Janice's Birthday Wish

Hong Kong Songbird Janice didn’t have time to celebrate her birthday a week ago, but her fans in Kuala Lumpur made it a special day for her.
SHARON WONG writes.

FAST-RISING Hong Kong singer Janice was in town recently in conjunction with her upcoming Malaysian concert on May 1 at Stadium Merdeka, Kuala Lumpur.

Janice met fans at Sungei Wang Plaza and at the Seremban Terminal.

Excited from the success of her Hong Kong concert at the Coliseum last year, Janice hopes to give her Malaysian fans a show to remember and revealed there would be guest artistes.

“I hope to have one male and one female artiste,” she said.
Could they be Michael Wong and twin Jill? When pressed, she conceded the male artiste looks a lot like Wong,” she said, giggling. “I have already informed him of my concert here.”

Her “boss”, Leon Lai, has been informed of her concert here but it remains to be seen if he will make it to KL.

There have been rumours that Lai had secretly married his model girlfriend, Lok Kei Yi, and being his protege, Janice became the target for questions at the media session.

A little overwhelmed, Janice said that she had not heard anything. “I don’t know, I have not heard the news from Leon himself,” she said.

“I really don’t think so as I believe if Leon really gets married, he would tell me.”

Janice’s 26th birthday fell on April 13 but celebrations had to be postponed until after her Malaysian concert. However, her fans in Malaysia at Sungei Wang presented her with a birthday cake and a portrait painted by a Malay artist.

Overcome by their thoughtfulness and love, Janice’s eyes moistened. She said it was the happiest day of her life. And her birthday wish? “That my Malaysian concert is a success,” she said.

Janice’s or Janice Vidal, is of mixed Filipino-Korean parentage and first made her debut in the Hong Kong music scene in 2005.

She caught the attention of composer/producer Mark Lui when she was backing vocals for one of Lai’s songs in 2001. Subsequently, Lai signed her on to his label and she started doing covers of Lai’s songs.

In 2005, Janice released her debut album titled Day & Night, which became a big hit. A string of awards and more albums followed, and early last year, she held her first concert in Hong Kong at the Coliseum.

In the same year, she won a competition held by the Madame Tussauds museum in Hong Kong to select a new wax celebrity, which is no mean feat for a relative newcomer. Her wax lookalike was displayed in the glamour section.

Janice My First Concert In Malaysia 2008 is organised by Galaxy Group and tickets are priced at RM358, RM268, RM178 and RM88. For more information, call 03-22822020 or log on to www.galaxy.com.my.