Sa Dingding

Sa Dingding (simplified Chinese: 萨顶顶; traditional Chinese: 薩頂頂; pinyin: Sà Dǐngdǐng, born Zhou Peng (周鹏) on 27 December 1979) is a Chinese folk singer and songwriter. She is of mixed Han Chinese and Mongol ancestry, and sings in languages including Mandarin Chinese, English, Standard Tibetan, as well as an imaginary self-created language to evoke emotions in her songs.[4] She also plays traditional instruments such as the guzheng and morin khuur.[5]

In this Chinese name, the family name is Zhou.
Sa Dingding
An action shot of Sa Dingding playing during a concert.
Sa Dingding in concert in 2009
Born
Zhou Peng (周鹏)

(1979-12-27) 27 December 1979[1]
Pingdingshan, Henan[2][3]
Occupations
  • Singer
  • composer
  • songwriter
  • record producer
  • choreographer
  • actress
Years active2002–present
Musical career
Genres
Instrument(s)
Labels
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese薩頂頂
Simplified Chinese萨顶顶

Early life and education

Sa was born in Pingdingshan, Henan on 27/12/79.[2] She became interested in Buddhism and taught herself Tibetan and Sanskrit. Later, at 17, she moved to Beijing, to study music at the People's Liberation Army Academy of Art.[6]

Career

At age 18, she released her first album entitled Dong Ba La under her birth name Zhou Peng, gaining her the title of China's Best Dance Music Singer[7]

In 2006, "Holy Incense" was used as the theme song for the movie Prince of the Himalayas, directed by Sherwood Hu. In mid-2007, she released Alive, available physically and as a download in many countries. The Hong Kong release of the album featured a DVD containing music videos, a remix of "Alive", making of footage and a Chinese version of "Mama Tian Na", not featured on the album.

In 2008, at the age of 28, she won the BBC Radio 3 Awards for World Music for the Asia-Pacific region, earning herself the chance to perform at the Royal Albert Hall to a Western audience. In the same year, she also released a two track single called "Qin Shang".[8]

Dingding composed a song with Éric Mouquet of Deep Forest called "Won't Be Long" to raise funds for disaster relief after the 2008 Sichuan earthquake. The song was made available on Mouquet's Deep-Projects website. Mouquet and Dingding have collaborated on an album Deep China.

Dingding has appeared at World of Music, Arts and Dance and the Harrogate International Festivals in the UK. On 6 October 2008, her official English website was updated with information about a European tour, going from 7 to 17 November, making stops in Germany, London, Paris, Amsterdam, Las Palmas, Australia and New Zealand.[9] For Chinese composer He Xuntian's 2008 album, Tathāgata, Dingding contributed the vocals for the second track, entitled "Dátǎjiādá" (达塔伽达).

Her January 2010 album was Harmony (天地合), with nine songs in Chinese. The album also contains three remixes of the title track, one by Paul Oakenfold. In 2018, Dingding starred in the hit fantasy romance drama Ashes of Love, portraying the Immortal Yuanji.

Discography
Albums
  • Dong Ba La (咚巴啦) (2001)
  • Alive (万物生) – Universal Music, Wrasse Records (2007)
  • Harmony (天地合) (2010)
  • The Coming Ones (恍如来者) (2012)
  • Wonderland (幻境) (Remix Album) (2014)
  • The Butterfly Dream (庄周梦蝶集) (2015)
Singles
Soundtracks

Filmography

Television series
YearEnglish titleChinese titleRoleNotes
2018Ashes of Love香蜜沉沉烬如霜Immortal Yuanji
2021 The Long Ballad 长歌行 Lady Jingdan
2023 The Starry Love 星落凝成糖 Immortal Quan He

References
  1. "几位"假唱王"：第2位将话筒拿反，图5丢人丢到国外去了 – 腾讯网". 腾讯网. 1 August 2019.
  2. "惊！这些名人都是咱河南的". Zhengzhou Wanbao. 12 November 2015. Archived from the original on 21 December 2016. Retrieved 6 December 2016.
  3. "2011快乐女声评委：萨顶顶". Archived from the original on 29 October 2014. Retrieved 6 December 2016.
  4. BBC – Awards for World Music 2008 – Asia/Pacific Archived 24 April 2008 at the Wayback Machine, broadcast on BBC Radio 3 and BBC Four television.
  5. "Floating like a butterfly". China Daily. Archived from the original on 11 October 2018. Retrieved 11 October 2018.
  6. Steward, Sue (19 July 2008). "Why Sa Dingding has China in her hand". Daily Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Archived from the original on 11 October 2018. Retrieved 11 October 2018.
  7. Nan, Chen (21 December 2015). "Acclaimed singer who is a stranger in her own land". Daily Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Archived from the original on 11 October 2018. Retrieved 11 October 2018.
  8. BBC – Awards for World Music 2008 – Winners Archived 18 July 2008 at the Wayback Machine, broadcast on BBC Radio 3 and BBC Four television.
  9. "Sa Dingding Official English Site". Archived from the original on 28 September 2008. Retrieved 11 October 2008.

Interviews

News articles
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