Kimberley Chen (born 23 May 1994) is an Australian singer, actress and model based in Taiwan. In 2009, she landed her first hit with the love ballad "愛你" (Aini, "Love You"). In 2012, she became a professional singer in Taiwan, singing in both English and Mandarin.
Chen has been banned in Mainland China as a result of the song and music video "Fragile" a collaboration with Malaysian-Chinese hip hop artist Namewee which went viral in October 2021.
In 2020, she signed to Chynahouse, belonging to Kkbox, the first streaming platform and largest digital conglomerate in Taiwan.
Early and personal life Chen grew up in Melbourne as the daughter of Malaysian migrants. She attended Tintern Grammar and the Victorian College of the Arts.
Chen began her singing career at the age of four, first coached by her father. She performed regularly at charity concerts and clubs. Later, she was trained by Vladimir Vasilev, the conductor and musical director of the Russian Bolshoi Ballet for over five years. She learnt Ballet, Pointe, Tap, Jazz, Contemporary, HipHop, Locking, Popping, acrobatics and acting. She was offered three scholarships by the age of 10 but had to turn them down due to her other work. She was the only child model on Nine Network's The Price Is Right. In 2005 and 2006, she appeared as Young Nala in the Broadway production of Disney's The Lion King in Melbourne and Shanghai.
From a young age, Chen was an active performer and actress. She appeared in numerous commercials such as a McDonald's commercial that aired throughout Asia.
During the East Timor Crisis, she donated to Caritas Australia to directly aid East Timor. At the age of eight, she sang and danced a rendition of Jennifer Lopez's song, Let's Get Loud, with back-up dancers on the Royal Children's Hospital's 2003 Good Friday Appeal fundraiser on the Seven Network.
Discovered by Grundy Television executive director Michael Whyte, Chen was offered an ongoing role as the featured child model on The Price Is Right for its 2003 revival. She performed in over 400 episodes on the Nine Network over 2 years.
Later in 2005, Chen was selected by JYP Entertainment in New York City as a trainee to debut in America. Yolanda Wyns trained her in singing, dancing, and acting. She left JYP Entertainment in 2009 when the company decided to close down their U.S. operations. She was offered to become a trainee in South Korea instead but since her parents didn't have any plans to relocate to South Korea she turned down the offer. Chen attended Stella Adler Studio of Acting and recorded with Grammy-award winners Gordon Chambers and Barry Eastmond. She was also trained by Jermaine Browne and Jazzy J. In March 2007, Chen was selected to sing the national anthem at the Australian Football League NAB Cup Grand Final.
Chen's whole family relocated to Taiwan in 2009 to pursue her professional singing career. When arriving, she had little command of Mandarin. She studied the language intensively, which was key to her ability to succeed in the Asian music market. In March 2010, she was invited to compete in the Taiwanese televised singing competition One Million Star. She was then asked to be the guest singer for Kelly Clarkson's All I Ever Wanted World Tour in Taipei. Chen has released eight studio albums and is currently signed to Chynahouse.
In 2023 she was nominated for a Golden Melody Award for song of the year. The following year she released her self produced album KIKI and then another in 2025 titled Colors of Love.
In 2026 she won KKBOX award for Top Artist of the Year.
Music career
2012: Debut with Kimberley After nearly three years of preparation, Chen's debut album was released on 27 April 2012, featuring six Mandarin songs and five English songs. Two of her songs were featured on the Taiwanese series Fondant Garden starring Park Jung-min. Her debut single "愛你 (Love You)" has been a success on YouTube, with over 106 million views and generally positive comments.
Chen's second single, "Never Change," was her debut in songwriting. Chen has released music videos of her two singles: 愛你 (Love You), also starring JPM, and "廖允傑" (LilJay). They have been a success on YouTube, gaining over 15 million views. In Taiwan, she has come first in KKBOX charts with her debut album ezPeer, 台灣大哥大, 中華電信 and 遠傳電信, topping ringtone download charts.
Chen briefly worked with the B.ANGEL production house in 2014 before signing with Hong Kong–based company Sharp Music and Universal Music. She appeared in the Chinese version of Produce 101 in 2018. She was appointed A+, the highest ranking in the show, and received over 4.3 billion views for each of her performances.
2013: Kimbonomics Sony Music announced on 16 December 2013, that Chen would be releasing her second studio album, Kimbonomics. The album was released on 25 December 2013 and contained 10 tracks. It placed 4th on the weekly music charts of KKBOX in Taiwan on 25 January 2014.
2017–2018: #Tag Me and Produce 101 China In late 2017, Chen released her third studio album, #Tag Me. In 2018 she was one of the participants in Produce 101 and finished No. 26.
In 2019, Chen left Sharp Music due to Sharp Music's breach of contract. She dropped all charges in hope for peace but they continued to defame her using the media. She then filed for defamation and they were forced to stop harassing her. According to sources they unrightfully took a lot of her money.
2020: Princess Tendencies
Not long after signing with ChynaHouse Chen recorded a 31 track album. She decided to call and market it as a mixtape. She collaborated with over five artists.
2021: WFH
During the pandemic she self recorded her WFH EP MINI ALBUM in her home studio. The whole project took less than six months to complete.
2024: KIKI
In 2024 Chen released her 7th studio album titled kiki. Her album highlights and raises awareness on animal rights and global warming.
2025: Colors of Love
Just after her contract ended with her label ChynaHouse, Chen worked on her album with well renowned producer Skot Suyama. They previously worked together on Chen’s first album.
Discography
Kimberley (2012) Kimbonomics (2013) #Tag Me (2017) Princess Tendencies (2020) WFH (2021) Up on the Roof (2022) KIKI (2024) Colors of Love (2025)
Filmography
Television YearTitleNetworkRef.2003Good Friday AppealSeven Network2003–05The Price Is RightNine Network20072007 NAB CupSeven Network2010One Million StarChina Television
Music video appearances 2012 – "Internet", from Kimberley with JPM 2021 – "玻璃心 Fragile", from 鬼才做音樂 Ghosician with Namewee 黃明志
Awards and nominations
2012 Metro Radio Mandarin Hits Music Awards Presentation YearAwardNominated workResult 2012 Metro Best Overseas Rookie Herself
Global Chinese Pop chart YearAwardNominated workResult 2012 Most Promising Rookie Herself
2012 Metro Hit Awards YearAwardNominated workResult 2012 Metro Best New Media Song Love You rowspan="2" Best Overseas Rookie Herself
2012 Ultimate Song Chart Awards Presentation YearAwardNominated workResult 2013 Top 10 Songs Love You Best New Artist Herself Gold Award
2012 Top Ten Chinese Gold Songs Award Concert YearAwardNominated workResult 2013 Best Mandarin Song Love You Gold Award Most Promising New Artist Herself
Canadian Chinese Music Pop chart YearAwardNominated workResult 2013 Top 10 Songs Love You
KKBOX Music Awards YearAwardNominated workResult 2013 Top 100 Songs Love You rowspan="2" Top 100 albums Kimberley Best New Artist Herself
Global Chinese Golden Chart Awards YearAwardNominated workResult 2013 Best New Artist Herself Silver Award
2013 HITO Music Awards YearAwardNominated workResult 2013 Most Popular New Artist Herself
Neway Karaoke Songs chart YearAwardNominated workResult 2013 Top 5 Overseas Songs Love You
2015 Music King Awards YearAwardNominated workResult 2015 Best New Artist in Taiwan Herself
2022 Golden Melody Awards YearAwardNominated workResult 2022 Song of the Year Herself
2022 HITO Music Awards YearAwardNominated workResult 2022 Song of the Year Herself 2023 KKBOX Music Awards YearAwardNominated workResult 2023 Artist of the Year Herself
2026 KKBOX Music Awards YearAwardNominated workResult 2026 Artist of the Year Herself
References