Hong Kong singer Janice Vidal on new Canto-pop album, SoHo art show and finally being able to express herself

The last decade has seen her creativity smothered, weight criticised and her sister Jill arrested on drug charges, but with new label Warner Music, Vidal is now getting the chance to tell the stories she wants to tell

Reading Time:4 minutes

Singer Janice Vidal, who will perform a concert at the Hong Kong Coliseum in January, at her art exhibition at Soho Yard Gallery & Events Space in July. Photo: Xiaomei Chen

Published: 5:02pm, 18 Aug 2017Updated: 5:58pm, 18 Aug 2017

On a recent weekend in Central’s SoHo district, Hong Kong pop star Janice Vidal gave a guided tour of her debut art exhibition, where almost two dozen of her paintings were on display and her latest music played on a loop.

Appearing happy and content, the singer said she is finally able to be true to herself after a decade-long struggle with Hong Kong show business.

Ahead of Hong Kong shows, G.E.M. on how Chinese pop is finding its voice and heartbreak over Linkin Park singer’s death

Vidal, 34, is making a comeback after a nearly three-year hiatus. She has just released a new studio album, Love and Other Things, the first under her new label Warner Music. The album was launched alongside a three-day exhibition of her very colourful and emotional oil paintings – the first time she has showed her works to the public.

Vidal says the music and the paintings tell stories that she was unable to tell in the past.

“They are not just songs. They are [songs] about my life and what’s important to me. It’s a personal story. People can get to know the real me,” she says. “It’s such a blessing. I’m very grateful that I am able to express myself through music and art.”

Vidal says people can finally get to know the real her. Photo: Xiaomei Chen

Vidal is widely recognised as one of the most gifted singers in the history of Canto-pop. In June, she was voted No. 1 in an online poll to find the singer with the most beautiful voice, beating superstars including Eason Chan Yik-shun, Joey Yung Cho-yee and the late Leslie Cheung Kwok-wing. But the woman with a voice that has won the hearts of many feels she has never had a chance to tell her own stories, until now.

“Before that, I wasn’t able to have any creative ideas about music. Back in those days, it was just about ‘Here’s a song, sing it’,” says Vidal, recalling her days at record label Amusic reporting to Leon Lai, the label’s boss and one of the “four heavenly kings” of Canto-pop. “Now I have a chance to put something more personal out there.”