media for his distinguished achievements in Cantopop, and is holding the record for winning five times of "Four Channels - Media Award" (四台聯頒傳媒大獎).
In 2005, Chan's Cantonese album "U87" was named one of Time magazine's "Five Asian Albums Worth Buying". This album not only won the top sale of Cantonese Album, but also won six awards in "Ultimate Song Chart Awards Presentation".
Back in 1998, the songs "My Happy Times" and "Odyssey" gave a boost to Chan's career. In subsequent years, "God Bless Sweetheart", "Shall We Dance? Shall We Talk!" and songs brought Chan a number of awards. In 2004, Chan's career was troubled by contractual issues. When Chan changed to Cinepoly in 2005, songs such as "Magnificent Sunset" brought him further awards. In 2006 and 2007, the songs "Crazy", "Mount Fuji" and "Crying in the Party" were award-winning. In 2008, the song "The road has been in ..." increased Chan's audience and won awards. In 2009, the album "H3M" and the songs "Seven Hundred Years" and "Salon" were successful. He has been one of China's best-selling artists since 2000 and has won many prestigious awards. In 2013, the song The Wind Took won an award.
In Taiwan, Chan has won a number of prestigious Golden Melody Awards. In 2003, he won Best Mandarin Male Singer and Best Mandarin Album for "Special Thanks To...." In 2009, he won Best Mandarin Album again for "Don't Want to Let Go". Chan won his second Best Mandarin Male Singer award in 2015, for the album "Rice and Shine". In 2018, Chan was named Best Mandarin Male Singer for the third time – the most of any singer (tied with Johnny Yin) – for the album "C'mon In~". He is the only one Hong Kong singer who has won this award for three times.
Special Thanks To... (Mandarin,2002) – Won "Best Male Singer" & "Best Album of the year" in Golden Melody Awards, he is the only singer to win these two awards in the same year
Five-star home 五星級的家 (Cantonese, 2002)
The Line-Up (Cantonese, 2002)
Black. White. Grey 黑白灰 (Mandarin, 2003) – Nominated for "Best Male Singer" in Golden Melody Awards, Sky Wu was the winner
Live For Today (Cantonese, 2003)
Seven 七 (Mandarin, 2003)
I Had a Great Time (No release)
U87 (Cantonese, Mandarin, 2005) – Recommended by Time magazine as one of the five best Asian albums worth buying
Don't Want To Let Go 不想放手 (Mandarin, 2008) – Won "Best Album of the year" & nominated for "Best Male Singer" in Golden Melody Awards, Jay Chou was the winner
H³M (Cantonese, 2009)
5th Floor's Happiness 上五樓的快活 (Mandarin, English, Hokkien, 2009) – Nominated for "Best Male Singer" in Golden Melody Awards, David Tao was the winner
In 2010, Chan participated in the romantic comedy film "Love in Space" with Aaron Kwok, Kwai Lun Mei and René Liu. In 2011, Chan participated in the film "Mr And Mrs Single" with Michelle Bai, playing a couple who met again after divorce, found themselves remarried. He voiced Po in the Cantonese version of Kungfu Panda in 2015. He also starred in a musical film "Office" with Chow Yun Fat, which was directed by Johnnie To. In 2016, he played Ma Li in Zhang Jiajia's 2016 movie See You Tomorrow, which was produced by Wong Kar-wai. He played a wasted rockstar who re-discovered his love for music after a heartbreak. In 2017, he played a school principal in the movie "Our Shining Days", and also sang the film's theme song.
In 2017, his leading role in a TV drama series My Very Short Marriage received lots of positive feedback from the professional movie critics and public.
^Watson, Rana Wehbe. "Forbes Asia's 100 Digital Stars". Forbes. Archived from the original on 28 November 2023. Retrieved 3 January 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
^Garger, Ilya; Perry, Alex; Shum, Keane; Tedjasukmana, Jason (5 September 2005). "Five Asian Albums Worth Buying". Time. Archived from the original on 12 September 2012. Retrieved 5 September 2005.
In 2010, the list started to include Chinese celebrities born in Hong Kong, Taiwan, and other countries. Prior to that it only included celebrities born in mainland China.
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