Cheer Chen

Cheer Chen or Chen Chi-chen (Chinese: 陳綺貞; pinyin: Chén Qǐzhēn; born 6 June 1975) is a Taiwanese singer-songwriter. Her most recent album, Sofa Sea, was released in 2018.

This is a Chinese name; the family name is Chen.

Cheer Chen
Chen performing during the Ego Acoustic Tour in Hong Kong, April 2017.
Born
Chen Chi-chen

(1975-06-06) 6 June 1975
Taipei, Taiwan
NationalityTaiwan
Alma materNational Chengchi University
OccupationSinger, songwriter
Years active1997–present
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese陳綺貞
Simplified Chinese陈绮贞
Musical career
GenresIndie, rock, folk
InstrumentsVocals, guitar, piano
LabelsMagic Stone, Rock, Team Ear
Websitecheerego.com

Early life

Chen was born on 6 June 1975 in Taipei. Her mother supported her interest in music from an early age.[1] Chen is an alumna of Taipei Municipal Jingmei Girls' Senior High School (臺北市立景美女子高級中學) and National Chengchi University (國立政治大學).[2][3] Her song "Little School Song" (Chinese: 小小校歌) is generally regarded as the unofficial theme song of Jingmei Girls' Senior High School.[4]

Career

Chen was the singer and guitarist in an underground band called Sunscreen (防曬油) in the 1990s. She produced her first solo demo recordings in 1997. At an early a pub show, Chen was noticed and praised by notable Taiwanese rock musician Wu Bai.[5] In 1997 she signed with Rock Records and her debut album Think Twice was released in July 1998, while she was still an undergraduate student at National Chengchi University.[6] She graduated from that university with a Bachelor of Philosophy degree.[6]

Chen is frequently involved in community volunteer activities.[7] She was the first female singer-composer to perform on the stage of Taipei Arena. Chen has also appeared on stage several times with the Taiwanese band Mayday. Singer Ashin (陳信宏) of Mayday said of Chen, "I think that Cheer is a fantastic lyricist, her lyrics appear to be a soft knife that looks harmless but is actually sharp."[8][9][10] Most of Chen's songs are in Mandarin Chinese, and occasionally in English. She writes most of her own music and lyrics. She plays acoustic guitar on most of her songs, and occasionally electric guitar and piano.[6]

Chen's 2002 album Groupies was named one of the 200 best albums of all time by the Taiwanese Musician Institute.[11] Chen left Rock Records in 2003 and has since released her records independently. In 2004-2005 she appeared in advertisements for Lee Jeans with Stanley Huang.[12] A song she wrote for the commercials appeared on her fourth album Peripeteia in 2006. That album won the Best Music Album Producer Award and Best Music Video Award at the 17th Golden Melody Awards. Chen was also nominated for Best Female Singer and Best Album of the Year.[13][14] In 2010 she was nominated for another Golden Melody Award for Best Songwriter.[15]

In 2009, Chen became a spokesperson for Nikon cameras. In 2010 she was featured in an Adidas commercial alongside worldwide celebrities like Hyori Lee, David Beckham, and Oasis.[16] In 2011 she became the spokesperson for Sokenbicha herbal drink for the Taiwanese market.[17]

In 2009, Chen released her fifth album Immortal, which was recorded in her bedroom. The album was mastered by Grammy Award winner Bernie Grundman and was named one of the Top 10 Selling Mandarin Albums of the Year at the 2009 IFPI Hong Kong Album Sales Awards.[18] The album was supported by an Asian and Australian tour that lasted until 2011.

In 2012, Chen formed an electronic/experimental music project with producer Tiger Chung called The Verse (originally The Voice). She has incorporated some songs from this project into her solo concerts.[19] Chen released the album Songs of Transience in 2013.[20] After taking a hiatus from music for several years, she released her seventh album Sofa Sea in December 2018.[21]

Personal life

Chen had been in a relationship with music producer Tiger Chung (鐘成虎) for more than a decade until 2019.[22][23]

Discography

Studio albums
Title Album details Track listing
Think Twice
讓我想一想
Track listing
  1. 讓我想一想 Think Twice
  2. 微涼的你 September
  3. 會不會 Will You
  4. 情歌 Love Song
  5. 和你在一起 With You
  6. 嫉妒 Jealous
  7. 孤島 Island
  8. 孩子 Miss Children
  9. 天使 Devil
  10. 漫漫長夜 Longly Longly Night
Lonely Without You
還是會寂寞
Track listing
  1. 越洋電話
  2. 我的驕傲無可救藥
  3. 還是會寂寞
  4. 下午三點
  5. 溫室花朵
  6. 午餐的約會
  7. 等待
  8. 慢歌3
  9. 告訴我
  10. 慢歌1
  11. 靈感
Groupies
吉他手
Track listing
  1. 我親愛的偏執狂
  2. 太聰明
  3. 小步舞曲
  4. 1234567
  5. 隨便說說
  6. 躺在你的衣櫃 - Guitar
  7. A Practice
  8. 吉他手
  9. 黑眼圈
  10. 就算全世界與我為敵
  11. 小塵埃
  12. 不應該
  13. 躺在你的衣櫃 - Piano
Peripeteia
華麗的冒險
Track listing
  1. 旅行的意義 Travel's Meaningful
  2. 腐朽 Decay
  3. Sentimental Kills
  4. 華麗的冒險 Adventure
  5. 太多 Too Much
  6. 花的姿態 Flower gesture
  7. Self
  8. 80%完美的日子 80% Perfect Days
  9. 表面的和平 Surface
  10. 靜靜的生活 Quie Life
  11. 最初的起點 Initial start point
Immortal
太陽
Track listing
  1. 手的預言
  2. 狂戀
  3. 太陽
  4. 魚
  5. 距離
  6. 倔強愛情的勝利
  7. 失敗者的飛翔
  8. 下個星期去英國
  9. 另一種平靜
  10. 煙火
  11. 一首歌，讓你帶回去
Songs of Transience
時間的歌
Track listing
  1. 時間的歌 （Song of Transience）
  2. 漣漪 （Ripple）
  3. 柏拉圖式的愛情 （Prototype）
  4. Peace and Revolution
  5. 雨水一盒 （A Box Full of Rain）
  6. 秋天蒙太奇 （Autumn Montage）
  7. 流浪者之歌 （Gypsy In Memory）
  8. 倒數 （Count Down）
  9. 沙漏 （View with a Grain of Sand）
  10. 普魯斯特行動　（Proustification）
  11. 別送我回家 （Walk Home）
  12. 家 （Home）
Sofa Sea
沙發海
Track listing
  1. 傷害 （Hurt）
  2. 小船 （Impressionism）
  3. 殘缺的彩虹 （Imperfect Rainbow）
  4. 台北某個地方 （Somewhere,Taipei）
  5. 沙發海 （Sofa Sea）
  6. 跳舞吧 （Loser）
  7. 她說 （She Says）
  8. 華生 （Bromance）
  9. 變色龍 （Chameleon）
  10. 觀察者 （Obsever）
  11. Bonus Track 神魂顛倒 （Kim's Ready Demo）

Verse discography
  1. 52 Hertz 52赫茲 (23 January 2013)

Demo CDs
  1. Demo1 (September 1997)
  2. Demo2 - Cheer's Walkman (March 2000)
  3. Demo3 (9 November 2001)
  4. Demo4 (12 December 2011)

Singles
  1. Track 1 - "Sentimental Kills" (15 November 2003)
  2. Track 2 - "Travel with Sound" ("旅行的意義") (24 March 2004)
  3. Track 3 - "After 17" (31 December 2004), also included a track composed for Jing-mei Girls' Senior High School - 小小校歌
  4. Track 4 - "Pussy" (8 February 2007)
  5. Track 5 - "Fly for You" ("失敗者的飛翔") (13 July 2008)
  6. Track 6 - "Ephemera" ("蜉蝣") (5 October 2011)
  7. Track 7 - "The Long Goodbye" ("偶然與巧合") (1 December 2014)

Compilation albums
  1. Cheer Chen - Princess From East '01 (21 June 2001)
  2. Rock Records HK Golden Decade Classics - The Best of Cheer Chen (October 2002)
  3. Cheer 1998-2005 (March 2005)

DVDs
  1. Sixteen Days Cheer's Frame-001 (October 2005)
  2. Cheer's Flowers Concert Classic Memoirs + 2 CDs (May 2007)
  3. Cheer Looks: Cheer's Adventurous Image Diary - Cheer's Frame-002 (September 2007)
  4. Immortal Tour (May 2010)
  5. A Piece Of Summer II World Tour (September 2012)

Unreleased songs
  1. Solitude (孤獨) Partially included as a hidden track after the last song(#10) in the first official album Think Twice Taiwan version
  2. A Practice (每天都是一種練習) Partially included as a short track(#7) in the third official album Groupies
  3. Monsoon (季風) Lyrics by Tiger Chung

Published works
  1. 《不厭其煩》(Bú Yàn Qí Fán) - collection of lomography with short notes (5 November 2001)
  2. LIVE.LIFE 《現場·生活》 2006 Calendar (December 2005)
  3. Placeless Place 《不在他方》(Bú Zài Tā Fāng) - a collection of essays written by Cheer published together with a newly released single "Chance or Coincidence / 偶然與巧合" (1 December 2014)

Notes and references
  1. 陈绮贞解读：从独立到文艺的华丽蜕变 Retrieved in 2016-08-27
  2. 陈绮贞创作展在即 22年前高中制服将展出 Retrieved in 2016-08-27
  3. 陈绮贞首次翻唱张雨生 感恩张父水蜜桃 Retrieved 2017-01-02
  4. 小小校歌 景美岁月 Retrieved 2017-01-02
  5. 陈绮贞曾在地下通道卖唱 被伍佰称赞"像幅画" Retrieved in 2016-08-30
  6. hermes (9 April 2018). "Taiwan's Cheer Chen presents stripped-down acoustic show for 20th year in showbiz". The Straits Times. Retrieved 14 April 2020.
  7. "The Ambassadors for World Vision 22nd 30-Hour-Famine". Central Daily News Taiwan. 13 May 2011. Archived from the original on 25 July 2011. Retrieved 14 May 2011.
  8. 因為我覺得 綺貞的歌詞寫的非常棒，綺貞的歌詞是柔軟的刀子，看來無害但是鋒利。
  9. "Eloping to the Moon on Sina Blog". Mayday Ashin. blog.sina.com.tw.
  10. "Ashin on the lyrics to Eloping to the Moon".
  11. "台灣流行音樂200最佳專輯". www.books.com.tw. Retrieved 14 April 2020.
  12. "Cheer Lee Jeans Ad | aomoon.com". www.aomoon.com. Retrieved 14 April 2020.
  13. "Cheer up with Cheer Chen| March 23_EYESHENZHEN". www.eyeshenzhen.com. Retrieved 14 April 2020.
  14. "17th Golden Melody Award Nomination List". The Government Information Office of Taiwan R.O.C. Archived from the original on 10 March 2012.
  15. "21st Golden Melody Award Nomination List". The Government Information Office of Taiwan R.O.C. Archived from the original on 10 March 2012.
  16. "The Street Where Originality Lives". The Inspiration Room. 28 March 2010. Retrieved 14 April 2020.
  17. "Cheer Chen". www.chinesegirls3000.com. Retrieved 14 April 2020.
  18. IFPI Hong Kong 2009 IFPI Hong Kong Album Sales Awards winners list Archived 2011-07-22 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved 2011-04-19
  19. "Cheer up with Cheer Chen| March 23_What's On-Shenzhen Government Online". www.sz.gov.cn. Retrieved 14 April 2020.
  20. hermes (9 February 2018). "Gigs Picks: Cheer Chen, Crowd Lu and Incubus". The Straits Times. Retrieved 14 April 2020.
  21. hermesauto (6 March 2019). "Music review: Taiwan's Cheer Chen explores human connection on Sofa Sea". The Straits Times. Retrieved 14 April 2020.
  22. 陈绮贞和男友钟成虎亲昵互动 热恋11年仍不结婚 Retrieved 2016-08-30
  23. 陈绮贞和男友钟成虎穿情侣装 同台飙吉他琴声传情 Retrieved 2016-08-30
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