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Teresa Carpio (born 30 September 1956) is a Hong Kong English- and Cantonese-language pop singer, actress, and singing teacher. Carpio was popular in Hong Kong during the 1970s and 1980s. She is the paternal cousin of actress and singer
Rita Carpio Rita Maria Carpio (; born June 17, 1965) is a Hong Kong pop singer of Filipino-Macanese ethnicity. Active since the 1980s, she is most well known for the 1990 Cantopop classic "You Needn’t Be Acquaintances to Meet with Each Other" (相逢何必 ...
, and also the mother of actress and singer T.V. Carpio. She is most well known for her Cantonese-language hits, 假如 (''If''), 仍然記得嗰一次 (''I Still Remember That Time''), 眉頭不再猛皺 (''Sukiyaki''), 何必放棄 (''Why Give Up'') and 真愛 (''True Love'').


Family background

Carpio was born in St. Teresa's Hospital in
Ma Tau Wai Ma Tau Wai (, originally , historically ) is an area in the Kowloon City District, Kowloon, Hong Kong. It was originally a walled village (Cantonese: ''Wai'') between present-day Argyle Street and Prince Edward Road West, east of present-d ...
, to a Filipino father and a Shanghainese mother. Born into a musical family (her grandfather was a concert violinist and
jazz guitarist Jazz guitarists are guitarists who play jazz using an approach to chords, melodies, and improvised solo lines which is called jazz guitar playing. The guitar has fulfilled the roles of accompanist ( rhythm guitar) and soloist in small and large ...
, her father Fernando, a
jazz drummer Jazz drumming is the art of playing percussion (predominantly the drum kit, which includes a variety of drums and cymbals) in jazz styles ranging from 1910s-style Dixieland jazz to 1970s-era jazz fusion and 1980s-era Latin jazz. The techniques an ...
, and several uncles were also professional musicians), she began singing at age 6 when she entered and won Hong Kong's first Amateur Talent Quest. She is the eldest of five, all of whom have at some time been active in the music business. Her eldest daughter, TV Carpio, is a musician, actress and Broadway singer.


Career

Carpio began her career as a child star, winning Hong Kong's first Amateur Talent Quest in 1963 at the age of 6. At age 11, she turned down a scholarship at St Paul's Convent to work in her first job in
Tahiti Tahiti (; Tahitian ; ; previously also known as Otaheite) is the largest island of the Windward group of the Society Islands in French Polynesia. It is located in the central part of the Pacific Ocean and the nearest major landmass is Austr ...
where her father was also working. Following that, she worked in clubs until she went to Japan for a year where she met
Shintaro Katsu was a Japanese actor, singer, and filmmaker. He is known for starring in the ''Akumyo'' series, the ''Hoodlum Soldier'' series, and the ''Zatoichi'' series. Life and career Born Toshio Okumura (奥村 利夫 ''Okumura Toshio'') on 29 Novemb ...
who sponsored her during her time there. She released her first single in Japan in 1971, entitled Ainoko Mary (混血児マリー). Returning to Hong Kong, she worked in many nightclubs, such as Danshaku, Gessekai and the Hyatt Hotel's Chin Chin Bar, until EMI came and offered her a recording deal. For several years from 1975 onwards Carpio had her own TV variety show in Hong Kong, on which she performed both solo and with several of her siblings. She released many albums in Hong Kong from 1976 onwards; six of her albums under EMI went gold, in which she featured cover versions in English of western hits, including an album with
George Lam George Lam Tsz-Cheung (born 12 October 1947), also known professionally by his surname Lam, is a Hong Kong-based veteran Cantopop singer, singer-songwriter, music producer and actor, with a career that has so far lasted more than four decades. Lam ...
. She made numerous television appearances in Hong Kong, in the late 1970s. Carpio was the first and the youngest Hong Kong singer ever to appear on national TV in Japan. She has performed in many other countries as far apart as
Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...
,
Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...
,
French Polynesia )Territorial motto: ( en, "Great Tahiti of the Golden Haze") , anthem = , song_type = Regional anthem , song = " Ia Ora 'O Tahiti Nui" , image_map = French Polynesia on the globe (French Polynesia centered).svg , map_alt = Location of Frenc ...
,
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
,
Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
,
Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...
,
Brunei Brunei ( , ), formally Brunei Darussalam ( ms, Negara Brunei Darussalam, Jawi alphabet, Jawi: , ), is a country located on the north coast of the island of Borneo in Southeast Asia. Apart from its South China Sea coast, it is completely sur ...
, the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
and
Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
. With the growing popularity of
Cantopop Cantopop (a contraction of "Cantonese pop music") or HK-pop (short for "Hong Kong pop music") is a genre of pop music written in standard Chinese and sung in Cantonese. Cantopop is also used to refer to the cultural context of its production ...
, Carpio started to record in
Cantonese Cantonese ( zh, t=廣東話, s=广东话, first=t, cy=Gwóngdūng wá) is a language within the Chinese (Sinitic) branch of the Sino-Tibetan languages originating from the city of Guangzhou (historically known as Canton) and its surrounding are ...
along with English. In 1983, Carpio headlined the Hong Kong Coliseum for the first time. The concert was unsuccessful at the box office. Reception towards the concert was generally mixed: although Carpio's voice and stage presence was praised, the lack of Cantonese songs and audience interaction was criticised. According to Carpio, the concert caused her a lot of debt, partially leading to the dissolution of her first marriage. She broadened her career into acting with appearances in a number of films, and auditioned for the lead role in
Miss Saigon ''Miss Saigon'' is a stage musical by Claude-Michel Schönberg and Alain Boublil, with lyrics by Boublil and Richard Maltby Jr. It is based on Giacomo Puccini's 1904 opera ''Madame Butterfly'', and similarly tells the tragic tale of a doomed roma ...
, though this eventually went to Lea Salonga. She was no stranger to live musical theatre, having taken the lead role in the 1979
San Jose, California San Jose, officially San José (; ; ), is a major city in the U.S. state of California that is the cultural, financial, and political center of Silicon Valley and largest city in Northern California by both population and area. With a 2020 popul ...
production of the stage musical '' City of Broken Promises'', based on the book by
Austin Coates Austin Coates (1922–1997) was a British civil servant, writer and traveller. He was the son of noted English composer Eric Coates. Austin Coates wrote extensively on topics related to the Asia-Pacific region, particularly Hong Kong and Macau. ...
, a story set in
Macau Macau or Macao (; ; ; ), officially the Macao Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (MSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China in the western Pearl River Delta by the South China Sea. With a pop ...
which won Best Original Musical. Following her second marriage, Carpio moved to Canada and focused her attention on bringing up her family (she has three daughters, the eldest, T. V. Carpio, by her first marriage, also an actor, singer and songwriter).


Discography

Carpio has released twenty five albums to date, including six live recordings. Her first eponymous studio album was released in 1975 and then quickly followed up with five more solo albums from EMI as well as a duet album with George Lam. In 1981 she moved to WEA and released one Cantonese-language album. In 1983 she formed her own record company, TV Records, which released three more Cantonese albums, on which – together with her WEA album – are some of her most popular songs. Since then she has released several live CDs and DVDs as well as a few studio recordings.


English


Cantonese


Duet


Live


Filmography

She has appeared in 13 movies in total, starting in 1984 with a lead role in ''
Happy Ghost ''Happy Ghost'' (released in the Philippines as ''Magic to Win 3: The Origin'') () is a 1984 Hong Kong comedy film directed by Clifton Ko. Produced and written by Raymond Wong, the film stars Wong, Boonie Law, Loletta Lee and Sandy Lamb. The fil ...
'', where she also sang the theme song. She is more well-known for her later movies, where she often was famous for small roles that became extremely popular, such as 2003's '' Truth or Dare: 6th Floor Rear Flat'' where she sang part of 海闊天空 ( Boundless Oceans, Vast Skies), accompanying herself on keyboards.


Motion pictures


Teaching

Carpio began teaching in 1991, when
Sandy Lam Sandy Lam (; born 26 April 1966), is a Hong Kong singer, actress and album producer. She rose to fame in the 1980s as a Cantopop diva, before expanding her fan base significantly in Asia, releasing more than 30 stylistically diverse albums in C ...
came to her and asked her to teach her in preparation for her concerts at the Hong Kong Coliseum. After that, many other singers followed, such as
Sammi Cheng Sammi Cheng Sau-man (; born 19 August 1972) is a Hong Kong singer and actress. She is considered one of the most prominent female singers in Hong Kong, with album sales of over million copies throughout Asia. Most notably in the 1990s, she was dub ...
,
Wong Cho Lam Wong Cho-lam (born Wong Ho-yin; 9 January 1980) is a Hong Kong entertainer currently working as the Chief Creative Officer of TVB. He works as a stage actor, stage director, television actor, voice actor, DJ, television host, lyricist, scriptwrit ...
,
Cecilia Cheung Cecilia Cheung Pak-chi (in Chinese 張栢芝, born 24 May 1980) is a Hong Kong actress and cantopop singer. Cheung is considered a " Sing girl"—an actress who first received media attention through starring alongside Stephen Chow, and later ...
,
Joey Yung Joey Yung (, ; born 16 June 1980) is a Hong Kong singer and Cantopop diva signed to Emperor Entertainment Group. Since her debut in 1996, Yung has won numerous awards, including the JSG Most Popular Female Singer and Ultimate Best Female Sin ...
,
Gigi Leung Gigi Leung Wing-kei (Chinese: 梁詠琪, born 25 March 1976) is a Hong Kong singer and actress. Early life She was born at Tsan Yuk Hospital in Sai Ying Pun on 25 March 1976 and was given the name Leung Pik-chi () for superstitious reasons; as ...
,
Alex To Alex To (born Alejandro Delfino on 10 February 1962) is a Hong Kong- and Taiwan-based singer and actor. He is the winner of the 4th annual New Talent Singing Awards in 1985. He has released numerous albums throughout his career and mainly has ...
, Edmund Leung,
Twins Twins are two offspring produced by the same pregnancy.MedicineNet > Definition of TwinLast Editorial Review: 19 June 2000 Twins can be either ''monozygotic'' ('identical'), meaning that they develop from one zygote, which splits and forms two em ...
, and
Jade Kwan Kwan Wai-Man (born 31 July 1979), better known professionally as Jade Kwan Sum-Yin (), is a Cantopop singer and philanthropist based in Hong Kong. Originally from Vancouver, she entered the music industry after winning the 1999 New Talent Singing ...
. She appeared on Hong Kong television as a judge and head vocal coach on season two of the singing competition ''
The Voice The Voice may refer to: Fictional entities * The Voice or Presence, a fictional representation of God in DC Comics * The Voice (''Dune''), a fictional ability in the ''Dune'' universe * The Voice, a character in the American TV series ''Cleo ...
''.


Major concerts


''Singer 2017''

Prior to her appearance on ''Singer 2017'', on 20 August 2016, she appeared as a guest singer on the finals of '' Crossover Singer'' 2016 for the performance of runner-up
Wong Cho Lam Wong Cho-lam (born Wong Ho-yin; 9 January 1980) is a Hong Kong entertainer currently working as the Chief Creative Officer of TVB. He works as a stage actor, stage director, television actor, voice actor, DJ, television host, lyricist, scriptwrit ...
(who sung a version of The Prayer.) As a result of her appearance, Carpio was selected as one of eight initial singers to compete in Hunan TV's ''
Singer 2017 ''Singer'' 2017 was the fifth season of Chinese television series of the rebranded version of '' I Am a Singer''. Due to the banning of Korean-related brands and artists in China, the series went with a rebranding under a simplified title of ''Sin ...
''. During her tenure, she told to the media that her participation was fueled by the fact that she was competing against another Hong Kong singer,
Sandy Lam Sandy Lam (; born 26 April 1966), is a Hong Kong singer, actress and album producer. She rose to fame in the 1980s as a Cantopop diva, before expanding her fan base significantly in Asia, releasing more than 30 stylistically diverse albums in C ...
Yik-Lin (who went on to win). Despite topping the singer's voting predictions (two 1st, one 2nd and one 3rd), she was eliminated on week five (2nd Knockout round) after receiving the lowest combined votes, largely due to finishing last on her prior week. Her elimination was not without controversy, with many fans questioning the elimination. After her return performance on the week after elimination, Carpio later returned to the stage to participate the "Breakout Round", and at second place by a difference of three votes (0.15%) behind the top singer Li Jian. She was one of the few singers to be reinstated to the competition. However, she was shortly eliminated again on the semi-finals a week later as one of the bottom two singers (the other was
Julia Peng Julia Peng (; born 20 April 1972) is a Taiwanese singer. She won the Best Mandarin Female Singer award at the 27th Golden Melody Awards in 2016. She is a famous singer since the 90s. ''I Am a Singer'' Julia Peng participated in Hunan Televi ...
), receiving a lower count of votes.


References


External links


Teresa Carpio, Asia's First Lady of Song
– Official website; includes an incomplete discography *
HK cinemagic entry
{{DEFAULTSORT:Carpio, Teresa 1956 births Living people Cantopop singers EMI Records artists English-language singers from Hong Kong Hong Kong child singers Hong Kong expatriates in Canada Hong Kong expatriates in the United States 20th-century Hong Kong women singers Hong Kong film actresses Hong Kong people of Filipino descent Hong Kong pianists Hong Kong television personalities Music educators Hong Kong musical theatre actresses Pop pianists 20th-century women pianists