Gary Chaw

Gary Chaw (; born 9 July 1979 in Kota Belud, Sabah, Malaysia), also known as Gary Cao or Cao Ge or by his alter ego Cao Xiaoge, is a Malaysian Chinese singer-songwriter based in Taiwan, who has had achieved success in Taiwan, Mainland China, Malaysia, Hong Kong, and Singapore. He is renowned for his stage presence, wide vocal range, and rich voice. In addition, he composes for himself and other singers.

Early life

Chaw lived with his grandfather since he was 11 months old as his parents separated when he was 9 months old. He received his early education in Canada when he was 9. He later went on to continue his studies in Engineering at the University of Auckland in New Zealand. However, he left New Zealand before completing his studies. He can speak Mandarin, Cantonese, English, French, Hakka, Hokkien & Malay fluently.

Career

Music In 2010 he joined BMA and has since been dubbed "Asia Best Male Singer" by the media. His most recent concert tour of Asia, "Welcome to My World" was a great success. Chaw is renowned for his impressive vocal range, such that he was considered androgynous when he made his debut. He has often covered songs that ranged from tenor, such as "Moon River", to songs that are mezzo-soprano range, such as "Ting Hai". Including chest and mix voices, his vocal range is from G3 to C6. He also sang "My Way" by Frank Sinatra switching between low tenor to countertenor range.

In 2008 he composed and sang a song for the 2008 Beijing Olympics that was released in a Rock records CD called "Far away" (一起飞). The album was titled after the song he composed. Other Rock Records artists that took part include Genie Zhuo, 2moro, Alien Huang, Tracy Zhou.

In 2006 Chaw won Hong Kong TVB8's Best Newcomer Singer award. His big break occurred with the release of his Mandarin version of Karyn White's 1988 song "Superwoman". With this song, he won the Best Mandarin Male singer in the 19th Golden Melody Awards. (The other two songs he sang that night was Dark Humor by Jay Chou and Duo De Ta by Faye Wong (Cantonese version of "SuperWoman.) In 2002 Chaw left his home in Malaysia to go to Taiwan with hopes of joining the entertainment show business. He purchased a one-way plane ticket and brought with him only around RM1,600 (about HK$4,000). He tried to get into numerous record companies who criticised him harshly for being ugly and lacking talent. It was only in 2004 that he was signed by Rock Records when he recovered from insomnia, but his alcohol-fuelled incidents still plagued him until 2013 when he finally decided to give up drinking.

One day Chaw went out to Shilin Night Market They have a son named Joe and a daughter named Grace, whose godfather is Alien Huang. In 2014, Chaw and his kids participated in season 2 of Where Are We Going, Dad?.

Chaw admitted to being bipolar and credited his wife for being supportive and penned the song "All I need" for his wife. On 26 November 2022, Chaw announced his divorce with Wu.

Awards and nominations Year Award Category Nomination Result Ref2006 6th Global Chinese Music Awards Outstanding Regional Artiste (Malaysia) Gary Chaw Hong Kong TVB8 Awards Best New Male Artist (Gold) Gary Chaw Guang Zhou Golden Melody Awards Best New Male Artist (Gold) Gary Chaw Top 10 Golden Melodies "Superwoman" Malaysia Entertainment Association Best Composer "少年" with Guang Liang Top 10 Original Songs "少年" with Guang Liang 2007 18th Golden Melody Awards Best Male Mandarin Singer Gary Chaw 7th Music Chart Awards Best New Artist Gary Chaw Metro Radio Mandarin Music Awards Best Performance (最佳演繹獎) Gary Chaw Best Karaoke Song "兩隻戀人" (Two Lovers) 2008 19th Golden Melody Awards Best Male Mandarin Singer Gary Chaw

Discography Self-titled album 曹格同名專輯 (2001) Blue 格格 Blue (2006) Superman (2006) Super Sunshine (2008) Supermarket (2009) Back in Control 曹之在我 (2010) Sensation (EP) (2011) Gary Chaw Project Sensation 1: JAZZ (2012) Hollywood Zoo (2012) Super Junior (2019)

Filmography Where Are We Going? Dad 2 (2015) Let's Go! (2011) Ice Kacang Puppy Love 初戀紅豆冰 (2010)

Honours