Loading AI tools
Taiwanese singer and actor (born 1966) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Richie Jen Hsien-chi (Chinese: 任賢齊; pinyin: Rén Xiánqí; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Jîm Hiân-chê, born 23 June 1966),[1] also known as Richie Ren, is a Taiwanese singer and actor. He graduated from the Chinese Culture University's physical education department.[2]
Richie Jen | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 任賢齊 | |||||||||||||||||||
 Jen in 2022 | |||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 23 June 1966 Tianzhong, Changhua, Taiwan | ||||||||||||||||||
| Nationality | Taiwanese | ||||||||||||||||||
| Alma mater | Chinese Culture University | ||||||||||||||||||
| Occupations |
| ||||||||||||||||||
| Years active | 1990–present | ||||||||||||||||||
| Children | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Awards |
| ||||||||||||||||||
| Chinese name | |||||||||||||||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 任賢齊 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 任贤齐 | ||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||
| Musical career | |||||||||||||||||||
| Origin | Taiwan | ||||||||||||||||||
| Genres | Mandopop | ||||||||||||||||||
| Instrument(s) | Vocals, guitar, harmonica | ||||||||||||||||||
| Labels | Rock Records | ||||||||||||||||||
| Website | blog | ||||||||||||||||||
Jen debuted in December 1990 with the studio album Ask Again under Synco Cultural Corporation. In 1996, he signed a contract with Rock Records and released the album I Feel Good!, which sold over 160,000 copies in Taiwan. His breakthrough came at the end of 1996 with his fifth studio album, Too Softhearted, which sold over 1,000,000 copies in China and over 2,300,000 copies across Asia.
His seventh album, Love Like Pacific Ocean (1998), became one of the best-selling albums of all time in Taiwan with over 1,200,000 copies sold. The record spawned the single "Hey Girl Look Over Here" (對面的女孩看過來), which was named the most popular song of 1998 by Hit FM in Taiwan.
Jen was born and grew up in Tianzhong Township, Changhua County, Taiwan. He attended Changhua County Tianzhong Senior High School[3] and at the age of 21 he entered the physical education department of Chinese Culture University.[2] He also started to work at a musical instrument store while learning how to play guitar.[4]
In 1990, while a senior at CCU, Richie Jen signed a contract with Synco Cultural Corporation and released a complication album named Towards the Rainbow (奔向彩虹).[5] In December of that year, he released his first solo album Ask Again (再問一次). He released two more albums in 1991, Cold & Tender (冷漠與温柔), and Fly to My Own Sky (飛向自己的天空),[6] before enlisting in the military.
In 1996, he joined Rock Records, and released the album I Feel Good! (依靠), which sold 160,000 copies in Taiwan and was multi-platinum certified.[7][8] His breakthrough came when the album Too Softhearted (心太軟) was released in December of that year, which sold over 1,000,000 copies in mainland China and 600,000 copies in Taiwan. The title track became largely popular in China and Taiwan.[8][9][10]
In August 1998, Jen's album Love Like Pacific Ocean (愛像太平洋) was released. The tracks "Unknown Pleasures" (任逍遥) "The Sad Pacific" (傷心太平洋) from the album were the opening and closing theme songs of the 1998 series The Return of the Condor Heroes, respectively.[11] The record peaked at number one on the IFPI Taiwan album chart and sold over 1,200,000 copies in Taiwan, making it one of the best-selling albums of all time in the country.[12] Jen also starred in the Condor Heroes, playing Yang Guo.[13] In 2005, Jen joined EMI, and his first album from EMI Old Place (老地方) was released a year later.[14] In 2008, Jen signed a contract with East Asia Records (東亞唱片).[15]
In July 2001, prior to his concert in Shenyang, Jen donated ¥30,000 to a family who was unable to afford heart surgery for their one-year old daughter after learning about their situation through a news report. In May 2023, the same girl and her mother attended Jen's concert in Shenyang and publicly thanked him for his life-saving donation. The woman's expression of gratitude was captured on video and quickly became viral on Weibo.[16]
In 2002, Richie Jen married former fashion designer Tina Chen (陳則妤). They have two children together, a daughter and a son. They live in Hong Kong.[17]
In November 2017, Richie Jen was involved in a controversy when allegations surfaced that he had groped a woman in a grocery store in Beijing. The incident reportedly took place in a local store, leading to significant media coverage and public backlash. However, the case did not result in any legal action against Jen.[18]
Seamless Wikipedia browsing. On steroids.
Every time you click a link to Wikipedia, Wiktionary or Wikiquote in your browser's search results, it will show the modern Wikiwand interface.
Wikiwand extension is a five stars, simple, with minimum permission required to keep your browsing private, safe and transparent.
