Chinese singer Faye Wong proves a hit on her return to spotlight
Canto-pop diva – who celebrates her 49th birthday today – sparks media frenzy and social media comment as she appears on new reality TV show ‘PhantaCity’
Chinese singer-songwriter Faye Wong made a surprise comeback by appearing on Hunan Television’s new reality show, PhantaCity on July 20 – but she is not finished yet.
She is expected to push the programme’s rating to a new high when she returns in front of the cameras on Friday – alongside her daughters Leah Dou Jingtong, 21, and Li Yan, 12.
Wong kicked off the programme’s first episode with a music video of one of her biggest hits, Dream Lover in Cantonese, a cover version of The Cranberries’ Dreams.
The three-minute video showed Wong – wearing a velvet, loose jumper created by designer Wan Hung and a white ostrich feather dress designed by Titi Kwan – singing, dancing and jumping from one setting to another, and looking just like the young girl played almost 25 years ago in Wong Kar-wai’s epic 1994 Hong Kong-set film, Chungking Express.
The weekly reality show, which aims to bring live music to a television audience, pairs a singer and director backstage in the 3,000-square-metre (32,300-square-foot) studio.
Everything needs to be done in one take. But as a seasoned actress and singer, this should not be much problem for Wong.
So why did she chose to join this television show after a long absence away from the spotlight?