Not the same old song

'90s pop queen Chen Ming is finding her return to the scene means adapting to a market that has evolved since her reign's zenith. But she tells Chen Nan she's ready to move into the future.

Chen Ming became a household name for her 1994 album's title song Loneliness Makes Me So Beautiful, which sold more than 1 million copies on the Chinese mainland.

Though the song's pioneering combination of jazz and pop - considered "dark" by many, as Chen recalls - stirred controversy, it swept music charts that year. Her wide vocal range and expressiveness also became her signatures.

The following albums, For You and Happy Hometown, were also chart-toppers. They sold millions.

Chen performed at various events, including the annual CCTV Spring Festival Gala, China's most watched TV show.

But the vocalist has never hosted a solo concert. She'll take the stage in August.

"I had many performance opportunities but didn't take them," the 45-year-old says.

Her motivation for the August gig came from her participation this year on the popular Hunan Satellite TV Station show I Am a Singer.

The program, based on a South Korean counterpart, pits seven seasoned vocalists against one another. It was Chen's first public appearance since she withdrew from the limelight to live quietly as a mother and wife.

"The show focuses on music and vocals," she says.

"Today's pop industry ignores music and hasn't heard my voice in a long time. Appearing on the show rekindled my passion."

In 1993, Chen gave up her stable factory job and left her hometown of Luoyang city, Henan province, to chase her musical dream in Guangdong province's Shenzhen, which was the mainland's major pop hub.

She became a bar singer and covered Hong Kong stars' popular songs. The happiest thing then, Chen recalls, was cooperating with bands and singing live.

"The mainland didn't have record companies," she recalls.

"My dream was to release my own cassette."

Guangzhou's China Record Co signed her in 1994 and released her first album. It was then the largest and oldest State audio and video publishing group.

"I still remember traveling across the country by train to promote the album," she recalls.

"I was 24, and everything was so new and interesting. I didn't matter if I made it or not - I was loving the journey."

Three best-selling albums in, Chen got married and decided to take a break. It was 1998.

She was surprised to find the industry had changed when she released a new album in 2009.

"Since 2005 - and especially with the rise of TV singing competitions - the industry wants more entertaining stories than music," she explains.

"When I brought a new album to a TV shows set, nobody wanted me to sing or talk about my old songs. They told me audiences want to watch games and hear stories about my family."

The industry's changes largely follow attention spans', Chen believes.

"People want something that instantly catches their ears," she says.

"They don't have time to read the lyrics and savor the melodies. I still live in the old days. So I felt uncomfortable about the new environment."

The Beijing concert will be simple and intimate, Chen says. She'll sing more than 20 tunes from her past 20 years.

But while honing in on nostalgia for the forthcoming concert, Chen isn't solely living in the days of yore. A new album is in the works, she says.

"I see the concert as a new start," she says.

"My return isn't too stressful. I'm learning to adapt to today. And I don't want to keep singing the same songs for the sake of sales."

Contact the writer at chennan@chinadaily.com.cn.