Tia Ray

Tia Ray (; born 12 December, 1984) is a Chinese singer-songwriter from Hunan, China. She rose to fame in 2012 as a contestant on the televised singing competition The Voice of China, where she finished as one of the final contenders. She has since released four commercially successful albums, all of which she co-wrote and co-produced.

Prior to breaking into the mainstream, Ray has spent close to a decade performing in smaller venues, music festivals and collaborating with musicians in Beijing, where she pursued her studies of performing arts. In 2010, she formed her jazz band The Knutz with Chinese and African American musicians, with whom she wrote, recorded and performed mainly R&B and neo soul music.

Ray had her international breakthrough in 2018 with the hit Be Apart, which generated 1.8 billion streams and was the seventh bestselling single in the world that year. She has since collaborated with various artists from the United States, including Kehlani, Jason Derulo, Gallant and Far East Movement, blending Chinese elements with traditionally Western music styles. Domestically, she has worked with singer-rapper Jackson Wang from the K-pop group GOT7 and Masiwei from Chengdu rap group Higher Brothers.

Ray's popularity in Taiwan and Chinese-speaking communities has grown over the years. In 2021, she released her fourth studio album Once Upon A Moon and received the “Most Popular Female Singer of the Year” award from state-broadcaster China Central Television (CCTV). In 2022, Once Upon A Moon earned her two nominations at the 33rd Golden Melody Awards in Taiwan, including Best Mandarin Female Singer and Best Vocal Recording Album.

In 2021, she released her fourth studio album Once Upon A Moon, spanning singles such as I'm Not Good, Emo Whiskey and Little Too Much. The album earned her two nominations at the 33rd Golden Melody Awards in Taiwan, including Best Mandarin Female Singer and Best Vocal Recording Album. Critics and peers, including singer Hua Chenyu have described her as an "innovator" injecting new elements into the Chinese music industry.

Discography Studio albums T.I.A. (2014) TIARA (2018) 1212 (2019) Once Upon A Moon (2021) Trip (2022) Allure (2023)

Lead Singles "You Know I Love You" (2004) "Because of Love" (2004) "Stage Sisters" (2008) "Love Passes Love" (2008) "Tacit Understanding of Love" (2008) "Sweet Things" (2009) "Blossom" (2015) "Uncle Long Legs" (2016) "Love Herby" (2016) "Be Apart" (2018) "Starfall" (2020) "I'M NOT GOOD (2021) “TIVA000” (2021)

Collaborations "Just My Luck" (featuring Kehlani) (2018) "Lucky Rain" (featuring Jackson Wang) (2018) "Moonlight" (Will Pan featuring Tia Ray) (2018) "Paint the Clouds" (Far East Movement featuring Tia Ray) (2019) "Trust Myself" (featuring Gallant) (2019) "Complicated" (featuring Victor Ma) (2019) "Champion" (Jason Derulo featuring Tia Ray) (2019) "Be The Legend" (featuring Rtruenahmean) (2020) "Together for a Shared Future" (with William Chan) (2021) "DANCE TO THE MOONLIGHT" (featuring Nigel Tay) (2021) "Slow Ride" (with Matt Lv) (2022) "Like Me" (Masiwei featuring Tia Ray) (2022) "It Isn't Me" (with 22Bullets and Kshmr) (2022)

Awards and nominations Award Year Category Work Result Golden Melody Awards 2022 Best Female Mandarin Singer Once Upon A Moon Best Vocal Recording Album 2024 Best Female Mandarin Singer Allure Freshmusic Awards 2022 Best Female Vocalist Once Upon A Moon 2024 Allure Chinese Top Ten Music Awards 2020 Most Popular Female Singer Top 10 Golden Songs of the Year "Looking out for You" Migu Music Awards 2018 Most Popular Female Singer Top 10 Songs of the Year "Be Apart" Beijing Pop Music Awards 2018 Female Singer of the Year Recommended by All Media China Music Awards 2015 Jury Recommendation T.I.A. 2017 Media Recommended Song "Love Herby"

Achievements

Singer performances Singer 2017 Ray first appeared in the Singer series as one of eight "initial singers" for the fifth season. After Ray narrowly avoid elimination for the first two shows (on the first week however, she was declared safe due to a contestant's withdrawal from the competition), she was eliminated on the third week. Ray later advanced to the semi-finals after reinstating her in the Breakout rounds, and finished in seventh place.

Singer 2017 Performance List for Tia RayEpisodeRoundBroadcast DateSong TitleOriginal SingerSong IntroductionRankingPercentages of Votes Remarks 1 1st Qualifying Round January 21, 2017 "阿楚姑娘"(Mandarin) Frankie Liang Lyrics: Meng YeComposer: Frankie LiangArranger: Zhao Zhao 7 3.74% Singer voting in third place 2 1st Knockout Round January 28, 2017 "Love On Top"(English) Beyoncé Lyrics／Composer: Beyoncé Knowles, Terius Youngdell Nash, Shea TaylorArranger: Ni Ke 6 9.24% Singer voting in second placeOverall ranking is sixth (6.49% of votes) 3 1st Challenge Round February 4, 2017 "蒙娜丽莎的眼泪"(Mandarin) Terry Lin Lyrics／Composer: Zheng HuajuanArranger: Kubert Leung 8 8.50% Eliminated (finished last) 4 2nd Knockout Round February 11, 2017 "Golden"(English) Jill Scott Lyrics: Jill ScottComposer: Anthony BellArranger: Fergus Chow Non-ranked performance (Return Performance) 11 Breakout Round April 1, 2017 "开往春天的地铁"(Mandarin) Yu Quan Lyrics: Wu XiangfeiComposer: Zhang YadongArranger: Michael Ning, Phil Wen 6 8.22% Breakout Success "Kiss from a Rose"(English) Seal Lyrics／Composer: SealArranger: Michael Ning, Phil Wen 12 Semi-Finals April 8, 2017 "Sex Machine"(English) James Brown Lyrics／Composer: James Brown, Bobby Byrd, Ron LenhoffArranger: Nick Pyo 7 8.84% Advanced "爱是怀疑"(Mandarin) Eason Chan Lyrics／Composer: Hanjin TanArranger: Nick Pyo 13 Finals April 15, 2017 "奋不顾身" (Mandarin) Liu Huan, Summer Lyrics／Composer: Liu HuanArranger: Zhao Zhao, Meng Ke 8 6.39% Overall ranking is seventh (7.61% of votes)Assisted by guest singer Liu Huan "凤凰于飞"(Mandarin) Liu Huan Lyrics／Composer: Liu HuanArranger: Zhao Zhao, Meng Ke 14 2017 Biennial Concert April 22, 2017 "Misty"(English) Johnny Mathis Lyrics: Johnny BurkeComposer: Erroll GarnerArranger: Chang Shilei Non-ranked performanceAssisted by guest singer Chang Shilei "来日方长"(Mandarin) Isabelle Huang, Joker Xue Lyrics: Chang ShileiComposer: Tia Ray, Chang ShileiArranger: Chang Shilei

Singer 2018 Ray was invited as one of the four guest singers from the 2017 season during the season's biennial concert along with a guest Victor Ma. That season was currently the latest season to feature a concert airing after the finals held a week prior. The 2018 season also featured runner-up Hua Chenyu, who would also later compete along with Ray and two other singers two years later, and Hua gone on to win the season. Singer 2019 Performance List for Tia RayEpisodeRoundBroadcast DateSong TitleOriginal SingerSong IntroductionRankingPercentages of Votes Remarks 14 2018 Biennial Concert April 20, 2018 "下个，路口，见"(Mandarin) Li Yuchun Lyrics/Composer: Li YuchunArrangement: Chen HanwenChang Shilei Non-ranked performance (as Guest Performer)

Singer 2019 Ray was again invited as a guest singer on the seventh season to accompany with Liu Huan (the eventual winner for that season) once more during the semi-finals.

Singer 2019 Performance List for Tia RayEpisodeRoundBroadcast DateSong TitleOriginal SingerSong IntroductionRankingPercentages of Votes Remarks 13 Semi-Finals April 5, 2019 "City of Stars"(English) Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone Lyrics: Benj Pasek and Justin PaulComposer: Justin Hurwitz Non-ranked performance (as Guest Performer)

Singer 2020 Ray later returned for her second season in 2020, entitled Year of the Hits, as one of the four returning singers from seasons four to six (including Lala Hsu, Jam Hsiao and season's winner Hua Chenyu). Ray was again eliminated after week eight (and unlike previous seasons, Ray was not entitled to Returning Performances the following week due to safety concerns regarding the coronavirus outbreak at the time), but she was reinstated upon her success in the Breakouts and went on to clinch as the season's runner-up, making her the best-performing previously eliminated singer in the series.

Singer 2020 Performance List for Tia RayEpisodeRoundBroadcast DateSong TitleOriginal SingerSong IntroductionRankingPercentages of Votes Remarks1 1st Qualifier Round February 7, 2020 "我爱"(Mandarin) Tia Ray Lyrics: Malay, Trey Cambell, Tia Ray, Li CongComposer: Malay, Trey Cambell, Tia RayArranged: Michael Ning, Julian Waterfall Pollack 6 6.55% Won "Surprise Challenge" against Jeryl Lee (247-232)2 1st Knockout Round February 14, 2020 "不亏不欠"(Mandarin) Tia Ray Lyrics: Cheung Cho KiuComposer: Khris Riddick-Tynes, Leon Thomas III, Debbie AramideArranged: Huang Yun Xun, Zhang Yiyu 3 14.36% Overall placement is sixth (10.455% of votes)3 2nd Qualifier Round February 21, 2020 "有一种悲伤"(Mandarin) A-Lin Lyrics: Gavin LinComposer: Alex Chang Jien 5 10.67% 4 2nd Knockout Round February 28, 2020 "Love Can Fly"(Mandarin) Tia Ray Lyrics: Tia RayComposer: Chang Shilei 4 15.92% Overall placement is fifth (13.295% of votes)5 3rd Qualifier Round March 6, 2020 "凄美地"(Mandarin) Guo Ding Lyrics/Composer: Guo Ding 4 15.15% Lost "Surprise Challenge" against Jike Junyi (212-274)6 3rd Knockout Round March 13, 2020 "月牙湾"(Mandarin) F.I.R. Lyrics: Kevin Yi, Xie YouhuiComposer: Real Huang 2 17.13% Overall placement is third (16.145% of votes)7 4th Qualifier Round March 20, 2020 "存·不存在"(Mandarin) Tia Ray Lyrics: Yu Hong Long, Ape KaoComposer: Yu Hong Long 5 14.23% 8 4th Knockout Round March 27, 2020 "I Love You 3000 II"(English) Jackson Wang Lyrics/Composer: Jackson Wang, Stephanie Poetri 7 7.78% Eliminated/Overall placement is seventh (11.005% of votes)"我想"(Mandarin) Yu Jiayun Lyrics/Composer: Yu Jiayun 11 Breakout Round April 17, 2020 "盛夏光年"(Mandarin) Mayday Lyrics/Composer: Ashin 1 38.04% Breakout SuccessWon Duel against Super-Vocal (328-157)12 Grand Finals April 24, 2020"2020 So Crazy" medley 2 N/A Round 1 performance - Guest singer is Victor MaWon Duel against Misia (312-173)"So Crazy" Coco Lee Lyrics: Hanjin Tan, Coco LeeComposer: Coco Lee"Lover Boy 88" Higher BrothersPhum ViphuritLyrics: Higher BrothersComposer: Higher Brothers, Phum Viphurit"Young Prince" Victor MaRainbow Lyrics/Composer: Victor Ma"Starfall" Tia Ray Lyrics: TetraCalyxComposer: Zoe Tsai 30.68% Round 2 performance