Tanya Chua

Singaporean singer Tanya Chua became a star throughout much of Asia around the turn of the century with a combination of Mandarin- and English-language albums. Born in Singapore on January 28, 1975, the multilingual singer made her recording debut in 1997 with the English-language album Bored. The following year she became the first Singaporean to win the Asia Song Festival and was offered a recording contract with Universal Music Taiwan. Her Mandarin-language debut, Breathe (1999), was well received critically but didn't propel her to stardom as expected. Stardom, particularly in Taiwan, came several years later when she switched to Warner Music and changed her style, resulting in Stranger (2003), her popular breakthrough.