Vince Chong
Encyclopedia
Vincent Chong Ying-Cern , internationally known by his stage name
Stage name
A stage name, also called a showbiz name or screen name, is a pseudonym used by performers and entertainers such as actors, wrestlers, comedians, and musicians.-Motivation to use a stage name:...

 Vince , is the first reality TV star to issue from Malaysian Akademi Fantasia
Akademi Fantasia
Akademi Fantasia is Malaysia's first reality television show in which a number of contestants called students compete for the winning title and a chance to start their career in the entertainment industry. The first season premiered in June 3, 2003 and was one of Astro Ria's highest rated shows...

. Chong is popular as a R&B-inclined singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriters are musicians who write, compose and sing their own musical material including lyrics and melodies. As opposed to contemporary popular music singers who write their own songs, the term singer-songwriter describes a distinct form of artistry, closely associated with the...

. His popularity increased internationally after he teamed up with Nikki Gil
Nikki Gil
Monica Pauline "Nikki" Gil is a Filipino singer, actress, host, model and myx VJ.-Biography:Monica Pauline Gil was born in Manila to Dino and Julie Gil. She is of Filipino, Spanish and German descent...

 and Alicia Pan to record the theme from High School Musical
High School Musical
High School Musical is a 2006 American television film, first in the High School Musical film franchise. Upon its release on January 20, 2006, it became the most successful film that Disney Channel Original Movie ever produced, with a television sequel High School Musical 2 released in 2007 and...

, Breaking Free
Breaking Free
"Breaking Free" is a song from the Disney Channel Original Movie High School Musical. It also appears on the soundtrack of the same name. It is sung by Drew Seeley , Zac Efron, and Vanessa Hudgens. It was also released as a single on September 28, 2006...

 (Asian Version).

Family, education and early career

Chong was born in 1979. His father was Chong Chen Kian, of Chinese
Chinese people
The term Chinese people may refer to any of the following:*People with Han Chinese ethnicity ....

 ethnic origin, and mother Susan Ann from England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

. He has four younger siblings: Pamela, Daniel, Ian and Sean and an older sister Vanessa. His sisters Pamela and Vanessa competed in The Amazing Race Asia 2
The Amazing Race Asia 2
The Amazing Race Asia 2 is the second season of the reality television game show The Amazing Race Asia. The show features ten teams of two, with a pre-existing relationship, in a race around the world to win US$100,000....

 and finished as runners-up. His brother, Sean is also one of the singers of Budi Bahasa Budaya Bangsa (1 Malaysia version) as representing Pan-Asean in Malaysia.

He started entertaining people through singing when he was a child and was involved in several church plays, singing competitions and modelling advertisements with his sister Vanessa. He once performed a solo opera at the age of 14 in front of more than 2000 people.

He holds a Diploma in Marketing from Stamford College Petaling Jaya
Petaling Jaya
Petaling Jaya is a Malaysian city originally developed as a satellite township for Kuala Lumpur comprising mostly residential and some industrial areas. It is located in the Petaling district of Selangor with an area of approximately 97.2 km². On 20 June 2006, Petaling Jaya was granted a...

, Malaysia and has worked as a fraud analyst and marketing assistant. He chose not to continue to his final degree year and instead to fulfill his dream to become a professional singer. Vince also holds a certificate in basic music arranging from International College of Music (ICOM) Kuala Lumpur
Kuala Lumpur
Kuala Lumpur is the capital and the second largest city in Malaysia by population. The city proper, making up an area of , has a population of 1.4 million as of 2010. Greater Kuala Lumpur, also known as the Klang Valley, is an urban agglomeration of 7.2 million...

.

He had experience in several church plays and theater as a director and script writer. In college Chong formed a music band called IBNOT. Since then he had written and composed numerous songs as part of his hobby. The band played several genres of music including rock
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...

, R'n'B, jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...

, alternative etc. Chong also had experience in recording back-up vocals for professional artistes, such as Ferhadhttp://www.ferhad.com in Anugerah Industri Muzik
Anugerah Industri Muzik
Anugerah Industri Muzik , is Malaysia's music award-giving ceremony. It is the Malaysia's equivalent of Grammy.-Best Album:-Best Song:...

 Awards in 2001.

Akademi Fantasia

Chong's first serious singing competition was in the Astro Talent Quest
Astro Talent Quest
Astro Talent Quest is an annual Chinese singing competition in Malaysia organized by ASTRO Wah Lai Toi, which was first held in 1996.This competition is aimed at showcasing and unearthing talents among young Malaysian Chinese between ages 18 to 28. The winner will then represent Malaysia at the...

 (ATQ) 2002. Not fluent in Mandarin (as he speaks Cantonese
Standard Cantonese
Cantonese, or Standard Cantonese, is a language that originated in the vicinity of Canton in southern China, and is often regarded as the prestige dialect of Yue Chinese....

, English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...

 and Malay
Malay language
Malay is a major language of the Austronesian family. It is the official language of Malaysia , Indonesia , Brunei and Singapore...

), Vince had a challenge to learn and memorise the Mandarin songs to remain in the competition. Eventually Chong became first runner-up in ATQ.

In 2003 after returning from his holiday in Gold Coast, Australia, Vanessa and Rueben (Burn AF1) encouraged him to join Akademi Fantasia
Akademi Fantasia
Akademi Fantasia is Malaysia's first reality television show in which a number of contestants called students compete for the winning title and a chance to start their career in the entertainment industry. The first season premiered in June 3, 2003 and was one of Astro Ria's highest rated shows...

 which would be in its inaugural season. Chong and Rueben went to the audition in KL and successfully became part of the 12 AF finalists. For nine weeks he and his AF friends had to live separately from their families and friends.
Week after week Chong was finally crowned the winner for Akademi Fantasia's 1st season along with Khai as 1st runner up and Azizi as 2nd runner up. He received an offer to do a duet with Malaysian singer Nora a song titled Dilema'03 for her greatest hits album.

Upon "graduating" from Akademi Fantasia, Chong and his 11 classmates made a roadshow of Akademi Fantasia around Malaysia and Brunei. The group were interviewed by Azwan Ali in his popular talk show Cit Cat Azwan. The fans had voted them as the best newcomers interviewed in Cit Cat Azwan Award in 2003. Chong made his final appearance in a group when they were performed road tour in Brunei
Brunei
Brunei , officially the State of Brunei Darussalam or the Nation of Brunei, the Abode of Peace , is a sovereign state located on the north coast of the island of Borneo, in Southeast Asia...

.

Vince

Chong had decided to leave Maestro Talent to be an "independent" singer by joining EMI
EMI
The EMI Group, also known as EMI Music or simply EMI, is a multinational music company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the fourth-largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry and one of the "big four" record companies. EMI Group also has a major...

 Malaysia to kick-off his singing career. It was a "very hard" journey for Chong as independent singer when his best friend-cum-competitor Khai overshadowed him with his "Dambaan Pilu". But he maintained determination as his first album self titled Vince was also highly anticipated, featuring his single Mengapa Harus Cinta? entered several music charts. Chong was selected as one of the artistes to have a song in Anugerah Juara Lagu
Anugerah Juara Lagu
Anugerah Juara Lagu is a popular annual music competition in Malaysia, organized by TV3. It features the best musical and lyrical compositions of each year it is held...

. Not only that, he was also placed third in the Shanghai Asian Music Festival 2004.

In 2004 and 2005 Chong's fame progressed after received several awards due to his achievement and he accepted an offer to be the lead actor for Yusof Haslam
Yusof Haslam
Yusof Haslam is a Malaysian film maker and director. His film production are mainly focus on the world of police, such as Gerak Khas and Roda-Roda Kuala Lumpur. Now his legacy are continue by his sons, one of them is Syamsul Yusof....

's new film Sembilu 2005. His first appearance on the silver screen had received positive reaction from his fans.

In 2005 he was chosen to sing one of the song in the soundtrack for Puteri Gunung Ledang
Puteri Gunung Ledang (film)
Puteri Gunung Ledang is a 2004 Malaysian epic fantasy period film directed by Saw Teong Hin and based on the Legend of Puteri Gunung Ledang, a Indonesian legend about a Princess who lived on top of Gunung Ledang and a Malaccan Sultan's effort to court her. The film stars Tiara Jacquelina, M...

 titled Keranamu Kekasih.

Janji Vince

In 2006 his second album Janji Vince was released, receiving mixed reactions from fans and critics. The album was said to be superior in quality compared to his first album, yet it sparked controversy when Vince pronounced the Arabic word Taala ("the one", as in one of the titles of Allah
Allah
Allah is a word for God used in the context of Islam. In Arabic, the word means simply "God". It is used primarily by Muslims and Bahá'ís, and often, albeit not exclusively, used by Arabic-speaking Eastern Catholic Christians, Maltese Roman Catholics, Eastern Orthodox Christians, Mizrahi Jews and...

) in his song Berkobar-bokar. Later, the composer of the song Yassin clarified that the Taala actually means "to come".

He had been invited frequently to perform in private function and gospel shows, was highly on demand for Christmas
Christmas
Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...

 performances in television.

High School Musical

Chong represented Malaysia to sing the special Asian release edition of the hit Breaking Free
Breaking Free
"Breaking Free" is a song from the Disney Channel Original Movie High School Musical. It also appears on the soundtrack of the same name. It is sung by Drew Seeley , Zac Efron, and Vanessa Hudgens. It was also released as a single on September 28, 2006...

(from Disney's High School Musical
High School Musical
High School Musical is a 2006 American television film, first in the High School Musical film franchise. Upon its release on January 20, 2006, it became the most successful film that Disney Channel Original Movie ever produced, with a television sequel High School Musical 2 released in 2007 and...

), alongside Singaporean Alicia Pan and Filipino Nikki Gil
Nikki Gil
Monica Pauline "Nikki" Gil is a Filipino singer, actress, host, model and myx VJ.-Biography:Monica Pauline Gil was born in Manila to Dino and Julie Gil. She is of Filipino, Spanish and German descent...

. In 2007, Chong and Nikki Gil teamed up as a Host for High School Musical: Around The World which has been aired in Disney's Channel.

Percayalah Sayang

In 2007, Chong launched his compilation album
Compilation album
A compilation album is an album featuring tracks from one or more performers, often culled from a variety of sources The tracks are usually collected according to a common characteristic, such as popularity, genre, source or subject matter...

 Percayalah Sayang with features both new and old songs. This album is meant as Vince's big step into the regional music scene, especially Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...

 where he searched for new compositions and recorded the new content of the album. The new songs in the album, particularly, Percayalah Sayang, were described as inclined toward alternative rock
Alternative rock
Alternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s...

.

High School Musical 2

Chong has accepted offer to sing Malaysian version of You Are The Music In Me
You Are the Music in Me
"You Are the Music in Me" is the second single released in the UK from the Original Disney Channel Movie, High School Musical 2.-Music video:...

 (from Disney's High School Musical 2) and Bahasa Melayu version entitled Kau Muzik Di Hatiku alongside another fellow Malaysian talented singer Jaclyn Victor
Jaclyn Victor
Jaclyn Joshua Thanaraj Victor is a singer and actress, popularly known as Jac, who won the inaugural Malaysian Idol and Ikon Malaysia. For being the winner of Malaysian Idol, she won a recording contract under Sony BMG Entertainment. She is under the management of The 8 Unit. She represented...

. For the music video, the team production had decided to choose Putrajaya
Putrajaya
Putrajaya is a planned city, located 25km south of Kuala Lumpur, that serves as the federal administrative centre of Malaysia. The seat of government was shifted in 1999 from Kuala Lumpur to Putrajaya, due to the overcrowding and congestion in the Kuala Lumpur areas...

, Malaysia as the filming locations. Chong and Victor had participated for nationwide mall tour followed for fans of the High School Musical franchise. The video of their version of the song is now on the Special Edition DVD of High School Musical 2 (2008).

The collaboration between Chong and Victor are highly anticipated by both fans and after the success of You Are Music and Me collaboration, Chong and Victor still loves to do a duet performance together in private shows and television broadcast.

Frogway 2007: The Musical Theatre

Chong had been given an offer to act as Eddy The Singing Frog after he successfully undergo Frogway 2007 casting. Frogway http://www.frogwaymusical.com/ was first performed on July 30, 1980, with a cast that included S. Jayasankaran as Eddy, and Indi Nadarajah. Frogway is the very first made-in-Malaysia musical, produced and directed by unknowns in theatre. Frogway 2007 is directed by Harith Iskander, one of Malaysia's best comedians comedians. For Frogway 2007, the cast's list are Chong, Ash Nair
Ash Nair
Ashvin Kumar Nair, fondly known as Ash, is a Malaysian alternative musician and former contestant of season 2 of Malaysian Idol, where he first became widely known to the public.-Malaysian Idol:...

, Harith Iskander, Elaine Daly, Chelsia Ng, Ina Febregas, Marielle Febregas and Thor Kah Hoong.

The show's begin at 23 August to 2 September 2007 at Actor Studio Bangsar. Chong recently confess to his fans and friends that acting in Musical Theatre is very challenging but good for his voice control as he had keep training for a few months just to make sure he will be fit physically and flawless voice control.

Future Project

Recently Chong is involved in composing commercial jingles for Rakan Muda which is now aired as a Malaysian local television advertisement. He is now focusing on television production and also starting his personal company InVinceAble Tunes. He recently admitted to local entertainment magazines that he had experienced back pain since last July and he's now working hard to regain his fitness.

Although he is now more involved in television production, Chong has expressed his desire to produce a Mandarin-language album one day, not only to penetrate the Chinese-speaking
Chinese language
The Chinese language is a language or language family consisting of varieties which are mutually intelligible to varying degrees. Originally the indigenous languages spoken by the Han Chinese in China, it forms one of the branches of Sino-Tibetan family of languages...

 market but also to fulfil his late grandfather's wish to see his grandson sing in his mother tongue.

Albums

Date of release Title Single(s)
2004
EMI Malaysia
EMI
The EMI Group, also known as EMI Music or simply EMI, is a multinational music company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the fourth-largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry and one of the "big four" record companies. EMI Group also has a major...

Vince
  • Mengapa Harus Cinta
  • Andai Kau Mengerti
  • Killer Smile
2004
SRC Malaysia
SRC Records
SRC Records is an American record label created by former Loud Records CEO Steve Rifkind. It is a subsidiary of Universal Music Group and is distributed through Universal Republic Records.-Company history:...

/EMI Malaysia
EMI
The EMI Group, also known as EMI Music or simply EMI, is a multinational music company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the fourth-largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry and one of the "big four" record companies. EMI Group also has a major...

Puteri Gunung Ledang Soundtrack
  • Keranamu Kekasih
2006
EMI Malaysia
EMI
The EMI Group, also known as EMI Music or simply EMI, is a multinational music company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the fourth-largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry and one of the "big four" record companies. EMI Group also has a major...

janji Vince
  • Janji janji
  • Cinta Cinta Cinta
  • 3 words
  • Berkobar-kobar
2006
Walt Disney Records Asia
Walt Disney Records
Walt Disney Records is a family music record label owned by the Walt Disney Company. Walt Disney Records was formed in 1956 as Disneyland Records. Before that time, Disney recordings were licensed out to a variety of other labels such as . It was Walt Disney’s brother Roy O...

/EMI Malaysia
EMI
The EMI Group, also known as EMI Music or simply EMI, is a multinational music company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the fourth-largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry and one of the "big four" record companies. EMI Group also has a major...

High School Musical (Asian Version)
  • Breaking Free
    Breaking Free
    "Breaking Free" is a song from the Disney Channel Original Movie High School Musical. It also appears on the soundtrack of the same name. It is sung by Drew Seeley , Zac Efron, and Vanessa Hudgens. It was also released as a single on September 28, 2006...

2007
EMI Malaysia
EMI
The EMI Group, also known as EMI Music or simply EMI, is a multinational music company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the fourth-largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry and one of the "big four" record companies. EMI Group also has a major...

Percayalah Sayang
  • Percayalah Sayang
  • Tuhan Tolonglah
2007
Walt Disney Records Asia
Walt Disney Records
Walt Disney Records is a family music record label owned by the Walt Disney Company. Walt Disney Records was formed in 1956 as Disneyland Records. Before that time, Disney recordings were licensed out to a variety of other labels such as . It was Walt Disney’s brother Roy O...

/EMI Malaysia
EMI
The EMI Group, also known as EMI Music or simply EMI, is a multinational music company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the fourth-largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry and one of the "big four" record companies. EMI Group also has a major...

High School Musical 2 (Malaysia Distribution)
  • You Are The Music In Me
    You Are the Music in Me
    "You Are the Music in Me" is the second single released in the UK from the Original Disney Channel Movie, High School Musical 2.-Music video:...

  • Kau Muzik Di Hatiku
2010
New Southern Records (NSR) Malaysia
Kronologi Cinta (Malaysia Distribution)
  • Biarkan

Television

Year Title Role
2007 eve Night of Soulful Stars  Teamed up with Taufik Batisah
Taufik Batisah
Muhammad Taufik Bin Batisah, is the winner of the first season of the reality TV series Singapore Idol...

, Mia Palencia, Ning Baizura
Ning Baizura
Ning Baizura binti Sheikh Hamzah , popularly known as Ning, is a Malaysian pop and R&B singer, who records and sings in languages, including Bahasa Malaysia, English, Japanese, Italian, French, Mandarin and Cantonese...

2007 High School Musical
Around the World
High School Musical
High School Musical is a 2006 American television film, first in the High School Musical film franchise. Upon its release on January 20, 2006, it became the most successful film that Disney Channel Original Movie ever produced, with a television sequel High School Musical 2 released in 2007 and...

 
Host
2006 Malaysia National Anthem
Negaraku
"Negaraku" is the national anthem of Malaysia. "Negaraku" was selected as a national anthem at the time of the Federation of Malaya's independence from Britain in 1957. The tune was originally used as the state anthem of Perak, which was adopted from a popular French melody titled "La Rosalie"...

Teamed up with Syafinaz Selamat, Dayang Nurfaizah
Dayang Nurfaizah
Dayang Nurfaizah binti Awang Dowty is a Malaysian singer. Her debut self-titled album was released in May 1999 and it was recorded in the pop and R&B genres...

, Reshmonu, Ning Baizura
Ning Baizura
Ning Baizura binti Sheikh Hamzah , popularly known as Ning, is a Malaysian pop and R&B singer, who records and sings in languages, including Bahasa Malaysia, English, Japanese, Italian, French, Mandarin and Cantonese...

 and Hazami
2006 Hitz.tv Top 30 Guest artiste with Rueben and Marsha Londoh
2006 Hitz.tv amplified Teamed up with Rueben and Marsha Londoh
2006 Jalan Jalan Cari makan Guest appearance
2006 Hitz.tv amplified Himself
2006 Zoom In RTM1 Host/Himself
2005 Macam-Macam Aznil Talkshow guest with Ziana Zain
Ziana Zain
Siti Roziana binti Zin , known by her stage name Ziana Zain is a Malaysian pop singer-songwriter, model, entrepreneur and actress. Taking the local music scene by storm in the early `90s, Ziana captivated fans with her signature single, Madah Berhelah...

2004 RTM 2 Gong Xi fa Chai Guest artiste
2004 Dari Studio 1 Host/Himself
2004 MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....

Interviewing Kelly Clarkson
Kelly Clarkson
Kelly Brianne Clarkson is an American pop rock singer-songwriter and actress. Clarkson came into prominence after becoming the winner of the inaugural season of the television series American Idol in 2002 and would later become the runner-up in the television special World Idol in 2003.In 2003,...

2003 Rumah Terbuka Anita Sarawak Guest Actor
2003 Hiburan Minggu ini= Siti Nurhaliza Guest artiste
2003 Rumah Terbuka Akademi Fantasia All 12 AF students

Films

Year Title Role
2005 Sembilu 2005 Main Role

Theater

Year Title Role
2007 Frogway 2007 Main Role

Achievements

  • 2nd in Astro Talent Quest,2002
  • 1st in Akademi Fantasia Season 1
  • Best Non-Malay Artist in Media Hiburan,2003
  • Best New Artist (Male) in Anugerah ERA, 2004
  • Best New Artist (Male) in ABH'04
  • Best Non-Malay Artist (Male) in ABH'04
  • Best New Artist (Male) in AIM 12
  • Best New Artist (Male) in APM 2004
  • 3rd Place in Asian Music Festival in Shanghai, 2004
  • Finalist for Juara lagu, Balada 2004
  • Finalist Male Artist, ABP 2005
  • Finalist Male Artist, AIM 2005
  • Finalist Male Artist, APM 2005
  • Finalist Lead Actor, Festival Filem Malaysia 2005
  • Collaboration with Disney's HSM soundtrack "Breaking Free" 2006
  • Collaboration with Disney's HSM2 soundtrack "You're Music In Me" with Jaclyn Victor 2007

Advertisement

  • Model for Hotlink Aktifkan Dirimu 2003-2005
  • Model for Kotex
    Kotex
    Kotex is a brand of feminine hygiene products, which includes the Kotex maxi, thin and ultra thin pads, the Security tampons, and the Lightdays pantiliners. Most recently, the company has added U by Kotex to its line of feminine hygiene products...

     "Women In My Life" 2004
  • More than 20 front covers featured in Malaysian Entertainment Magazines
  • Contributing song and voice for Rakan Muda, 's Advertisement 2008

Fan Club and Website

Chong fans had established Vince Official Fan Club in 2004. The Fan Club's signature are "BelovedFans" @ BFs. In 2005, One of the BFs had established a website name BelovedFans http://www.belovedfans.com as Chong does not have an official website. The Belovedfans website founder is now making plan to re-construct the website for the fresher look and adding reliable sources.

One of Chong BF's Official Committee Members is now running Chong's Myspace Fan Club http://www.myspace.com/vincechong. The priority of opening a Myspace account is to gather all Vince's Chong Fans in Myspace
Myspace
Myspace is a social networking service owned by Specific Media LLC and pop star Justin Timberlake. Myspace launched in August 2003 and is headquartered in Beverly Hills, California. In August 2011, Myspace had 33.1 million unique U.S. visitors....

, local and oversea as Myspace
Myspace
Myspace is a social networking service owned by Specific Media LLC and pop star Justin Timberlake. Myspace launched in August 2003 and is headquartered in Beverly Hills, California. In August 2011, Myspace had 33.1 million unique U.S. visitors....

 is the world top ranked social-networking website.

Chong occasionally update his activity and chatting with his fans at Yahoo! Group http://launch.groups.yahoo.com/group/vincent_chong/.

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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