Hello, Edison Chen.
That was how a friend greeted the Hong Kong celebrity when she saw him in downtown L.A. a few months ago. The actor-singer returned the greeting with a smile and a “hello” back.
Now, Chen (known as Chen Guan Xi in Chinese) is saying hello to the entertainment industry once more after laying low the past two years and staying mostly in the United States to avoid the backlash following his sex scandal in 2008.
Comebacks are of course for stars who had to abandon their careers in films, music or TV for varying reasons: military service, health, marriage, pregnancy or to cool their heels after a scandal.
Two years ago, Chen self-exiled himself to the US but was quick to point out recently that he did not really plan on quitting the business forever.
Now, he is making another bid but has limited his appearances to Taiwan and Singapore, more than Hong Kong where—as he recalled in his first post-scandal interview with CNN in June last year—he used to travel around in the boot of a taxi soon after intimate photos of him and some female Hong Kong celebrities were stolen from his broken laptop.
Also, Chen’s appearances so far have been connected with his CLOT fashion company. But this month, he expressed interest in collaborating with Taiwanese superstar Jay Chou (Chou Jie Lun) for a new album. The two co-starred in Initial D a few years back.
While Chen is slowly inching his way back to the limelight, the women that were involved in the scandal cannot be far behind.
Cecilia Cheung (Cheung Pak Chi) has announced that she will be appearing in a movie by Hong Kong director Yee Tung-shing. She has already made a comeback of sorts by singing the theme song of the movie CJ7: The Cartoon with her son Lucas.
Cheung has not really been out of the limelight. Her marriage to Hong Kong star Nicholas Tse (Tse Ting Fung) has been heavily scrutinised following the publication of her intimate photos from Chen’s private photo collection. In 2007, a year before the scandal broke out, she gave birth to Lucas; last May, she gave birth to another son, Quintus.
Over a span of two years, Cheung has re-fashioned herself into a loving wife and doting mother, whose public appearances were usually made with her family. This could have been a conscious effort to veer away from the sex scandal and thaw the public’s cold attitude towards those involved in it. And she has her adorable son Lucas—who has been dubbed as a star in the making—to thank for the public’s warming response towards her.
Compared to Cheung, Gillian Chung (Chung Yan Tung)—another actress that was involved in the scandal—has not been having an easy time, however.
Last year, she made a comeback by doing an advertisement for Tough Jeans, that was meant to ride on the aftermath of the scandal and re-introduce her as a “tougher” person compared to her previous sweet and pure image.
But fans and the audience alike have not totally warmed up to Chung, who cried buckets of tears in 2006 when a Hong Kong paparazzi secretly took her photos while changing for a concert in Genting, Malaysia. Hong Kong celebrities rallied behind Chung then, denouncing the magazine that published the photos. Chung cried that she was violated with the publication of the photos.
Imagine the fans’ shock when, two years later, photos of her and Chen surfaced on the Internet showing that their idol was not pure and innocent after all. And in an industry that puts premium on the image of a star, even going at all costs to cover up the truth, Chung found herself without a career and forced to lie low.
The screening of her movie, The Fantastic Water Babes, was pushed back and was only released this July to tepid response.
And as proof that fans have not quite forgotten—nor forgiven—Chung, a disillusioned male fan slipped adult DVDs with photos of Chung in magazines at a convenience store in Hong Kong in July. Customers have complained of getting the DVDs, with some saying that none of them contained anything about Chung.
It was only three months ago when things seemed to have been looking up for Chung upon reuniting with her Twins partner Charlene Choi (Choi Cheuk Yin) for a successful two-night concert at the Hong Kong Coliseum. But things grew sour again when Choi’s secret marriage was revealed shortly after. And now, Chung appears to be back to step one.
In contrast, Chinese actress Tang Wei has made a successful comeback through a Hong Kong romantic flick Crossing Hennessy that was a far cry from her 2007 controversial film Lust, Caution.
The latter prompted Beijing authorities to impose a ban on her partly because of the sex scenes but mostly because the movie was seen as “glorifying unpatriotic behaviour”. In Lust, Caution, Tang played a student activist who seduces a Japanese-allied Chinese intelligence chief in World War II-era Shanghai.
Crossing Hennessy may have failed to win critics but at least it was safe territory for Tang’s comeback bid. The actress is currently filming Late Autumn with a Korean cast.
Speaking of Korea, a singer is on the comeback trail a year after criticisms about Korea he posted on MySpace earned him the public’s ire.
Jay Park, formerly known as Park Jae-beom and ex-leader of Korean pop group 2PM, will be appearing in a summer music festival in August. Korean media has noted that Park’s return seems to be going smoothly, unlike other Korean celebrities embroiled in scandals.
Park has not been exactly idle during his US exile; he was cast in Hype Nation, an upcoming Hollywood film, and his comeback album sold 26,000 copies in its first two days of release.
That may pale in comparison though to the much-anticipated comeback of Chinese diva Faye Wong (Wong Fei) whose cheapest tickets (costing 300 yuan and 2,500 yuan or US$44 and $370) to a five-night concert in Beijing and one night in Shanghai were sold out in 10 minutes. This will be Wong’s first concert after a five-year hiatus.
Wong’s absence from the entertainment scene was not due to any scandal, however. She laid low after the birth of her second child and seldom made public appearances, seemingly contented to live her life away from the limelight.
In a pre-concert press conference recently, Wong kept a crowd of about 300 journalists waiting for 40 minutes. In the end, she only stayed for 10 minutes and uttered no more than three sentences.
But who cares?
Wong’s concert has reportedly sold 18.88 million yuan ($2.8 million)-worth of tickets in just 10 days. In fact, the organisers clarified that the figure was just for auspicious reasons and that there were more concert tickets sold as well as a growing demand for a bigger venue.
In Wong’s case, it would seem that absence indeed makes the heart grow fonder.
And that’s what marks a successful comeback.
