The Most Famous
MUSICIANS from Taiwan
Top 5
The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the most legendary Taiwanese Musicians of all time. This list of famous Taiwanese Musicians is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography’s online popularity.
1. Jay Chou (b. 1979)
With an HPI of 49.75, Jay Chou is the most famous Taiwanese Musician. His biography has been translated into 40 different languages on wikipedia.
Jay Chou (traditional Chinese: 周杰倫; simplified Chinese: 周杰伦; pinyin: Zhōu Jiélún; born January 18, 1979) is a Taiwanese singer and musician. Dubbed the "King of Mandopop" and having sold over 30 million records, Chou is one of the best-selling artists in Taiwan. He is known for his work with lyricist Vincent Fang, with whom he has frequently collaborated on his music.In 2000, Chou released his debut studio album, Jay (2000), under the record company Alfa Music. Chou rose to fame with the release of his second studio album, Fantasy (范特西) (2001), which combined Western and East Asian music styles. The album won five Golden Melody Awards, including Album of the Year. He has since further released twelve more studio albums, spawning a string of hit singles and gaining significant prominence in Overseas Chinese communities such as Taiwan, Hong Kong, Mainland China, Malaysia, and Singapore. Chou has embarked on six world tours, performing in cities around the world to more than 10 million spectators as of 2019.Outside of music, Chou is an actor, active businessman, and investor. As a businessman, Chou has served as the President of his own fashion brand PHANTACi since 2006 and was a founding member of his own talent agency, JVR Music in 2007. Chou has also ventured into acting, making his acting debut in the film Initial D (2005), followed shortly by a starring role in the epic Curse of the Golden Flower (2006). He has since starred in a number of movies, becoming known to Western audiences when he made his Hollywood debut in 2011 with The Green Hornet, starring alongside Seth Rogen and Christoph Waltz, followed by Now You See Me 2 (2016).
2. Jolin Tsai (b. 1980)
With an HPI of 47.84, Jolin Tsai is the 2nd most famous Taiwanese Musician. Her biography has been translated into 82 different languages.
Jolin Tsai (Mandarin: [tsʰaɪ˥˩] ; Chinese: 蔡依林; born September 15, 1980) is a Taiwanese singer, songwriter, and actress. Known as the "Queen of C-pop", she is one of the most influential pop cultural figures in the Chinese-speaking world. Recognized for her continual reinvention and versatility in musical style and visual image, she is regarded as a key figure in bringing dance-pop music into the mainstream in Greater China. She assumes creative control over all aspects of her career, and her works, which incorporate themes of societal issues and ideological connotations, have garnered both commercial success and critical acclaim. Tsai was born in Hsinchuang, Taiwan. In 1998, Tsai won a singing competition held by MTV Mandarin. Her debut album, 1019 (1999), became an instant success, while her girl-next-door image established her as a teen idol with a substantial following amongst teenagers. Magic (2003) saw a transition in the singer's image and marked the beginning of her dance-oriented musical direction. Her album Dancing Diva (2006) helped established her status as a representative dance-pop artist in the Chinese music scene. In 2009, Tsai founded her company Eternal, and began to exert creative control over all facets of her career. She began demonstrating girl power and concern for minorities with her album Myself (2010), which marked a significant turning point in her musical style. Her album Muse (2012) spanned both mainstream and independent music, while her album Play (2014) received recognition for having helped bring Chinese dance music to the attention of a global audience. Her album Ugly Beauty (2018) explored societal beauty standards and inner psychological polarity. Tsai has sold over 25 million records, making her the highest-selling Taiwanese female recording artist since 2000. Beginning with her album Magic (2003), each of her studio albums has been the highest-selling album by a female artist in Taiwan in the year of release, with four of which also being the highest-selling album overall in the country. She has won a total of seven Golden Melody Awards, the most of any dance-pop artist in the ceremony's history. Since 2010, she has been ranked top 20 on the Forbes China Celebrity 100 list for six out of ten times, and was ranked as the number one Chinese female singer three times. Her net worth exceeded NT$2 billion in 2014, and has been ranked as the highest-paid Taiwanese female singer 16 times from (2003–2022).
3. Show Lo (b. 1979)
With an HPI of 37.83, Show Lo is the 3rd most famous Taiwanese Musician. His biography has been translated into 17 different languages.
Show Lo Chih Hsiang (simplified Chinese: 罗志祥; traditional Chinese: 羅志祥; pinyin: Luó Zhìxiáng; born July 30, 1979) is a Taiwanese singer, actor and television host. He is commonly known by his nickname Hsiao Chu (Little Pig) (Chinese: 小豬). Lo is recognized for his trademark dance music and comedic talent. He has over 50 million followers on Chinese micro-blogging platform Weibo as of June 2018.Show Lo debuted as a member of Taiwanese boy group in 1996 after winning a singing and dancing competition, and began his solo music career in 2003 when he released his first studio album Show Time. His subsequent albums were commercially successful; he achieved best-selling album of the year in Taiwan for four consecutive years from 2010 to 2013. He holds many records in the Taiwanese music industry, including being the first pop singer to hold a concert in Taipei Arena in 2005, and the first pop singer to hold three concerts within twenty-four hours in Taipei Arena in 2010. As of May 2018, he has gone on four world tours. His 2010 舞法舞天 (Dance without Limits) World Tour ran for two-and-a-half years, visiting forty-two cities and attracting 600,000 spectators. Lo is fluent in Japanese and released his first Japanese single EP Dante in 2012. The song clinched 5th place in Japan's Oricon daily charts on its first day of release and remained at 10th place in the Oricon weekly charts, making him the first Taiwanese male singer to place on the chart.Besides his singing career, Show Lo is a successful television host and entertainer. He has been hosting 100% Entertainment since 2001. In 2017, he won the Best Host for a Variety Show Award in the 52nd Golden Bell Awards for 100% Entertainment, with co-host Linda Chien. He is also recognized as a member of the cast for the popular Chinese reality show, Go Fighting!, and as a judge on China's Produce 101 and Street Dance of China.Show Lo was nominated thrice for Best Male Actor in the Golden Bell Awards. In 2013, Lo was handpicked by director Stephen Chow to play the guest role of Prince Important in the movie Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons, which broke Chinese box office records. Chow cast Lo again in a supporting role, Octopus, in his 2016 movie The Mermaid, likening his comedic talent onscreen to a formidable explosive. The movie once again broke existing Chinese box office records.In 2006, Show Lo created fashion brand STAGE which currently has branches in Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Singapore. STAGE sponsors clothing for many Taiwanese entertainers, and the brand is often seen on Taiwanese variety shows.
4. JerryC (b. 1981)
With an HPI of 34.47, JerryC is the 4th most famous Taiwanese Musician. His biography has been translated into 15 different languages.
JerryC (Chinese: 張逸帆; pinyin: Zhāng Yìfān; born 31 August 1981), also known by his English name Jerry Chang, is a Taiwanese guitarist and composer. He is known for arranging and playing "Canon Rock", a rock arrangement of Johann Pachelbel's Canon in D. He began playing the guitar at the age of 17, and the piano before age 15. His style is influenced by classical music, neoclassical guitarists, as well as metal bands such as Helloween and Metallica and Japanese rock bands such as B'z and L'Arc-en-Ciel.
5. Ray Chen (b. 1989)
With an HPI of 33.33, Ray Chen is the 5th most famous Taiwanese Musician. His biography has been translated into 15 different languages.
Ray Chen (Chinese: 陳銳; pinyin: Chén Ruì; born 6 March 1989) is a Taiwanese-Australian violinist. He was the winner of the 2008 International Yehudi Menuhin Violin Competition and the 2009 Queen Elisabeth Competition. Since then, he has regularly collaborated with the world’s foremost orchestras and appeared at renowned concert halls.
People
Pantheon has 5 people classified as Taiwanese musicians born between 1979 and 1989. Of these 5, 5 (100.00%) of them are still alive today. The most famous living Taiwanese musicians include Jay Chou, Jolin Tsai, and Show Lo. As of April 2024, 2 new Taiwanese musicians have been added to Pantheon including JerryC, and Ray Chen.
Living Taiwanese Musicians
Go to all Rankings
Jay Chou
1979 - Present
HPI: 49.75
Jolin Tsai
1980 - Present
HPI: 47.84
Show Lo
1979 - Present
HPI: 37.83
JerryC
1981 - Present
HPI: 34.47
Ray Chen
1989 - Present
HPI: 33.33
