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Joanna Dong

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Chinese name
  
董姿彥 (traditional)

Pinyin
  
Dǒng Zīyàn (Mandarin)

Origin
  
Spouse
  
Zachary Ho (m. 2012)

Chinese name
  
董姿彦 (simplified)

Birth name
  
Joanna Dong

Occupation
  
Singer, host, actress

Movies
  
Hidden Folk


Born
  
15 November 1981 (age 35) (
1981-11-15
)

Similar
  
Gil Goldstein, Jacqueline Gawler, Sezairi Sezali

Joanna Dong (Chinese: 董姿彦; born 15 November 1981 in Singapore) is a Singaporean singer, actress and host. Primarily a jazz vocalist, she is the first artiste signed to Singapore label, Red Roof Records.

Contents

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Early life

Joanna Dong httpsiytimgcomviYDKhj5n7Hschqdefaultjpg

The only child of divorced parents, her initial forays into the world of entertainment came in the 1980s when her mother, a former Chinese teacher, started entering her into karaoke competitions, many of which she won. After attending The Raffles Girls' School, Victoria Junior College and National University of Singapore, where she graduated in sociology, she first came into the public eye when she joined the first-ever Singapore Idol competition in 2004 and reached the Top 40. Six months after exiting the talent competition, Joanna began pursuing a music career in earnest, landing her first regular singing gig in The Courtyard at Raffles Hotel.

Theatre

Joanna Dong Joanna Dong Fifty50 Blog

Apart from singing, Dong, who took theatre studies at Victoria Junior College, also expressed herself on stage in various theatre productions from 1998. In 2007, she landed the principal role of Rose in If There’re Seasons..., a musical based on the music of Xinyao pioneer, Liang Wen Fook, and won Best Supporting Actress in the ST Life! Theatre Awards for her performance. She would reprise the role in 2009 and 2014 re-runs. In 2008, she played leads in Mandarin comedy, The Soldier and his Virtuous Wife and Tan Kheng Hua’s raunchy directorial debut, Do Not Disturb – Late Checkout Please. In 2010, she was lead actress in the period rock musical, Liao Zhai Rocks!, inspired by colourful Qing dynasty folk stories. In 2011, Dong took on the lead of Small Papaya in Goh Boon Teck’s stage production of Royston Tan’s 881. She was also in the ensemble cast in Forbidden City: Portrait of an Empress (2006), Descendants of the Eunuch Admiral (2010), Impending Storm: The Silly Little Girl and the Funny Old Tree (2012), Lao Jiu: The Musical (2012) and Great World Cabaret (2015).

Discography

Joanna Dong joanna dong Listen and Stream Free Music Albums New Releases

Dong released her EP, ‘Lullaby Nomad’, in 2008, which launched with a concert at the Esplanade Recital Studio. She also collaborated with Brazilian all-stars band, Bossa Negra, to release a single of her Mandarin translation of popular bossa nova standard ‘Summer Samba’ in 2010. She also performs with her own project bands. She has rearranged Hokkien songs in a contemporary jazz style with Peace Kopitiam Jazz Band (2012 – 2014) and reworked dirty lyrics into Christmas ditties with alternative Christmas band, Naughty “Noor” Nice (2010 – 2015). In 2015, Dong collaborated with fellow Singapore Idol, Sezairi Sezali, on the first Mandarin and Malay pop track, ‘Starlight’, for Sing, Love, a SG50 musical project by Red Roof Records.

Film

Joanna Dong Marcus Mok Singapore Professional People Photographer Joanna Dong

In 2011, Dong took the lead in writer/director Wee Li Lin’s sophomore feature effort, Forever as a video consultant who falls for a handsome music teacher. The role earned her the Star Hunter Award at the Shanghai International Film Festival in 2011. She was also the lead actress in Thong Kay Wee’s risqué short film, Hidden Folk, as a woman whose sexual affair with a 15-year-old comes back to haunt her.

Television

Dong recently expanded her repertoire to include TV hosting in Ch U’s infotainment series, ‘Homeward Bound’ and ‘Life Extraordinaire’.

Personal life

Dong met her husband, theatre practitioner and educator, Zachary Ho, on the set of ‘Descendants of the Eunuch Admiral’ in 2010. They wed in 2012.

References

Joanna Dong Wikipedia