Richie Jen
Taiwanese male singer, songwriter, actor, and director, born in Changhua County on June 23, 1966; he began his entertainment career with the compilation "奔向彩虹" in 1990 and later worked across records, film and television, and directing.
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About the artist
Richie Jen is a Taiwanese male singer, songwriter, actor, and director born in Changhua County on June 23, 1966. He grew up mainly in Tianzhong Township, Changhua County, and moved to Taipei after graduating from Changhua Senior High School. In secondary school, he played on the baseball team, learned guitar under a teacher, and practiced English through country music.
Richie Jen entered the Department of Physical Education at Chinese Culture University at age twenty-one and continued learning guitar while working at 敦煌樂器; the guitar later became his main songwriting instrument. In his fourth year, he felt his athletic performance was declining and considered working in sports journalism after graduation.
His opportunity to enter the record industry also came in his fourth year, when his guitar teacher, then a producer at 新格唱片, introduced him and he signed as a singer. He recorded his first compilation, "奔向彩虹," in 1990 and joined the underground band snake, entering the entertainment industry. To continue performing, he deliberately delayed graduation by one year, but his next three solo albums drew little response, after which he served in the Air Force entertainment unit.
During military service, Richie Jen was loaned out to appear in "報告班長3" and, with Huang Pin-yuan, to film an armed-forces documentary. After discharge, he found that 新格唱片 had been acquired by Rock Records and became a Rock Records singer. While waiting for a new album, he hosted children's and animal television programs, explored motor racing, and studied Peking opera with a martial-role performer. Producer Johnny Chen met Jen at a company meeting and assigned him as a studio assistant; later, seeing Jen's name on a termination list, he decided to produce an album for him and took him to record in the United States.
The turning point in Richie Jen's recording career came with "依靠" followed by "心太軟": when Jen was placed on the termination list, Johnny Chen produced the two albums in succession, the latter released six months later. Jen had planned to leave entertainment and apply to become a sports reporter if the second album sold poorly. When they collaborated again years later, Jen thanked him for his support and teaching by saying, "Without Johnny Chen, there would be no me!"
Songs released during his Rock Records period included "對面的女孩看過來," "我是一隻魚," and "傷心太平洋."
Music and television intersected in 1998 when "愛像太平洋" was released in conjunction with the television drama "神鵰俠侶," starring Richie Jen.
Film acting formed another strand of Richie Jen's work: he entered film and television with "官兵捉強盜" in 1991 and starred in "星願" in 1999.
His screen work later expanded from acting to directing. People's Daily Online reported that Richie Jen's directorial debut was "落跑吧愛情"; while promoting it, he said it was one of the two films he most wanted to make and thanked 舒淇 for appearing. Jen also said the other was a film version of "傷心太平洋."
Richie Jen left Rock Records in 2005 and joined EMI, the third company of his singing career. After his EMI contract expired, he held a press conference in Hong Kong on March 18, 2008, announcing his new label; East Asia Music thereafter managed his recording and film work.
In 2010, Richie Jen sang the Lunar New Year song "紅包拿來" with Hong Kong duo 農夫. In 2015, Jen, Wong Ka Keung, William So, and Edmond Leung formed the music group "男人幫." In 2019, he collaborated with Ah Niu after nineteen years apart and announced plans for a concert on Redang Island.
Richie Jen appeared in episode five of Zhejiang Television's music variety show "誰是大歌神" in 2016 and co-starred with Edmond Leung in ViuTV's travel reality show "Barter Game價值連城," bartering goods in Yunnan during a two-week backpacking trip.
Richie Jen released his seventeenth solo album, "在路上," in 2023, twelve years after the previous one. According to B'in Music, the album topped the HITO Chinese chart for two consecutive weeks. Singles released afterward included "常來."
Overview
- Born
- June 23, 1966age 60
- Born in
- Taiwan
- Career start
- Official debut · 1990
- Active
- 1990 – present36 years
- Gender
- Male
- Aliases
- Ren Hsien Chi, Ren Xian Qi, Richie Ren
- Instruments
- Vocals
Catalogued works & releases
No catalogued works yet.
