Teresa TengTeresa Teng

In February 1979, Teresa Teng went to the University of Southern California in the United States for further study, and in April held her first North American concert tour in San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Vancouver, Canada. In July 1980, she performed at Lincoln Center in New York. In April 1981, she held her fifth solo concert at Hong Kong's Lee Theatre, comprising nine shows over seven days. In January 1982, she held a solo concert at Hong Kong's Queen Elizabeth Stadium, comprising five shows over four days. During the Lunar New Year period in 1983, she sang at Caesars Palace Hotel in Las Vegas, United States; she released the album "淡淡幽情" in February and her second Cantonese album, "漫步人生路", in Hong Kong in June. At the end of December that year, she presented "15週年紀念巡迴演唱會" at the Hong Kong Coliseum for six consecutive shows; in January 1984, the tour held two shows at Taipei Municipal Stadium.

Teresa Teng signed with Nippon Polydor Records in 1973. On March 1, 1974, she made her Japanese debut with the single "今夜かしら明日かしら", followed by her second single, "空港", on July 1. On October 21 that year, she released her first Japanese album, "空港/雪化粧". "空港" won the New Artist Award at the 16th Japan Record Awards. In February 1979, she suspended her singing activities in Japan because of a passport incident; her contract with Polydor expired in 1981, and she moved to Taurus Records (トーラスレコード) in June 1983.

On January 21, 1984, Teresa Teng released the single "つぐない"; on February 27, she held a press conference and mini concert in Tokyo, announcing the resumption of her activities in Japan. She received the grand prizes of the Japan Cable Awards and the All Japan Cable Broadcasting Awards that year. She released the single "愛人" on February 21, 1985; it ranked first on the national cable request chart for 14 consecutive weeks from May 20 to August 19, and she again received the grand prizes of both awards at year-end. On December 15, 1985, she held a concert at NHK Hall in Tokyo; her record company called it her only formal large-scale concert in Japan, and the performance was later released as a video work. On December 31 that year, she appeared on NHK's Red and White Song Battle for the first time and sang "愛人".

On February 21, 1986, Teresa Teng released the single "時の流れに身をまかせ"; at year-end, she received the grand prizes of the Japan Cable Awards and the All Japan Cable Broadcasting Awards for the third consecutive year, as well as the Gold Award at the Japan Record Awards. At the same Japan Record Awards, the song's composer, 三木たかし, received the Composition Award. On December 31, 1986, she again appeared on the Red and White Song Battle and sang "時の流れに身をまかせ"; she appeared once more on December 31, 1991, and sang the song again. "つぐない", "愛人", and "時の流れに身をまかせ" also had Chinese-language versions: "償還", "愛人", and "我只在乎你", respectively. In April 1987, Teresa Teng released the album "我只在乎你" in Hong Kong and Taiwan, and personally wrote three of its lyrics.

In December 1992, Teresa Teng released her final Mandarin album during her lifetime, "難忘的鄧麗君". On May 12, 1993, the single "あなたと共に生きてゆく" was released in Japan; the Teresa Teng Cultural and Educational Foundation chronology records it as her final Japanese-language new-song single. In June 1994, she performed at an evening event in Fengshan, Kaohsiung, her final public performance in Taiwan; in October that year, she took part in "歌谣义演会" at Miyagi Prefectural Hall in Sendai, Japan, her final public performance in Japan.

On May 8, 1995, Teresa Teng died suddenly from an asthma attack in Chiang Mai, Thailand; on May 28, she was laid to rest at "筠园" in Jinbaoshan. That year, she received the Special Achievement Award at the 37th Japan Record Awards.

On May 7, 2025, Universal Music Japan released the two-CD compilation "テレサ・テン BEST～アジアの歌姫～ナウ・アンド・ゼン". On May 8, the Teresa Teng Cultural and Educational Foundation held "邓丽君30周年筠园音乐会" at "筠园" in Jinbaoshan, New Taipei, where the children's ensemble "亲爱爱乐" performed songs including "小城故事", "甜蜜蜜", "我只在乎你", and "月亮代表我的心". The collection "三木たかしソングブック", released on June 25, included Teresa Teng's previously unreleased song "ラブソングは夜霧がお好き" for the first time; the record company stated that, according to notes left behind, the song was recorded around 1984, with lyrics by 荒木とよひさ and music by 三木たかし.