Speaking of sirens, Faye Wong is primarily known for her singing but I was very impressed with her acting in Wong Kar Wai’s Chungking Express. She is back on the silver screen again in Wong Kar Wai’s latest film 2046 which is where the above photo of her came from. She plays two roles in the film one of which is a fictional android character in the year 2046.

Faye Wong was born in Beijing. Her mother was a singer of “artistic traditonal songs” and her father is a Teresa Teng fan. Her family’s love of music influenced her growth towards that direction. She began voice training for 5 years during high school. After graduating high school, she started modeling for China Airlines but music was her first love or so she thought then.At the age of 18, she went to Hong Kong by herself in order to become a pop singer, participated in many auditions, and then signed a contract with Cinepoly. She debuted as a “Shirley Wong” called “A girl from North”, but she didn’t have the success she envisioned in her debut album “Shirley”. She had always wanted to see America and took an opportunity to study abroad. She studied music at Atlanta college in New York City then she came back to Hong Kong to record “Coming Home”. In 1992, “A broken-hearted woman” from that album was a smash hit and she became one of the greatest female pop stars in Hong Kong.

Afterwards, she continued her sucessful rise in the Asian music industry and became a role model for young Chinese girls everywhere dreaming to become musicians in their own right. She sold out her Circle Concert (180,000 tickets) in Hong Kong, America and Canada proving her overwhelming popularity worldwide. One of her more recent achievements is her “eyes on me” song that was a hit from the Final Fantasy VIII game further increasing her popularity and recognition.

For a more detailed biography of Faye Wong, take a look at her entry on wikipedia.

Faye Wong Appreciation Society has over 150 photos in their photo section including the one above (better than google image search selection).

I was looking for a good website featuring Faye Wong’s music with sample audio/video clips but didn’t come across one. Please post in the comment section if you know of any good websites featuring Faye Wong that you recommend!