Ella Chen
Template:Contains Chinese text Template:Infobox Chinese-language singer and actor Chen Chia-Hwa (Chinese: 陳嘉樺), mononymouly credited as Ella, is the oldest member of Taiwanese girl group S.H.E. Her name 'Ella', which means courage, was given after the personality test given by HIM Management Co.
Biography
On 8 August 2000, HIM International Music held a 'Universal 2000 Talent and Beauty Girl Contest' in search of new artists to sign under their label. When she travelled with her sister to Taipei for a holiday, Ella discovered that her older sister had registered her for a singing competition. Intimidated by the long line of contestants and worried of facing ridicule for her tomboy personality, Ella almost gave up before the first round. Her older sister, however convinced her to stay. Ella's deep voice caught the label's attention, and she reached the final round. Her alto voice is noted for its strong and beautiful nature.[1]
Following the conclusion of the contest, Ella returned to her duties at a local hospital, but received a call from HIM International requesting an additional audition. After test recordings were done, Ella signed on as part of HIM's newest girl group, S.H.E. When Ella first tested out her signature, HIM employees were concerned that the signature would be easily forged due to its simplicity; thus, during S.H.E's early days, Ella signed autographs using the last character of her name, (pinyin: huà). However, as S.H.E's autograph sessions drew larger audiences, Ella reverted to her simpler, English signature.[2]
During her career with S.H.E, Ella has been the most accident-prone member. On July 29, 2003 she was sent to the hospital after jumping from the third story of a building and shattering her hip. She returned three weeks later to promote Super Star. In 2005, during the filming of Reaching for the Stars, Ella burned her ears and hair on a candle, prompting crew members to send her to the National Taiwan University Hospital.[3] In order to recover, Ella stayed away from filming for two days, during which she cut off approximately two centimetres of burnt hair on both sides of her head.[3]
In 2007, Chen was voted by online fans as Taiwan's most down-to-earth (unpretentious) artist.[4] Out of the three members of S.H.E, Ella is the most outspoken. Since the release of S.H.E's first album in 2001, Ella has usually been the one to answer reporter's questions.[5] As the tomboy of S.H.E, Ella is frequently the subject of jokes targeting her gender and sexual orientation, but she usually takes the jabs in stride.[6] Netizens even labelled her one of China's Four Main Tomboys of the past century.[7] Her unusually deep voice earned her a starring role as the voice of Arthur in the Mandarin version of Arthur and the Minimoys.
As a singer and an actress, Ella has also appeared in various music videos such as 愛的重唱曲-覆水難收篇 (2004-04-05), 再一次拥有 (2005) by Kaira Gong and 愛到瘋癲 (2009) by Power Station.
In 2009, along with her band-mate Hebe Tien, Ella composed a song for her seniors Power Station, entitled "Love Crazy/愛到瘋癲". Ella was the composer while Hebe wrote the lyrics. The song was given to them as repayment for Power Station have given S.H.E the song "Freezer". Ella had also composed a station song entitled "Pop Radio 91.7 jingle" for Taiwan Pop Radio station "Pop Radio 91.7" . In 2010 she was also featured in the drama Down with Love.
On 5 May 2012, Chen married Alvin Lai, a Chinese Malaysian. The Western-style wedding held in Taipei with S.H.E member Hebe serving as the bridesmaid.[8]
Discography
EP
- 蔷蔷 (Qiáng Qiáng) - released August 27, 2007.
- I Am... Ella Chen Jia Hua - released March 30, 2012.
Solo / Duet
- 单手超人 (Dān Shǒu Chāorén / Single-handed Superman) - A Solo in The 3 Spas of Love
- 我就是我 (Wǒ Jiù Shì Wǒ / I Am Just Me) - A self-penned and self-composed song she made for her Solo Performance in the S.H.E Is The One Concert Tour.[9]
- 跟月亮Say Goodbye (Gēn Yuèliàng Say Goodbye / Say Goodbye With The Moon) - Solo - unreleased but leaked around April 2010.[10]
- 你被寫在我的歌裡 (Nǐ Bèi Xiě Zài Wǒ De Gē Li / You're To Write In My Songs) - Duet with Qing Feng - was the featured artist in What Is Troubling You (你在煩惱什麼) Album by Sodagreen, released November 11, 2011.
Filmography
Dramas Series
| Year | Title | Role | Language |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Magical Love (愛情大魔咒) | Juliet (朱俐樺) | Mandarin |
| 2003 | The Rose (薔薇之戀) | Zheng Bai He (鄭百合) | Mandarin |
| 2005 | Reaching For The Stars (真命天女) | Ren Jie (任潔) | Mandarin |
| 2006 | Hanazakarino Kimitachihe (花樣少年少女) | Lu Rui Xi (盧瑞莃) / Ashiya Mizuki | Mandarin |
| 2007 | The Lollipop Idol Drama (棒棒糖偶像劇) | Herself | Mandarin |
| 2010 | Down With Love (就想赖着你) | Yang Guo (楊果) | Mandarin |
Movies Series
| Year | Title | Role | Language |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Perfect Two (新天生一對） | Ma Niu (馬妞) | Mandarin |
| 2012 | Bad Girl (女孩坏坏） | Ah Dan (阿丹) | Mandarin |
References
- ^ Template:Zh icon S.H.E - Girls are the World. November 5, 2003. Retrieved April 4, 2007.
- ^ Template:Zh icon Sina.com. S.H.E's Life Story, Part 4: S.H.E's Name. September 14, 2004. Retrieved February 13, 2007.
- ^ a b Feng Yijian. Liberty Times. Ella catches fire; hair burnt, ears swollen. June 23, 2005. Retrieved February 15, 2007.
- ^ Template:Zh icon Yahoo! China News. Fans vote; sweetheart Cindy Wang is too fake, Tony Chen's fakeness gets him first place. March 16, 2007. Retrieved March 16, 2007.
- ^ Template:Zh icon S.H.E Girl Friends had three people sleeping on one bed. December 2, 2001. Retrieved February 27, 2007.
- ^ Woodworth, Max. Pop Stop. August 13, 2004. Retrieved June 28, 2007.
- ^ [1]
- ^ "Ella大婚甜蜜拥吻老公 宾客满座星光熠熠". Xin Huan News (in Chinese). 5 May 2012. Retrieved 29 May 2012.
- ^ Chansingh, Joyce. XINMSN Entertainment. S.H.E is the One!. April 18, 2010
- ^ Template:Zh icon HIM Official Website. HIM Staff clarifies the issue about Ella's leaked song. April 14, 2010
External links
| Studio albums | |
|---|---|
| Compilation albums | |
| Extended plays | |
| Live albums | |
| Related articles | |
