Lala Hsu (traditional Chinese: 徐佳瑩; simplified Chinese: 徐佳莹; pinyin: Xú Jiāyíng; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Chhî Ka-êng; born 20 December 1984) is a Taiwanese singer-songwriter. Hsu was born in Hualien County, Taiwan, and grew up in Taichung.

Quick Facts Born, Alma mater ...
Lala Hsu
Hsu in 2020
Born (1984-12-20) 20 December 1984 (age 39)
Alma materCentral Taiwan University of Science and Technology
OccupationSinger-songwriter
Years active2008–present
Spouse
Bill Chia
(m. 2018)
Children2
Musical career
GenresMandopop
Instruments
  • Vocals
  • drum kit
  • guitar
  • piano
LabelsAsiaMuse (2009–present)
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Quick Facts Traditional Chinese, Simplified Chinese ...
Lala Hsu
Traditional Chinese徐佳瑩
Simplified Chinese徐佳莹
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinXú Jiāyíng
Wade–GilesHsü2 Chia1-ying2
Southern Min
Hokkien POJChhî Ka-êng
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Hsu was a contestant in the third season of CTV's One Million Star in 2008. She won the contest with a self-composed and written song on 15 August of that year.[1][2] She released her self-titled debut album on 29 May 2009. She has since published five albums to date; Lala Hsu in 2009, Limits in 2010, Ideal Life in 2012, Missing in 2014 and The Inner Me in 2017.[3]

In 2010, Hsu won the Best New Artist award at the 21st Golden Melody Awards for her eponymously named album, Lala Hsu, becoming the first One Million Star alumni to win a Golden Melody Award. In 2015, she was nominated in six categories at the 26th Golden Melody Awards for the album Missing.

In 2016, Hsu was a participant of the fourth season of I Am a Singer which gained her wider attention in mainland China. A significant rise in popularity lead to numerous invitations to perform the theme songs of film and television works. In 2018, Hsu was named Best Mandarin Female Singer at the 29th Golden Melody Awards.[4]

Early life

Hsu's father is a retired ROC Air Force ground officer and her mother was a kindergarten teacher. She is the third child among her brothers and sisters. The singer worked as a nurse in Taichung Veterans General Hospital before her debut.

Debut

Hsu won second place in a singing competition held by her high school. In junior college, she was the drummer and conductor of her school's Orchestra Club. She also served as an intern at the Affiliated Hospital of Chung Shan Medical College and worked in Taichung Veterans General Hospital. During university, Lala participated in the "Campus Golden Melody Award" competition, winning awards in the "Girl's Individual Singing Group" (singing award) and the "Semantic Creation Group" (creative award). She participated in four "Campus Golden Melody" compilations.[5]

Hsu took part in the third season of One Million Star singing contest in 2008, and performed well.[6] Hsu stated that her aim in participating the contest was to set up a "Starlight Chicken Restaurant" with the prize money, and she had already written a song for the restaurant. In the sixth episode, her performance of the song "Riding a White Horse" scored 25 points, making her the fastest contestant to reach the full score since the launch of One Million Star.[7] On 15 August 2008, she won the finals with an average score of 21.47 points, paving the way for her to become a professional singer.[8][9][10]

Career

Hsu is the protégée of composer Su Tongda. "Riding a White Horse" was a collaboration between Hsu and Su.

On 29 May 2009, Hsu released her debut album Lala Hsu. The album was up for six awards at the 21st Golden Melody Awards. This include Song of the Year ("Riding a White Horse"), Best Mandarin Album (Lala Hsu), Best Composer (Hsu and Su Tongda, "Riding a White Horse"), Best New Artist, Best Arranger (Su Tongda, "Riding a White Horse") and Best Single Producer (Su Tongda, "Riding a White Horse").[11][12]

On 26 June 2010, Hsu was awarded the Best New Artist at the 21st Golden Melody Awards.[13] On 3 September of the same year, Hsu released her second studio album, Limits.

On 6 June 2012, she released her third studio album, Ideal Life. The album won several awards at home and abroad including the 2012 Top Ten Albums, and Albums and Singles of the Year at the Annual Association of Chinese Musicians Awards. In 2013, Hsu was nominated for Best Mandarin Female Singer for the first time at the 24th Golden Melody Awards.

On 13 June 2014, Hsu released her fourth Mandarin album Missing. On 21 March 2015, she held the "Total Eclipse" concert in Taipei Arena. It was her first concert in the Arena. In the same year, she was nominated for six awards at the 26th Golden Melody Awards, including Song of the Year, Best Mandarin Album, Best Mandarin Female Singer, Best Composer, Best Lyricist and Best Arranger.

In January 2016, she participated in the fourth season of Hunan TV I Am a Singer. Her performance of "Lost Desert" scored her first place in the first episode. Subsequently, she was invited to perform the theme songs for several film and television works. In July 2016, she held her "Total Eclipse" concert tour in Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen.

On 22 April 2017, Hsu debuted her "You Made My Day" concert tour at Taipei Arena.[14] In May of the same year, she held the tour in Kaohsiung, Hong Kong, Shanghai and Malaysia. She released her fifth Mandarin studio album The Inner Me by the end of that year and received the Best Mandarin Album and Best Mandarin Female Singer at the 29th Golden Melody Awards the following year.

In January 2020, Hsu came back to participate in the eight and final season of Hunan TV's Singer and ended in fifth place. The following year, she participated with Harlem Yu in ETtoday's Jungle Voice 3 as principal instructors.[15]

Thumb
Hsu in July 2023

On 22 June 2022, Hsu released her sixth Mandarin studio album Gei.[16]

Musical style

Hsu's music is known for its subtle, unique narrative lyrical composition style, integrating elements of Taiwanese opera into her songs. Using the Mandarin language and the linguistic flexibility of Hokkien(Southern Fukienense), the logic of the two different languages is put together naturally and smoothly. The rhythm of the main song is usually fast, while the chorus is mostly clear, lyrical, and easy to memorize. In the accompaniment and harmony, she tries to create a unique approach to chord progression, which is different than other pop music.

Personal life

Hsu married Taiwanese director Bill Chia (Chinese: 比爾賈) in August 2018.[17][18] They have one son (born on 6 December 2020) and one daughter (born on 17 December 2022).

Discography

Filmography

Films

More information Year, English Title ...
YearEnglish TitleChinese TitleRoleNotes
2011Rio里約大冒險JewelMandarin voice (Taiwanese release)
2014Rio 2里約大冒險2JewelMandarin voice (Taiwanese release)
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Television series

More information Year, English Title ...
YearEnglish TitleChinese TitleRoleNetworkNotes
2010Days We Stared at the Sun他們在畢業的前一天爆炸LalaPTS: PTS Main ChannelCameo
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Variety shows

More information Year, English Title ...
YearEnglish TitleChinese TitleNetworkNotes
2008One Million Star (season 3)超級星光大道3CTV: CTV Main Channel
One Million Star (season 4)超級星光大道4CTV: CTV Main ChannelEp. 10
2009One Million Star (season 5)超級星光大道5CTV: CTV Main ChannelEp. 17
2010One Million Star (season 6)超級星光大道6CTV: CTV Main ChannelEp. 16
2016I Am a Singer (season 4)我是歌手(第四季)HBS: Hunan Television
2017Singer 2017歌手 2017HBS: Hunan TelevisionEp. 13
One Night Food Trip – International Edition吃貨48小時-國際篇tvN Asia
2020Singer 2020歌手·当打之年HBS: Hunan Television
2021Jungle Voice聲林之王ETtoday
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Awards and nominations

More information Year, Award ...
YearAwardCategoryNominationResult
201021st Golden Melody AwardsSong of the Year"Riding A White Horse"Nominated
Best ComposerNominated
Best Mandarin AlbumLala HsuNominated
Best New ArtistWon
Association of Music Workers in TaiwanTen Best Songs"Riding A White Horse"Won
2012"Under the Willow"Won
201324th Golden Melody AwardsBest Mandarin Female SingerIdeal LifeNominated
Association of Music Workers in TaiwanTen Best Songs"Not That Hard"Won
Ten Best AlbumsIdeal LifeWon
201526th Golden Melody AwardsSong of the Year"Missing"Nominated
Best Mandarin AlbumMissingNominated
Best Mandarin Female SingerNominated
Association of Music Workers in TaiwanTen Best Songs"Missing"Won
Ten Best AlbumsMissingWon
201653rd Golden Horse AwardsBest Original Film SongBig Fish & Begonia
(Performer: "It's Cold Without Your Love")
Nominated
2017Association of Music Workers in TaiwanTen Best Songs"You Made My Day"Won
201822nd China Music AwardsSong of the Year"From Now On"Won
Most Popular Singer-songwriterLala HsuWon
29th Golden Melody AwardsAlbum of the YearThe Inner MeNominated
Best Mandarin AlbumWon
Best Mandarin Female SingerWon
Association of Music Workers in TaiwanTen Best Songs"The Prayer"Won
Ten Best AlbumsThe Inner MeWon
2019Ten Best Songs"Springtime Allergies"Won
202233rd Golden Melody AwardsSong of the Year"Prototype"Nominated
Producer of the Year, Single"None of the Above"Won
13th Golden Indie Music AwardsBest R&B Song"Break Off"Nominated
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References

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