Ding Dang (; born Wu Xian on 17 April 1982), also known as Della, is a Taiwan-based Chinese singer who is known for her wide vocal range and emotive soundtracks for numerous television series.
Early life and education
Ding Dang was born on 17 April 1982 in
Zhejiang
Zhejiang ( or , ; , also romanized as Chekiang) is an eastern, coastal province of the People's Republic of China. Its capital and largest city is Hangzhou, and other notable cities include Ningbo and Wenzhou. Zhejiang is bordered by Jiang ...
. Growing up, her parents divorced.
She graduated from the Fourth High School in
Jiashan County
Jiashan County () is a County (People's Republic of China), county in the north of Zhejiang Province (China), Province, bordering Shanghai to the northeast and Jiangsu province to the north. It is administered by the prefecture-level city of Jiax ...
in 1998.
Career
1999–2005: Early career – bar singing and Rock Records
In 1999, Ding Dang decided pursue her childhood interest in music, and left for neighbouring cities despite concerns from her parents.
She first adopted the stage name, Ding Dang (叮当) taking after her favourite cartoon character
Doraemon
''Doraemon'' ( ja, ドラえもん ) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Fujiko F. Fujio. The manga was first serialized in December 1969, with List of Doraemon chapters, its 1,345 individual chapters compiled into 45 ' ...
, the blue robot in the eponymous manga, however the first character of the stage name was changed to a similarly sounding Ding (丁) after taking advice from a fortune teller. She performed in various
cabaret
Cabaret is a form of theatrical entertainment featuring music, song, dance, recitation, or drama. The performance venue might be a pub, a casino, a hotel, a restaurant, or a nightclub with a stage for performances. The audience, often dining or d ...
s in
Huzhou
Huzhou (, ; Huzhounese: ''ghou² cieu¹'') is a prefecture-level city in northern Zhejiang province (Hangzhou–Jiaxing–Huzhou Plain, China). Lying south of the Lake Tai, it borders Jiaxing to the east, Hangzhou to the south, and the provinc ...
,
Ningbo
Ningbo (; Ningbonese: ''gnin² poq⁷'' , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ), formerly romanized as Ningpo, is a major sub-provincial city in northeast Zhejiang province, People's Republic of China. It comprises 6 urban districts, 2 sate ...
, and subsequent was employed in a bar in Hangzhou's World Trade Center as a singer.
In March 2003, Della was signed to the
Rock Records
The Rock Records Co., Ltd. () commonly known as Rock Records (), is a record label based in Taipei, Taiwan. Founded in the 1980s as the Rock Music Publishing (滾石有聲出版社; ) by Tuan Chung-tan and Tuan Chung-i, It is the largest record ...
after executives from the record company heard her sing at the bar.
However, due various reasons she did not debut under Rock Records. Initially, she was delayed by a
SARS
Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) is a viral respiratory disease of zoonotic origin caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV or SARS-CoV-1), the first identified strain of the SARS coronavirus species, ''sever ...
infection during
2002–2004 SARS outbreak
The 2002–2004 outbreak of SARS, caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV or SARS-CoV-1), infected over 8,000 people from 29 countries and territories, and resulted in at least 774 deaths worldwide.
The outbreak wa ...
in 2003.
Then Rock Records had an exodus of employees who were responsible for producing albums, as well as some financial constraints that limited their abilities to take care of every singer under them.
Additionally, the Chinese market was getting crowded with new singers minted from popular singing competitions, and thus new singers from record companies had little opportunities to gain a foothold in the market. Ding Dang was unable to participate in the singing competitions due to contractual obligations.
With only 1,000 RMB monthly allowance,
Ding Dang decided to return back to singing at the bar after a discussion with Rock Records.
2006–2007: Debut
In 2006, some of the higher management personnel in Rock Records established
B'in Music B'in Music, otherwise known as Believe in Music International Limited () in full or B'in Music (), is a Taiwan-based recording company, formally established on July 1, 2006, and founded by Ason Chen in Taipei.
Current artist roster
B’in Music
...
to manage the development of singers and produce music, while Rock Records would continue to distribute the produced music.
This arrangement was made under the advent of online music streaming and the shrinking lucrative CD sales that affected markets globally. Many of the established singers signed by Rock Records such as
Mayday
Mayday is an emergency procedure word used internationally as a distress signal in voice-procedure radio communications.
It is used to signal a life-threatening emergency primarily by aviators and mariners, but in some countries local organiza ...
(五月天),
Fish Leong
Fish Leong (born Leong Chui Peng on 16 June 1978) is a Malaysian singer and songwriter. Having sold more than 20 million records to date, she has achieved popularity and success in China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan, Singapore, and Malaysia.
Ea ...
(梁静茹),
Victor Wong (品冠) would also move to B'in Music as their contracts with Rock Records were due for renewal about the same time.
During this transition in the management of singers between Rock Records and B'in Music, Ding Dang had an hour long conversation with
B'in Music B'in Music, otherwise known as Believe in Music International Limited () in full or B'in Music (), is a Taiwan-based recording company, formally established on July 1, 2006, and founded by Ason Chen in Taipei.
Current artist roster
B’in Music
...
's Xie Zhifen (谢芝芬) who was formerly a higher management at Rock Records.
The conversation, along with an 8 seconds long audition lead B'in Music to sign Ding Dang on as a singer as well.
As B'in Music is a Taiwanese company with its production crew primarily based in Taiwan, being the only
Mainland Chinese
Mainland Chinese or Mainlanders are Chinese people who live in or have recently emigrated from mainland China, defined as the territory governed by the People's Republic of China (PRC) except for Hong Kong ( SAR of the PRC), Macau (SAR of the PRC), ...
under them at that time, Ding Dang left for Taiwan to continue her singing career.
However, before she could released her first album, she would be tasked be the
opening act
A opening act, also known as a warm-up act, support act, or supporting act, is an entertainment act (musical, comedic, or otherwise), that performs at a concert before the featured act, or "headliner". Rarely, an opening act may perform again a ...
in various Mayday's local concerts in Taiwan. Facing the audience as an unrecognised singer with no songs to call her own, she was met with varying responses from the audience, from polite applause to outright
booing
Booing is an act of publicly showing displeasure for someone or something, such as an entertainer or an athlete, by loudly yelling "Boo!" and sustaining the "oo" sound by holding it out. People may also make hand signs such as the thumbs down sig ...
.
In July 2007, Ding Dang released her first two singles, ''Run Away from Home'' (離家出走) and ''Can or Not'' (可以不可以). Thereafter, she performed the songs in as part of an opening act for Mayday's concert on to which the originally unwelcoming audience responded enthusiastically.
With ''Run Away from Home'', she won Top New Artists award at 2007
KKBOX Music Awards.
2008–present
In 2008, Ding Dang released her second album ''Decisively Loved'' (我爱上的) in Taiwan first on 8 July 2008, before promoting the album in Mainland China on 27 November 2008.
By then, one of the songs, ''Can't Guess'', (猜不透) became one of the most downloaded ringtones, requested songs, and most sang to in karaoke establishments in Taiwan.
On 23 September 2009, she released her third album, ''Night Cat'' (夜猫). Two of the songs, ''I Love Him'' (我爱他) and ''Suddenly Want To Love You'' (突然想爱你) were used as the opening and ending theme songs for the popular 2009 romance drama, ''
Autumn's Concerto
Autumn's Concerto () is a 2009 Taiwanese drama series starring Ady An, Ann Hsu, and Vanness Wu of F4. It was produced by Sanlih E-Television and directed by Wei-ling Chen. The series was filmed from June to December 2009.
The series was first b ...
''. ''I Love Him'' became popular as well, with it being the most popular song to be played in karaoke establishments in Taiwan between 2009 and 2010.
The song would remain as popular in subsequent years.
In 2015, Della entered The Chinese version of
King of Mask Singer
''The King of Mask Singer'' () is a South Korean singing competition program presented by Kim Sung-joo, with introductions by voice actor . It airs on MBC on Sunday, starting from April 5, 2015 as a part of MBC's '' Sunday Night'' programming ...
(
蒙面歌王), using the mask of Black Swan to conceal her identity. She was crowned the Mask King of the second episode.
She also participated in ''
Sisters Who Make Waves
''Sisters Who Make Waves'' () is a 2020 Chinese reality television show that was broadcast on Mango TV from 12 June to 4 September 2020. It features 30 female celebrities over 30 years old who must compete to debut in a seven-member girl group.
...
'' (乘风破浪的姐姐) in 2020.
Discography
Studio albums
* (2007) ''Run Away From Home''
* (2008) ''Decisively Loved''
* (2009) ''Night Cat''
* (2010) ''Fu Good (New + Best Selection)''
* (2011) ''Soulmate''
* (2012) ''Dall-One in a Thousand''
* (2014) ''Dare to Love''
* (2016) ''Be My Own Friend''
* (2019) ''Die Lovin
* (2021) ''Sing Together Again''
Collaborations
* (2017) "Force it, Okay?" (强求好嗎?) with
Alan Tam
Alan Tam Wing-lun MH (; born 23 August 1950) is a Hong Kong singer and actor. He played a major role in developing the Cantopop scene in the 1980s as he was known for singing romantic ballads with modern arrangements. From 1983 to 1987, Alan Tam ...
Notes
References
External links
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ding Dang
Living people
1982 births
Musicians from Jiaxing
Singers from Zhejiang
21st-century Chinese singers
21st-century Chinese women singers
Chinese expatriates in Taiwan
Hangzhou Normal University alumni