Edison Chen II

Name: Edison Chen, Chen Kwoon Hei
Japanese Name: Totemo Tsukarette
Nickname: Illkid, Eddie
Languages: English, Cantonese, Mandarin, Japanese
Place of Birth: Vancouver, Canada
Origin: Shanghai, China
Height: 5′10
Weight: 145lb
Hobbies: Internet, Dancing, Eating

Edison Chen (Traditional Chinese: 陳冠希; Pinyin: Chén Gūanxī; Cantonese: Chan Kwoon Hei; born October 7, 1980 in Vancouver, Canada) is a popular Hong Kong teen idol. He was an artist of the Emperor Entertainment Group (EEG). Edison Chen’s contract with EEG ended in 2005.

Born in Vancouver, Canada, Edison is of Chinese descent on both sides but his father is of ¼ Portuguese ancestry, as his father is a Macanese.

Edison Chen was born on October 7th, 1980. Raised in Vancouver and New York, he now lives in Hong Kong and currently works in Asian Cinema, Music and Fashion. He owns a lifestyle company named CLOT, which works with labels and artists from all around the world gathering them all together in unison in the Greater Asian region, although they are based in the Hong Kong region. Seemingly this is the first venture of this sort of cause in Hong Kong. Edison’s official online blog states that “He is just a normal everyday guy like you, but only his job is to entertain…”

Prior to his music career, he went to High School in Hong Kong International School (HKIS) in the class of 1998. He also attended high school at R.C Palmer Secondary School in Richmond, BC. He was considered a poor student among many teachers at both schools. Some of his peers said that he always skipped classes and was considered somewhat anti-social.

Chen has starred in many films including Infernal Affairs II and Twins Effect. He also sings cantopop and can speak English, Cantonese,Japanese and Mandarin. However, as with many foreign-born Chinese, Edison does not have a perfect command of Cantonese or Mandarin. He is idolized for his “cool” attitude and his good looks, though critics cite him as conceited (”chuen”, “串”, in Cantonese slang).

Though many consider Edison Chen to be the first pop singer who brought hip-hop culture to Hong Kong music industry, it was LMF that began the underground hip-hop industry in Hong Kong. But if LMF started hip-hop in Hong Kong, Edison made it mainstream in Cantopop. This is reflected as many of Edison’s rap songs feature MC Yan from the now disbanded LMF.

His song “香港地” (Hong Kong Place), featuring MC Yan and Han Jin, about how the Hong Kong people are like, and calls for union of the Hong Kong people, was one of the great hits in 2004. Edison continued his hip-hop style, and released another hip-hop album HAZY in 2005. The song “嘥氣” (Waste of Breath) describes the assault incident Edison encountered before.

Edison’s first movie Gen-Y Cops received terrible reviews from the Hong Kong media. As he has gained more experience he has improved somewhat since those early days. He recently starred in the film Jiang Hu in which his character had to rape a dog as a punishment. This scene however, did not bring praise from critics as Edison remains , as some critics say, “talentless”. In the movie Initial D Chen took the role of Ryosuke Takahashi.

Currently, Edison is making his Hollywood Debut in the Grudge 2, the second in a Japanese horror remake of Ju-on, starring Sarah Michelle Gellar and Amber Rose Tamblyn. He is casted as a an investigative reporter. The film will be released on Friday, October 13 2006.

In March 2004, Edison Chen was assaulted by two teenagers, aged 15 and 17, in downtown Hong Kong. The two teenagers apparently mocked Edison by breakdancing in front of Edison as he was leaving a hair salon. One of the teenagers swung at Edison and hit him in the right ear. The two teens ran off whilst Edison gave chase for nine city blocks before returning to the same shopping arcade. There he called his “assistants” (rumored to be ex-Triads) to look for the two teens. They were eventually caught on a bus.

Albums
May, 2006 - 69FM Mixtape - CLOT - independent of any major record labels
January, 2006 - The Best Collection 首張個人卡拉OK VCD
December 21, 2005 - The Best Collection 精選
April 18, 2005 - Hazy: The 144 Hour Project (Version 2)
January 4, 2005 - Hazy: The 144 Hour Project
February 26, 2004 - Please Steal This Album
February 13, 2003 - Hits or Misses
December 6, 2002 - Transition (Mandarin) (Limited Edition)
August 29, 2002 - Transition (Mandarin)
July 3, 2002 - Break Through
December 20, 2001 - Peace And Love
November 2, 2001 - Ed Is On (Mandarin)
June 16, 2001 - Visual Diary (Version 2)
May 10, 2001 - Visual Diary
November 30, 2000 - Edison Chen (陳冠希) (EP)

More Info:
Edison’s Official Site
Edison Chen Plus CJB
Edison’s Official Blog
Edison Chen at The Internet Movie Database
SCMP audio interview with Edison
Ed’s Fan Listing

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