The Most Famous

SINGERS from Taiwan

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This page contains a list of the greatest Taiwanese Singers. The pantheon dataset contains 4,381 Singers, 11 of which were born in Taiwan. This makes Taiwan the birth place of the 62nd most number of Singers behind Hungary, and Moldova.

Top 10

The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the top 10 most legendary Taiwanese Singers of all time. This list of famous Taiwanese Singers is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography's online popularity. Visit the rankings page to view the entire list of Taiwanese Singers.

Photo of Teresa Teng

1. Teresa Teng (1953 - 1995)

With an HPI of 71.58, Teresa Teng is the most famous Taiwanese Singer.  Her biography has been translated into 75 different languages on wikipedia.

Teng Li-Chun (Chinese: 鄧麗君; pinyin: Dèng Lìjūn; 29 January 1953 – 8 May 1995), commonly known as Teresa Teng, was a Taiwanese singer, television personality, musician, and philanthropist. Referred to by some as the "Eternal Queen of Asian Pop", she is considered to be one of the most successful and influential Asian artists of all time. Teng is recognized as a cultural icon for her contributions to Chinese pop, giving birth to the phrase, "Wherever there are Chinese-speaking people, there is music of Teresa Teng." A polyglot, Teng's music has transcended geographical, linguistic, and political boundaries across Asia for several decades. With a career spanning almost 30 years, Teng established herself as a dominant and influential force in Asia throughout most of her career, particularly in East and Southeast Asia, and to some extent South Asia. Teng is credited as the Far East's first pop superstar and a pioneer of modern Chinese pop music — a major force in the development of the Chinese music industry by incorporating western and eastern styles into her music, replacing the most revolutionary songs then prevalent in mainland China and laying the foundation for modern Chinese popular music. Teng recorded more than 1,700 songs throughout her career, in her native language, Mandarin, but also Hokkien, Cantonese, Shanghainese, Japanese, Indonesian, English, and Italian. Teng is considered instrumental in bridging the political and cultural divides across Chinese-speaking regions. She was one of the first artists to connect Japan to East and Southeast Asia. In Taiwan, she rose to fame for entertaining the armed forces and singing patriotic songs that appealed to the people of the island. Teng was nicknamed "the patriotic entertainer" and "the soldiers' sweetheart". To date, Teng's songs have been covered by hundreds of artists worldwide. Teng has sold over 48 million albums, excluding sales in Mainland China, according to the IFPI. In 1986, she was named by Time as one of the seven greatest female singers in the world. In 2009, in an online poll by a Chinese government web portal to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the People's Republic of China, Teng was deemed the most influential cultural figure in China since 1949 with 8.5 million votes. On the eve of International Women's Day in 2010, she was named the most influential woman in modern China in a poll conducted by various Chinese media outlets. She was inducted into the Popular Music Hall of Fame at the Koga Masao Museum of Music in Tokyo in 2007, making Teng the only non-Japanese person to be inducted.

Photo of Takeshi Kaneshiro

2. Takeshi Kaneshiro (b. 1973)

With an HPI of 60.47, Takeshi Kaneshiro is the 2nd most famous Taiwanese Singer.  His biography has been translated into 35 different languages.

Takeshi Kaneshiro (金城 武, Kaneshiro Takeshi; born October 11, 1973) is a Japanese actor and singer based in Taiwan. Beginning his career as a pop idol, he has since moved his focus from music to film. Kaneshiro has worked with renowned directors throughout East Asia, including Wong Kar-wai (Chungking Express and Fallen Angels), Peter Chan (Perhaps Love, The Warlords, and Dragon), Zhang Yimou (House of Flying Daggers) and John Woo (Red Cliff and The Crossing I and II), resulting in collaborations that have achieved both commercial success and critical acclaim. Kaneshiro is also well known in the gaming industry for being the model and voice for the samurai character Samanosuke Akechi in Capcom's Onimusha video game series.

Photo of Sally Yeh

3. Sally Yeh (b. 1961)

With an HPI of 54.30, Sally Yeh is the 3rd most famous Taiwanese Singer.  Her biography has been translated into 20 different languages.

Sally Yeh (born 30 September 1961), sometimes credited as Sally Yip or Yip Sin-man, is a Hong Kong and Canadian singer and actress.

Photo of Chou Tzu-yu

4. Chou Tzu-yu (b. 1999)

With an HPI of 50.24, Chou Tzu-yu is the 4th most famous Taiwanese Singer.  Her biography has been translated into 42 different languages.

Chou Tzu-yu (Chinese: 周子瑜; pinyin: Zhōu Zǐyú; born June 14, 1999), known mononymously as Tzuyu (Korean: 쯔위, Korean pronunciation: [t͈sɯ.ɥi]), is a Taiwanese singer based in South Korea. She is a member of the South Korean girl group Twice, formed by JYP Entertainment in 2015. Tzuyu released her debut extended play (EP), Aboutzu, on September 6, 2024. Its lead single, "Run Away", became her first number-one single on the Billboard Taiwan Songs chart.

Photo of A-Mei

5. A-Mei (b. 1972)

With an HPI of 48.04, A-Mei is the 5th most famous Taiwanese Singer.  Her biography has been translated into 23 different languages.

Kulilay Amit (Chinese: 張惠妹; pinyin: Zhāng Huìmèi; born 9 August 1972), better known by her stage name A-Mei, is a Taiwanese singer and record producer of Puyuma descent. Born as Amit Kulilay in eastern Taiwan, she made her debut in 1996. A leading figure of the Mandopop music scene since the mid-1990s, A-Mei is widely known for breaking ground for Taiwanese indigenous peoples and being a voice for LGBT rights and gender equality. She has been given the moniker "Queen of Mandopop" and the "Pride of Taiwan." Her career longevity, resilience, artistry, and versatility have established her as a pop culture icon in the Sinophone world. Born and raised in Beinan, Taitung, Taiwan, A-Mei moved to Taipei at age 20 in 1992. In 1996, she released her debut studio album, Sisters, which saw major commercial success and sold over a million copies in Taiwan. Her sophomore record, Bad Boy (1997), found even greater success, eventually becoming the country's best-selling album overall. Her follow up releases—Holding Hands (1998), Can I Hug You, Lover? (1999) and Regardless (2000)—received critical and commercial acclaim, with the first two albums also selling well over a million copies. A cross-straits controversy caused her to experience a decline in sales in 2004; she would later experience a resurgence in 2006 with her album I Want Happiness?. Her albums Truth (2001), Amit (2009), and Faces of Paranoia (2014) each won her a Golden Melody Award for Best Mandarin Female Singer, making her one of the singers who won the category the most times. Having sold over 50 million records, A-Mei is the best-selling female artist in Taiwanese music history. She is recognized as having the influence and cultural impact in the Sinophone world, equivalent to artists such as Madonna in Western music and popular culture. In 2017, she was included in the "Charity Heroes List" by the Asian edition of Forbes, and her influence is even greater than that of many famous Taiwanese political and business figures.

Photo of Wu Bai

6. Wu Bai (b. 1968)

With an HPI of 48.02, Wu Bai is the 6th most famous Taiwanese Singer.  His biography has been translated into 16 different languages.

Wu Chun-lin (Chinese: 吳俊霖; pinyin: Wú Jùnlín; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Ngô͘ Chùn-lîm; born 14 January 1968), better known by his stage name Wu Bai (Chinese: 伍佰; pinyin: Wǔ Bǎi; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Gō͘-pah), is a Taiwanese rock singer, songwriter and actor. He formed the band Wu Bai & China Blue with Dean Zavolta (drums), Yu Ta-hao (keyboards), and Chu Chien-hui (bass guitar). Wu is the lead guitarist and vocalist of the band. Dubbed "The King of Live Music", Wu is considered to be one of the biggest pop music stars in East and Southeast Asia.

Photo of Ken Chu

7. Ken Chu (b. 1979)

With an HPI of 47.96, Ken Chu is the 7th most famous Taiwanese Singer.  His biography has been translated into 16 different languages.

Ken Chu (Chinese: 朱孝天; pinyin: Zhū Xiàotiān; born January 15, 1979) is a Taiwanese singer and actor. He was a member of Taiwanese boy group F4.

Photo of Elva Hsiao

8. Elva Hsiao (b. 1979)

With an HPI of 45.14, Elva Hsiao is the 8th most famous Taiwanese Singer.  Her biography has been translated into 19 different languages.

Elva Hsiao (traditional Chinese: 蕭亞軒; simplified Chinese: 萧亚轩; pinyin: Xiāo Yǎxuān, born 24 August 1979) is a Taiwanese singer. Having gained widespread popularity for her R&B-influenced ballads, she is recognized as one of the four lesser “Queens of Heaven” of Mandopop.

Photo of Hebe Tien

9. Hebe Tien (b. 1983)

With an HPI of 43.92, Hebe Tien is the 9th most famous Taiwanese Singer.  Her biography has been translated into 18 different languages.

Hebe Tien Fu-chen (Chinese: 田馥甄; pinyin: Tián Fùzhēn; born 30 March 1983) is a Taiwanese singer and actress. She rose to fame in the early 2000s as a member of Taiwanese girl group S.H.E. The release of her debut album, To Hebe (2010), established her as a solo artist. Tien's song "A Little Happiness", the theme song of the 2015 Taiwanese film Our Times, was a major hit in most Mandarin-speaking parts of Asia.

Photo of Aska Yang

10. Aska Yang (b. 1978)

With an HPI of 43.10, Aska Yang is the 10th most famous Taiwanese Singer.  His biography has been translated into 18 different languages.

Aska Yang (traditional Chinese: 楊宗緯; simplified Chinese: 杨宗纬; Hanyu Pinyin: Yáng Zōngwěi; Tongyong Pinyin: Yáng Zong-Wěi, born April 4, 1978, in Taoyuan City (now Taoyuan District), Taiwan) is a Taiwanese Mandopop singer.

People

Pantheon has 11 people classified as Taiwanese singers born between 1953 and 1999. Of these 11, 10 (90.91%) of them are still alive today. The most famous living Taiwanese singers include Takeshi Kaneshiro, Sally Yeh, and Chou Tzu-yu. The most famous deceased Taiwanese singers include Teresa Teng. As of April 2024, 11 new Taiwanese singers have been added to Pantheon including Teresa Teng, Takeshi Kaneshiro, and Sally Yeh.

Living Taiwanese Singers

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Deceased Taiwanese Singers

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Newly Added Taiwanese Singers (2024)

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