A-fu

A-fu

A-fu at HitFM 這夏樂翻了 Summer Party in August 2013
Chinese name 鄧福如 (traditional)
Chinese name 邓福如 (simplified)
Pinyin Dèng Fúrú (Mandarin)
Birth name Teng Fu-ju
Born (1987-06-20) 20 June 1987
Hsinchu, Taiwan
Other name(s) A-fu Teng, Deng Furu
Occupation
Genre(s)
Instrument(s) Vocals
Label(s) Forward Music
Years active 2007–present
Associated acts Lazy Bomb

Teng Fu-ju (traditional Chinese: 鄧福如; simplified Chinese: 邓福如; pinyin: Dèng Fúrú; born 20 June 1987), known by her stage name A-fu (Chinese: 阿福; pinyin: Ā fú), is a Taiwanese singer and songwriter. Prior to her solo debut in the music scene, A-fu was a member of Lazy Bomb, an indie band, and a demo singer. She is known for her cover version of "Nothin' on You" by B.o.B and Bruno Mars, which drew wide attention on YouTube in 2010. In May 2011, A-fu released her debut studio album, That's How It Is, for which she received a nomination for Best New Artist at the 23rd Golden Melody Awards.[1]

Early life

Born in Hsinchu City on 20 June 1987, A-fu grew up in the countryside in Xiangshan District and in Changhua County.[2] Both her parents run a rental car business together, and as they were often busy with work when she was young, A-fu and her elder sister, Hsing Ju, spent much of their childhood under the care of their aunt.[3] Despite this, A-fu still maintains a close relationship with her mother and grew up influenced by her mother's love for music, in particular songs by Teresa Teng. At a young age, A-fu entered in singing and recitation competitions. Also, at her mother's request, she learned the standard Mandarin enunciation by watching the Taiwanese educational programme The Daily Characters (每日一字) hosted by news presenter Lee Yen-chiu, which perhaps, has shaped her distinctive vocals, in a way.[4]

She attended Kuang-Fu High School, a comprehensive high school in Hsinchu, and graduated from Shih Hsin University with a degree in public relations and advertising in 2010.[5]

Career

A-fu at a live performance in August 2015

During her college years, A-fu was the lead singer of an indie band called Lazy Bomb. The band released a self-titled EP in November 2007 and disbanded shortly after.[6] Around this time, A-fu met music producer AL (何官錠), who is also a member and keyboard player of the pop rock band Six Plus (六甲樂團).[7] She started collaborating with AL as a demo singer. The first demo which she recorded, titled "Sheng Sheng Man" (聲聲慢), was chosen as the ending theme song for the first season of the Chinese TV series Justice Bao. The Zhong guo feng music style of the song, coupled with A-fu's crystal-clear voice and diction, generated considerable buzz among the Chinese netizens. Soon after, A-fu's singing caught the attention of veteran host Chang Hsiao-yen, who later signed A-fu to her record label Forward Music. While awaiting the release of her debut album, A-fu garnered media attention after uploading her first video on YouTube in September 2010, her cover version of B.o.B and Bruno Mars's "Nothin' on You", which had racked up more than a million views within a week. She followed with more covers of popular hits, which includes "Bizarre Love Triangle", "Qing Hua Ci" (青花瓷) by Jay Chou, Bruno Mars's "Just the Way You Are" and so forth. In December 2010, A-fu was featured as a backup singer during Stella Chang's comeback concert in Taiwan.[8]

A-fu's debut album, That's How It Is, was released on 27 May 2011 and features a studio version of "Sheng Sheng Man" and her cover of "Nothin' on You".[9] The album sold more than 25,000 copies in Taiwan within a month of its release.[10] To further promote the album, A-fu performed a sold-out show at the Riverside Live House in Taipei on 25 June 2011, with Van Fan appearing as guest performer.[11][12] On 3 July 2011, A-fu made a guest appearance at Jam Hsiao's mini-concert at Tamsui Fisherman's Wharf, performing "Just the Way You Are" and "Wei Tian Ci" (未填詞).[13] In 2012, A-fu was nominated for Best New Artist at the 23rd Golden Melody Awards but lost to Ilid Kaolo.[1]

Her next release, an extended play titled Happiness Is Around Us, was released on 7 March 2012. The second single off of the album, "Where Is The Love?", a self-composed track, was featured as an insert song in the drama series Big Red Riding Hood.[14]

On 7 June 2013, A-fu released her second studio album, Sky Island, which debuted at number one on the Five Music Mandarin Album sales chart.[15] It includes the track "Rang Wo Ai Shang Wo" (讓我愛上我) from the soundtrack album for the film Step Back to Glory (志氣).[16] In May of that year, A-fu performed "Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Old Oak Tree" at Teresa Teng's memorial concert at Taipei Arena.[17]

Her third studio album, Own Categories, was released on 19 June 2015. It features a duet, "Stop At The Crossing Ahead" (前面路口停), with Hsiao Yu (小宇).[18]

Discography

Studio albums

Album# English title Mandarin title Release date Track listing Label
1st That's How It Is 原來如此！！ 27 May 2011 Forward Music
2nd Sky Island 天空島 7 June 2013 Forward Music
3rd Own Categories 自成一派 19 June 2015 Forward Music

Extended play

Album# English title Mandarin title Release date Track listing Label
1st Happiness Is Around Us 你好，哈波尼斯 7 March 2012 Forward Music

Awards and nominations

Year Award Category Nomination Result Ref
2011 Hong Kong TVB JSG Selections 2011 (Part 2) Most Popular Mandarin Song "未填詞" Won [19]
Yahoo! Taiwan Celebrity Awards Most Popular New Artiste A-fu Won [8]
Hong Kong TVB8 Awards Best New Artiste (silver) A-fu Won [20]
Best Music Composition "如果有如果" Won
One FM Top 30 Awards Top 30 Hits "如果有如果" Won [21]
Top 10 Album That's How It IsWon
Singapore Hit Awards Best New Artiste A-fu Nominated [22]
Most Popular Newcomer A-fu Nominated
2012 23rd Golden Melody Awards Best New Artist A-fu Nominated [1]
Canadian Chinese Pop Music Awards Mandarin New Female Artiste Award A-fu Won [23]
Top 10 Mandarin songs "一點點喜歡" Won [24]
KKBOX Newcomer of the Year A-fu Won [25]
Music Radio Awards Most Potential New Artiste (Hong Kong / Taiwan) A-fu Won [26][27]
Most Popular New Artiste (Hong Kong / Taiwan) A-fu Nominated
Metro Radio Mandarin Hits Music Awards Popular Idol Award A-fu Won [28]
Singer-songwriter Award A-fu Won
Books 博客來 Top-selling album of the year (9th) That's How It Is Won [29]
2013 Metro Radio Mandarin Hits Music Awards Songs of the Year "Me & U" Won [30]
Best Female Artiste A-fu Won

References

  1. 1 2 3 "第 23 屆 流行音樂金曲獎 - 得獎名單及入圍作品簡介". TTV. Retrieved 2 December 2015.
  2. ↑ "菲船事件衝擊 阿福MV郵輪夢碎". UDN. 16 June 2013. Retrieved 22 December 2015.
  3. ↑ "阿福發夢穿越古羅馬 談情賞夜景". China Times. 30 July 2013.
  4. ↑ "美聲素人「阿福」- 征服9億人". UDN. Retrieved 22 December 2015.
  5. ↑ "公共關係暨廣告學系 - 知名校友". SHU. Retrieved 22 December 2015.
  6. ↑ "首張同名EP". 5music. Retrieved 22 December 2015.
  7. ↑ "神祕女「聲」爆紅！四十萬網友問何方神聖？". NOWnews. Retrieved 22 December 2015.
  8. 1 2 "2011搜尋人氣大獎／最受歡迎新人歌手─鄧福如". Yahoo!. Retrieved 22 December 2015.
  9. ↑ "原來如此!!". 5music. Retrieved 22 December 2015.
  10. ↑ "張小燕不買榜 阿福賣唱靠自己". Yahoo!. Retrieved 22 December 2015.
  11. ↑ "A-Fu 鄧福如【原來如此】樂福音樂會". Riverside. Retrieved 22 December 2015.
  12. ↑ "阿福首次开唱歌迷爆满 与范逸臣对唱情歌". NetEase. Retrieved 22 December 2015.
  13. ↑ "阿福助陣蕭敬騰開心跳針 下次想挑戰主持(組圖)". Yes娛樂. Retrieved 22 December 2015.
  14. ↑ "你好,哈波尼斯EP". 5music. Retrieved 22 December 2015.
  15. ↑ "5大金榜 - 第24 週 統計時間：2013/6/7 - 2013/6/13". 5music. Retrieved 22 December 2015.
  16. ↑ "天空島(正式版)". 5music. Retrieved 22 December 2015.
  17. ↑ "紀念鄧麗君 鍾鎮濤領巨星獻聲". CNA. Retrieved 22 December 2015.
  18. ↑ "Hot tracks". The Straits Times. Retrieved 22 December 2015.
  19. ↑ "《2011勁歌金曲優秀選第二回》得獎名單". TVB. Retrieved 22 December 2015.
  20. ↑ "TVB8金曲榜頒獎典禮歷屆得獎名單". TVB. Retrieved 22 December 2015.
  21. ↑ "one FM劲爆30排行榜年度总选2011". One FM. Retrieved 22 December 2015.
  22. ↑ "第17屆新加坡金曲獎入圍名單". Woohoo. Retrieved 22 December 2015.
  23. ↑ "G-Hits　至 HiT 得獎歌手及曲詞人（國語）". Fairchild Radio. Retrieved 22 December 2015.
  24. ↑ "G-Hits　至 HiT 全國推崇十大歌曲（國語）". Fairchild Radio. Retrieved 22 December 2015.
  25. ↑ "KKBOX公布得奖名单 五月天荣登十大歌手". Epoch Times. Retrieved 22 December 2015.
  26. ↑ "2011MusicRadio中国TOP排行榜入围名单曝光". China News. Retrieved 22 December 2015.
  27. ↑ "中国Top排行榜揭晓 罗志祥热舞开场张惠妹成赢家". China News. Retrieved 22 December 2015.
  28. ↑ "新城國語力頒獎禮2012". Metro Radio. Retrieved 22 December 2015.
  29. ↑ "【2012華語年度暢銷歌手】Top9：鄧福如". Books.com. Retrieved 22 December 2015.
  30. ↑ "新城國語力頒獎禮2013得獎名單". Appledaily. Retrieved 22 December 2015.

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