Wing Han Tsang (; b. 1960), known professionally by the

mononym A mononym is a name composed of only one word. An individual who is known and addressed by a mononym is a mononymous person. In some cases, a mononym selected by an individual may have originally been from a polynym, a word which refers to one o ...

Wing, is a retired

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...

-born New Zealand singer. Her singing style has drawn comparisons to

Florence Foster Jenkins Florence Foster Jenkins (born Narcissa Florence Foster; July 19, 1868 – November 26, 1944) was an American socialite and amateur soprano who became known, and mocked, for her flamboyant performance costumes and notably poor singing ability. S ...

and

Mrs. Miller Elva Ruby Miller (October 5, 1907 – July 5, 1997), who recorded under the name "Mrs. Miller", was an American singer who gained some fame in the 1960s, for her series of shrill and off-tempo renditions of popular songs such as "Moon River ...

. She is an example of

outsider music Outsider music (from "outsider art") is music created by self-taught or naïve musicians. The term is usually applied to musicians who have little or no traditional musical experience, who exhibit childlike qualities in their music, or who suffe ...

Career

Having taken up singing as a hobby after emigrating to New Zealand, Wing gained an audience by entertaining patients at nursing homes and hospitals in and around

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...

. This prompted suggestions that she release a CD; the result was a debut titled ''Phantom of the Opera'', featuring the

title song A title is one or more words used before or after a person's name, in certain contexts. It may signify either generation, an official position, or a professional or academic qualification. In some languages, titles may be inserted between the f ...

from the

Andrew Lloyd Webber Andrew Lloyd Webber, Baron Lloyd-Webber (born 22 March 1948), is an English composer and impresario of musical theatre. Several of his musicals have run for more than a decade both in the West End and on Broadway. He has composed 21 musicals, ...

musical, and a selection of other popular tunes to the accompaniment of a programmed

electronic keyboard An electronic keyboard, portable keyboard, or digital keyboard is an electronic musical instrument, an electronic derivative of keyboard instruments. Electronic keyboards include synthesizers, digital pianos, stage pianos, electronic organs an ...

. Despite her unconventional style the recording proved a success, leading to a number of subsequent releases of

cover version In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song release ...

s that eventually gained her an international audience. She has appeared on such shows as ''

SportsCafe ''SportsCafe'' was a New Zealand sports TV show. The show's original run was hosted by Lana Coc-Kroft, Marc Ellis, Leigh Hart, Graeme Hill, Ric Salizzo and reporter Eva Evguenieva. In 2001 Leigh Hart was added to the cast under his persona ...

'' and ''

Rove Live ''Rove'', also titled ''Rove Live'', was an Australian television variety show that featured live music performances and interviews with local and international celebrity guests. The program premiered on the Nine Network on 22 September 1999, be ...

''. She guest starred on ''

South Park ''South Park'' is an American animated sitcom created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone and developed by Brian Graden for Comedy Central. The series revolves around four boys Stan Marsh, Kyle Broflovski, Eric Cartman, and Kenny McCormickand th ...

'' in an episode named after her that was first broadcast in March 2005. On the DVD commentary for this episode, series creators

Trey Parker Randolph Severn "Trey" Parker III (born October 19, 1969) is an American actor, animator, filmmaker, and composer. He is known for co-creating ''South Park'' (since 1997) and ''The Book of Mormon'' (2011) with his creative partner Matt Stone. P ...

and

Matt Stone Matthew Richard Stone (born May 26, 1971) is an American actor, animator, filmmaker, and composer. He is known for co-creating ''South Park'' (since 1997) and ''The Book of Mormon'' (2011) with his creative partner Trey Parker. Stone was interes ...

explain that she had to approve her cartoon likeness before allowing her music to be used. Parker also says he received a letter of thanks from her for the sales boost she enjoyed as a result of the episode. In addition to recordings, Wing has made various appearances in New Zealand, like

Massey University Massey University ( mi, Te Kunenga ki Pūrehuroa) is a university based in Palmerston North, New Zealand, with significant campuses in Albany and Wellington. Massey University has approximately 30,883 students, 13,796 of whom are extramural or ...

Orientation in

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by me ...

. Wing later performed as part of the 2008

South by Southwest South by Southwest, abbreviated as SXSW and colloquially referred to as South By, is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and Convention (meeting), conferences organized jointly that take place in m ...

festival.Wing, a SXSW 2008 Showcasing Artist
from the

SXSW South by Southwest, abbreviated as SXSW and colloquially referred to as South By, is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and conferences organized jointly that take place in mid-March in Austin, Te ...

website (includes an MP3 of her cover of AC/DC's "

Hell's Bells Hell's Bells or Hells Bells may refer to: Music * "Hells Bells" (song), a 1980 song by AC/DC * ''Hells Bells'' (album), a 1980 album by John Hicks * "Hell's Bells", a piece of music written by Art Kassel and recorded in 1932 * "Hell's Bells", ...

") On 11 May 2008, she performed on the BBC Introducing stage at

Radio 1's Big Weekend BBC Radio 1's Big Weekend (R1BW) (previously known as One Big Weekend, for 2012 as Radio 1's Hackney Weekend, and for 2018 as BBC Music's Biggest Weekend) is a British music festival run by the BBC's radio station. It is held once a year, in a ...

, singing versions of

ABBA ABBA ( , , formerly named Björn & Benny, Agnetha & Anni-Frid or Björn & Benny, Agnetha & Frida) are a Swedish supergroup formed in Stockholm in 1972 by Agnetha Fältskog, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson, and Anni-Frid Lyngstad. The group's ...

's "

Dancing Queen "Dancing Queen" is a Europop and disco song by the Swedish group ABBA, released as the lead single from their fourth studio album, ''Arrival'' (1976). It was written by Benny Andersson, Björn Ulvaeus and Stig Anderson. Andersson and Ulvaeus al ...

" and " Mamma Mia" and

Elton John Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, pianist and composer. Commonly nicknamed the "Rocket Man" after his 1972 hit single of the same name, John has led a commercially successful career a ...

's "

Candle in the Wind "Candle in the Wind" is a threnody written by English musician Elton John and songwriter Bernie Taupin, and performed by John. It was originally written in 1973, in honour of Marilyn Monroe, who had died 11 years earlier. In 1997, John perfor ...

". DJ

Scott Mills Scott Robert Mills (born 28 March 1973) is an English radio DJ, television presenter and occasional actor. He is best known for presenting the '' Scott Mills'' show on BBC Radio 1 from 2004 to 2022 and since then, on BBC Radio 2. Mills has also ...

, who had played Wing during his Radio 1 drivetime shows, had to personally pay to fly her over so she could sing at the festival, in Maidstone.Scott Mills: Wing in the UK
" No. 12, ''BBC.co.uk: Radio 1''. Retrieved 09:16, 10 August 2011 (UTC). Wing appeared on New Zealand music TV station, C4, in June 2008 for their series ''Rocked The Nation'', where she sang " Pokarekare Ana". Wing toured the United States in the fall of 2009. On 25–26 October 2009, she appeared at the Birdland Jazz Club in New York City. On 2 November 2009, she performed at Rrazz Room in San Francisco.International performances
, Wing Music. Retrieved 3 June 2011. In 2015, Wing announced that she had retired from the music business via her official website.

Discography

Albums

* ''Phantom of the Opera'' * ''I Could Have Danced All Night'' * ''The Sound of Music and the Prayer'' * ''Wing Sings The Carpenters'' * ''Wing Sings All Your Favourites'' * ''Everyone Sings Carols with Wing'' * ''Wing Sings the Songs You Love'' * ''Beatles Classics by Wing'' * ''Dancing Queen by Wing'' * ''Wing Sings Elvis'' * ''Breathe'' * ''One Voice'' * ''Too Much Heaven'' * ''Wing Sings For All The Single Ladies And Raps For All The Safe Parties'' * ''Television Radio Heroes'' (2012)

EPs

* ''Carols – rap and sing a beautiful Christmas'' (5 songs) * ''Beat It'' (4 songs) * ''Stop The Nonsense'' (featuring Rappy McRapperson) (4 songs) * ''Wing Sings More AC/DC'' (4 songs)

Singles

* ''Wing Sings AC/DC'' * ''Safe Computer'' (featuring Rappy McRapperson) * ''Santa Claus on a Helicopter''

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Wing 1960 births Living people 21st-century New Zealand women singers Hong Kong emigrants to New Zealand Outsider musicians New Zealand women pop singers