Chantel Yiu Films “Forever Young at Heart”

Gigi Yan (炎明熹) and Chantel Yiu (姚焯菲) are the two standout stars from TVB’s Stars Academy <聲夢傳奇> popular for their beautiful voices and strong performances. After successfully releasing individual singles, the pair is currently filming for TVB youth drama Forever Young at Heart <青春本我>.

Only 15 years old, Chantel’s youthful vibrancy is earning comparisons to Charlene Choi (蔡卓妍) and Gillian Chung (鍾欣潼) of Twins when they first debuted. During Stars Academy, Chantel took in constructive criticism and improved her performances to deliver a delightful rendition of Sandy Lamb’s (林珊珊) song, “Love Preview” (戀愛預告).

Initially, Chantel’s parents had wanted their eldest daughter to focus on school and not join the entertainment industry at such a young age. However, she signed a five-year basic artiste contract with TVB due to being a finalist on Stars Academy.

Chantel’s new catchy single, “This is What Love is Like” <原來談戀愛是這麼一回事>, has done incredibly well and gained over half a million views within four days of release. Yet, Chantel remains modest over her success and points to Gigi’s superior vocal talents and greater chance in winning the Best Newcomer award at the end of the year. Chantel said, “Gigi’s singing is stronger than mine, and it’s reasonable for her to win. My singing is not as good as hers, but I can improve. Gigi has been taking singing lessons for a longer time.”

On the set of Forever Young at Heart, Chantel has been adjusting to the filming process as her emotions just flow naturally. Although her character is very shy in the drama, Chantel has a straightforward personality in real life. “Sometimes I just feel tired and don’t want to talk, but everyone thinks I’m shy. My reactions just come out naturally [on set], and people will ask if I’m unhappy or tired, and even say I’m too noisy.”

In a scene where the students say goodbye to their teacher Miss Wong (JW 王灝兒), Chantel started crying on the spot. “The director didn’t expect us to cry because it wasn’t written in the script. We just naturally felt the emotions. When the song played, I recalled my moments with JW during the competition. She and I are very close.”

“This is What Love is Like” by Chantel Yiu