Joyce Cheng Once Begged Her Boyfriend to Not Leave Her
Cantopop singer Joyce Cheng (鄭欣宜), held her two-day debut concert Goddess Has a Problem <女神有問題> at the Kowloonbay International Trade & Exhibition Centre (KITEC) this past weekend. It was a star-studded affair—numerous friends from the industry showed up for her first concert, such as Wyman Wong (黃偉文), Janice Vidal (衛蘭), Jill Vidal (衛詩), Kate Tsui (徐子珊), Sammul Chan (陳鍵鋒), Eliza Sam (岑麗香), Jade Kwan (關心妍), and more.
Joyce’s father Adam Cheng (鄭少秋), and the legendary Cantonese opera singer Bak Sheut-sin (白雪仙), were also there to support Joyce. Joey Yung (容祖兒) was the night’s final guest performer.
The 29-year-old made her first appearance like a warrior, in a gorgeous black corset with golden shoulder ornaments. Waving her flag, Joyce sang the anthem “Breaking Up is Common Sense” <分手是常識吧>, a fast-paced rock number from her latest album, Joyce.
“It’s been six years since my debut as a singer,” said Joyce tearfully. “Now I can finally perform at my own solo concert. I’m so happy! I’m such a mess right now. I’ve forgotten what I was supposed to say!”
Being the daughter of famous parents, Joyce suffered media scrutiny since an early age. Criticized for her weight, Joyce went to great lengths to shed her pounds. But even after getting skinnier, Joyce wasn’t happy.
The breakups of her past relationships also took a toll on Joyce’s mental health. At the concert, Joyce went candid about her past relationships. Before performing her new song “No Superficial Injuries” <無表面傷痕>, Joyce told her audience, “I know everyone sees me as a strong person, but I once went to the point of kneeling and begging for [my boyfriend] to not leave me. I had completely let go of my dignity. In the end, he still left. I completely changed as a person after that. I felt like I had lost myself. I couldn’t even recognize myself when I look in the mirror. I would have never expected myself to end up like that. So right now, I want to let out all of my negative energy. We shouldn’t dwell on breakups. There’s no problem to that.”
Joyce had been in two known relationships since her debut in the industry. She dated Mark Ryan for five years, followed by some dating rumors with the Korean model Jin Choi (崔豪進), which was never confirmed. Two years ago, it was revealed that Joyce was dating fashion photographer Silas Lee, who said he did not mind Joyce’s heavier weight. They broke up last year.
“No Superficial Injuries”, her latest single, was recorded right after splitting with an ex-boyfriend. Joyce had trouble recording the song, as the lyrics triggered memories of him. She never revealed who she was talking about, but the boyfriend is speculated to be Silas Lee.
After singing a tearful but satisfying goodbye to her past loves, Joyce went back on stage to perform dance tracks. Joyce even attempted a backflip, wowing all her fans. When she slipped and revealed her bra, Joyce joked, “Let me slip my bra back in first!”
Joey Yung was the night’s surprise guest performer. She appeared during the encore, and sang Joyce’s debut hit “People with Stories” <有故事的人>.
Joey said, “Here’s what Joyce and I share in comment: we’re not the kind of women who would make our male audiences drool when they see us. We make them roll their eyes! Since we cannot be your ideal type, we can be the type you’ll fall in love with when you hear our voices.”
It was an emotional night for Joyce. Towards the end of the show, Joyce shed some final tears, and said, “I know I’m not the greatest person. I have a big temper and am very forgetful. I’m always asking questions and I’m always feeling worried. I’d think I could do everything on my own and wouldn’t let people to help me, but it just gets troublesome for everyone in the end! I know everyone cares about me. I can see it. I know I’m not alone.”
Source: Oriental Daily
This article is written by Addy for JayneStars.com.
We all do stupid stuff for love, but not a lot of ppl are willing to disclose those details. Joyce is very brave.
She’s happy, good for her. But she is getting too big, health wise.
As for begging her boyfriend, well if you don’t love that deep, it isn’t love. but if it is begging love, yes she is right to look at her own self worth and move on.
When you love someone its really hard to let go and even if she did really beg for him not to leave its normal its really what love is she’s a normal human being!!! Joyce is indeed brave and have the courage to step up to the media and Say I might be big but Im beautiful on the inside as well and on the outside!!! Honestly its really tough to be in the asian industry they all like stick figure girls with big boobs and weighing just 80-90lbs is sexy!!!! All i have to say is Joyce whatever makes you happy go for it screw the HK media!!!
She is very brave for reveling that about her ex. I hope some people will find courage in what she went through. Wishing her the best.. must hard living in HK as they have a warp sense on what is consider beautiful but Joyce really should take better care of herself as this yoyo diet she goes through is not healthy.
The only reason why so many celebrities attended Joyce’s concert was to give face to her mother Lydia Sum. Not only is Joyce fat and unattractive, but she can neither sing nor act. . By now she should realized that just because you are the daughter of a famous father and mother actors does not automatically qualify you to be a singer or an actress. There are plenty out there who are much better singers and lots more attractive than her. She should just quit show business but wait, there is a route she can take, aim to become a female Sammo Hung.
@creditor bad singer in comparison to who? twins? sammi cheng?
I think she’s a good singer. Very good technique and clear voice.
She’s a bit chubby, but I didn’t know being a singer meant you have to be beautiful. Han Hong didn’t get that memo either
@coralie
Is Adele popular in Asia? people like creditor would likely diss Adele for being ‘fat’ and ignore her superb voice.
@msxie0714 no idea if Adele is popular in Asia but i assume so. There are a lot of YT videos where Asians cover her songs
@creditor Spewing hate as usual I see. Yes, I’m sure some people attended because they know her THROUGH HER MOTHER. But if they really didn’t care about her, they wouldn’t go see her period. It’s not like her mother passed recently or they’re getting any money by attending. If they really didn’t care for her would they keep attending every event of hers because of her mother? Please.
And Joyce can actually sing. I don’t care for her acting at all, but the first time I heard her singing voice…I don’t know, maybe 10 years ago, I was impressed. I think she has raw talent which can be improved with the proper training, so I will give her that credit. It is already very difficult trying to make it in Asia with all the superficial “requirements” (pretty, pale, big eyes/double eyelids, small nose, skinny body, big boobs, no blemish, cute voice, long hair, demureness/good girl image). She definitely has way more pressure because she’s a big girl and her mom was so famous.
Look, I’m not trying to say fat is healthy. I live in the U.S. and obesity is a friggin epidemic here. I do believe, however, everyone is meant to be a certain size. Sure, you can lose as much weight and be at your skinniest but if that’s very difficult to maintain/you aren’t happy, you’re not meant to be that size. She was able to get down to a small size before, but maybe she wasn’t happy or she couldn’t maintain that weight one way or another. What matters is that she stays healthy (we cannot tell whether she is or not. Only her doctor would truly know. There are fat people who work out and who play sports. They are fit. They can lift and bench more than us).
Can you tell me who are these much better singers in the industry right now? (I only know G.E.M. and even she is tired of the Hong Kong music industry). I can’t keep up with all these new talentless chicks who are only promoted because of their looks and body.
There are quite a few fat but talented people in the industry so are you going to hate on those too because they’re fat? Or are you just attacking Joyce because she has famous parents and had the opportunity to become a singer because they paved the way? So what? If you wanted to be a singer and had famous parents I’m sure you would take that opportunity as well. It’s call playing smart.
@lyu310 Agree! Asian culture puts so much emphasis on being stick thin. I’m glad that she seems to be more at peace with and confident in herself.
Just because you’re fat or chubby doesn’t mean you can’t do what you love or find some success for yourself.
@dandan Right! I would not survive in Asia. The emotional distress would be too much for me to handle. Even when I was growing up, older Chinese ladies would call me “big” and “fat” or “fatter than your mom”. I kept my mouth shut then because my self-esteem was already really low and I was told to respect my elders (even though they show no respect and were NOT my elders). If anyone said that to me now I would cuss them out. My mom tried to explain that “big” is a good thing to them, that it means I’m tall. Uh no, I will not give them the benefit of the doubt. How dare they ask me “what does your mom feed you to get you so big?” when I was only ~5ft 3 and 120 pounds. That’s fat? I don’t get it. I’m sorry I’m not 95 pounds but I never will be and my size doesn’t define me. I work out. I’m fit.
I do not want to look like those twiggy girls who don’t work out but eat very little. I remember seeing a youtube video of Erica Yuen (former Miss HK 2005 contestant and TVB hater) advertising this machine that helps with weight loss. In the video, she shows her midriff and pinches her stomach. Her stomach was so jiggly! It was flat but she had NO muscles underneath. That’s just skinny fat.
@dandan agree!!! Hard to live in some part of Asia if one is chubby. And i am not even talking about fat fat but just a little bigger.
@lyu310 and @coralie well said. This ks why I like shows like the voice as people are judge by their voice not in how they look.
@creditor
The celebrities listed are mostly young celebs after her mother’s time. Eliza Sam has not even joined the HK E! industry when Lydia passed away. Plus, her mother has already passed away for 8 years. Why still need to give face?
Wyman Wong (黃偉文)
Janice Vidal (衛蘭)
Jill Vidal (衛詩)
Kate Tsui (徐子珊)
Sammul Chan (陳鍵鋒)
Eliza Sam (岑麗香)
Jade Kwan (關心妍).
Joyce might not be a looker (in the conventional sense) and I think she still need to work on her breathing when she sings, but, she has a naturally beautiful singing voice and her singing skill keep improving since she first started singing.
Most of the celebs who attended are either her industry friends/colleagues or like her singing. Wyman Wong wrote the lyrics for her “Goddess” song.
@kidd
There was also Grace Wong and Ng Yip Kwan. I highly doubt they were there out of respect for Lydia.
@lyu310 – Reading your reply was like an excerpt from my childhood. Asians are EXPERT body shamers! I remember very clearly how I was told by an aunty (indicating age, I did not know her) waitstaff at a Honky cafe who told our table to finish off our remaining food but told me specifically not to because I was fat enough. Thanks.
There’s so much emotional and mental abuse, from everyone and anyone. There are no boundaries, particularly with the older gen.
It’s funny though, my relos and parents were looking at old photos and made the comment: “Look you were so skinny then.”
Hmm… strange, that’s not how I remember the dialogue.
Yes, very scarred. There will be no body shaming for my two baby girls!
@kuks Agreed! They think they are honest/blunt for spewing all this negativity and that you should just take it as helpful advice. They do not think for a second that it really affects someone who is young, impressionable, and going through puberty (aka starting to get more shaply or what they would call fat). I had to explain these things to my mom years ago when I was finally okay with opening up to her about my feelings/low self-esteem.
If I do have kids in the future (difficult choice), I would definitely tell them they are loved and how beautiful they are. I think that is important and something Chinese/Asian cultures lack, especially from the more traditional and conservative Chinese people.
@kuks
Did any of the source articles mentioned Alfred Hui in the audience or as a guest singer? Alfred Hui are Joyce are best of friends. They often do Facebook live stream together in (I saw those live stream on youtube though). A number of those live stream also include Hubert Woo. They seem so buddy buddy in it. Did Hubert attend the concert?
@creditor Do your homework before you start spewing nonsensical garbage! Most of those celebrities in attendance had nothing to do with Lydia Shum, as they all came after Lydia’s time. The only “celebrity” who we can technically say was there because of Lydia was Bak Shuet-sin, as she was one of Lydia’s close friends. Oh and your later comment about Joyce’s friends getting free tickets otherwise they wouldn’t attend is not only insulting to those celebrities, it also shows how ignorant and shallow you are. Aside from Sammul Chan, every other name on that list are known industry friends of Joyce’s, most of whom she became close with through work or church, so it’s no surprise at all that they would go and support her out of true concern for her. And as for Joyce’s singing talent…well, you may feel that she can’t sing, but I beg to differ – Joyce has a beautiful voice, puts emotion into her singing, has decent technique that continues to improve with each album, and even though she is not a ‘great’ singer by any means, her singing skills are way better than most of the female singers from the current generation. In this day and age, it’s sad that there is still so much intolerance for people with weight issues. Last I checked, there was no requirement that one has to be skinny and pretty to be a good singer. Some people really need to have their brains checked!
I think she went a bit too far in it’s ok to be fat thing . Its is not good for her health
@ivan
controlling one’s body shape isn’t possible for many people. just because her body doesn’t meet the standard as dictated by society, it doesn’t mean she should not love herself as a person. endless face and body shaming only serves to create self-hatred and benefit plastic surgeons.
she was super spoiled by her mother, of course she had this princess temper no surprise all of her ex left her and couldn’t handle her, but you learn mistake as you grow, Joyce is now all grown up, so much pressure on her to have the same success as her mom… hope she’ll be happy from now and do what she always like to do singing.
it’s difficult to maintain a super thin figure like most female stars. after all they do spend a fair amount of time at the gym and eat very healthily. i think most girls probably don’t want to look like a washboard but with the extreme dieting that is an inadvertent result.
I’m surprised to read Sammul’s name among the celebs named. I hardly read any news about him in HK nowdays. Is he a friend of Joyce or a fan?
We should all answer this question objectively: If Joyce is not the daughter of Adam Cheng and Lydia Sum, would any entertainment company has her under its wings. With just an average voice, chubby face and unflattering figure, why would anyone wants to promote her when there are lots of much better and attractive singers/actors waiting in queue out there.
Someone mentioned Adele. Yes, Adele is plump, but she has an outrageously good voice and a very sexy singing style and all her songs are solid stuff. And she is attractive despite being on the weighty side. Joyce is not even one percent of Adele, what an irrevelant comparison!
@creditor you said the only reason why so many celebrities went to her concert is because of her famous parents. People on this blog is just telling you that is not the case. @lyu310 already mention about her famous parent paving her way to her career so what’s your point? If she have parents that can do that for her, what does it matter to you? Why can’t she enjoy that benefit? And what better and attractive singers/actor waiting to be promoted? Sorry but don’t see much of that in HK these days.
@creditor the answer to your first question is a solid yes. Joyce has a beautiful voice and good technique; maybe record companies will demand she lose weight prior debut, but the resounding answer is yes
@creditor
And you should answer this question objectively. If her albums and songs didn’t sell, will any entertainment company continue to produce album for her? From my knowledge, she already has 4 albums under her name.
Being the daughter of Lydia Shum and Adam Cheng open doors for her. But, whether she can stay in the industry depends solely on her own effort and ability (and maybe some luck).
Those celebrities that attended her concert but do not belong to her parents’ era are her close friends who wanted to show support that’s all, it’s not that she is such a great singer that they wouldn’t want to miss it for the world. Besides, they must have been given free tickets! If they had to pay, I doubt very much they would go, close friends or not. Who would want to pay and spend an evening watching a fatso sing so ordinarily?
@creditor I consider twins extremely ordinary and talentless in the singing field. But they got millions of fans. I consider Angelababy a talentless model/actress, but she’s adored by millions.
Joyce does not have the conventional looks, but she has great talent. You might think she’s plain Jane and terrible singer, but most would disagree.
@coralie Not only twins.. lots of artist in the HK singing field are mediocre. They are promoted not for their voice or talent but on how they look.. and as for their look.. it’s all subjective as most I do not find anything special. blah.
@creditor But first you said the people who attended only went because of her parents. Then after we pointed out that those aren’t her parents’ friends but hers you turn it around to say they got free tickets and wouldn’t have gone if they had to pay. Now not only are you insulting Joyce, you are making these friends of hers sound like terrible people. I agree with free speech but we are also free to respond back to you. You can move along now. I’m sure there are other posts for you to attack. Peace.
If Joyce is such a great singing talent as you guys say she is, then her songs should be topping the charts and she be invited to the top rated shows. But why is that not happening? Instead she languishing in oblivion and had to use her own money to stage a concert. And if you guys are such great fans of hers, why wasn’t any of you at her concert?
@creditor No one said they were fans of hers. We just said even though she may not have the look or body she does have a good voice. We are just being fair unlike you. Why would I fly to Hong Kong for a concert? Would you pay for my flight? If so, I’d go!
There are many crappy singers in HK who top charts. Why? Because there’s someone willing to promote them because they have the right look. Hello, the HK industry is basically ruled by triad members so how fair are they? Do you truly think someone’s singing voice alone will bring them fame?
@creditor
I didn’t go to the concerts of even bigger stars that I like more than Joyce when they held concert in my country. It depends on whether I have time, money, accommodation and transport or not. Not all fans can fly cross country to watch her idols’ concert. But, I bought Joyce’s first album because I like her voice.
Btw, her song ‘Goddess’ is topping the charts now in HK.
She is very lucky to get her own solo concert only 6 years after debutting. A lot of people waited much longer than that.
@prettysup1
Things are different now. In the previous decade, singers have to work for years before they can get a solo concert. But, nowadays, news singers can hold solo concert within a short time after their debut. Pakko booked the Hong Kong Coliseum for Justin even before he released his first album.
It is understandable that people would like to be sympathetic towards Joyce, a victim of her parents’ acrimonious divorce, her mom passing away early, her soured relationship with the father and the high expectations being the child of two very famous entertainers.
But we should put aside all such emotions when it comes to judging her as a singer/actress. If we are honest in our assessment, we would find that her voice is only ordinary, her showmanship is non existent and her looks are not at all attractive, and I better not describe her figure. We must always remember that Joyce managed to get into show business only because of her mother’s connection and not on her own merit. (In fact, Adam himself rose to stardom in TVB entirely due to Lydia’s influence.) What special qualities does she has that few thousand other girls in HK does not have?
Ok, I’m going to have to agree with @creditor about her voice being nothing special. The person who’s comparing her situation to Adele’s is way out to lunch. Adele gets by because of her amazing voice.
Joyce has an ok singing voice, pretty much a dime a dozen type for any aspiring singer. She’s had professional vocal lessons all her life because of her mother’s connections. So yes, she has the techniques down pat, but her natural voice just isn’t that strong, the range too limited, and is generally too nasally.
And lets be honest and objective. If not for who her parents are, there’s no way she’d make it as a singer. I honestly don’t even think she’d make it as a youtube singer, as I find a lot those amateur singers have way better voices and vocal range.
@theyenman shuqi was introduced to Ebiz through soft p*rn. her method of entrance into a cut-throat industry doesn’t mean she can’t act.
likewise, joyce was brought into music by her mom, but that doesn’t mean she has no inherent value. she is loads better than people like the Twins. in fact, she rivals many more that are currently active.
is she the best at singing, is she as great as joey yung or faye wong? no, but that doesn’t mean she hasn’t carved out her own niche in the field through her own hard work and talent.
@coralie Sure, I’ll agree her voice is better than say Twins, but that’s a pretty low bar to be measured against. I just don’t think her voice or her singing is that great, and the fact that her level of singing is what passes as “great” in HK these days is probably one of the reasons why the HK music scene in general has been so terrible for the past several years.
@theyenman standards are relative. i don’t think she’s the best singer, as HK singers goes, but she’s not the worst. i would put her squarely in the middle. GEM, Joey, the OGs like Jacky Cheung, Hins Cheung are way above her. but that doesn’t mean she’s a bad singer.
i dont wanna drop names ’cause some ppl are very sensitive towards their idols, but a lot of the top-earning singers right now basically can’t sing. hell, even some American singers can’t beat Joyce. so really, it’s unfair to say she’s a bad singer.
@coralie To be clear, I’m not saying Joyce has a terrible voice or anything, I’m just saying she’s got an average voice for a singer. And I’m not faulting her for using connections to get where she is, heck, she’d be dumb not to and would have wasted her mom’s efforts.
But lets be realistic. If she were just a normal girl trying to get into the industry, there’s no way should have broken in based on her voice alone. She has no other things that distinguishes her. Showbiz is a cruel and superficial industry. Based on her looks, figure, musical and lyrical talent, and lack of charisma, she wouldn’t have made it.
@theyenman to be fair, there are a few iconic HK singers in the past and now that are really rather mediocre, even worse than joyce. if they didn’t rely on their charisma, looks, superficial things – they would’ve gotten nowhere.
joyce, on the other hand, has no superficial things going for her, but her voice still stands out. standards are relative. she’s an acceptable singer in spite of the negativity regarding her looks and personality. even if she wasn’t born the daughter of Lydia, I think she would’ve still made it.
She does have an ok voice in my opinion but nothing like spectacular even if she is kind of chubby. She does look like Adele kind of chubbness but it seems people in the US never even care about Adele’s chubbiness thou. Chinese does have a crazy kind of mindset and their overly craziness w/skeleton bones in HK. The girls look anerexic and they still call them pretty. I just don’t get that. One thing I always thou, what’s up w/Asian singings always wanting to dress in a wedding gown when in concerts???? I feel like alot of them like doing that? Why they wish to get married or what? Weird!
I thought she became skinny at one point and now it seems she’s back to chubby mode.