Fred Cheng
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Template:Infobox Chinese-language singer and actor Template:Chinese name Frederick Cheng, Freddie, Fred (Chinese: 鄭俊弘; born 10 November 1983) is a Canadian-born Hong Kong actor and singer. He has starred in numerous Hong Kong series including Shine On You, Love Bond, The Charm Beneath, and Forensic Heroes. He rose to fame after competing in the 2013 Hong Kong singing competition, The Voice of the Stars, subsequently winning first place.[1] In November 2013, Cheng signed with TVB Music Limited's subsidiary Voice Entertainment, and will be releasing his debut album in the summer of 2014.[2]
Early life and career beginnings
Cheng was born in Vancouver, Canada. He lives with his mother, older sister, and younger brother. From his uncle's influence, at an early age he already developed a love and interest for music, singing, and playing the guitar. Since the age of six, he has also been learning Choy Li Fut and picked up martial arts and boxing in high school. Upon graduating from Eric Hamber Secondary School, he returned to Hong Kong for the summer.
In 2001, Cheng's mother persuaded him to compete in the TVB New Talent Singing Awards,[3] in which he won second place.[citation needed] Cheng was offered a contract to the record company Capital Artists, but after two months of training, the company stopped producing music, abruptly ending his singing career.
Acting career and return to singing
In 2003, TVB offered Cheng an artist contract and offered him a major role in the TVB drama Shine On You. Well received in his performance, Fred was continued to offer roles that were similar to his youthful role in Shine On You, such as the younger brother of Kenix Kwok and Bernice Liu in 2004's Love Bond and the younger brother of Yoyo Mung in 2006's Forensic Heroes.
In 2010, Fred appeared on the variety talent show Fun with Liza and Gods and performed Ronald Cheng's song, "無賴" (Rascal), receiving critical claim for his performance and imitation of Ronald Cheng. In 2011, Fred signed a management contract with TVB.
In July 2013, Fred was encouraged by friends and family to compete in the inaugural season for the singing competition, The Voice of the Stars. Fred appeared on the first episode, performing Eason Chan's "Song of the Era" (時代曲). Fred earned 174.9 points, delivering the highest performance points on the show. On the second episode, Fred performed "Angels" by Robbie Williams and earned an even higher 179.9 points. The Voice of the Stars judge, Eric Moo, took Fred in as his student and offered him to appear on his Hong Kong concert as a guest performer. Throughout the season, Fred consistently stayed in the top two places.
Fred went on win the competition, winning 68% of the votes. Immediately after winning, Fred was announced that he would be singing the theme song with Kristal Tin for the upcoming Hong Kong drama, Return of the Silver Tongue. On November 15, 2013, he signed with TVB's newly established record company Voice Entertainment and is expected to release his debut solo album in the summer of 2014.[2] He has released his first single, "Nobody", on March 24, 2014 and within 5 hours it became the top selling single on Hong Kong iTunes and held the record for seven days. Subsequently, he was given a chance to sing another two theme songs for TVB Drama, The Ultimate Addiction and Ghost Dragon of Cold Mountain.
Career after winning the The Voice of the Stars (VOS)
After winning the VOS, Fred has been given more job opportunities by TVB in acting, singing and commercial advertisements. Due to his sudden rise in popularity, Fred now has a group of fans ranging from age 5 to 80. Fred also has fans in Macau, Singapore, Malaysia, Canada and USA. In addition to that, Fred has become the new darling in Hong Kong, as he is well liked due to his positive and persistent attitude. Many big companies such as Towngas, Hopewell Holdings, New World Development, Shanghai Commercial Bank, AIA Group Limited, Swatch Group, Zung Fu Company Limited, Grand Lisboa, P&G and Amway Hong Kong Limited invited him to perform in their companies’ events such as Annual Dinner or Spring Dinner from October 2013 till around Chinese New Year time of 2014.
Besides that, Fred has taken part in the filming of a number of commercial advertisements of big companies such as Wellcome, P&G and Magic Smile B1. His first commercial is Wellcome where he filmed with Wu Fung, Yao Bin, Corinna Chamberlain and Hoffman Cheng which aired on 5 January 2014. Subsequently, Fred was selected by P&G to work with Jin Au-Yeung (MC Jin) in the P&G advertisement which was aired 19 March 2014. Both commercial advertisements received good responses from the public. As a result, Fred was chosen to partner with Sisley Choi to appear in a new series of commercial with veteran TVB artistes such as Wu Fung and Law Lan in a new commercial for Wellcome. In the commercial Fred and Sisley Choi portray the younger versions of Wu Fung and Law Lan, an elderly couple. Though the stars filmed in front of a plain backdrop, they were extremely into their character. Fred and Sisley Choi were praised for their romantic chemistry. Fred’s first commercial by himself is MagicSmile B1, which was first aired on 21 June 2014 on MagicSmile B1's Facebook.
Apart from that, Fred was also invited to be a guest singer in a number of concerts. On September 15, 2014 Cheng released his first album "Story of Panda". It reached number one on multiple sales charts within one week. On November 1, 2014 he held his first concert at the Kowloonbay International Trade & Exhibition Centre. He invited his band, HOME, to perform as well as singers from his record company, The Voice Entertainment.
Achievements in The Voice of the Stars (VOS)
| Episodes | Name of Songs & Scores |
| Episode 1 | Song of Era by Eason Chan – 174.9 (Highest score) |
| Episode 2 | Angels by Robbie Williams – 179.5 (Highest score) |
| Episode 3 | Root of Love by Alan Tam – 175.6 (Highest Score) |
| Episode 4 | If I Fell by The Beatles – 172.1 (Highest Score) |
| Episode 5 | Give Me One Reason by Tracy Chapman – 185.6 (Highest Score) |
| Episode 6 & 7 | Youth Song by Alfred Hui – 178.3 (Highest Score) |
| Episode 8 | Trust by Jacky Cheung – 173.2 (2nd Highest) |
| Episode 9 | Years Are Like A Song by Eason Chan – 169.2 (2nd Highest) |
| Episode 10 | Come Together by The Beatles – 180.9 (Highest Score) |
| Episode 11 | I Should by Jacky Cheung – 84.7 (3rd Highest) |
| Episode 12 | Crazy Little Thing Called Love by the rock band Queen - 97.0 (Highest Score) |
| Episode 13 | Chase by Leslie Cheung * Champion of 2013 Voice of Stars * Professional Performance Award (161,046.00 votes) |
Music career
Fred has officially signed with Voice Entertainment on 15 November 2013 as a singer. His new album will be released in September 2014. He has released his first plug - "Nobody" on 24 March 2014. The song was on #1 on the Hong Kong iTunes for seven (7) consecutive days. On 31 July, his second plug - "Panda" was released and the song went to #1 on Hong Kong iTunes after one (1) hour release. Until today, the song - "Panda" is still #1 on the Hong Kong iTunes after nine (9) days of release. Both songs has received good responses from the fans and public. Cheng's first album will be released on September 15, 2014 and he will hold his first concert on November 1, 2014 at the Kowloonbay International Trade & Exhibition Centre.
Drama Songs
| Year | Name of Song | TV Series | Type of Song | Remarks |
| 2013 | Two Words | Return of the Silver Tongue | Theme Song | Duet with Kristal Tin |
| 2014 | Challenge | The Ultimate Addiction | Theme Song | |
| Way Back Home | Ghost Dragon of Cold Mountain | Theme Song | ||
| Place | Overachievers | Sub Song | ||
| Surrender | Ending Song | |||
| 2015 | Ox Head Loves Horse Mouth | Theme Song |
Other Songs
- 2013 TVB 46th Anniversary Celebration Theme Song - "Always Getting Better" [citation needed]
- 2014 FIFA World Cup Theme Song - "We Are the Only One" (Various Artists Chorus)
- 2014 TVB J2 Channel Song - "Vibrant Heart"
Filmography
Television Dramas
| This section of a biography of a living person does not include any references or sources. (August 2014) |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2005 | My Family | Director's assistant | |
| Love Bond | Kei Chung-ming | ||
| The Academy | Miki's friend | ||
| The Gentle Crackdown | Siu Chuen | ||
| The Herbalist's Manual | (extra) | ||
| Women on the Run | (extra) | ||
| Life Made Simple | Student | ||
| The Charm Beneath | Ning Tin-long | ||
| When Rules Turn Loose | Chung Ka-ming | ||
| Guts of Man | (extra) | ||
| Riches and Stitches | (extra) | ||
| 2006 | Forensic Heroes | Leung Siu-gong | |
| The Master of Tai Chi | Siu Kwong | ||
| Welcome to the House | DHL employee | ||
| 2007 | The Brink of Law | Nurse | |
| Ten Brothers | Photographer | ||
| On the First Beat | Chiu Tai-lui | ||
| The Green Grass of Home | Danny | ||
| Fathers and Sons | Law Tin-fu | ||
| The Ultimate Crime Fighter | CID | ||
| The Building Blocks of Life | Alan | ||
| Survivor's Law II | Forensic pathologist | ||
| 2008 | Forensic Heroes II | Leung Siu-gong | |
| When Easterly Showers Fall On The Sunny West | Trickster | ||
| Pages of Treasures | Yuen Yat-hei | ||
| 2009 | Off Pedder | David Yeung | Episodes 126 & 127 |
| The Threshold of a Persona | Gary Lam Ying-tin | ||
| The Greatness of a Hero | Cho Hon | Episodes 4 & 5 | |
| E.U. | Chiu Tai-lui | ||
| A Watchdog's Tale | Kwok Wing | ||
| 2010 | Cupid Stupid | Samuel Mak Chiu-jun | |
| When Lanes Merge | Alex Cheung Yiu-ming | ||
| Ghost Writer | Sung Chuen | ||
| Mysteries of Love | Hui Jun-bong | Episodes 16 & 17 | |
| Can't Buy Me Love | Wing On | ||
| Some Day | Jun Jai | ||
| 2011 | Relic of an Emissary | Lau Chung-leung | |
| Yes, Sir. Sorry, Sir! | Cheung Hau-ming | Episodes 9, 11 | |
| Only You | Heung Wai-ho | Episodes 20 & 21 | |
| Grace Under Fire | Ma Sum | ||
| Gloves Come Off | Liu Fat | ||
| The Life and Times of a Sentinel | Bugino Yan-jaak | ||
| River of Wine | Shun | ||
| Til Love Do Us Lie | Guitarist | Episode 75 | |
| When Heaven Burns | Guitarist and vocalist | ||
| 2012 | Three Kingdoms RPG | (extra) | |
| Missing You | Sam Yeung Hok-lai | Episodes 13, 16-20 | |
| The Confidant | Lee Wing-ling | ||
| 2013 | The Day of Days | Kwok Chi-him | Guest star |
| Beauty at War | Master Leung | Guest star | |
| Karma Rider | Sai Chui | ||
| Triumph in the Skies II | Water Yau Tin-hing | ||
| Return of the Silver Tongue | Choi Dor-wah | Performed theme song with Kristal Tin – "兩句" (Two Words) | |
| 2014 | Ruse of Engagement | Eric Lee Kam | |
| Swipe Tap Love | Background singer | ||
| Come On Cousin! | Fred Chow (周星夢, S.M.) | Guest Role | |
| Overachievers | Happy Ko | ||
| To be Aired | Ox Head Loves Horse Mouth | Che Kwai Kwan |
References
- ^ IHKTV (in Traditional Chinese). 2013 14 October http://www.ihktv.com/voiceofstars-winners.html. Retrieved 2013 14 October.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=and|date=(help); Missing or empty|title=(help) - ^ a b "Fred Cheng to be first Voice Entertainment artiste to release new album". HK Yahoo! News (in Traditional Chinese). 16 November 2013. Retrieved 18 December 2013.
- ^ "2001全球華人新秀歌唱大賽" (in Chinese). Television Broadcasts Limited. Retrieved 20 February 2011.
External links
- Fred Cheng’s Weibo [1]