The Most Famous
SINGERS from Taiwan
Top 10
The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the top 10 most legendary Taiwanese Singers of all time. This list of famous Taiwanese Singers is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography’s online popularity. Visit the rankings page to view the entire list of Taiwanese Singers.
1. Teresa Teng (1953 - 1995)
With an HPI of 66.19, Teresa Teng is the most famous Taiwanese Singer. Her biography has been translated into 71 different languages on wikipedia.
Teng Li-chun (Chinese: 鄧麗君; pinyin: Dèng Lìjūn; 29 January 1953 – 8 May 1995), commonly known as Teresa Teng, was a Taiwanese singer, actress, musician and philanthropist. Referred to by some as the "Eternal Queen of Asian Pop", Teng is considered one of the most successful and influential Asian popular singers of all time. Teng is recognized as a cultural icon for her contributions to Chinese pop, giving birth to the phrase, "Wherever there are Chinese-speaking people, there is the music of Teresa Teng." A Polyglot, Teng's crystalline voice and emotionally resonant songs, laced with a clear and soft voice, have transcended geographical, linguistic, and political boundaries, captivating audiences across Asia for several decades. With a career spanning almost 30 years, Teng established herself as a dominant and influential force in Asia throughout most of her career, including East Asia, Southeast Asia, and, to some extent, South Asia. Teng is credited as Asia's first musical superstar and by some as the pioneer of modern Chinese pop music—a major force in the development of the Chinese music industry by incorporating western and eastern styles into her music, replacing the most revolutionary songs then prevalent in mainland China and laying the foundation for modern Chinese popular music. Teng was also instrumental in bridging the cultural gap across Chinese-speaking nations and was one of the first artists to connect Japan to some of East and Southeast Asia by singing Japanese pop songs, according to Nippon. In Taiwan, she was famous for entertaining the armed forces and singing patriotic songs that appealed to the natives of the island. Teng was nicknamed "the patriotic entertainer" and "the soldiers' sweetheart". Teng recorded more than 1,700 songs throughout her career, starting at age 14, not only in Mandarin, but also in Hokkien, Cantonese, Shanghainese, Japanese, Indonesian, English, and Italian. To date, Teng's songs have been covered by hundreds of artists all over the world. According to IFPI statistics, Teng has sold over 48 million albums, excluding sales in mainland China. In 1986, Time named her one of the seven greatest female singers in the world. In 2009, in a poll by a Chinese government web portal to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the People's Republic of China, Teng was selected as the "most influential cultural figure in China since 1949" by 8.5 million netizens. On the eve of the "March 8th International Women's Day" in 2010, Teng was voted "the most influential woman in modern China" by the Chinese media and radio stations in and outside the country. In 2022, Teng received a street name in Ivry-sur-Seine, Grand Paris, from the Municipal council of France. Teng was inducted into the "Popular Music Hall of Fame" at the Koga Masao Music Museum in Japan in 2007, making her the only non-Japanese national to do so.
2. Takeshi Kaneshiro (b. 1973)
With an HPI of 54.39, Takeshi Kaneshiro is the 2nd most famous Taiwanese Singer. His biography has been translated into 38 different languages.
Takeshi Kaneshiro (金城 武, Kaneshiro Takeshi, born October 11, 1973) is a Japanese actor and singer based in Taiwan. Beginning his career as a pop idol, he has since moved his focus from music to film. Kaneshiro has worked with renowned directors throughout East Asia, including Wong Kar-wai (Chungking Express and Fallen Angels), Peter Chan (Perhaps Love, The Warlords, and Wuxia), Zhang Yimou (House of Flying Daggers) and John Woo (Red Cliff and The Crossing I and II), resulting in collaborations that have achieved both commercial success and critical acclaim. Kaneshiro is also well known in the gaming industry for being the model and voice for the samurai character, Samanosuke Akechi, in Capcom’s Onimusha video game series.
3. Sally Yeh (b. 1961)
With an HPI of 46.57, Sally Yeh is the 3rd most famous Taiwanese Singer. Her biography has been translated into 20 different languages.
Sally Yeh (born 30 September 1961), sometimes credited as Sally Yip or Yip Sin-man, is a Hong Kong Cantopop diva and actress.
4. A-Mei (b. 1972)
With an HPI of 42.51, A-Mei is the 4th most famous Taiwanese Singer. Her biography has been translated into 22 different languages.
Kulilay Amit (Chinese: 張惠妹; pinyin: Zhāng Huìmèi, born 9 August 1972), better known by her stage name A-Mei, is a Taiwanese Puyuma singer and record producer. Born as Amit Kulilay in the rugged mountains of eastern Taiwan, she made her debut in 1996. A leading figure of the Mandopop music scene since the mid-1990s, A-Mei is widely known for breaking ground for Taiwanese indigenous peoples and being a voice for LGBT rights and gender equality. She has been given the moniker "Queen of Mandopop" and the "Pride of Taiwan." Her career longevity, resilience, artistry, and versatility have established her as a pop culture icon in the Sinophone world. Born and raised in Beinan, Taitung, Taiwan, A-Mei moved to Taipei at age 20 in 1992. In 1996, she released her debut studio album, Sisters, which saw major commercial success and sold over a million copies in Taiwan. Her sophomore record, Bad Boy (1997), found even greater success, eventually becoming the country's best-selling album of all time. Her follow up releases—Holding Hands (1998), Can I Hug You, Lover? (1999) and Regardless (2000)—received critical and commercial acclaim, with the first two albums also selling well over a million copies. A cross-straits controversy caused her to experience a decline in sales in 2004; she would later experience a resurgence in 2006 with her album I Want Happiness?. Her albums Truth (2001), Amit (2009), and Faces of Paranoia (2014) each won her a Golden Melody Award for Best Mandarin Female Singer, making her one of the singers who won the category the most times. Having sold over 50 million records, A-Mei is the best selling female artist in Taiwanese music history. She is recognized as having the influence and cultural impact in China equivalent to artists such as Madonna in Western music and popular culture. In 2017, she was included in the "Charity Heroes List" by the Asian edition of Forbes, and her influence is even greater than that of many famous Taiwanese political and business figures.
5. Chou Tzu-yu (b. 1999)
With an HPI of 41.64, Chou Tzu-yu is the 5th most famous Taiwanese Singer. Her biography has been translated into 39 different languages.
Chou Tzu-yu (Chinese: 周子瑜; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Chiu Chú-jû, born 1999), known mononymously as Tzuyu (Korean: 쯔위, Korean pronunciation: [t͈sɯ.ɥi]), is a Taiwanese singer based in South Korea. She is a member of the South Korean girl group Twice, formed by JYP Entertainment in 2015.
6. Wu Bai (b. 1968)
With an HPI of 40.49, Wu Bai is the 6th most famous Taiwanese Singer. His biography has been translated into 15 different languages.
Wu Chun-lin (Chinese: 吳俊霖; pinyin: Wú Jùnlín; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Ngô͘ Chùn-lîm; born 14 January 1968), better known by his stage name Wu Bai (Chinese: 伍佰; pinyin: Wǔ Bǎi; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Gō͘-pah), is a Taiwanese rock singer, songwriter and actor. He formed the band Wu Bai & China Blue with Dean Zavolta (drums), Yu Ta-hao (keyboards) and Chu Chien-hui (bass guitar), while Wu himself is the lead guitarist and vocalist of the band. Dubbed "The King of Live Music", Wu is considered to be one of the biggest pop music stars in East and Southeast Asia.
7. Elva Hsiao (b. 1979)
With an HPI of 37.54, Elva Hsiao is the 7th most famous Taiwanese Singer. Her biography has been translated into 19 different languages.
Elva Hsiao (traditional Chinese: 蕭亞軒; simplified Chinese: 萧亚轩; pinyin: Xiāo Yǎxuān, born 24 August 1979) is a Taiwanese singer. Since being signed to a record deal in 1998 after competing in a singing competition, Hsiao had gone on to release fourteen studio albums and has achieved great commercial success within the Chinese pop music industry. Known for her R&B-influenced ballads, the artist's first album, Elva First Album (1999), was considered one of the first to incorporate R&B in the Chinese market. Her most recent album, Naked Truth, was released in 2020. Hsiao was recognized as one of four of the most popular female singers in the Chinese music scene among her contemporaries. As a result, she has also been brand ambassadors to various brand names such as, Motorola, Sprite, De Beers, Avon, Pantene, and Ford. Hsiao was named one of Taiwan's top earning singers in 2014, with more than US$18 million earned.
8. Ken Chu (b. 1979)
With an HPI of 36.83, Ken Chu is the 8th most famous Taiwanese Singer. His biography has been translated into 15 different languages.
Ken Chu (Chinese: 朱孝天; pinyin: Zhū Xiàotiān) is a Taiwanese singer, composer, actor, cook; and a member of Taiwanese Mandopop vocal quartet boy band F4. Educated in Singapore (Boon Lay Secondary School), he speaks Mandarin, Cantonese and English.
9. Hebe Tien (b. 1983)
With an HPI of 36.12, Hebe Tien is the 9th most famous Taiwanese Singer. Her biography has been translated into 18 different languages.
Hebe Tien (Chinese: 田馥甄; pinyin: Tián Fùzhēn; born 30 March 1983) is a Taiwanese singer and actress. She rose to fame in the early 2000s as a member of Taiwanese girl group S.H.E. The release of her debut album, To Hebe (2010), established her as a solo artist. Tien's song "A Little Happiness", the theme song of the 2015 Taiwanese film Our Times, was a major hit in most Mandarin-speaking parts of Asia.
10. Angela Zhang (b. 1982)
With an HPI of 35.57, Angela Zhang is the 10th most famous Taiwanese Singer. Her biography has been translated into 15 different languages.
Angela Zhang (traditional Chinese: 張韶涵; simplified Chinese: 张韶涵; pinyin: Zhāng Shàohán; born 19 January 1982), also known as Angela Chang, is a Taiwanese singer and actress. Zhang has released ten studio albums as of 2020. She debuted and rose to fame with the Taiwanese television dramas My MVP Valentine (2002) and At Dolphin Bay (2003), although since 2004, when her debut album Over the Rainbow met with instant success, she has focused on her singing career. Aurora (2004) and Pandora (2006) sold millions in Asia, while another TV series that she starred in, Romantic Princess (2007), also became an international hit. In 2008–09, she withdrew from the public eye for nearly a year and a half when her mother accused her of being unfilial and unsupportive. Zhang, in turn, claimed that her mother had squandered more than NT$100 million of her income. The media's relentless coverage of her family problems, exacerbated by Zhang's falling-out with her employer Linfair Records, accusing her of not doing enough to protect her which significantly derailed her career for many years. Zhang later returned after a few year hiatus when she competed in Hunan's reality singing competition Singer 2018, the seventh season of I Am a Singer where she served as a host and contestant. Having moved her career to mainland China, her 2019 album ?, under a new label, was the 56th best-selling album in China in 2019. Zhang's maternal grandfather was an ethnic Uyghur, with the rest of her family Hakka. She grew up in Taiwan and Canada.
People
Pantheon has 11 people classified as Taiwanese singers born between 1953 and 1999. Of these 11, 10 (90.91%) of them are still alive today. The most famous living Taiwanese singers include Takeshi Kaneshiro, Sally Yeh, and A-Mei. The most famous deceased Taiwanese singers include Teresa Teng. As of April 2024, 1 new Taiwanese singers have been added to Pantheon including Wu Bai.
Living Taiwanese Singers
Go to all Rankings
Takeshi Kaneshiro
1973 - Present
HPI: 54.39
Sally Yeh
1961 - Present
HPI: 46.57
A-Mei
1972 - Present
HPI: 42.51
Chou Tzu-yu
1999 - Present
HPI: 41.64
Wu Bai
1968 - Present
HPI: 40.49
Elva Hsiao
1979 - Present
HPI: 37.54
Ken Chu
1979 - Present
HPI: 36.83
Hebe Tien
1983 - Present
HPI: 36.12
Angela Zhang
1982 - Present
HPI: 35.57
Aska Yang
1978 - Present
HPI: 34.23
