Prudence Liew
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Prudence Liew Mei-Gwan (born 10 December 1964) is a Hong Kong pop singer and actress. A Golden Horse Award winner and platinum selling singer, she has released 16 studio albums and appeared in numerous films.


Career

From the age of eight, she began appearing in television commercials after high school. In 1986, while working as a film producer, Liew was approached to sing the theme song for a movie. The song, ''Midnight Love'' was on heavy rotation at major Hong Kong radio stations and she was quickly signed as the
flagship A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of navy, naval ships, characteristically a flag officer entitled by custom to fly a distinguishing flag. Used more loosely, it is the lead ship in a fleet of vessels, typically ...
artist to Current Records. In December 1986, she released her self-titled début album to rave reviews and high sales. The album sold over 500,000 copies and was certified 10×
platinum Platinum is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Pt and atomic number 78. It is a density, dense, malleable, ductility, ductile, highly unreactive, precious metal, precious, silverish-white transition metal. Its name origina ...
Hong Kong IFPI sales certification – 1988 by the Hong Kong
IFPI The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) is the organisation that represents the interests of the recording industry worldwide. It is a non-profit members' organisation registered in Switzerland and founded in Italy in 1 ...
. Liew still holds the record in Hong Kong for the most albums sold by a débuting local artist for that album. It also won two awards as Album of the Year from
RTHK Top 10 Gold Songs Awards Top Ten Chinese Gold Songs Awards () is one of the main C-pop music award in Hong Kong. The award is sponsored by RTHK. Beginning in 1978, it is the oldest major award in Hong Kong, even earlier than the Jade Solid Gold Awards. The ceremony is ...
and
Jade Solid Gold Top 10 Awards The Jade Solid Gold Awards (; also known as J.S.G. Awards Presentation) is one of the main C-pop music award in Hong Kong based on the '' Jade Solid Gold'' TVB television show. The award began with the 1984 ceremonial season after the 1983 music ...
in 1987. The second single from the album, " The Last Night", is a cover of the
Bad Boys Blue Bad Boys Blue are a Pop music, pop group formed in Cologne in 1984. The group performed many international hits including "You're a Woman", "Pretty Young Girl (Bad Boys Blue song), Pretty Young Girl", "I Wanna Hear Your Heartbeat (Sunday Girl) ...
song " You're a Woman", and is considered Liew's
signature song A signature (; from , "to sign") is a depiction of someone's name, nickname, or even a simple "X" or other mark that a person writes on documents as a proof of identity and intent. Signatures are often, but not always, handwritten or styliz ...
. In addition to music, Liew has also appeared in films and television dramas as an actress. In 1988, she was nominated for a
Hong Kong Film Awards The Hong Kong Film Awards (HKFA; ), founded in 1982, is an annual film awards ceremony in Hong Kong. The ceremonies typically take place in April, and have mostly been held at the Grand Theatre of the Hong Kong Cultural Centre since 1991. The a ...
Best Supporting Actress award in the movie ''Law or Justice''. Between the period of 1986 and 1995, Liew has released 11 studio albums under Current Records, which was bought out by BMG Music in 1989 and later
Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American reco ...
from 1992 to 1995.


Hiatus

In 1995, Liew decided to leave the Hong Kong music industry after the divorce from her director husband, Tai-Loi Wong (with whom she had a son and a daughter) and due to having problems with her vocal cords. She then relocated to the US city of
San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...
with her children to find peace. During her time in the US, Liew found a love for
yoga Yoga (UK: , US: ; 'yoga' ; ) is a group of physical, mental, and spiritual practices or disciplines that originated with its own philosophy in ancient India, aimed at controlling body and mind to attain various salvation goals, as pra ...
, which she practices regularly. She also met her second husband, whose name she will only disclose to the media as "Mr. Yan" for privacy reasons, while in San Francisco. Together they have a daughter. In an interview in September 2008, Liew announced that she has separated from Mr. Yan.


''Love Yourself''

In 2000, with help from her longtime friend and fellow singer,
Sandy Lam Sandy Lam Yik-lin (; born 26 April 1966), is a Hong Kong singer, actress and producer. She rose to fame in the 1980s, before expanding her fan base significantly in Asia, releasing more than 30 stylistically diverse albums in Cantonese, Englis ...
, Liew landed a record deal with
Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...
-based record company,
Rock Records The Rock Records Co., Ltd. () commonly known as Rock Records (), is a record label based in Taipei, Taiwan. Founded in the 1980s as the Rock Music Publishing (滾石有聲出版社; ) by Tuan Chung-tan and Tuan Chung-i, It is the largest record ...
and released her first
mandopop Mandopop or Mandapop refers to Mandarin popular music. The genre has its origin in the jazz-influenced popular music of 1930s Shanghai known as Shidaiqu; later influences came from Japanese enka, Hong Kong's Cantopop, Taiwan's Hokkien pop ...
studio album entitled '' Love Yourself''. However, she returned to the US quickly after the first single, ''Everytime, I Take it Very Seriously'' was released, thus no other singles, nor follow-up albums were released afterwards in Taiwan. In the same year, Liew also appeared in the ATV series ''Anything But Him'', co-starring
Amy Chan Amy Chan Sau-man () is a Hong Kong actress and Cantopop Cantopop (a contraction of "Cantonese pop music") is a genre of pop music sung in Cantonese. Cantopop is also used to refer to the cultural context of its production and consumpt ...
and Tien Niu.


Return to Hong Kong

In April 2008, Liew held a 2-night performance called ''Opening the Sexual Boundaries Concert'' at the
Hong Kong Coliseum Hong Kong Coliseum (), commonly and informally known as the Hung Hom Coliseum (, ) is a multi-purpose indoor arena, in Hung Hom Bay, Kowloon, Hong Kong near Hung Hom station. It is in Yau Tsim Mong District. It was built by the Urban Council ...
. Also, a compilation greatest hits album was released to accompany the concert. And after a 20-year hiatus from motion pictures, she took the lead part to the movie, ''
True Women For Sale ''True Women For Sale'' (性工作者2: 我不賣身.我賣子宮) is a 2008 Hong Kong drama film directed by Herman Yau and starring Prudence Liew and Anthony Wong Chau Sang. Plot The story revolves around two women in the grassroots of H ...
'', directed by
Herman Yau Herman Yau Lai-to (; born 13 July 1961) is a Hong Kong people, Hong Kong film director, screenwriter and cinematographer. Filmography As director * 1987: ''No Regret'' – Director * 1991: ''Don't Fool Me'' – Director * 1992: ''Best of the ...
. The film was the opener for the 2008 Hong Kong Asian Film Festival and her role as a drug-addicted prostitute won Liew the award for Best Leading Actress at the 2008
Golden Horse Awards The Taipei Golden Horse Film Festival and Taipei Golden Horse Awards () are a film festival and associated awards ceremony held annually in Taiwan. The festival and ceremony were founded in 1962 by the Government Information Office of the Repub ...
, as well as a Best Actress nomination at the
28th Hong Kong Film Awards Ceremony for the 28th Hong Kong Film Awards was held on 19 April 2009 in the Hong Kong Cultural Centre and hosted by Eric Tsang, Teresa Mo, Sandra Ng, Vincent Kok, Kay Tse, Denise Ho, Lam Chi Chung, Chin Kar-lok Chin Ka-lok, sometimes credi ...
. Liew was a student of Eleonor England, a San Francisco-based
vocal coach A vocal coach, also known as a voice coach (though this term often applies to those working with speech and communication rather than singing), is a music teacher, usually a piano accompanist, who helps singers prepare for a performance, often al ...
. In 2009, Liew was announced as the host for season 1 of the
TVB Television Broadcasts Limited (TVB; zh, t=電視廣播有限公司) is a television broadcasting company based in Hong Kong. The company operates five free-to-air terrestrial television channels in Hong Kong, with TVB Jade as its main Canton ...
program, '' The Voice'', a reality-show type singing competition. On October 22, 2009, Liew released her first Cantonese studio album in 15 years, titled '' The Queen of Hardships''. On December 30, 2009, it was announced that TVB was relieving Liew of her hosting duties from ''The Voice'', three episodes shy of the season finale due to the controversy between TVB and the HKRIA over song royalties. Liew, who is currently signed to
Cinepoly Records Cinepoly Records (新藝寶) is a Hong Kong–based record label founded in 1985. It was a subsidiary of PolyGram Records and the film company Cinema City. Ownership of Cinepoly Records switched to Universal Music Group after Universal acquired ...
under the
Universal Music Universal Music Group N.V. (often abbreviated as UMG and referred to as Universal Music Group or Universal Music) is a Dutch– American multinational music corporation under Dutch law. UMG's corporate headquarters are located in Hilversum ...
label governed by the HKRIA, was part of the group of Hong Kong singers all signed to HKRIA record labels that were banned from appearing on all TVB programming until the issue was resolved late 2011. In 2010, Liew spent most of the year in the United States. In 2011, Liew returned to Hong Kong and released her second mandopop album, the cover album '' Love Addict'' in June. The album topped the charts for two weeks straight on Hong Kong
HMV HMV is an international music and entertainment retailer, founded in 1921. The brand is owned by Hilco Capital and operated by Sunrise Records, except in Japan, where it is owned and operated by Lawson. The inaugural shop was opened on Lo ...
's Asian Album Chart upon its release. In November, she was invited to be a regular judge on season 4 of the
Asia Television Asia Television Limited (, also known as ATV) is a digital media and broadcasting company in Hong Kong. Established as the first television service in Hong Kong as Rediffusion Television () on 29 May 1957, it shifted to terrestrial televis ...
talent program, ''Asian Millionstar''. In 2012, Liew released another cover album, albeit in Cantonese this time, entitled '' Stolen Moments'' in July. She announced that a third cover album, in English, would be recorded and released in the future. The album, '' Reincarnated Love'' was eventually released in July 2017. In 2013, Liew signed with
Hong Kong Television Network Hong Kong Technology Venture Company Limited (HKTV, zh, t=香港科技探索有限公司) is a Hong Kong–based technology company primarily known for its e-commerce platform and once had plans to become a television station. HKTV currently ...
, a new television station in Hong Kong, and filmed the drama series, '' To Be or Not to Be'', formerly titled ''Hakka Women'', in which she spoke her native Hakka dialect. She also recorded the theme song for the drama, " Two Cups of Tea". The 25-episode series was aired from December 2014 to January 2015.


Discography


Filmography


Motion pictures


Television (as actress)

*1989 ''奪命情人 The Killing Lover'' (
TVB Television Broadcasts Limited (TVB; zh, t=電視廣播有限公司) is a television broadcasting company based in Hong Kong. The company operates five free-to-air terrestrial television channels in Hong Kong, with TVB Jade as its main Canton ...
TV movie co-starring
Leon Lai Leon Lai Ming Silver Bauhinia Star, SBS Bronze Bauhinia Star, BBS Medal of Honour (Hong Kong), MH ( zh, 黎明; born 11 December 1966), is a Hong Kong actor, singer, film director, and businessman. He is one of the "Cantopop#1990s: Four Heav ...
) *1992 ''我為錢狂 Source of Evil'' ( TVB series co-starring
Anita Yuen Anita Yuen Wing Yee (born 4 September 1971) is a Hong Kong actress and beauty pageant titleholder. She is best known for her roles in the films '' C'est la vie, mon chéri'' (1993), '' He's a Woman, She's a Man'' (1994), and '' From Beijing with Lo ...
) *2000 ''妳想的愛 Anything But Him'' ( ATV series co-starring
Amy Chan Amy Chan Sau-man () is a Hong Kong actress and Cantopop Cantopop (a contraction of "Cantonese pop music") is a genre of pop music sung in Cantonese. Cantopop is also used to refer to the cultural context of its production and consumpt ...
) *2014–2015 ''來生不做香港人 To Be or Not to Be'' ( HKTV series co-starring
Maggie Cheung Ho-Yee Maggie Cheung Ho-yee (; born 20 March 1969) is a Hong Kong actress. Career Maggie Cheung Ho-yee was a member of four-piece girl band "PP Gals" in 1991. Her name was "Tina" in the band. They released an album called "PP Gals. DJ Boy" and disb ...
) *2019 ''Sorina Fok''


Television (as presenter)

*2009–2010 ''超級巨聲 The Voice'' – Season 1 (
TVB Television Broadcasts Limited (TVB; zh, t=電視廣播有限公司) is a television broadcasting company based in Hong Kong. The company operates five free-to-air terrestrial television channels in Hong Kong, with TVB Jade as its main Canton ...
) *2011 ''亞洲星光大道 Asian Millionstar'' – Season 4 Regular Judge ( ATV) *2018 '' Good Night Show - King Maker'' – Vocal trainer (
ViuTV ViuTV is a Cantonese language Generalist channel, general entertainment television channel in Hong Kong operated by HK Television Entertainment (HKTVE), whose parent company PCCW also operates the IPTV platform Now TV (Hong Kong), Now TV and the ...
) Prudence Liew at chinesemov.com
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Awards and nominations


References


External links

*
Prudence Liew
at Twitter , - ! colspan="3" style="background: #DAA520;" , Golden Horse Award , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Liew, Prudence 1964 births Living people Cantopop singer-songwriters 20th-century Hong Kong women singers Hong Kong film actresses Hong Kong Mandopop singers Hong Kong people of Hakka descent People from Dongguan Hong Kong television actresses Universal Music Group artists Hakka musicians 21st-century Hong Kong women singers