Tia Ray
Tia Ray (simplified Chinese: 袁娅维; traditional Chinese: 袁婭維; pinyin: Yuán Yàwéi; born 12 December, 1984) is a Chinese singer-songwriter from Hunan, China. She rose to fame in 2012 as a contestant on the televised singing competition The Voice of China, where she finished as one of the final contenders. She has since released four commercially successful albums, all of which she co-wrote and co-produced.
Prior to breaking into the mainstream, Ray has spent close to a decade performing in smaller venues, music festivals and collaborating with musicians in Beijing, where she pursued her studies of performing arts. In 2010, she formed her jazz band The Knutz with Chinese and African American musicians, with whom she wrote, recorded and performed mainly R&B and neo soul music.
Ray had her international breakthrough in 2018 with the hit Be Apart, which generated 1.8 billion streams and was the seventh bestselling single in the world that year. She has since collaborated with various artists from the United States, including Kehlani, Jason Derulo, Gallant and Far East Movement, blending Chinese elements with traditionally Western music styles. Domestically, she has worked with singer-rapper Jackson Wang from the K-pop group GOT7 and Masiwei from Chengdu rap group Higher Brothers.
Ray's popularity in Taiwan and Chinese-speaking communities has grown over the years. In 2021, she released her fourth studio album Once Upon A Moon and received the “Most Popular Female Singer of the Year” award from state-broadcaster China Central Television (CCTV). In 2022, Once Upon A Moon earned her two nominations at the 33rd Golden Melody Awards in Taiwan, including Best Mandarin Female Singer and Best Vocal Recording Album. The album also won her the Best Female Vocalist Award at the 15th Freshmusic Awards in Singapore, making her the first mainland Chinese singer to win this award.
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