Benny Yau (

Traditional Chinese A tradition is a belief or behavior (folk custom) passed down within a group or society with symbolic meaning or special significance with origins in the past. A component of cultural expressions and folklore, common examples include holidays or ...

: 邱穟恆), born 8 May 1980 is a Canadian television presenter, singer, and actor known for hosting '' What's On'' on

Fairchild TV Fairchild TV or FTV is a Canadian Cantonese language exempt specialty channel."Waging a war over a large, wealthy, educated audience ; Fairchild TV and CFMT are battling it out to deliver the news to Canada's Chinese community". ''Toronto Star'' ...

, and as the lead singer of the band The WestCoast Players.

Career

Yau entered a DJ competition in May 1999 for a Vancouver Chinese radio station

CHMB CHMB is a Canadian AM radio station, broadcasting from Vancouver, British Columbia on 1320 kHz. The station airs a Chinese language programming format. CHMB's studios are located on Commerce Parkway in Richmond, while its transmitters are ...

AM 1320 (華僑之聲) and placed fourth. He then entered the station in hopes of becoming a successful radio DJ. He was set to host a weekly late night music program in September 1999. However, within weeks of those plans being made, they were put on hold by the station indefinitely. Yau entered the

New Talent Singing Awards Vancouver Audition New Talent Singing Awards Vancouver Audition (Chinese: 新秀歌唱大賽溫哥華選拔賽) or ''NTSA Vancouver'' for short, is an annual singing contest organized by Fairchild Television in Vancouver, held every July. The winner of the contest w ...

2000 (新秀歌唱大賽溫哥華選拔賽2000) organized by

Fairchild Television Fairchild TV or FTV is a Canadian Cantonese language exempt specialty channel."Waging a war over a large, wealthy, educated audience ; Fairchild TV and CFMT are battling it out to deliver the news to Canada's Chinese community". ''Toronto Star' ...

, and was garnered first runner-up with the songs ''Palm'' (掌心) by No Name Brand (無印良品) and ''

Con te partirò "Con te partirò" (; "With You I Shall Depart") is an Italian song written by Francesco Sartori (music) and Lucio Quarantotto (lyrics). It was first performed by Andrea Bocelli at the 1995 Sanremo Music Festival and recorded on his album of the ...

'' by

Andrea Bocelli Andrea Bocelli (; born 22 September 1958) is an Italian tenor and multi-instrumentalist. He was born visually impaired, with congenital glaucoma, and at the age of 12, Bocelli became completely blind, following a brain hemorrhage resulting fro ...

. He was later approached by Fairchild Television producers to co-host the infotainment program, " What's On (熒幕八爪娛)". Since then, Yau has gone on to become Master of Ceremonies at many of Fairchild Television's live events. In 2007, Yau was part of the judging panel at the auditions and semi-finals of the ''New Talent Singing Awards Vancouver Audition'', coming full circle from contestant to judge of the same contest. In December 2009, Yau announced on his Twitter account that he is no longer affiliated with Fairchild TV. Since then, Yau can be seen hosting live events for charities such as

Canadian Cancer Society The Canadian Cancer Society (french: Société canadienne du cancer) is Canada's largest national cancer charity and the largest national charitable funder of cancer research in Canada. History The idea to form the Canadian Cancer Society origin ...

. In 2011, he was invited to co-host ''

The Price Is Right Live! ''The Price Is Right LIVE!'' is a staged production show based on the television game show ''The Price Is Right''. The live stage shows were originally held at Caesars Entertainment casinos, as well as the Foxwoods Resort & Casino in Connecticu ...

'' with

Joey Fatone Joseph Anthony Fatone Jr. (born January 28, 1977) is an American singer, dancer, actor, and television personality. He is best known as a member of the boyband NSYNC, in which he sang baritone. In 2007, he came in second place on the ABC realit ...

River Rock Casino Resort River Rock Casino Resort in Richmond, British Columbia is the largest casino in the province of British Columbia. The casino is owned by Great Canadian Gaming. The hotel has a total of 396 rooms, including standard rooms and suites and it is situ ...

. In 2015, Yau became one of the frontpersons of the

dance music Dance music is music composed specifically to facilitate or accompany dancing. It can be either a whole musical piece or part of a larger musical arrangement. In terms of performance, the major categories are live dance music and recorded danc ...

band The WestCoast Players. And in 2016, Yau became an entertainment host for

Princess Cruises Princess Cruises is an American cruise line owned by Carnival Corporation & plc. The company is incorporated in Bermuda and its headquarters are in Santa Clarita, California, Santa Clarita, California. As of 2021, it is the List of cruise lines# ...

on board their Asian cruise line, later becoming a

cruise director A cruise director is a high-ranking or senior officer of a cruise ship with responsibility for all onboard hospitality, entertainment and social events, who acts as the public face of the company. The cruise director reports to the hotel director, ...

Personal life

Yau was born in Hong Kong, and immigrated with his family to

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

, Canada in 1988. Yau is a graduate of

Eric Hamber Secondary School Eric Hamber Secondary School is a public secondary school located in the South Cambie neighbourhood of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Eric Hamber is a comprehensive secondary school with approximately 1400 students. Each year, approximatel ...

in 1998 with the distinction of Top Music Department Graduate. He later studied Classical Voice at Vancouver Community College under the instruction of Bruce Pullan. During his high school days, Yau was a competitive swimmer. Yau is an avid collector of

Amiibo (, ; officially stylized as amiibo; plural: ''Amiibo'') is a toys-to-life platform by Nintendo, which was launched in November 2014. It consists of a wireless communications and storage protocol for connecting figurines to the Wii U, Ninten ...

figurines, and is a fan of the

Pokémon (an abbreviation for in Japan) is a Japanese media franchise managed by The Pokémon Company, founded by Nintendo, Game Freak, and Creatures (company), Creatures, the owners of the trademark and copyright of the franchise. In terms of ...

franchise.

Selected works

Television

*''

The Wake Show'' – Presenter/Host (2016–present) *''

BC Children's Hospital British Columbia Children's Hospital is a medical facility located in Vancouver, British Columbia, and is an agency of the Provincial Health Services Authority. It specializes in health care for patients from birth to 16 years of age (possibly lo ...

Miracle Weekend Telethon'' – Master of Ceremonies (2004, 2007, 2008, 2009) *''Mr. Sing Searches For Stars'' (Sing仔尋星) – Sing仔 (2006) *''

'' – Semi-finals Master of Ceremonies (2005, 2006) *''Angling Unlimited'' (漁樂無窮) – Host (2001) *'' What's On'' – Host (2000–2002)

Live events

*''

's The Monopoly Affair – Vancouver'' – Master of Ceremonies (2016, 2019) *''

'' – Co-Host (2011) *''

Galaxy of Hope Fundraising Gala'' – Master of Ceremonies (2005, 2010) *''Hong Kong

TVB Television Broadcasts Limited (TVB) is a television broadcasting company based in Hong Kong SAR. The Company operates five free-to-air terrestrial television channels in Hong Kong, with TVB Jade as its main Cantonese language service, and TVB ...

Fans Party – Vancouver Stop'' – Master of Ceremonies (2008) *''

'' – Semi-finals Judge (2007, 2008) *''

Miss Chinese (Vancouver) Pageant Miss Chinese Vancouver Pageant (Chinese: 溫哥華華裔小姐競選), also known as MCV and formerly branded as Miss Chinese (Vancouver) Pageant, is an annual beauty pageant organized by Fairchild TV that selects Vancouver's representative for t ...

'' – Guest performer (2002, 2007)

References

External links

* *
Benny Yau
at Twitter
Benny Yau Official Artist Profile For Fairchild TV ( In Chinese )
Now defunct. {{DEFAULTSORT:Yau, Benny 1980 births Living people Canadian male television actors Canadian television hosts Musicians from Vancouver Canadian male actors of Hong Kong descent Hong Kong emigrants to Canada Male actors from Vancouver Naturalized citizens of Canada New Talent Singing Awards contestants