Delia Wang Keng Aun (Chinese: 迪莉婭王; pinyin: Dí lì yà wáng; born June 4, 1982) is a Malaysian Chinese singer, songwriter, actress, model and entrepreneur. A leading figure within Mandopop and the Chinese-speaking world's entertainment industry since the late 1990s, she is known for helping to continue the Tsengge genre's popularity after the dissolution of the Tsengge Eight, changing the fashion trends and lifestyles of women in Asia, her experimentation and artistic endeavors within her music, and her visual imagery within her music videos and live performances. Due to her career longevity, resilience, professionalism, efforts behind-the-scenes in the music industry, and her way of life, she is a pop culture icon in the Chinese-speaking world. She has been referred to as the "Diva of a Generation".
Early life[]
Delia Wang was born on June 4, 1982 in George Town, Penang, Malaysia into a Penangite Chinese family. She is the daughter of accountant Sandy Wang and street food chef/hawker Low Tsu Wang. Her father ran a wanton mee stall in George Town.
Wang grew up listening to American pop music on the international stations Superrock KYOI and Asia 1, and Mandopop on local radio stations.
Career[]
1997-98: Career beginnings[]
Wang was discovered singing on Malaysian television by the Tsengge producer Cooper Chao, who was looking for "a new star with a mostly upbeat, Western pop style". Without any original material, Wang was able to score an audition with Chao and executives for Zenghe Inc. During her audition, with her parents present, Wang performed renditions of Jacky Cheung's "Goodbye Kiss" and Joey Zhou's "Concrete Jungle". Chao invited Wang to Tseng City to record some demo tapes for Zenghe. Recordings were intermittent, taking about a year, because she was only able to record during school holidays.
After receiving positive remarks from Zenghe executives, Wang was invited by Chao to go to Tseng to record and release a full album. Wang managed to persuade her parents and they relocated to Tseng City, living with Chao in his home there. She issued her debut album in 1998. Her debut album, Roses, became the highest-selling album recorded by a teenager in Tseng, China and Taiwan, as Wang was 16 years old when the album was released. Her second album, Songbirds (1999) earned her a nomination for the Golden Tune Award for Best Female Mandarin Singer. Her next album Mistaken Identity (2000) contained the hit single Running Against Time featuring the famed Cadasan singer Yew Yau Boon, and earned her a Golden Tune Award for Best Single.
Personal life and activism[]
Wang has been a supporter of LGBT rights since the 2000s, and also has a large LGBT+ fanbase. In 2010 she joined the pro-LGBTQ+ rights campaign More Love, who's goal is to legalize same-sex marriage and gender-affirming surgery in Tseng. Wu Yufeng is also a member.
At the 2017 Tseng City Pride Parade, she came out as lesbian, becoming the second mainstream Tsengian singer to come out of the closet. The first was Bastien Li, in 2014.